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Ange Postecoglou has rubbished Antonio Conte’s infamous rant about Spurs, saying if he believed the Italian he would be ‘really stealing a living’.

Conte effectively handed in his resignation after a 3-3 draw with Southampton in March 2023, launching into a passionate tirade at his “selfish” and “scared” players.

The Italian took aim at his squad’s lack of “spirit” and “heart” before saying that “they can change manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me.”

Some compared it to Postecoglou’s reaction to the Brighton defeat before the international break, when the Australian slammed his players for not being “competitive” and throwing away a similarly dominant lead.

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“We didn’t do what you need to do at this level, it’s kind of non-negotiable,” he said. “We didn’t win our duels, we lacked intensity, we didn’t deliver the things you need to at this level, the basics of the game, and paid the price for it.”

Conte left Spurs soon after his public outbursts but Postecoglou has shouldered the responsibility to change that culture, replying when asked whether he agreed with the Italian’s sentiments: “Mate, if I accepted that, what am I doing here?”

“Seriously, if I accept that this is somehow impossible to change I am really stealing a living. I don’t believe that and I never have,” he continued.

“And if I fail to do it, the failure is on me, it’s nothing to do with the club. It’s on me because I know that coming into it that the club hasn’t won anything for x amount of time.

“I know the tag on the club, I know all these things when I accepted the position so it’s no good me saying now, ‘you know what? I can’t do this, it’s impossible no matter who you have’.

“From where I sit here right now I don’t see it as impossible. I think it is achievable and that’s why I’m going to do everything in my power to change it.”

Liverpool and Chelsea have made excellent starts under new managers, but this weekend signals for both the start of a run of tricky games that should tell us plenty about their season-long credentials.

Game to watch: Liverpool v Chelsea

A really intriguing Big Six match-up here, pitting first against fourth and two teams who have started better than many might have expected, with surface similarities – new manager, difficult summer – belying deep-rooted differences.

What this game should at the very least provide is a bellwether for both sides’ longer-term prospects across the season. Liverpool have looked near flawless under Arne Slot and there’s plenty of reason to justify the thinking that this is just because they and he are very good. But there is no denying the quirks of the fixture computer have up to now left some reason for doubt. This, Liverpool’s eighth game of the Premier League season, is their first against anyone else who finished in last season’s top seven.

And it’s not an entirely dissimilar tale for Chelsea; since the most easily explained 2-0 defeat in history to Man City on the opening weekend, they too have until now faced no other litmus test of their deep-lying credentials.

The suspicion – and it can be only that – is that Chelsea’s fourth position is flakier than Liverpool’s top spot. Certainly it’s Liverpool you’d feel more confident will still be in the top four when the music stops.

But for both teams this game represents the start of a run that could be season-defining – or perhaps more accurately season-revealing.

After this trip to Anfield, Chelsea play Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal before the international break, with Villa and Tottenham soon after it. For Liverpool, it’s Arsenal, Brighton and Villa before the break with Man City and Newcastle lurking on the other side.

We can already be reasonably confident that Man City and Arsenal are in the title race. Sunday sees the start of a few weeks that will tell us if either of these two heavyweights have what it takes to stick around with them.

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Team to watch: Tottenham

The last Premier League game before the break was Spurs’ absurd implosion at Brighton, and the first game after the break on Saturday lunchtime sees Ange Postecoglou’s relentlessly unserious side straight back on the horse to face West Ham in a fixture that rarely disappoints football fans with a penchant for nonsense.

An unscientific survey carried out just now in our own head tells us that Spurs against West Ham is the Premier League fixture to have thrown up more late winners and inexplicable collapses than any other. It might not be true, but it feels right, doesn’t it? And isn’t that more important at the end of the day? This is the fixture of Paul Stalteri, of Manuel Lanzini, of Eric Dier on his Tottenham debut, of Harry Kane scoring twice in the last three minutes as well as being just one of the games in which Gareth Bale did a nonsense.

Even when they played a pre-season friendly a couple of summers ago, these two couldn’t help themselves as West Ham ran out 3-2 winners. West Ham won at Spurs last season when Postecoglou’s side were in the grip of the madness that compelled them to go 1-0 up in every single game before losing it.

It is, we would contend, the Barclays’ most 3-2 fixture as well as one of its most reliable sources of antics. And this really does feel like the perfect time for it. That defeat at Brighton was just so monumentally Spurs, bringing to an end one of the less convincing five-match winning runs you can imagine.

Even by their lofty standards, Spurs are serving up a lot of daftness this season – for good and bad – and have now had two weeks to stew on the Amex defeat before taking on a fixture that almost never lets you down.

Spurs could very easily swat aside a West Ham team that has yet to really convince this season under Julen Lopetegui, or they could win it from behind with goals in the 98th and 101st minute or they could lose it 3-0, or 3-2 having been 2-0 up. None of that would remotely surprise us about this team in this fixture.

In fact the only thing that would surprise us about Spurs in this game is being drearily sensible. They could be absolutely anything but they won’t be dull. So yeah – watch them.

Manager to watch: Gary O’Neil

Because what you want when you’ve won one of your last 17 Premier League games is a visit from Manchester City, isn’t it?

O’Neil’s Wolves haven’t, in truth, been as relentlessly awful as the table might suggest. There have been narrow defeats to Brighton, Newcastle and Liverpool that could all have gone differently with a bit more luck and a touch more confidence.

But those are the times when it’s gone right, and they’ve still lost. And when it’s gone wrong they’ve shipped six at home to Chelsea and five at Brentford.

There’s a forlorn look to much of their football, with a gameplan that does at times appear desperately basic and as unimaginative as it is ineffective. It looks, really, like the sort of thing one might have expected from Gary O’Neil when he was first given that hospital pass at Bournemouth.

It could have been explained then. Now, it’s reasonable to expect a bit more despite the way the rug was pulled from under him in the summer with the loss of key players in both attack and defence.

