Football365

Tottenham Hotspur would be taking a huge risk appointing Mauricio Pochettino as manager after the United States’ World Cup campaign, says Bobby Zamora.

Pochettino is the favourite to be named Tottenham’s next permanent manager following the sacking of Thomas Frank.

Spurs chasing new manager after sacking Frank

Frank was dismissed with the Londoners on a torrid run of two wins from 17 Premier League matches, leaving them 16th in the table.

Former Juventus boss Igor Tudor has been placed in interim charge until the end of the season and the Croatian staying on permanently is viewed as unlikely, unless he somehow manages to win this season’s Champions League.

Not only with the bookmakers, but Pochettino is also the favourite among Spurs supporters to succeed Frank.

MORE: How Arsenal fan Frank ‘baffled’ Spurs players, gave one star ‘preferential treatment’ and almost left in November

The Argentine managed the club between May 2014 and November 2019, leading them to a second-place finish in the Premier League and the Champions League final six months before his sacking.

He is comfortably the most successful Spurs boss in the Premier League era and most fans are open to him returning.

The biggest hitch is that Pochettino isn’t currently available as he is preparing for this summer’s World Cup as United States head coach.

He will lead the host nation and might not be able to take over at Spurs until July, depending on how far the USA progress. Their final group game is on June 25, which would be the earliest Pochettino could leave his post.

Not only would the 53-year-old be a late appointment from a Spurs perspective, but speculation about his future will hardly benefit him or his players at the World Cup.

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Why Pochettino return is a huge risk for Spurs

Former Spurs striker Zamora thinks the USMNT hierarchy will demand Pochettino is focused on his current job and that ‘taking his eye off the ball’ could cost them at this summer’s tournament.

“He can’t start until after the World Cup. If you are his nation, you are saying ‘I don’t want you taking your eye off the ball’,” Zamora told best betting sites (via CBS Sports).

“I know you’re not full-time, every single day in the office, but I would be saying I don’t want you taking your eye off the ball.

“Although he’s the fans’ favourite and they want him there, it’s going to be a tricky one.

“I think the likes of Poch would want time, a good pre-season. Whoever goes in there, they will want a whole pre-season.

“It’s hard because of the World Cup. All of these players aren’t going to get back until the end of July if a few of the boys get quite far. They will want a break, they will want two weeks off at least. It’s a tricky job for anyone.

“Poch obviously had a great time there. It didn’t end in the greatest way, but I can understand why the fans want him back.”

Asked if Pochettino will have other options when his contract expires this summer, Zamora added: “He will. It’s a big club, though, a huge club. He has got fond memories there as well.

“It’s a huge club, it really is. The infrastructure of everything is second to none.

“It’s just that final part of the puzzle that they haven’t been able to solve over the last six or seven years. It just hasn’t clicked and found that understanding. I don’t understand what it is that is going to make it happen.”

Meanwhile, former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood says Pochettino being approached to replace Frank is a sure thing.

Sherwood told Sky Sports: “We know who is coming in – it will be Pochettino, 100 per cent. I do not think the club will be brave enough to turn to anyone else.

“There are other options out there but the pressure on another man getting that job and losing two games, and then the crowd saying ‘You had a chance to bring Poch back’. It is impossible for them to look elsewhere.”

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood has revealed that two targets Igor Tudor must achieve to have “any chance” of the permanent Spurs job.

Tottenham revealed earlier this week that former Juventus head coach Tudor will take charge on an interim basis until the end of the season after they sacked Thomas Frank.

Tudor has never spent two years or more at one club with his longest spell coming at Hajduk Split in Croatia, where he lasted from April 2013 to February 2015, winning the Croatian Cup, his only major trophy during his managerial career.

And there is understood to be little chance of Tudor making it past the six-month mark at Tottenham with Spurs looking to appoint his successor in the summer.

Former Spurs head coach Sherwood has outlined what Tudor will have to do if he wants to have an outside chance of being appointed permanently with Mauricio Pochettino set to take over.

Sherwood told Sky Sports News: “I said for him [Tudor] there is very little upside. The upside is managing a wonderful football club in Tottenham Hotspur and I think he’s come out and said he’s proud to get the opportunity as I think every other manager would say.

READ: ‘Lame duck’ Tudor to be ‘next manager out’ as Spurs ‘sleepwalking into catastrophic relegation’

“But he needs to win the Champions League and win every game in the Premier League or 90 per cent of the games in the Premier League to have any chance of taking that job on the long term.

“That job is going to Mauricio Pochettino if he wants it and if they’re in the Premier League, which I believe they will be in.

“The downside is so catastrophic it’s not even worth thinking about. For Tottenham Hotspur to be in the Championship next season, we need to move on. I get shivers thinking about it.”

Sherwood doubts new Tottenham interim boss Tudor will even receive any credit for a good end to the season that sees them move comfortably away from the relegation zone.

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The former Tottenham boss added: “There’s not enough time to do a job, there’s injuries to the squad. What success looks like? That’s the point I was making about him.

“If he finishes well and has a good run and finishes 12th in the Premier League, he’s not going to get any credit for that.

“I believe he should but from the outside and the wider footballing public, nobody is giving him any credit for Tottenham Hotspur finishing 12th. If he was to get them relegated, then they would all know his name.”

Tottenham Hotspur have an absolute gem on their hands in Luka Vuskovic, who is so good he could join Bayern Munich this summer without playing a competitive match for the Premier League side.

Vuskovic has emerged as one of the standout centre-backs in the Bundesliga this season, enjoying a fruitful campaign on loan at Hamburg.

Luka Vuskovic: Spurs’ future world-class defender

The 18-year-old Croatian has been named Bundesliga Rookie of the Month on three occasions and even won the German top flight’s Goal of the Month award for December.

Not only is the teenager already an elite centre-back, but he has an eye for goal as well. He won the Belgian Golden Shoe Goal of the Season award in 2024 and scored seven league goals in 28 appearances on loan at KVC Westerlo last season.

