Football365

Former Crystal Palace chairman Daniel Levy would be shocked if Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is “still in a job” if he fails to win the Europa League.

Spurs recovered well from being knocked out of the Carabao Cup semi-finals and FA Cup fourth round in the same week in early February by beating Manchester United and Ipswich Town in the Premier League in back-to-back victories.

However, their inconsistency has reared its head again this season with a 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester City last week before another 1-0 loss to AZ Alkmaar in their first leg of the Europa League last 16 on Thursday.

And that has heaped pressure on Postecoglou once again as Tottenham fans were hoping they could now push on to a more respectable position in the Premier League and have a chance of winning the Europa League.

Spurs are currently 13th in the Premier League and Jordan would be surprised if Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy doesn’t replace Postecoglou if they fail to win the Europa League after their poor showing in another competitions.

Jordan said on talkSPORT: “This is a moment in time, it’s not reflective of Tottenham Hotspur because it’s not their staple diet.

“People look at Tottenham Hotspur besides their own fans and think it’s a good club to be involved with. Yes you’ve got the stigma of what people perceive Daniel Levy to be or not to be.

“The fact is they still spend a hundred-odd million plus on transfer fees most seasons and most managers with a few exceptions would bite your arm off for a job like that.

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“So they’ll find a replacement for Ange Postecoglou. Whether it’s the right one, whether it gets you in the right direction and whether Daniel Levy will continue to make appointment without winning anything, who knows.

“But I would be surprised if you finish 13th in the league, you get knocked out of the cup competitions – besides the credible performance in the League Cup – if he’s still in a job.

“That’s not me talking him out of a job, that’s not me suggesting I want him fired I think it’s the reality of looking at two years and yes the football manager will want you to price in nuance and context and say ‘I’ve had this and I’ve had that and I’ve had the other.’

“But that’s what top managers are paid to do, is overcome adversity.”

Stan Collymore described Postecoglou’s demeanour against AZ Alkmaar as “miserable” with his side matching the Tottenham boss’ body language.

Collymore told Caught Offside: “Spurs’ performance against AZ Alkmaar was a mirror of his demeanour, which is rather miserable. His reactions in the media will be seen by his players, and it has an effect on them, and as a result, I have no doubt that his body language and demeanour contributed to Spurs’ lacklustre performance in Alkmaar.”

Liverpool ‘absolutely deserved’ to beat PSG because they did beat PSG; go and watch the NBA if you disagree. And Spurs are back in their doom cycle.

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

Redunancies

I suggest the next person to be made redundant at old Trafford is the guy who chooses what studs to wear. I counted 8 slips to zero. (Yes I’m very sad counting such sh*t but it was a boring game) but the point still remains.

Tony

Bentancur. Bergvall

Hi

“But Tottenham will have to do without midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur in next Thursday’s home leg after his third booking of the season.” reads the 5th paragraph of BBC Sports write up of the Spurs game. Sky Sports News had something similar.

In the words of Vicky Pollard, do I look like I’m bothered though? Bentancur is a lovely looking footballer. Bit Jamie Redknapp. Bit Anderton. A bit every lightweight Spurs midfielder of the last 30 or so years. He hid against Liverpool and Villa in the cup, he hid again against AZ. He plays football like his team are two or three up with 15 minutes to go. He hides so much that deeply promising 18-year-olds (looks like an angel but is a proper hatchet man) make comedy errors because they’re scared no one else will take responsibility. Which they won’t. Bergvall being suspended would be a story. Bentancur isn’t.

And another thing. Solanke got injured after 20 minutes. Romero got injured after 15 minutes on his comeback against Chelsea. I’m not sure that medical team knows how to condition players or get them back from injuries.

Lastly, have you ever seen a more depressing-looking coaching staff? They all just sit there motionless. No one talks to one another. There’s not much plotting or scheming. There certainly isn’t any joy in their work. There are just blank expressions. I’d take Jason Tindall and his questionable antics over that lot any day of the week.

We’re a hot mess.

Cheers

Andrew

Luckypool

Donnarumma should have saved that shot from Elliot but he didn’t.

Alisson had no right to save some of those PSG shots, but he did.

Last time I checked the keeper is part of the 11.