Getting a result against Man City – as Wolves did last year in this fixture when times were very different – is surely asking too much, but O’Neil urgently needs to show something here to suggest he can turn around what is now close to half a season of Derby-record-threatening form or he might even do the unthinkable and beat Erik Ten Hag to Sack Race glory.

Player to watch: Bukayo Saka

Arsenal have still profited from his impeccable set-piece delivery on more than one occasion this season, but there is nevertheless a sense of weariness around Saka and his contributions from open play have largely lacked their usual fizz and sparkle.

He must constantly be knackered because he plays so very much of the football, and in that context perhaps a minor knock that forced him off during another quiet performance for England against Greece in the international break might have been no bad thing.

Easy to see why it will have given Gunners fans conniptions given their players’ injury record on international duty this season, but with all reports suggesting only the most minor of knocks and a return to action this weekend at Bournemouth it means a rare week off for a player who has once again been the one Mikel Arteta simply cannot conceive of going without. He has started every game for Arsenal this season, up to and including the Carabao rout against Bolton.

He will surely therefore go again despite the interlull knock and hope to build on what was only his second Premier League goal of the season in the slightly-wilder-than-anticipated win over Southampton before the break.

Football League game to watch: Hull City v Sunderland

The current Championship leaders make what is by their standards the relatively short away-day trip to Hull looking to build on that chaotic 2-2 draw against Leeds last time out.

We say current leaders but a Sunday afternoon fixture in East Yorkshire means that will very likely not be the case by the time they get back into the post-international break swing, with either Sheffield United or Leeds as well as Burnley and West Brom all having the chance to leapfrog them on Friday and Saturday.

European game to watch: Roma v Inter

Eye-catching enough with Inter sitting second in the table and Roma looking to kickstart a season yet to really get going either domestically or in Europe, but gets the nod here for being the highest-scoring fixture in Serie A history with 530 goals scored in 182 meetings.

We’d be backing a Marcus Thuram-propelled Inter to be the likelier to make significant additions to that tally this weekend; they’ve scored 16 goals already in the league this season, while Thuram himself is only one goal behind Roma’s overall tally of eight.

Those 10 games at the start of last season really are starting to look like one of the cruellest tricks ever played on any Premier League fanbase. Twenty-six points Spurs got from those games. Twenty. Six. Points. Proper, no-doubt-about-it Premier League title form.

And since then, mid-table slop. With the emphasis on slop.

They are a relentlessly sloppy, infuriatingly stupid football team. That Ange Postecoglou has rocked up offering a glimpse of something real and better and an end to the Spursy behaviour and then actually built the single most ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham’ team the Premier League has ever seen is a remarkable act.

The thing is, while they are crap by ‘big six’ standards’, they are not crap by overall Tottenham Premier League standards. They are a lot of fun. They are, when the mood takes them, capable of playing some of the best football in the division. They are also, obviously, never more than one minor setback from playing some of the worst.

This itself becomes self-fulfilling because if teams never feel like they’re out of the game against you then teams never are in fact out of the game against you. Lads, it’s Tottenham.

Spurs know they could collapse at any moment. Every team they play knows they could collapse at any moment. It is always possible – likely, even – that the fondue they’ve set up on the nuclear power plant safety console is about to topple over.

Now there is a fairly substantial subsection of Tottenham fans who can live with this. Who actually wouldn’t mind going back to the pre-Big Six days of being reliably entertaining, of knowing that every season will bring its share of brilliant and memorable highs to go with the mortifying lows, while occasionally finishing fifth but more often winding up eighth or 10th.

It’s fine if that’s what you want; it’s certainly less stressful than having to be in a constant fight for fourth place that makes every single result matter and every single inevitable setback sting that much more.

But the problem you’ve got now is that this is not how Spurs see themselves in big 2024. They have the best stadium in the country. They have more money to spend than almost anyone. It’s rather overlooked that Big Ange has had more cash lavished on his underperforming squad than any of his predecessors.

There is always that disconnect with Spurs. They are a big club in all the ways that don’t really matter and not remotely a big club in the one way that does.

On the field, nothing is going to change under this set-up. There will be more ‘3-0 win at Old Trafford’ days, and plenty more ‘3-2 defeat at Brighton’. And so Spurs will remain forever stuck between how they are and how they see themselves, with almost no straightforward way to square that circle.

A football finance expert claims former Newcastle United chief Amanda Staveley is ‘laying the groundwork’ to make a ‘big investment’ in Tottenham Hotspur.

At the end of 2021, Staveley purchased a 10% stake in Newcastle United, while Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) became their majority stakeholder with an 80% share. The Reuben Brothers bought the other 10%.

Staveley and her husband – Mehrdad Ghodoussi – left the Premier League club in July 2024 as part of a major reshuffle behind the scenes at St James’ Park.

In recent weeks, Staveley has been heavily linked with Tottenham as she reportedly looks to become a shareholder in the Premier League giants.

Earlier this month, a report from Football Insider claimed a ‘decision’ on Tottenham’s takeover is ‘coming soon’ as Staveley is ‘advancing’.

READ: Man Utd narrowly avoid bottom spot in all-important Premier League mood rankings

The report said.

‘It is believed that she and Ghodoussi have been laying the groundwork for a significant stake in another Premier League giant.

‘Sources say discussions have been held about the pair heading a new Middle East consortium that will plough “huge” funds into Tottenham.

‘Forbes state that Spurs are currently valued at around £2.42billion, so if Staveley wishes to purchase a 25 per cent stake in the club it would cost approximately £605m.

‘It is said Staveley has reportedly already raised £500m through her investment fund PCP Capital Partners, as she gets closer to her overall goal.’

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Former Everton chairman Keith Wyness has provided a fresh ‘update’ in an interview with Football Insider.

Wyness points out that Staveley’s recent moves to liquidate her businesses are ‘not a blow to her hopes of investing at Spurs’ as she is “clearing house”.