He was an unused substitute in Tottenham‘s opening two Premier League games of the campaign and in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

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Vuskovic has been a regular in the Hamburg defence since September and there are rumours he could move to a top European club before he has even played a minute for the Londoners.

There is genuine interest from Bayern Munich, who are always looking to sign the best players from their domestic rivals, and Tottenham supporters fear they will lose their Croatian gem.

With Vuskovic, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero all linked with moves away from Spurs, they are weighing up their options for the summer transfer window.

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has been linked, but another player on Spurs’ radar is Bayern’s Kim Min-jae, whose departure could pave the way for Vuskovic to join the German champions.

Bayern eye Spurs’ best young star

According to CFBayern Insider, Chelsea and Spurs are both showing ‘interest’ in the South Korean, who impressed against Werder Bremen in Saturday’s comfortable Bundesliga win.

Chelsea could make a move for Min-jae after missing out on new Liverpool signing Jeremy Jacquet, though the 29-year-old is older than their usual transfer targets.

Min-jae is not a regular starter under Vincent Kompany and would be a wise sale for Bayern and a smart signing for Spurs.

Bayern head coach Kompany has previously been very complimentary of Vuskovic, claiming that his Hamburg loan is “ideal” for his development…potentially ahead of his arrival at the Allianz Arena.

Spurs talent Vuskovic earns praise from Kompany, Tah, Olic

Kompany said: “He’s a big talent. The Bundesliga is a very difficult league to develop as a young centre-back. You need to be physically strong.

“Having an important role at HSV is ideal. He needs to listen well to his good coach there. He doesn’t need to do much more.”

Bayern defender Jonathan Tah – who could partner the teenager from next season – has also praised Vuskovic.

“I think he is really good for his age. We have had contact from time to time,” Tah told Sky Sports Germany.

“He should keep going this way – keep working on himself, keep pushing. I like the energy he brings to the pitch – his confidence. That is something I pay close attention to.”

Vuskovic is clearly very highly rated and Croatia Under-21 manager Ivica Olic has backed him to play for the senior team at this summer’s World Cup.

“If Luka continues to perform so well for HSV and his country and stays healthy, I’m convinced he will be at the World Cup,” Olic said.

“He was carefully developed, loaned to Poland and Belgium. And the loan from Tottenham to my former club also makes a lot of sense. A lot of things were done right. That’s how you develop talent. But it’s important that he continues to play well.

“Luka is a down-to-earth boy who is very mature for his age, both on and off the pitch. He lives and loves football. You can feel that in every training session, in every game. He always gives 100%.”

His Hamburg team-mates know how special Vuskovic is as well.

Hamburg’s Miro Muheim said: “He’s a monster, for sure. I don’t think he lost a single header. He’s doing a great job. The boy is a superb footballer and is helping us tremendously.”

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes said: “When you see Luka, how he always goes for headers as a flexible player, that was something you need in games like this. This aerial dominance he has, this presence. It’s simply something that’s good for us.”

When thinking of sites most likely to deploy ragebait headline tactics, your thoughts wouldn’t necessarily turn immediately to The Times, but sometimes it really should.

Take, for instance, this one.

‘Thomas Frank should be the most in-demand manager in football’

Now that is a spicy take, and a quick glance at the replies and quotes on Twitter tells you that it’s done precisely the job intended there. There’s no such thing as bad engagement, even if it’s 400 Tottenham fans saying “What the juddering f**k?”

But, of course, the vast majority of those responses will be from people who haven’t read the article itself. Hidden safely behind its paywall, maybe the content itself is less certifiably, batsh*t insane than the headline suggests.

Mediawatch is never afraid of dirty work and we’ve diligently read the whole of Alyson Rudd’s unhinged hagiography of Frank’s disastrous Tottenham reign and are here to tell you this: the headline has, if anything, downplayed the madness.

This is not a headline writer’s stitch-up. Rudd goes for the jugular right from the intro.

The most desirably hireable coach in the world right now? It has to be Thomas Frank.

It has to be, does it? Has to? Not Xabi Alonso. Not Xavi, or Roberto De Zerbi, or Enzo Maresca, or even Zinedine Zidane. Definitely not Ruben Amorim or Ange Postecoglou.

For what it’s worth, Frank just about sneaks into our top 10 of the best available managers. And that’s probably fair, isn’t it?

He’s not going to have jumped to the top of any big club’s wishlist now Spurs have inexplicably sacked a man who won two of his last 17 Premier League games.

Anyway. Back to Rudd.

‘Think back to when he was appointed by Tottenham Hotspur.’

Okay.

‘The only criticism of his move from Brentford was that the Dane had no big-club experience, that life had been sweet and organised and contained in west London and that the media spotlight of being in charge of Spurs would be a shock to his system and one that he might struggle with.’

Not for the first time, Project Fear was proved very correct so we’re not entirely sure what Rudd’s point is here.

‘Well, now he knows all about the things that were alien to him. He understands that fanbases can be entitled and cruel and impatient.’

Am I so out of touch? No, it’s the Spurs fans who are wrong.

We then have a whole section focused on Spurs’ undeniably impressive if utterly incongruous fourth-placed finish in the Champions League league phase.

But when your whole column is built around explaining away all the reasons Spurs have sunk so low in the Premier League, it’s a little bit naughty to avoid all the contributing factors involved in that Champions League position.

In some part because of Spurs’ involvement as a sixth English club, this season’s has been a particularly lopsided Champions League. Half of the top 12 finishers were from the Premier League; all of them handed a double advantage of being among the strongest teams in the competition anyway while also knowing they could not be drawn to play against each other in the league phase.

And Spurs had more luck of the draw than most. They played nobody who finished higher than 11th, and that was PSG who whacked them 5-3. They faced no other side that finished in the top 16, but did meet four of the eventual bottom six – three of them at home.