Rob, Hove

Genuinely intrigued to know the MBs objective views on the Konate incident. I get if you dont like Liverpool you’d want him off but as far as I could see it was a shoulder barge. Fair game in the 90s, is it now? If you were playing Sunday league and your defender did that would you be incensed by a red? I kind of think it could be but I’d be livid. It seems like players get away with it ‘cos they are not using their arms. Virgil does it a lot, never gets blown.

PSG were so much better, but Elliot’s goal was the most joy I’ve felt so far this season!

Put your club loyalties aside and discuss!

Tom, Leaning in.

Following our admittedly slightly fortunate win Vs psg arsenal fans have been crying on social media.

For ages I couldn’t understand why. I get Everton fans doing it or even United fans. Why are arsenal fans crying about what Liverpool does or doesn’t do?

Then I realised, the reason they cry is because Liverpool achieves things arsenal fans can only dream about.

Sleep well arsenal fans of social media, it’s the only time you’ll have a chance of a champions league trophy…

Lee

Liverpool kept PSG completely at arm’s length

One of the interesting things I’ve noticed about the PSG v Liverpool game is how perspective can be skewed. Conventional punditry wisdom is that Liverpool were ‘battered’ 0-1 and Liverpool got lucky. However, a trip to Opta might give a different impression if you look at the xG and how they rated the chances. It turns out that roughly half of PSG’s 1.78 total xG came from the one v one against Dembele that Alisson saved that also saw a couple of shots blocked from Barcola in the immediate aftermath. All of those fabulous diving saves we all saw him make actually came from very low xG chances that the PSG forwards hit superbly. It was essentially a masterclass on ball striking by the PSG forwards and a masterclass on goalkeeping in response.

Armed with that knowledge, it swings the pendulum slightly back in favour of a victory built on really good defending by Liverpool as opposed to absurd luck. They by and large limited PSG to taking shots with low likelihood of scoring, with that one exception. Now, make no mistake, I freely admit that PSG dominated possession of the football, and were far, far better with the ball than Liverpool, with superb pressing to boot. I’d just suggest that a day removed from the action with cooler heads suggests that Liverpool actually defended really, really well too, and earned that clean sheet.

Just wanted to push back on some of the utter codswallop I’ve seen making the rounds – even seen one journalist try to claim that Liverpool’s clean sheet was so lucky that saying they had been ‘lucky’ is utterly inadequate, which seems a bit extreme for an xG of less than 2…

Greg, Taunton. (Looking forward to seeing my mail misrepresented for ragebait in the bold bit. Might I suggest something along the lines of ‘Liverpool kept PSG completely at arms length’, or something similar? I know you guys are better at that than I am, so please, go wild! It’ll be fun.)

Celebrate good times, come on!

Derek – LFC

I read this “I must admit it’s the first time I think I’ve not celebrated a Liverpool winner in my almost 50 years of supporting them”

and immediately called bullsh*t and bolox!

If you havent celebrated that goal, after being under the cosh for almost the entirety of 87mins, you sir are a liar or not a fan of the scoring team

I have to restrain myself more often than like as it totally freaks the dog out for ages after, he thinks Im mad at him (or something I guess) He just stand and stares at me for almost 90min every game (although non Liverpool games depend on the comms and co comms – He much prefers Lucy Wards calm tones to Darren Fletchers shouting) but briefly lost my sh*t when that went in.. was impossible to contain!

But I digress…

We were def lucky, why pretend otherwise..?

Was a fantastic win and we were pretty much totally outplayed. Im fine with that, thanks!

Al – LFC – Dont be silly Derek!..

Watch basketball

Disclaimer- I am a Liverpool fan, but I watched the game with an Everton fan and no productive discussion was had, so I have come to the famously reasonable and non-reactionary forum of the internet to discuss it.

But Liverpool absolutely deserved to win, because they did.I think the entire appeal of football is that the best team is not at all guaranteed to win. Goals are rare in football, which is why drama and unpredictability is so prevalent, and also why detractors might call it boring. If you want to see the better team win, football is plainly the wrong sport for you, go watch incrementally scoring sports such as the NBA, their season is getting towards the business end right now.

I have seen more times than I remember Liverpool dominate a team and not win the game, and Liverpool did not deserve to win those games, because they didn’t. You only deserve to win a game if you actually win it, barring some complete refereeing calamity such as penalties or disallowed goals I would say.