He explained: “I don’t think this is a negative sign in any move for Tottenham.

“This is more of a housekeeping exercise for Amanda and her past companies. There are some legal issues with a Greek investor who loaned her some money.

“There is also PCP, the vehicle she went through for the Newcastle investment.

“Everything will be tidied up, and this may well be in advance of the Tottenham deal getting done. It’s making sure everything is in order.

“She’s cleaning house and getting everything set so any vehicle she uses to invest in Tottenham is totally clean and free of any problems.”

In a recent interview, Staveley admitted her “preference” was staying at Newcastle but she refused to rule out the prospect of her investing in another Premier League club.

“My preference would have been to stay with Newcastle, but life doesn’t always work out exactly how you want it to. Nothing is going to replicate that. I fell in love with Newcastle, the club and the people and that can’t change, but I didn’t want to get in Newcastle’s way. It’s got to be about what’s best for Newcastle,” she said.

“Mehrdad and I are keen to be hands-on. We’re hard-working people, I love to be very busy and to engage and I love football. Very sadly, we have to move on to other projects and that might involve us taking a stake in another club or buying another club and that’s difficult. But it’s possible.

“I don’t know what my future holds, but you can never move on from the love I have for Newcastle and I would love to come back for matches. I’m a Geordie now. I’m a Yorkshire Geordie, but I will always have that chemistry and that love.”

England and Tottenham legend Paul Gascoigne thinks Spurs are “going to struggle” to reach the top four under Ange Postecoglou this season.

Tottenham have lost three of their last five Premier League matches with Postecoglou’s side taking just ten points from their opening seven matches.

Spurs are having little issue scoring goals with Postecoglou’s side hitting back of the net at a rate of two goals per match in the Premier League.

Their 3-2 loss against Brighton just before the international break, after being 2-0 up, now has some fans and pundits questioning whether Postecoglou is still the best manager to take the club forward.

When asked if he thinks Tottenham can achieve a top-four finish under Postecoglou, Gascoigne told Football365 in association with sportscasting: “I mean, when I played for Tottenham, we used to change in like the nursery kiddies school and now they’ve spent one billion pounds on a training ground and a pitch.

“They’ve got it all on plate for them and I thought, ‘they’re going to struggle,’ you know. Everything’s there for them.

“Some of them park their car up and then they have to walk 50 yards, but they’re sitting in a little buggy to go 50 yards. Getting rid of Harry Kane, that was a shock he went to Bayern Munich and not Real Madrid. They just seem to be dependent on [Heung-min] Son and if he’s not in form, then they seem to be struggling.

“They’ve got so much money, you’ve got to buy players and the manager, he’s foreign, isn’t he? Australian. The managers I played for, I respected them so much that I wanted to play so well for them.

“And I just feel like some of the players are letting him down, thinking, ‘he’s from Australia, he doesn’t really know much about English football,’ and just f***ing going out there to play the game and collect their wages. At Celtic, you’re pretty much guaranteed to win every game. I was more shocked with Steven Gerrard and why he left Glasgow Rangers. He definitely regrets that decision.”

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Tottenham have drawn Rangers in the Europa League group stage with the two British teams facing on December 12 at Ibrox Stadium.

On the clash between the Premier League side and Scottish giants, Gascoigne added: “If they’re at home, definitely. It’s difficult, that one. I was so close to Rangers. At Rangers, I’m welcomed in every way and at Tottenham, I asked for a couple of tickets and they said ‘that’ll be 400 pounds each.’

“I was like, wow, with all I did for that club, you know? When I left Tottenham I got them a lot of money when I signed for Lazio and I put in my contract when I went to Lazio that Tottenham had the first option to sign me back and they didn’t so I was a bit upset at that, considering the teams I could’ve went to.

“I made the right choice in going to Rangers, the fans were fantastic, they love me up there. I didn’t like doing venues up there because I speak for an hour and they start singing for 55 minutes.

“The last time I went, ‘can I please talk?’ I said, ‘let me say something.’ They’re singing ‘The Bluebells Are Blue’ and then all the Gazza songs. Let me get my money’s worth at least! When they play Spurs, I think I’ll be a Rangers fan.”

According to reports, a Premier League manager could ‘replace’ Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou as a takeover is ‘weeks from completion’.

Spurs appointed Postecoglou ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. The former Celtic boss was lauded at the start of last season as he successfully overhauled their style of play and arguably made the North London outfit the most exciting team to watch in the Premier League.

Tottenham had a successful season as they finished fifth in the Premier League. However, they missed the chance to finish fourth as a poor end to the season cost them a spot in the Champions League.

Postecoglou is among the favourites to be the next Premier League manager sacked after Spurs lost 3-2 to Brighton before the international break. They were beaten despite leading 2-0 at half-time.

This result leaves Spurs ninth in the Premier League as they have won just three of their first seven games.

Former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter is the current favourite to replace Postecoglou, but Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe could actually be Tottenham’s next manager.

READ: Gyokeres to Man City? Viana’s five best signings ranked on likelihood of joining Guardiola’s side

Howe has been under pressure himself over the past 18 months and it has been suggested that he could leave Newcastle following his fallout with new sporting director Paul Mitchell.

There was a lot of change at Newcastle in the summer as Mitchell replaced Dan Ashworth, while former co-owner Amanda Staveley left the club.

In recent weeks, Staveley has been heavily linked with Tottenham and a takeover ‘decision’ is expected soon.

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The Sun are reporting that Howe ‘could receive tempting offers’ to leave Newcastle and he’s been ‘tipped to replace Postecoglou at Tottenham if Staveley invests in Spurs’.

‘Howe will shoot to the top of Tottenham’s managerial hit-list if Staveley and her money men invest in the North Londoners.

‘The Newcastle gaffer is also strongly fancied within the FA as they look to find a permanent successor to Gareth Southgate. But Wembley chiefs are unwilling to pay compensation and Howe’s long-term contract — believed to run to 2027 — would involve a huge compensation bill.