Frank’s Spurs were much better and much freer in the Champions League than the Premier League for sure, and a journalist interested in anything other than running cover for a manager they simply like quite a lot might be able to do something with the whys and wherefores of that fact. But a very large part of any answer really would be ‘they played quite a lot of the worst teams in competition’.

And there’s a paradox here anyway; if you are giving Frank oodles of credit for impressive Champions League results, then it only makes the abject failure to translate those performances and results to domestic combat less acceptable rather than more understandable.

‘There was the Uefa Super Cup final against the mighty PSG, which Tottenham lost only on penalties and in which Spurs played some entertaining football, but no one mentions that either.’

Why oh why aren’t people taking time out in the middle of a worsening relegation fight to talk about the time Frank’s Spurs played quite well in a glorified friendly six months ago?

‘Unless trying to claim all Frank’s European exploits were somehow accidental.’

Not accidental. But not all that they seem, either.

Now at last we get to the real reason why Rudd thinks Spurs fans unhappy at being in a relegation fight are simply being cruel and entitled.

‘This is not a man who entered the sport for the dosh and as a consequence is the most down-to-earth Premier League manager I have ever interviewed. Once, during Covid, he chatted on Zoom from his home in southwest London with the place in some turmoil because of a modest loft extension.’

It is extraordinary just how often the entire actual reason journalists will defend a failing manager to the death is ‘they were quite polite to me once’.

We now reach the non-sequitur section of a piece that must continue for several hundred more words, none of which can be ‘two wins’ or ’17 games’ or ’16th place’. They can be ’17th place’, though. Funny that.

This might be the most irrelevant argument in favour of an obvious failure that we’ve ever seen.

‘After all, the Dane put a piano in the players’ lounge at Brentford’s training ground because Bryan Mbeumo liked to practice on it. That hardly supports the notion of Frank as a distant and overly demanding figure.’

Spurs fans must be feeling pretty silly about wanting Frank out now.

‘Frank inherited a team that had finished 17th and needed fixing. He therefore worked diligently to that end but the fans were not much interested in hard work that looked like hard work. They wanted magic dust, they wanted Frank to be a saviour while doing all the furious paddling under the water, unseen, while making jokes and neglecting the importance of set pieces.’

Nobody is saying Frank didn’t work hard to fix the team that finished 17th yet also (given we know Rudd likes pointing out things that nobody mentions) 13 points above the relegation zone last season.

But he left them in 16th place, five points above the relegation zone, and sinking fast. Spurs fans didn’t want ‘magic dust’ – they cruelly wanted to not be in a relegation fight.

The entitled so-and-sos also wanted to maybe occasionally get a home win in exchange for Europe’s highest ticket prices. And, impatiently, perhaps just sometimes to watch some football that didn’t make their eyes bleed, or that treated games against Chelsea and Arsenal as lost before they’d begun.

We’re sure Frank also worked very hard at Brentford, but missing from this hard-hitting analysis of why Spurs fans are to blame is the fact that losing him (and 40 goals from last season, and their captain) hasn’t stopped the Bees improving this season post-Frank under a rookie manager.

On which note, we really might only be a year from everyone memory-holing the last eight months sufficiently for some thinkpieces to emerge about how Keith Andrews deserves his chance at a big club.

‘There was a keenness to pigeonhole Frank as a coach who demands physicality and pressing and yet he was famous in his home country for tiki-taka possession. We see the versions we expect to see rather than what is on show. When circumstances allowed, Spurs could be fun to watch, it was just that the circumstances were not favourable all that often.’

Yes, someone is definitely guilty here of seeing ‘the versions we expect to see rather than what is on show”. HINT: It is not those cruel Tottenham fans.

But what of that manager who left Spurs 17th and so in need of fixing (while also qualifying for the Champions League where lovely, piano-installing Frank did so well…)? There’s a little dig at Postecoglou up there, isn’t there? About the jokes and set-pieces.

Here’s what Rudd thought of Ange when it was his turn to discover that Spurs fans are simply cruel and entitled and impatient and just generally beastly.

‘Ange Postecoglou is cult leader who is turning Spurs into a parody account’

Oh.

‘Ange acolytes will say that a run of one win in eight tells you nothing about his limitations and everything about underinvestment by Daniel Levy, the chairman.

‘Every club, however, has a budget whether that be grand or modest, as well as injury issues, and the job of those tasked with hiring the head coach or manager is to find the person who can squeeze the most from the available resources in a manner that does not alienate the supporters.’

Frank acolytes will say that a run of two wins in 17 tells you nothing about his etc. and so forth.

But the point here is clear and fair. Everyone has injury issues, and you can’t afford to alienate the supporters.

Unless, of course, you’re a lovely, kind man with a modest loft extension.

‘Well, now he knows all about the things that were alien to him. He understands that fanbases can be entitled and cruel and impatient. That not all clubs are run as a streamlined and sustainable model like Brentford. That having 11 senior players injured does not give you license to play defensively in the hope of securing a few precious points.’

It was never really about those horrible Spurs fans, was it?

If only Postecoglou had the foresight to once be polite to Rudd during a modest loft extension, he too might be in the conversation for the title of most desirably hireable coach in the world right now.

Tottenham Hotspur could replace Real Madrid-bound defender Micky van de Ven with former Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger, according to reports.

Van de Ven has been heavily linked with the Spanish giants and could make the move this summer.

Tottenham fear losing Micky van de Ven to Real Madrid

If Tottenham were to lose the Dutchman, they would need to make a noteworthy signing themselves, and two-time UEFA Champions League winner Rudiger would be just that, though he would be a short-term addition.

According to CaughtOffside, there is strong Premier League interest in Rudiger as he has entered the final six months of his Real Madrid contract.

A return to London is a real possibility for the Germany defender amid interest from Spurs, West Ham United and Crystal Palace, with all three clubs ‘discussing’ a potential deal.