Maybe my bias is showing, but I don’t class the Konate incident in that category as it wouldn’t have provided a clear goal opportunity to PSG. It’s not like Liverpool suddenly turned on after that, if Konate was off it may not have been so different, I don’t think it was possible for PSG to dominate more anyway. Liverpool were certainly lucky he wasn’t sent off though, clear red.

Many have already written in to point out the stupidity of calling the result lucky as a whole, but it is absurd to say, it’s not lucky that Allison is as good as he is. Maybe you could say PSG are unlucky in that maybe the same shots would beat many other keepers, and the Konate incident.

Anyway, in short, I think it’s worth remembering that the reason we bother watching matches is that the winners often aren’t the best team, but are still deserving winners. And incredible players doing incredible things has nothing to do with luck.

C, Greece.

Trent out of shape

So for years I’ve been a huge critic of Trent. I’ve made my feelings known on this website. He’s a Hollywood passer. He costs Liverpool so much possession every game because he constantly looks for that big pass. When he gets it he’s lauded but never gets criticised for the amount of down right awful attempts he makes and for the amount of times he loses us possession. Commentators and internet ‘experts’ alike never hold him accountable.

I wonder is it because he’s English 🤔 I hope he goes in the summer. For me Bradley, although not as good with the Hollywood type passes is definitely good on the ball, pacier and a much better at defending. The stick Trent got after the United game from Liverpool fans was so uncalled for. Why? Because it’s not the first time he’s looked half arsed in a game. It’s probably the first time they notice it because of the contract situation. It’s amazing how fickle fans can be. I’m not fickle, I just know what I see and I have for years with that chap.

Anyway I’ve anyways wondered, nay, I’ve always known, but without proof, who the player is that loses the ball most in possession. I’m not talking Liverpool, I’m talking the league so here you….. guess who? Surprise suprise!! Go to Madrid please. We’ll be fine without you just like when Owen, Coutinho et al left. The main one we need to stay is Big Virg. The rock and soul of this team!

Alex

Offside or not

A caveat to start off: The example used is just to reflect the thoughts on offside, not about the match itself (Liverpool pulling out that win is just how football can be at times).

On the Kravadona (I would butcher his actual name, so going with the nickname) offside goal, it just makes me question what the offside rule is meant for. Essentially, my understanding is a player is offside if they 1) impact play or 2) gain an advantage from it.

In this case, the player was coming back from a marginally offside position to receive a pass to feet and then cutting inside to shoot. If he had received a pass in front of him or turned toward the outside and shot, totally understand that being called as offside as he had an advantage, no matter how slight. But the actual situation makes me question where that advantage is.

All I’m saying is there should be some flexibility and situational context applied. I’ve seen other similar scenarios before and it’s as though the refs apply the law because it’s safer than going against it.

Jason, Singapore

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Club DNA is nonsense

Funnily enough, I’ve had the “club DNA” type topic on my mind recently, and did a bit of digging (i.e. a google search of League winners and then a quick paste into Excel with a Pivot table).

Whilst in the past 50 years, several clubs have won multiple leagues. As Mark, LFC, An Mhí correctly pointed out, that history/club DNA is very much a manager of the moment not the club DNA.

In the past 50 years, the clubs that have won the league with multiple managers are:

Liverpool = 4 (probably soon to be 5)

Chelsea = 3 (but you could argue, that really, it’s 1 owner)

Man City = 3 (similar to Chelsea, 1 owner)

Arsenal = 2

That’s it.

Even Manchester United with the most titles in the past 50 years (13) won them all with 1 manager. There’s no legacy there, they were even in the 2nd tier in that timescale (just).

There wasn’t much good news for Spurs after a drearily passive performance in their Europa League last-16 first-leg defeat to AZ Alkmaar.

But things could certainly have been worse. Spurs are only 1-0 down ahead of the return leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Ange Postecoglou has also issued a hopeful update on Dominic Solanke, who hobbled off looking in some discomfort barely 15 minutes after coming off the bench to make his first appearance since the North London Derby defeat to Arsenal on January 15.

Postecoglou told TNT Sport: “We think it’s a knock, so hopefully nothing too bad. He’s a bit sore.”

That was about the end of the positives, though, with Postecoglou conceding Spurs’ performance level was nowhere near that expected or required in a competition that offers genuine hope of salvaging what has been a season of struggle for club and manager alike with Tottenham languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

“Yeah, it wasn’t great from us tonight,” he said.