‘Former Toon co-owner Staveley and her mega-rich backers are keen to take a stake in Spurs and she is a massive fan of former Bournemouth boss Howe. He would top her wish list if things do not improve for Ange Postecoglou after a stuttering start to life in N17.

‘The projected buy-in by Staveley and Co is taking some time to happen and that project still appears weeks from completion.

‘England technical director John McDermott is keen on Howe for the national post because of his playing style and experience. Howe, 46, is thought to consider himself too young for that job, especially as he still enjoys club football so much.

‘He would also cost a fortune to appoint with salary demands and Toon compensation to work against him in the FA’s equation. But with the FA yet to commit to Lee Carsley on a permanent basis that door will remain open for him.’

Guardiola’s close confidant – City director of football Txiki Begiristain – has already confirmed he’s heading for the exit door and the head coach could follow his compatriot in departing as he reportedly already has a likely ‘new destination’.

With Man City since 2012, Begiristain has played a vital role in the club’s ascent to English football domination. He also may have had in the Premier League champions allegedly breaking a fair few FFP rules along the way, but – much like Guardiola – his exit would always leave a huge void and replacing him would be mightily difficult.

A carefully considered succession plan appears to be in place at the Etihad as it’s already been ‘confirmed’ that Hugo Viana is leaving his role at Sporting Lisbon to replace Begiristain.

Viana’s immense recruitment contributed to Sporting becoming Liga Portugal champions last season, so Man City – to the inevitable irritation of their rivals – appear to be in good hands.

We have already listed Viana’s best Sporting Lisbon signings, but which of his top five are most likely to join him at Man City? Starting from the least feasible transfer, here’s our ranking…

Man Utd’s seemingly fruitful summer transfer window promised a lot heading into this campaign, but they remain just as sh*t post-Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover as manager Erik ten Hag is leaping his way towards a presumably pricey severance package.

Ugarte was one of their most expensive summer additions at an initial £42m, but Casemiro’s supposed long-term replacement has had a rough start as a benchwarmer, while Man Utd ‘fool’ Christian Eriksen has unexpectedly been afforded loads of game time.

Spanish media have jumped the gun to suggest a ‘regretful’ Ugarte is ‘unhappy’ at Man Utd and could be eyeing an early exit.

With the Uruguay international only in his second month as a Man Utd player, this reactive report is premature as he’s still likely to end up as a long-term starter alongside Kobbie Mainoo. As for Man City, they will be looking far away from their arch-rivals for their signings in upcoming transfer windows as they are streets of their floundering neighbours in pretty much every department.

READ: Rice, Ederson have been Arsenal, Man City’s worst players in the 2024/25 Premier League

Once dubbed the next Bruno Fernandes, former Wolves starlet Goncalves has increasingly become known as a winger in recent seasons and has performed superbly for the Portuguese champions, while his compatriot has been one of this season’s major disappointments in the Premier League.

Goncalves’ ability to play in various midfield positions could appeal to Man City, but they are unlikely to be his next destination as they are already pretty well stocked in the wing department and will be boosted further when Oscar Bobb eventually returns from injury.

Instead, he could move to a Big Six rival (Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were linked with him last year) and his rapid progression at Sporting means he’s one of eight players starring abroad who deserves another shot in the Premier League.

One of many takeaways from Guardiola’s illustrious reign at the Etihad is that the Man City manager bloody loves a centre-back, with his admiration for players in this position getting to the extreme stage where he’s been known to bin off full-backs completely and use middlemen across the back four. He’s a maverick like that.

Guardiola has spent hundreds of millions of Man City’s money to acquire some of the world’s best centre-backs, but you’d still be foolish to rule out them signing another.

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As this site’s resident Championship nerd, I have watched on with immense pride as former Coventry City standout Gyokeres has moved clear of Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe as this year’s current top scorer in Europe.

Like Diomande, £15m Gyokeres quickly proved himself to be a huge bargain as he’s scored a frankly silly amount of goals since the start of last season (55 in 61 games, for those wondering).

Naturally, Gyokeres’ immense form has not gone unnoticed as Arsenal and Chelsea were regularly mooted as possible destinations in the summer. However, Man City are said to be appearing on the scene as the Sweden international is their ‘chosen’ replacement’ for Haaland, who is definitely not going to sign for Barcelona.

Barcelona’s seemingly unrelenting financial woes could prevent Man City from losing Haaland next year. But when the striker does eventually leave, Gyokeres should be near the top of their replacement list and barring Premier League expulsion, they could blow most clubs out of the water to secure his signature.

READ: Man Utd spared bottom spot in ranking of Premier League clubs by summer 2024 transfers

Man City do not get much wrong in the transfer market, but the sale of Cole Palmer was foolish and the same can be said for their decision to let Porro out of their grasp in 2022.

Sporting benefitted from Man City’s verdict. The talented right-back’s two-and-a-half great seasons in Portugal earned him a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs’ frustrating start to the new season leaves Ange Postecoglou at risk of the sack, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the 25-year-old is destined for big things and the North London club could soon be in his rearview mirror.

Harry Kane has been sensational for club and country for most of his career and has surpassed all expectations since he made his breakthrough at Tottenham Hotspur.

Most of Kane‘s international career has been spent as Gareth Southgate’s undisputed first-choice striker. While the 31-year-old was a ready-made replacement for Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, interim boss Lee Carsley does not have the same luxury of having a generational talent waiting in the wings to fill the huge void left by England‘s previous starting striker.

Kane’s starting position has rarely been threatened, but his standing in the national team came under immense scrutiny at Euro 2024 as his poor form should have resulted in him dropping out of Southgate’s first XI.

Southgate’s decision to stick with Kane was one of many mistakes made by the 54-year-old in the summer and the striker’s poor tournament should have set off alarm bells within the England set-up as the search for his successor needs to already be in full swing.