Chelsea are not in the race to sign Rudiger as things stand, though a ‘return to the Premier League is gathering momentum ahead of the summer transfer window’.

There is interest from around Europe and, at only 32 years old, Rudiger would be a very useful signing for several top clubs, especially considering he will be available on a free transfer.

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Rudiger to replace Van de Ven at Spurs?

Spurs could certainly do a lot worse and will need to bring in a big name if Madrid-linked centre-back Van de Ven leaves.

There is a growing expectation that the Dutchman will leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the end of the season and Madrid looks like his most likely destination, making a Rudiger move all the more likely.

It obviously would not be a swap deal involving the two players, but Rudiger would be a useful direct replacement for Van de Ven, who would cost Los Blancos at least £70million.

The 24-year-old joined Spurs from VfL Wolfsburg for around £35million in 2023 and made 27 Premier League appearances in his first year at the club before being restricted to only 13 appearances the following campaign.

He was fit and available to help Spurs win last season’s Europa League under Ange Postecoglou, playing eight times in that competition and producing a world-class goal-line clearance in the final win over Manchester United.

Van de Ven has been fit for the majority of the 2025/26 campaign but has been unable to push his side up the Premier League table.

Spurs are currently on a run of two league wins from their previous 17 games and sit 16th in the table, five points above the relegation zone.

This abysmal run of form cost Thomas Frank his job as head coach, and the club have now appointed ex-Juventus boss Igor Tudor as interim head coach until the end of the season.

Tudor’s remit is to steer Spurs to a respectable league position and progress in the Champions League after Frank led the club to a fourth-place finish in an impressive league phase campaign.

Thomas Frank has been replaced by Serie A firefighter Igor Tudor as Tottenham bid to stave off an unthinkable but distinctly possible relegation from the Premier League.

Tudor’s record is marked by two things: making an instant impact on teams from Hellas Verona to Juventus, and then that fast start disintegrating almost entirely in record time if mistakenly given the chance to lead the team into the next season.

His Spurs remit is very, very obvious and even success won’t necessarily lead Michael Carrick-style to a permanent clamour for an extremely interim appointment. We’re therefore left with two questions. What division will Tottenham be in next season, and who will be their manager? We don’t know the answer to either of those questions, but the latest odds from Oddschecker have these lads as the poor sods in line for some Tottenham punishment.

There’s always talk about Simeone leaving Atletico Madrid even though the idea appears absurd. Fifteen years he’s been there now. Easy to see why Spurs might be interested in a manager who has such a distinguished record of competing with bigger, better-resourced rivals. Less clear why Simeone would consider it.

Not hard to imagine a world in which Newcastle go in a different direction after an awkward season.

Reportedly has set his sights higher than Tottenham. Listen, fair play.

Definitely leaving Crystal Palace at the end of the season and very possibly leaving Crystal Palace before that. The reasons Spurs would be interested are obvious, but so are the reasons for caution. Is another underdog manager really what they want or need?

There is a certain appeal in the idea of Glasner flouncing out of Palace in a huff at the board’s failure to back the football side of operations sufficiently, only to then rock up immediately at Tottenham.

Has been linked with Spurs and other Premier League teams since leaving Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2023/24 season. That remains Terzic’s only senior management role, and it probably should have delivered him a Champions League winner’s medal.

Would be no surprise to see him in England at some point, and Spurs seem as likely as anyone if the looming catastrophe of this season is averted.

The former RB Leipzig manager jumped from nowhere to favourite early on Friday morning before it became clear that Igor Tudor was in fact the leftfield interim option Spurs had landed upon. But he remains right up there in permanent contention.

Has shown a bit of gumption by managing in Israel and then Hungary with plenty success and obviously has all the club DNA you could possibly want after two spells at the most boyhood of all his boyhood clubs. But does he have the gumption to take on Tottenham?

You can understand the logic. If he were to keep Spurs up comfortably and steer them into mid-table with a solid set of results there will be chat that he has earned the right at a permanent crack at the job.

But it does seem like everyone involved here is very clear about what this appointment is and how long it will last. Tudor’s entire managerial career has involved speed-running the path from new-manager bounce to acrimonious exit. Spurs’ plan is clearly to solve that by only doing the first bit before everyone shakes hands and moves on.

Has always felt inevitable that Brighton wouldn’t remain his only Premier League sojourn. And now he has left Marseille, he is one of the best available managers.

De Zerbi was the obvious and instant favourite when Frank was dismissed, the combination of being both available now and someone Spurs would obviously look at in the summer being a tantalising one.

A stressful end to his time at Marseille has led De Zerbi to take a break to consider his options, and that seems entirely wise. a still-Premier League Spurs would definitely be one of those options, and he still has availability advantages over Pochettino, who would not be able to take charge until relatively late in the summer.

It’s always been clear that unfinished business exists for both club and manager here, with Pochettino’s fantastic but trophyless Spurs reign leaving all manner of ‘What ifs?’ that really could be answered one way or another next season.

The potential summer availability of Pochettino and his obvious keenness to have a second crack at the job will surely have been a factor in Spurs’ decision to make Frank’s inevitable and necessary replacement the most clear-cut short-term appointment imaginable.

All logic has gone out of the window during the batsh*t 2025/26 Premier League campaign, and it’s been a bloody joy to behold.

Yes, the overall quality of the league has decreased, but there has been no shortage of entertainment and great moments, with the division far more competitive than it was a year ago.

Also, unlike previous years, pretty much everything is still to play for during the run-in: Wolves and Burnley are doomed but West Ham have reignited the relegation battle, Manchester City are closer to the top than league leaders Arsenal would like and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will qualify for the three European competitions.

So, we thought we would pick out ten plausible shocks that could happen in the remaining 12 games of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign…

Arsenal don’t win the Premier League

At this stage, there is no denying that Mikel Arteta’s team are the best in the Premier League and arguably Europe, so they should (and probably will) end their prolonged wait for silverware by winning at least a couple of trophies this season.