“Pretty much all facets of the game. We didn’t really get to grips with any part of the game.

“We struggled to gain any momentum with the ball, we weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be without the ball.

“It was a tricky surface but having said that we kind of knew that from yesterday and yeah we just didn’t tackle the challenges we head out there in a real positive way. That allowed AZ to get into a rhythm, which when you’re playing away from home, it is difficult to stem the tide.”

Postecoglou was unimpressed with Spurs’ response to the early setback of falling behind to a Lucas Bergvall own goal, and questioned the ‘mindset’ of his players.

He said: “I don’t think it’s a matter of effort or attitude. I don’t think it is going out there and not trying, but like I said we didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe.

“It is always tough and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events but even after that we didn’t really settle down into the game at all.

“You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did so that was a disappointment.”

Spurs get the chance to put things right in next Thursday’s second leg on home turf, and will perhaps take heart from AZ’s mediocre away record in the league phase, where they picked up just one point from their four games on the road.

One of the three defeats they suffered came at Spurs, who now need at least a repeat of that 1-0 win to keep the tie alive.

The club that doesn’t want to be known as Tottenham should once again count themselves fortunate they aren’t being called anything worse or at least more banterous.

Presented with a perfect storm of conditions to make finally winning a trophy far more plausible than frankly this group of players and manager deserve, they barely turned up for this spirit-sapping first leg at AZ Alkmaar from which Spurs somehow emerged only 1-0 down and still alive in the tie.

The Dutch side deserve praise. They were compact and organised, far brighter than their opponents in and out of possession. While there was obvious good fortune about the goal they did score, they had further clear chances and a bigger winning margin – even a potentially tie-settling one – would not have flattered them.

It was clear in the closing minutes that AZ knew it. They were not settling for a 1-0 win that probably still, despite everything, leaves Spurs favourites to progress next week. They may well rue their own profligacy, as well as the fact Guglielmo Vicario was among the very few Spurs players who appeared to understand he was playing in a big game.

Or perhaps it’s the opposite. Perhaps his team-mates were all too aware of how big this chance is and that is why they froze so horribly. But that’s really not good enough. Spurs have, reasonably enough, made the Europa League the sole focus of what remains of this grisly season.

To then turn up for the first knockout game, with all that riding on it, and produce this almost total non-performance is another kick in the guts.

Spurs’ first and only shot on target of the night didn’t arrive until the 88th minute. Their performance, and perhaps season and perhaps entire modern existence was summed up by being handed a presentable free-kick opportunity in a shooting position only for James Maddison and Son Heung-min to completely butcher some half-baked training ground routine that was an insult to training ground routines.

The goal Spurs did concede was suitably laughable. Nobody could apparently be bothered to compete for the first ball, and when it came back across goal the unfortunate Lucas Bergvall shanked it over Djed Spence and into his own net.

Bergvall to his credit is one of few Spurs players who hasn’t yet had the spirit and courage beaten out of him by this season and he never hid after that horrible moment. Unlike many of his team-mates, he did at least try and drive them forward and make something happen.

In this he was joined by the now familiar names. Archie Gray was impressive again, Spence did a job on both flanks. Kevin Danso increasingly looks like a shrewd addition to the threadbare centre-back stocks at Spurs.

But this is a damning list in itself. New players, young players, and a full-back who was so out of favour at the start of the season he was only added to the Europa League squad for these knockout rounds.

Spurs’ senior players were nowhere to be seen. Son went missing again on the left. Maddison was irrelevant. Rodrigo Bentancur jogged around a bit.

Spurs were without Dejan Kulusevski for just about the first time this season and they missed him terribly. Even in recent weeks when he has looked really quite knackered he has remained by far the most compelling of their assorted attacking players, by far the most likely difference-maker in the final third.

His absence cannot excuse the utter lack of spark in this performance. Not least because this was a night when, despite his absence, Spurs were no longer a team in the grip of full-blown injury crisis.

Their bench was absurdly strong, with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke all back in the matchday squad. Indeed, while it would require Alfie Whiteman to do a job at left-back it was perfectly reasonable to look at Spurs’ bench and conclude it made a better balanced and more cohesive starting XI than many Spurs have put out this year.