The 2026 World Cup is likely to be Kane’s last dance. Barring injury, he’ll certainly be at the tournament. But his recent performances suggest he’s not guaranteed to be the first choice and if he’s not in the first XI, who will be?

From least to most likely, here are six leading options to succeed Kane ranked on the likelihood of them starting in the US of A…

The Aston Villa standout has come from nowhere to be on the brink of his first senior England call-up, though we still believe he is somewhat underrated.

The 22-year-old can consider himself unlikely to not be in Carsley’s squad for this international break, but his recent form indicates it’s only a matter of time before he gets the call to join England’s breathtaking array of attacking options.

The Villa star’s versatility will surely be helpful for England in the coming years as he’s capable of playing anywhere across the forward line.

Rogers has been used as a striker on occasion and this could potentially become his preferred position in the long run. But at the moment, he’s best in a supporting role or out wide and should get plenty of caps if he can sustain his current meteoric rise.

READ: Harry Kane race almost (slowly) run but who can replace him for England?

One of two strikers who could/should have started ahead of Kane at Euro 2024, Toney struggled after returning from his prolonged betting ban but made a positive impact off the bench in the summer.

If I were judging on talent alone, Toney would be a few places higher on this list as his finishing and general hold-up play makes him a genuine alternative for Kane.

But – as Wayne Rooney rightly said – his summer move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli has put paid to his chances of even playing for England anytime soon.

The money will be lovely, but the long-term ramifications of this move are huge as the 28-year-old may eventually rue his decision to cash in while in his prime instead of a few years down the line. A Premier League return in a year or two is a possibility, but the damage could already be done with England as other strikers will have jumped ahead of him in the queue.

One-season wonder? No chance…

Palmer is arguably surpassing the extraordinary standards set during his debut season at Stamford Bridge with six goals and five assists in his first seven Premier League games this campaign.

Chelsea’s surprisingly good start to the 2024/25 campaign has certainly helped the 22-year-old, who is no longer tasked with carrying the immense weight of the Todd Boehly circus on his shoulders.

Carsley has been told he needs to build his England side around Palmer, but he may not get the chance with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola allegedly ‘closer than ever’ to being Southgate’s permanent successor.

Will Guardiola *actually* accept the job? Probably not. But we can dream, and this unlikely fantasy appointment could lead to England using a false nine.

While The Three Lions are spoilt for choice in attacking midfield and the flanks, the same cannot be said for the striking department so Palmer (or Phil Foden) could rack up quite a few appearances as a false nine as England becomes Spain/Barcelona-ified under Guardiola.

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Fans of the Championship who watched Delap flatter to deceive during recent loan spells may have been taken aback by newly-promoted Ipswich Town’s decision to pay £15m (plus £5m in add-ons) to sign him in the summer.

Man City have a knack for selling unused young talents for a major profit and Delap is one of their latest cheat code deals. Guardiola’s side have a buy-back clause and Delap’s surprise stellar start to the new campaign may eventually lead him back to the Etihad.

Four goals in seven games is a sensational return for an inexperienced striker in a struggling Premier League side as he’s been a major bright spark for Kieran McKenna this term.

Delap’s physicality has been one of his most impressive attributes and he’s played beyond his years this season. His sudden emergence is a welcome surprise for England as he could ease their post-Kane woes.

READ: The famous F365 England ladder ventures uncertainly into the 2026 World Cup unknown with Carsley

One of very few eye-catching summer signings saw Tottenham pay £65m to replace Kane with Solanke after the former Liverpool flop scored 19 Premier League goals last season.

Solanke’s form last season justified a spot in England’s Euro 2024 squad, but his recall for this month’s international break sees him make an international return after seven years out of the picture.

England need Solanke’s move to Tottenham to work as much as the north London side and he’s been a rare positive in Ange Postecoglou’s side this season as the once-beloved Aussie could soon be out of a job.

Like other options on this list, the 27-year-old is no spring chicken and has a short shelf life as a potential England starting striker, but he’ll have plenty in the tank for the 2026 World Cup and should fancy his chances of at least being in the squad to challenge Kane.

England’s underlying problems under a stubborn Southgate meant a Euro 2024 triumph would still be unlikely with Watkins starting ahead of Kane. Still, their chances would have been boosted had the in-form Villa marksman been picked ahead of his misfiring teammate.

Watkins suffered a slight post-Euro 2024 hangover as he struggled in Villa’s opening games. This led to speculation that a big-money signing could replace him, but he’s returned to form in recent weeks as Unai Emery’s side have coped impressively well with the rigours of competing in the Premier League and Champions League.

England were crying out for the forward’s ability to stretch a defence in the summer and his all-round forward play has come on leaps and bounds since Emery took over at Villa Park.

If anyone is going to replace Kane at the 2026 World Cup or beyond, Watkins currently stands out as the obvious pick, though he 28-year-old would still only be a short-term solution to a longer-term problem for England in a position that could prove to be their Achilles heel.

It’s increasingly clear that Ange Postecoglou has taken Spurs and somehow – genuinely quite impressively, really – made them more Spurs than they have ever been before. What you have historically been able to rely on from Spurs is an entertaining team that has some very good days and some eye-wateringly bad ones while never really being any real long-term threat to you if you are one of the serious clubs that tries to do things properly.

Even this week, Angeball has delivered in the grand manner with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford the centrepiece of what was otherwise an almost cartoonishly unconvincing yet undeniably real five-match winning run that ended in the most absurd defensive collapse imaginable to turn a 2-0 half-time lead into a mortifying 3-2 defeat at Brighton, one Spurs fans now have the pleasure of stewing on throughout the international break.

The ‘Ange out’ talk is barely above a whisper but it’s there and surely only going to get louder. Plus, the November international break is just the time Spurs like to embark on a wild, whiplash-inducing change of direction and there’s definitely the potential for Angeball to become so very silly over the weeks ahead that a desire for something more serious starts to take hold.

So who are the possible contenders for the most poisoned of Premier League chalices? According to the latest odds, these poor sods.