Arsenal’s list of 2025/26 accolades will most likely include the Premier League title, but it will not be nearly as comfortable for the perennial runners-up as it looked to be a few months ago.

There has been a swing in momentum in the past few days, with Man City’s statement win at Anfield against Liverpool and Arsenal’s meek draw at Brentford illustrating their differing moods.

It’s now only four points between Arsenal and Man City in the table, with this margin certainly enough to give Pep Guardiola’s men plenty of encouragement that history could repeat itself during this run-in.

READ: Big Weekend: Aston Villa v Newcastle, Arsenal, Arne Slot, Crysencio Summerville

Manchester City win the Premier League

Arsenal, as the most consistent side in the Premier League, are top of the table for a reason, but it has been refreshing that this title race looks to be imperfect; it won’t be the end of the road for them or Man City if there is a single cock-up in the next few weeks.

There should be real questions asked of Arteta if they fall short again, as there are no remaining excuses; their £250m summer spend ensures they have top-quality options in every position and are equipped to cope with their ongoing injury issues.

Arsenal’s nerves may get the better of them during the run-in, but Man City will inevitably slip up too and this current Guardiola side would arguably be the weakest to win a title if they get over the line.

At either end of the pitch, Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma are great equalisers for Man City as world-class players, while the January additions of Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo have given them a shot in the arm. Still, this team is far from impenetrable and it would be a massive scalp if they overcome their frailties to snatch the title in potentially Guardiola’s final season.

Manchester United finish third

The interim appointment of Michael Carrick has gone better than anyone associated with Man Utd could have hoped for, with INEOS facing being put in an impossible position in the summer if he guides them, as he now should, to Champions League qualification.

Unlike his predecessors, Carrick, who has won the January manager of the month award, did not inherit a mess; Ruben Amorim and others have made his job rather simple.

Man Utd have benefited from Carrick implementing several no-brainer changes, but he does deserve credit for making his team gel so quickly in a significant boost to their hopes of Champions League football.

With Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and co. sparkling and no cup competitions to contend with, a third-place finish is looking increasingly feasible after this was unthinkable under Amorim.

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Aston Villa miss out on the Champions League

And Man Utd could contribute to Aston Villa missing out on Champions League qualification completely, as they did last season.

Following the brainless early-season sack talk, Unai Emery did a remarkable job in the middle portion of this campaign as Villa threatened a challenge for the Premier League title.

This also meant that a place in the Champions League looked certain, but their recent dip has given hope to sides below them that another spot in the competition could be up for grabs.

With how Liverpool are performing, Villa should be fine for at least fifth with their current eight-point advantage over the Premier League holders, but this is no longer a guarantee as injuries have severely hit them in midfield.

Sunderland qualify for Europe

Refer to this European qualification explainer for all you need to know about how this process works for Premier League clubs, but it’s fair to say that Sunderland are in with a shout of earning a spot either for a seventh-placed finish or FA Cup win.

The Black Cats may well fall short and settle for a mid-table spot, but it goes to show how well they have performed that their supporters are even able to dream of a season in Europe at this stage of the season.

The pre-season favourites for relegation have been a revelation under head coach Regis Le Bris, thanks to his wise approach and superb transfer business, which has set up a rather exciting end to the campaign.

Brentford qualify for Europe

Sunderland and others could be edged out for a spot in the Europa Conference League by Brentford, who are the current frontrunners to finish seventh with a three-point cushion on their closest rivals.

Brentford, another pre-season relegation favourite, were tipped by pretty much everyone to really struggle without Thomas Frank and several departed stars, but the ‘best run club in the country’ have thrived in their absence.

Keith Andrews has proven to be more than a set-piece coach by taking Brentford to another level with a squad inferior to the one managed by Frank last season.

Brighton sack Fabian Hurzeler

The Seagulls have also been billed as one of the best-run clubs in the Premier League, but their model has been somewhat exposed by their decline this season.

Despite backing Hurzeler more than any other manager with a £300m spend, Brighton have gone backwards and are currently looking over their shoulders after sleepwalking into the relegation conversation.

Rightly, there are now murmurs about Hurzeler being under pressure and he is the new favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked. Back-to-back losses against Liverpool and Brentford could seal his fate after they flirted with a Champions League challenge around November.

West Ham United avoid relegation

West Ham had looked dead and buried for much of this season, but they are now resembling a proper team under Nuno Espirito Santo, who will be rather smug if/when his side survive and Nottingham Forest get relegated.

Nuno had looked like a broken man as he appeared on the brink of the sack around the New Year, but West Ham have been rewarded for backing the renowned firefighter as their January transfer business has contributed to their massive improvement.

The Hammers have three wins in five, and they would have taken maximum points without their late slip-ups against Chelsea and Man Utd. They have a points deficit to overcome, but they are arguably the most accomplished side between them, Forest and Spurs and could pull off the great escape.

Nottingham Forest sack Vitor Pereira

Pereira is Forest’s fourth permanent manager of the 2025/26 campaign, with the 57-year-old handed a deal until the end of the season to repeat his previous rescue job at Wolves.

Having four permanent bosses in a single season is already a Premier League record, but it is certainly not outside of the realms of possibility that controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis hits the panic button once more if there is no bounce from this appointment.

In reality, it is Marinakis who needs to be sent miles away from the City Ground.

Tottenham Hotspur get relegated

With only five points separating Spurs from the bottom three with 12 games remaining, the north London side are definitely in a relegation fight.

Spurs have rolled the dice with Igor Tudor in an attempt to get them out of trouble, but his recent work at Juventus suggests this appointment could go desperately wrong.

In the end, Spurs will surely have enough quality in their squad to edge out Forest to survive, but the March 22 fixture between these sides could end up having a monumental impact on their seasons.

Igor Tudor has been tipped to be the next Premier League manager sacked as Spurs would have been better off with Harry Redknapp over a ‘lame duck’…

Also, the Jose Mourinho of ‘this generation’ is why neutrals want Manchester City to pip Arsenal to the Premier League title.

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com…

Tudor is to do

At worst; a managerial change, a written-off season and the cycle starts again for the 427th time of the ENIC era. At best; all of the above but they also fluke their way to the Champions League final in the process, because that would absolutely defy any semblance of logic and that’s pretty much the hallmark of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

February came and, fair enough, it wasn’t getting any better. Fair enough, Thomas Frank was clearly out of his depth. The decision to give the unfortunate, Arsenal-worshipping Dane the old tin tack was the right decision in the end, even if it was too late to make any positive impact on 2025/6.

I’ve been happy to wait and see what the end of the season brings. On past trends, I’d expect to see an undignified and protracted, scattergun chase for managers who are either plainly out of Spurs’ league or too smart to drink from the poisoned chalice at this particularly batshit crazy point in their recent history (Alonso, Poch, Maresca, Xavi) before settling for someone available but entirely unsuited, like Amorin or Glasner, some time in late August. The full Alanis-baiting irony of that last suggestion would come when Crystal Palace appoint Thomas Frank to lead them to finish eight points and three places above Spurs in the 26/27 league standings, while Spurs bin off Glasner before the clocks even go back!

But that’s a problem for another day and so I’ve spent the last couple of days bantering with mates about who Spurs could bring in as an interim appointment until the end of the season. Would it be a “Club-DNA” hire (Robbie Keane, Jurgen Klinsmann or maybe even Redders – presumably with Nico Krancjar in tow) or someone who has made their name in the substitute teacher / relegation firefighter mould (Solskjaer, Big Sam, Sean Dyche) or perhaps someone who ticks both of those boxes (Tactics Tim or Ryan Mason)? I even Googled whether David Pleat was still knocking about (and I’m pleased to report he turned 81 last month, for anyone interested, though I think I’d have to accept his top flight coaching days might be behind him at this point).

And then Igor Tudor happened.

READ: Ten 2025/26 PL shocks that could still happen, include Arsenal failing to win title, Spurs relegation

A shiny penny awarded to anyone who can explain to me the logic in that move. Here comes the lengthy and cathartic missive.

Yadda yadda “reputation as a firefighter”. Whatever. How many of those reputation-forming managerial spells were proper relegation scraps? Most of his “successes” across his multitude of jobs in the last decade or so, involving getting a marginally underachieving club from mid-table to a slightly-more-respectable finish, or from fourth to fifth with very short-term boosts that provide no context for the form of the clubs above them. I’m clinging on to the couple of spells at Udinese for any hope that he has some sort of particular set of skills to Liam Neeson his way through the Spurs shitstorm that awaits him.

And do you know where those “rescue jobs” took place? That’s right: not England. Not to get too parochial about “our league”, but it’s stating the mind-blowingly obvious to anyone reading this website that football is culturally, tactically and stylistically very different in different countries. Tudor’s successes, such as they are, have either come in his native Croatia or Italy, where he spent the majority of his playing career. Early spells in Greece, Turkey and then latterly France ranged from disappointing to just-about-par-for-the-course. He has 12 games (if he lasts all of them) and absolutely no room for learning on the job. I f*****g hope he’s a quick study or the North London Derby is going to be a bloodbath.

I’m not saying that Spurs should be entitled to expect someone ‘better’ (and I’m old enough to remember Igor Tudor as a magnificent centre half for the Old Lady of Turin so I promise it’s nothing personal), I just can’t for the life of me fathom what he brings to a Premier League relegation battle in mid-February. I’d genuinely take any of the names I’ve mentioned above (including Redders, who I abused mercilessly on these pages throughout his tenure) at this point to mark a culture and mood shift big enough to avoid the unthinkable. Perversely, I think I’d be marginally happier if Tudor been announced either as the permanent manager or if he had been the big summer appointment after Spurs had secured safety. In that case, I’d have been happy to see him given the time that was needed to establish himself and his style. But that’s time that he simply doesn’t have now. Instead, they have a lame duck manager, who seems to have as much of a reputation for tetchiness with players, press and club hierarchy as he does for relegation-battles. Exactly what the club doesn’t need.

The club – the players in particular – need a boost; a change of vibe and a change of mood. The relationship with the fans is toxic. The club captain is at war with the boardroom. Strong characters and locker-room leaders have been sold and not replaced. And as a result, everyone seems to be playing with the handbrake on for fear of making a mistake and getting both barrels from the stands – a mindset that Frank really did nothing to help by small-timing his 8 months in charge. Thinking that Igor Tudor – he of zero premier league experience – is the man to fix this, isn’t the “roll of the dice” that Will Ford describes – this is throwing a dart at a dart board, blindfolded, while riding a horse and hoping you hit bullseye. Twice.

I want to be wrong, but the most worrying thing is that it’s such a bonkers appointment (and I can’t even bring myself to mention the Paratici nonsense), that it screams that the decision-makers don’t actually recognise how serious the threat of relegation really is. Not to go full Thomas Frank, but this is a side that finished 17th last season and has shown no signs in the league that it is equipped to do any better this year. Such a reckless managerial hire is professional negligence (were they blinded by the glow of the word “Juventus” on his CV?) and the decision suggests to me that the powers-that-be don’t recognise the seriousness of the issue. Either that or they genuinely believe West Ham will revert to being dogsh*t (currently fifth in the PL form table, aided by the recent visit of a certain Doctor) or Forest will be distracted by going deep enough into the Europa League that Spurs will once again be saved from relegation indignity by the inadequacies of three other Premier League teams. It’s shameful for a club with their resources.