Just in case you were at all worried this might be a deeply uninspiring list, we kick off the top 10 with a man who couldn’t hack the nonsense at Wolves and is currently flailing around unconvincingly at London’s second most reliable source of Premier League chortles. So yeah, not a strong start.

Say what you like about Gazball, but it definitely has none of the silliness of Angeball. A lot of the nonsense would be ironed out. Kalvin Phillips would be brought in on loan. Dejan Kulusevski would be pushed out to the left for some reason. Spurs wouldn’t be as good as they occasionally are under Postecoglou, but nor would they ever be as bad as they frequently are. As an added bonus, the whole ‘never quite makes the final step required to actually win something’ problem that damages Southgate’s credentials for any other top job in the Premier League is of no concern here.

Spurs have long coveted the German manager, but the idea seems more far-fetched than ever now he is the literal Germany manager.

Not beyond the realms of possibility if the timelines were different but Newcastle’s start to the season makes it harder to see how Howe leaves Newcastle before Ange leaves Spurs, which is surely what would have to happen for this to come into play. A poaching seems wildly implausible.

Bwahaha. Yes please. You certainly can’t say it wouldn’t be an appointment that chimes with the theory – one to which Spurs are among the more ardent subscribers – that each new manager should be the exact opposite of the previous fool.

Just far, far too sensible. Frank would represent something close to the last truly successful managerial appointment Spurs made with the Southampton-era Mauricio Pochettino. Since then it’s been showy elite appointments of managers who treated Spurs like the sh*t on their shoes, wild gambles, or fifth choice desperation.

A manager doing a quietly effective job further down the Premier League food chain simply won’t do.

To be honest, the only surprise is that it hasn’t happened sooner. He’s a former Chelsea manager with a CV that would satisfy all of Daniel Levy’s big-club delusions. Wouldn’t represent a complete departure from the current set-up, but still a significant enough one. Could easily see this being Levy’s first-choice, but harder to see it being Tuchel’s. Man United’s apparent keenness a factor, too.

Pleasantly surprising to see Silva so prominent in a big next-manager market, because he probably deserves it for the work he’s done at Fulham. Always a danger for mid-table managers that sustained competence is exactly what big clubs ought to want but can also make you a bit invisible. Spurs fans would, we suspect, kick off about this as an idea but we’ve heard worse ones.

Obvious appeal in terms of playing style and philosophy to the fans, but also almost no chance of this happening in the short to medium-term, and we grow increasingly convinced Spurs are going to be looking for a manager in the short to medium term.

There’s no shortage of mails on Man Utd and Erik ten Hag, but we start with Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou.

Send your views on any subject to theeditor@football365.com

Oh Ange, you lunatic

“Substitutions and all those kind of things … they are totally irrelevant to me,” he said. “If you’re not competitive, it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re not going to get rewards.

“We didn’t deserve, on our second-half performance, irrespective of subs or anything else, to get something out of the game. If you do get something out of the game, you’re falsely rewarded and I don’t want to get falsely rewarded.

“We should have put the game to bed in the first half. But if that just masks what I saw in the second half, then it doesn’t … I mean, certain things will always reveal themselves over the course of time. I’ve got to deal with what happened in the second half.”

This is quite troubling really. A manager saying subs are irrelevant….how about if the players on the pitch are having howlers (Udogie and Bentancur spring to mind, as does Werner) and the players on the bench are more than capable of coming on and changing the course of the match?

It’s almost as though he’s trying to prove a point by letting the match fall from our grasp. See, if you’re going to be sh*t, this is what happens.

That is fine if it’s say parenting and you want your child to understand cause and effect, it really isn’t when you’re the manager of a PL club.

As much as quite like the bloke the system is totally flawed and the players are mentally as weak as at anytime under AVB and Conte…perhaps it really is just a Spurs thing, after all I have been going to Spurs since 1986 and most of that time it has been pretty much the same thing bar the odd impressive season or two.

Dan Mallerman

READ: Tottenham must realise defending is not for cowards after Brighton take delightfully silly win

…Scientists have pinpointed the exact moment Spurs lost that game… it was Maddison’s delayed “bullseye” celebration for the cameras. Cue the complacency.

On a serious note though, as soon as this guy gets a goal or assist he considers his work done for the day… and then if/when Spurs actually hang on and win, brace yourself for a week of fluffy social media japes and endorsements.

That’s why you’re not in the England squad, James.

Oh and Ange, 1 quick goal should have been enough to stir you into a meaningful response, 2 quick goals should have been enough to shake you into urgent changes, 3 quick goals should have had you going berserk on the touchline and making drastic changes…. Yet you still hadn’t seen enough and wanted to wait another 13 minutes before doing anything?

What the hell man?! You love talking about your vast experience but matey with 2 years’ experience done you up like a kipper.

Tut tut tut.

Oliver Clark

Comparing Ten Hag to Arteta is delusional

Guys guys guys…

Garey Vance’s email about win percentages and how ETH’s compares favourably to Mikel Arteta’s at the same stages of their managerial tenures may be correct (is it? I haven’t checked) but Erik Ten Hag is not in his first managerial role, Mikel Arteta was and is.

Erik Ten Hag did not have to deal with a global pandemic 4 months into his tenure at Manchester United, Mikel Arteta did.

Erik Ten Hag has proven so unable to coach a defence that Manchester United finished last season with a negative goal difference. First job in management Mikel Arteta has never done that.

Perhaps ETH should have spent less time deludedly crying about losing at Arsenal last season and more time, y’know, coaching. Like Mikel Arteta has.

ETH is now 31 months into his Manchester United tenure and United sit 14th in the Premier League, despite a relatively soft start to their season.

I’m speaking only as an observer, but I don’t get the sense ETH has any sense of how big an institution Manchester United is, or the charisma to lead it.

In Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has someone who understands what our standards should be and has worked tirelessly to get us there. We may not yet have trophies on the board to prove it, but Arteta has made box office again what was a zombie football club years only 5 years ago.