This appointment has serious Jacques Santini vibes. In fact, I’ve not been this concerned with a managerial hire at WHL since Christian Gross and his London Underground ticket rocked up at a press conference. It’s all contactless on the tube now, so Tudor can’t even play that hand! I want to be wrong, but I think Spurs are sleepwalking into a relegation that could be catastrophic for the club. I reckon they need three wins to stay up. I look at the fixture list and I think they’re lucky if they can find two. If I were a gambling man, I’d back Tudor in the “next manager out” stakes because I genuinely see John Heitinger overseeing at least the last few games after Tudor’s spell turns to custard.

Please send reasons for optimism.

Special prize, though, for Matt Stead best line of 2026 “Quite fittingly for a club that has lost its entire head, Spurs have appointed a Tudor”. Well played, sir. Well played.

Chris Bridgeman, Kingston upon Thames

What club are you?

​I recently caught “Big Ange” claiming that Spurs were not a big club. Reading between the lines, it was clear that he was saying a “Big Club” needed to sign and keep big players, which means big salaries, and of course, recruit a “Big” Manager to handle all the egos, of which I am assuming he thought of himself as one!

If a club cannot achieve or sustain that sort of revenue, they have to look at a different model. Hire Coaches and players that are both unknown and potential gems. No one is bigger than the Club but all see it as a stepping stone. Assuming these “Middle Clubs” do not have unrealistic expectations, they are consistently successful within their “ceiling” and their fans are relatively content, e.g. Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford, etc.

The challenge for the “Cusp Clubs” is, are they prepared to pay the big bucks for those elite players? Would MUFC, Newcastle, Villa or Spurs be willing to pay nine-figure sums for and Anderson or Baleba? What elite Manager would go to Spurs or MUFC with some assurances of quality players to compete with the likes of Arsenal or City. If not, the fans need to manage their expectations. Fans of MUFC have just gone through this painful process and we would all be astonished if we made Europe, let alone 4th. I am not sure that Spurs fans fully realize that staying up may be one of their greatest achievements.

Adidasmufc (The next Coach/Manager of MUFC will tell you all you need to know about the aspirations of the club)

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The decline of the Premier League

Dear Ed,

I listened to a Mark Goldbridge podcast match review today, who I usually find really rather good and fair as a general rule. He was decrying the decreasing quality of the PL referencing stylistic changes, and time taken up by set pieces etc. It’s easy to say the league is poorer in quality than recent previous years, but I took a couple of his points and did some digging with OPTA looking back over roughly the last decade.

Goals per game are down significantly on two seasons ago and below the average of each of the last 8 seasons.

More 0-0’s at this stage of the season than in all of last season.

Fewer shots are being taken and unexpectedly lowest average number of shots on target on record.

Fewer passes per match this year, but increase in long balls per match.

Opportunities created from high-turnover pressing at a ten year low.

Set-piece dependency at 10 year high with 26% of the goals in the league this year coming from set-pieces rather than open play – up from 18% last year – a 44% increse!

Time the ball is in play at a ten year low at just under 55% of a 100min macth.

Eight managerial sackings (so far) point at systemic underperformance as much as lack of patience – the record is a frankly bonkers 14 from a few years ago, and figures of 10 are not unheard of, but 8 is more in total than the two previous seasons combined.

Finally, in terms of the top four and the rest – the top four have dropped further in terms of points won, than the teams in the middle have improved. There is an asymmetric decline. The table compression comes more from decline at the top than improvement from the chasers, the so called ‘strength of the league’. If you want to put it in terms of a 100 metre race, those in the middle of the pack have gotten only slightly faster, but those who take the medals have gotten noticeably slower. If the league had gotten stronger, the compression would be at the top, not the middle.

JB (I just want to see more goals from open play and better free flowing football)

Eze does it

Pep may have coached some of the flair out of Grealish, but he was still visible and effective in matches during a treble winning season. Legohead must be a magician, because he’s made Eze totally ineffective AND completely invisible.

RHT/TS x (Igor Tudor is going to shithouse a one nil win in the North London derby, thereby saving Spurs’ season, and providing genuine hilarity for everyone when City pip the Goons. Again)

‘Why do non-City fans want City to win?’

Yo Jimmy. What a pathetic message about ‘why do non city fans want City to win. They have a highly successful yet extremely unlikeable manager’. Extremely unlikeable? By who? You? Have you seen the absolute bellend sitting on your bench? Mikel is this generations Mourinho. A complete and utter sap who when his team gets knocked out fair and square in the champions league he tries telling the whole world they deserved to win the whole thing. Complains about every. single. decision that goes against them. There’s so many annoying and stupid stuff he’s said that he made ETH look amateurish. Then add on the fact you have little pricks like Gabriel, Timber, Havertz, Jesus, Martinelli who tries pushing an opponent off the pitch who is lying down with a season ending injury (maybe cos he thinks everyone is like him and always pretends he was fouled). nobody likes your lot because they’re arrogant, entitled and a bunch of knobs but it stems mostly from the manager and the fans. Arsenal used to be fun under Wenger. Now, I can’t fucking stand them. I’ll be rooting for your lot to bottle it.

To quote good ol’ Kevin ‘I’d love it, love it’ if they beat you

Alex (another Irishman in New York )

READ: 5 Man Utd signings that would be perfect for Michael Carrick if he gets the full-time job

JimmyB (Irish Gooner) writes ‘But what I cannot understand is why so many non City football fans would like City to win it’ (14/02/26). Let me offer an answer. It’s most likely to be Liverpool fans – alongside Spurs’ of course – who want to see Arsenal pipped by City (though certainly not United’s, but then again it’s Arsenal). Why? Because it means that Liverpool’s own recent achievements are not eclipsed and they remain, in their own happy minds, the people’s champions, true sporting victors, authentic footballing people. Past and future City premier league crowns will be forever buried under 115 asterisks, rendered almost meaningless. To watch them devour Arsenal’s lead is not to watch them succeed – the asterisks and all that – but to watch Arsenal fail.

Bock

Liverpool’s COVID title win

I’m a Liverpool fan and have been for 60 years.

I’ve seen Liverpool win many titles (Yes these did exist prior to the premier league)

It really annoys me when fans of other clubs give backhanded remarks about our first premier league win.

I’m looking at you Paul K, London: “Liverpool only broke their Premier League duck when stadiums were empty”.

When the lockdown happened Liverpool were TWENTY FIVE points ahead of Man City and only needed one win to secure the title.

Covid, lockdowns etc had absolutely no impact on our title win.

The only downside (football wise) was that the fans couldn’t celebrate when the league restarted.

Please stop trying to re-write history.

Neil LFC, USA

Alan Shearer’s VAR take

So, in the Villa Newcastle FA Cup match with no VAR, obvious decisions were called very badly incorrectly by the referees that WOULD’VE BEEN CORRECTED BY VAR, so the always insightful Alan Shearer concludes that it is VAR’s fault for making referees scared of making decisions!!

Amazing stuff.

Igor Tudor has been told “he can only fail” after taking interim charge of Tottenham as they look to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Thomas Frank was sacked on Wednesday morning having only taken charge of the club in the summer after a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle left Spurs just five points above the relegation zone.

He’s been replaced by Tudor, who has a reputation as a “fixer” for revitalising clubs in crisis after he helped Hellas Verona, Lazio and Udinese out of sticky situations, but his lack of Premier League experience and his most recent job at Juventus ending with an eight-game winless run has caused alarm among some Tottenham fans.

And Tim Sherwood, who was manager of Tottenham for 26 games in the 2013/14 season, wonders what the “upside” is for Tudor as he will get “no credit” for keeping Spurs in the Premier League.

“It’s going to be difficult, he has no knowledge of the Premier League. Apart from the money, what is the upside for him?” Sherwood said on Sky Sports.

“If he finishes 12th, he’s getting no credit. The downside is so catastrophic.

“Would you want your fingerprints all over Tottenham getting relegated from the Premier League?

“I go back to it — Thomas Frank would still be there if it wasn’t for the toxic nature of the fans. And I can totally understand the disgruntlement of the fans, because they’re not getting the results.”

Sherwood added: “I heard people say they’re sleepwalking into the Championship. I think they’ll have enough, even with the injuries, to get out of it — but he will get no credit for that.

‘The downside is so great… he can only fail. He’s getting no credit for keeping Tottenham in the league.”

Italian football commentator Patrick Kendrick has revealed what Tottenham fans can expect from the former Croatia international.

Kendrick told Sky Sports: “If you look back over Tudor’s recent career, he’s been quite happy stepping into these short-term roles. I think he sees himself as a bit of a firefighter.

“His typical formation is a 3-4-2-1. He doesn’t tend to play with too much width to begin with. It’s a very similar formation to what Ivan Juric used to have, the former Southampton manager.

“It was very successful with Verona, which was probably where he’s been the biggest success. He had a free-scoring team with two number 10s playing behind a lone striker, but the back three is pretty in vogue in Italy, and it’s looked at as a way of making sure you’re solid first and foremost.”

Tudor, who won a number of trophies with Juventus as a player, has only won the Croatian Cup with Hajduk Split as a manager and Kendrick expects the former centre-back will attempt to increase morale as his first objective.

Kendrick added: “His English is very good, it’s vastly superior to Antonio Conte, so I don’t think there’s going to be any issue with that.

“He’s got a lot of belief in his ability. He’s a very forthright character. He tends to speak his mind.

“Rather than looking at any sort of tactical revolution, I think he’s first and foremost going to be focusing on trying to get the players’ morale up.”

Top Tottenham manager target Mauricio Pochettino has ‘agreed’ to take over as Real Madrid head coach after the World Cup, according to reports.

Spurs confirmed on Friday the widespread reports which indicated that former Juventus boss Igor Tudor has taken over as interim head coach after Thomas Frank’s sacking at Tottenham on Wednesday.

Their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle on Tuesday evening was the final straw for the Tottenham hierarchy as they decided to change manager with a permanent appointment waiting until the summer.

The two names under consideration are reportedly USMNT boss Pochettino and former Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who has just been sacked by French top-tier side Marseille.

Pochettino became a firm fan favourite in his five years at Tottenham with Spurs finishing as Premier League runners-up in 2016–17, while they also got to the final of the League Cup and Champions League during his tenure.

However, their hopes of luring the Argentinian seem to have taken a major blow as Spanish website Defensa Central claims that Pochettino has ‘agreed’ to replace Alvaro Arbeloa at Real Madrid if they promise to make three signings.

READ: How Tudor appointment at Tottenham could work but Spurs stars warned ‘Messi would not play’

The former Tottenham head coach is ‘willing to coach Real Madrid if certain conditions are met’ with ‘two centre-backs and a midfielder are on Pochettino’s ideal shopping list with the future of the club in mind’.

And those demands are likely to be granted as ‘this is actually similar to the club’s plan for the summer transfer window, because although they are satisfied with the current squad, they believe there are some areas for improvement.’

Despite this, the report insists that Pochettino is ‘the dark horse candidate for the Real Madrid job next year’ and that Los Blancos are ‘simply contacting these candidates and their representatives to gauge their interest’.

Pochettino won’t be taking over Tottenham or any other club until after the World Cup as he aims to take the USA national side to glory on home soil and Spurs interim boss Tudor has revealed his happiness at his temporary role.

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365…

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* Romano reveals ‘main candidate’ to succeed Guardiola at Man City is ‘not advanced’ with Tottenham

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On his arrival, Tudor told the club’s website: “It is an honour to join this Club at an important moment.

“I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match.

“There is strong quality in this playing squad, and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly.”

Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange said: “Igor brings clarity, intensity and experience of stepping into challenging moments and producing impact.

“Our objective is straightforward – to stabilise performances, maximise the quality within the squad and compete strongly in the Premier League and Champions League.”