Comparing Super Mik to ETH is just delusional. Sorry lads.

Paul, North London

MORE MANCHESTER UNITED COVERAGE ON F365

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Vance is back

If J Belfast could point me to where in my mail I said everything is rosey in the red half of Manchester, or any conclusion was made about Ten Hag being “as good as Klopp and Arteta” it would be much appreciated. What I actually suggested was that both Liverpool and Arsenal were as inconsistent as United have been over the same number of games based on something tangible and irrefutable. This is not opinion, this is stone cold Benitez-esque facts.

Arteta was under massive pressure for quite some time with every man and his dog questioning if the job was too big for him, and loads of fans calling for his head. And though they will deny it now, there were plenty of Liverpool fans questioning whether Klopp was the right man for the job throughout his first few years when things were ropey.

Mike in Dubai may want to reevaluate his recency bias when he suggests there weren’t many bad results during those early years of Klopp’s reign.

Watford 3 Liverpool 0

West Ham 2 Liverpool 0

Leicester 2 Liverpool 0

Southampton 3 Liverpool 2

Swansea 3 Liverpool 1

Liverpool 2 Man City 4

Liverpool 1 Seville 3

Burnley 2 Liverpool 0

Bournemouth 4 Liverpool 3

Liverpool 2 Swansea 3

Hull 2 Liverpool 0

Leicester 3 Liverpool 1

Man City 5 Liverpool 0

Spurs 4 Liverpool 1

And just for good measure, even though it was a good few years into his tenure, let’s remember the time Villa beat Liverpool 7-2.

The point is, people forget through the passing of time and a lens of (eventual) success how inconsistent their team was when getting there. And as I stated in my original mail, which was the only conclusion I drew from it contrary to J Belfast’s imagination, Carragher was wrong to suggest everything was much better for Arteta and Klopp when they were building their teams. They dropped a similar level of points and won a similar level of games. Neither won 2 trophies in their first 2 seasons, but that’s a different story for another day.

Garey Vance, MUFC

A critique of Badwolf’s diatribe

Although this is a critique of Badwolf’s analysis, I only do it as I think his mail accurately reflects a lot of United fans that perhaps adopt too rose tinted a view of where United are at and what is going wrong. His analysis could be absolutely correct, time may prove it so, but there is reasonable evidence to suggest it won’t. And that is kind of the clue. Evidence. I think objectively looking at the situation identifies more issues than you notice when you’re emotionally compromised as a fan.

So lets start with his ‘good’ points.

‘We have made some good signings’ – Have you? Based on what? It’s very difficult to evaluate any summer signings for any team. There’s just not been enough games. You yourself even state that it takes some players a year to even settle in, so why assume your summer signings have been good? And that is before even looking at the actual form of those players that have played.

None of them seem to have started very well or are currently injured. De Ligt has had a relatively poor start to the season. Zirkzee has done OK, but I would say no more than that and Ugarte has played of games in which he did ok. I don’t suggest they aren’t good signings based on this and each of the summer signings may well prove invaluable and astute purchases but without any evidence, this statement is one purely in hope rather than expectation.

“We’ve fixed some major issue areas” – Again that’s not based on any evidence. It’s just a wild assumption. And it’s an assumption that regularly happens with United supporters and seemingly infects the club itself. Every new signing seems to be brought in with the intention of solving some issue or weakness but over the last decade we have seen precious little progress.

In fact, some players seem to add problems more than solve any. If you have a weak defence and you buy defenders it is safe to assume you are trying to improve that area of the pitch, but whether any progress has been made can only be shown over time with evidence i.e a much improved goals against column / much improved league place. Even someone like Varane who was world class, playing for the best team on the planet and still a good age ended up failing.

“There is actually a plan…” – What did you think the club was doing before? What do you think other clubs are doing? Just reacting to events as and when they unfold? Utd are doing exactly as they did before, trying to buy their way out of trouble. This summer saw another splurge in the transfer market, just as in the previous summers. There is always another signing on the horizon which will make them title chasers again.

It’s why Ten Hag is still in his position because everyone insisted that he had to wait until the squad was ‘his’, as though coaches coming in and working with the playing staff to begin implementing preferred tactics and patterns is something alien and exotic, not to mention simply working to improve players individually.

“Have invested well in the next generation… veritable collection of diamonds” Can you guess? Yep, almost no evidence. You have one player who can objectively be called a diamond. Kobbie Mainoo. This is a 19 yr old who has forced himself into the United starting 11 for over a year. He forced himself into starting for an exceptionally talented England team. It is objectively true that both the current United coach and the England manager both decided that an 18/19 yr old player was good enough to start regularly. That is exceptional and unusual.

Whether he will go on to fulfil his promise, time will tell. What is unequivocal, his relative success to date infers that he is a diamond. All the other talent you must be talking about, they’re not diamonds, certainly not yet. You’re hoping again. Desperately hoping.

“Hojlund is a cracking player, and if we feed him, he’ll score” Not according to the stats. In 97 appearances across the English, Italian, Austrian and Danish leagues he has scored 27 goals. Thems the facts. And they don’t paint a picture of someone who is a goalscorer. That might change. Or he will still become a top player without being a prolific goal scorer, but stating he is a cracking player who will score goals. Blind hope.

“Injury crisis” Man United were 4th in the injury league table last season, just above Liverpool. That suggests they had a bad season for injuries compared to the average. Currently there are 2 players who have had long term unavailability in Malacia and Yoro. Everyone else is either fit or should be in contention by the end of the international break.

Injuries happen, sometimes teams are unlucky, and they are particularly affected, but ultimately it’s what a squad is for, and considering the hundreds upon hundreds of millions spent, Utd should be better placed than most to deal with them.

“if not, Ruud will be just fine…” Already putting in place the delusion for the post Ten Hag era, the assumption Ruud Van Nistelrooy will be a top replacement simply boggles the mind.

Of all of the assumptions devoid of evidence this is surely the most significant one. Ruud has not completed a single full season as a manager. He nearly completed the 2022/23 season with PSV, his only in management, but resigned 1 game before the end of the season. With a team that would go onto win the league the following season, he won the Dutch equivalent of the FA cup and charity shield. That he is even considered shows how poorly the club has been run the last few years and how deep the delusion runs.

It would have been unthinkable post Ferguson for someone of his paltry experience to be offered the job, even as a stopgap, but so many managers have come and gone that expectations and standards seem to have been seriously eroded. And the reason this has happened is because some Utd fans, and even the club themselves, seem to have become blinkered in their analysis of the team.

From my position I would evaluate Manchester United thusly – You currently have a fairly decent first 11 with an average squad. Your manager has shown scant evidence of being able to rebuild this squad and improve the tactical setup. Your management structure hasn’t been in place long enough to ascertain their suitability to arrest this issue so you should wait a reasonable amount of time to judge whether they are improving the team.

You should change manager. You should implement a player value model to understand the weakest parts of your team. You should identify targets now that evidence suggests they could improve these specific problem areas. You should endeavour to change the fan opinion from one which expects success irrespective of the quality of the players to one which understands the limitation of the current playing squad. This will help to reduce the unrelenting pressure based around unrealistic expectations.

Once the fans understand the situation and can perhaps relent on expecting consistent wins, particularly against other top 6 sides with better squads, you can spend the vast amounts of money Utd accrue to gradually improve the team. If weaknesses are identified and the best available targets purchased the improvement can be quick, a couple of seasons even. Look at Arsenal for a prime example of how a young, world class squad can be assembled with significant but not unsustainable spending.

Take off the rose tinted glasses and assess objectively, you will all be better for it…

Ed Ern

Man Utd will find a great manager in 10 years

Manchester United are a weird club, they’ve essentially had 2 successful managers in their entire history. Busby managed for around 24 years won 5 league titles, 2 FA cups and, of course, the European cup. Ferguson 27 years, 13 league titles, 5 FA cups, 4 League cups, 2 Champions leagues. So, 51 years and a stunning 76% of the overall trophies won by the club were won by these 2 men, what does that tell you.

It tells you 2 things. 1) United are unlike any other club in England and probably Europe and are pretty much useless at getting the right guy to manage the club, 28 managers in total since the club was formed 2 who you can regard as successful 26 (that’s 26) who have who have won bugger all between them!

ETH is a great coach, and he might yet turn out to be THE guy, but if he isn’t, he’ll just be the next one in the list to fail, and it’ll be 2 successful managers in 27.

PS: I am aware that there are other trophies that the club has won, but it was easier to break down the 3 major ones people look at.

Vernon, Dublin, Ireland

Stop picking on Man Utd and Ten Hag

I wrote in last week saying that Man Utd were sh*t with an explanation so I’m not trying to put a ridiculous spin on the club such as the one by Badwolf.

I’m also not surprised or upset about the over the top vile abuse from all you ‘neutral’ fans out there. However, what I do take quite a bit of offense to is the nonsense from people who call themselves journalists who just like to exaggerate anything Man Utd to force a conversation. Isn’t journalism supposed to be unbiased? Not in this day and age – clicks pay the bills so biased is good and nonsense is even better.

Firstly, 16 Conclusions on Utd v Villa was pathetic. If you really can’t be arsed to write anything and just pout about choosing the wrong match then just write about the other games instead. But actually you know you wouldn’t do that as it’s better to write a shit article about Utd as you’ll still get more clicks and replies than a great article on anyone else.

Other than the patheticness of the article, you seemed to decide that this was clearly a case of Villa being shit and gave no credit to Utd. Poor little Villa played in Europe in midweek. No consideration that Utd also played in Europe a day later and so had one day less to recover. Utd were also away from home. Doesn’t suit your agenda though.

Then your portrayal of Rashford’s non-sending off. If you’d actually watched the game, it looked relatively harmless at the time, the commentator at the time also said so until about the 3rd slow motion replay when it actually looked like it was worthy of a yellow card.

So yes, Rashford was a touch lucky but actually, on first glance it was no surprise the ref saw fit to not award a card. If you think this was such a big deal then advocate for VAR intervening on every single tiny decision on the pitch but don’t bulshit about the non decision just to suit your clickbait agenda.

Just to add to this, while you focussed on this non-sending off, you didn’t mention that the 12 fouls of utd warranted 5 yellow cards whilst the 11 fouls of Villa warranted just 1. It was not a dirty game but the ref seemed a bit keen to get his yellow cards out to utd players. Not to say utd didn’t deserve their cards but Villa got away with quite a few that could just have easily gone in the book.

I don’t have much argument with concluding the game was a pretty dull one or that ETH hasn’t done much to keep the wolves at bay but a point away at one of the better sides in the league (despite their lack of spending compared to Utd that you ‘journalists’ so love to point out) should actually be seen to be a pretty good point to gain. Shouldn’t Villa maybe be kicking themselves for not even being able to score against such a shitty team? or wouldn’t that suit your agenda?

Jon, Cape Town (It seems journalism as we knew it died long ago – the red tops had it right all along)

MORE MANCHESTER UNITED COVERAGE ON F365

👉 Aston Villa help out Erik ten Hag by playing out most boring game possible with Manchester United

👉 Six-pass Man Utd man in worst Premier League XI of the weekend

👉 Mailbox: ‘Man Utd didn’t get spanked’ as Ten Hag defended as job ‘difficult to laughable’

The clicks have it

Firstly, many congrats on actually putting together 16 conclusions on the Aston Villa / Man Utd game, impressive work. Secondly, I was struck by conclusion No. 16:

“Try as we might, it’s just impossible to care deeply about anything connected to this United team unless and until it departs from its current meandering road to nowhere, something that appears less and less likely to occur under the current manager.”