Ange Postecoglou was either patient or late in making his changes, depending on how you choose to view escaping from the Netherlands with only a one-goal deficit and a still plausible chance yet of season-salvaging success.

On that note, the biggest blow of the night may yet prove to be the late one suffered by Solanke. He limped off in clear discomfort just 15 minutes after his long-awaited Spurs return.

His has been a frustrating first season at Spurs but even when the goals don’t come, they look a far more convincing attacking side with him as its spearhead. Neither Son nor Mathys Tel has convinced in the central role during Solanke’s absence, and if he is now ruled out for any length of time again, Spurs are in serious trouble. Or even more serious trouble.

Next Thursday just got even bigger. Given how Spurs approached this particular large Thursday, that’s a bit of a worry.

This promises to be a very uncomfortable evening for Tottenham, who routinely find ways to make life hard for themselves at the best of times.

AZ Alkmaar crashed out of last season’s Champions League without an away win, but let’s not forget they led at Villa Park until the 61st minute.

They were much more of a nuisance on home soil, beating Legia Warsaw and Zrinjski en route to nine points. They remain unbeaten at AFAS Stadion in this year’s Europa League.

Galatasaray did not win in two trips to the Netherlands and were eliminated 6-3 on aggregate in the play-off round. AS Roma and Fenerbahçe were also vanquished.

Tottenham may point to the fact they beat AZ at home, but (the doomed) Ange Postecoglou’s walking wounded have struggled on the road, often conceding in bunches.

Thursday night’s game could be a tough watch if you’re a Spurs fan, but at least the rest of us will be able to enjoy a cracking contest full of goals.

AZ Alkmaar team news

There’s a familiar face spearheading the AZ attack in the form of Troy Parrott, last season’s top scorer who used to ply his trade at Tottenham.

The hosts will be without Jayden Addai, Ruben van Bommel and Mexx Meerdink, as well as Sven Mijnans, a dangerous number 10 who has had a hand in 13 goals this season.

Zico Buurmeester has filled the void by chipping in with 1.79 chances created and 0.45 goals per 90 minutes this season.

Jordy Clasy and Peer Koopmeiners, brother of ex AZ midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, will form the base of the midfield.

AZ Alkmaar expected line-up

Owusu-Oduro – Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe – Clasie, Koopmeiners – Poku, Buurmeester, Lahdo – Parrott

Tottenham team news

The good news for Spurs is they’ve gradually gotten healthier in recent weeks, with Vicario, Destiny Udogie, and James Maddison all returning from injury.

Dominic Solanke and Ricarlison are also nearing a return, though they’re not expected to feature on Thursday.

The bad news is that Dejan Kulusevski, who has swung more than a few games in Tottenham’s favour this season, is set to miss out.

There’s a chance Micky van de Ven and Christian Romero could be fit enough to play a part, though Kevin Danso and Archie Gray are likely to continue at centre back.

Main man Son-Heung Min is expected to join Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson in the attack, even though Wilson Odobert started on the left against Man City last time out.

Tottenham expected line-up

Vicario – Spence, Gray, Danso, Udogie – Maddison, Bissouma, Sarr – Johnson, Tel, Son

AZ Alkmaar v Tottenham: How to watch and listen

This match is available to watch on TNT Sports 3 and Discover+. Live radio coverage will be provided by talkSPORT on DAB Radio.

AZ Alkmaar v Tottenham stats

Richarlison scored to hand Tottenham a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in the group stages of the Europa League. That was the first meeting between the sides.

Spurs have a strong European record against Dutch sides, winning seven and drawing two of 11, including a famous late comeback against Ajax which took them to the Champions League final.

Both sides have been good for goals with their league phase games averaging 3.25 each.

AZ are unbeaten in 16 Europa League matches on home soil dating back to 2017.

Both teams scored in five of AZ’s six home matches in this year’s competition, with four of those producing three or more goals.

Spurs have conceded at least one goal in each of their previous 14 Europa League away matches.

AZ Alkmaar v Tottenham referee stats

Rade Obrenovic will take charge of the contest at AFAS Stadion, marking his seventh appearance of the season at the top level.

Despite appearing more lenient with an average of 23.17 fouls awarded, he’s been quick to point to the spot over the years.

The Slovenian has awarded a penalty in 41% of games he’s refereed dating back to a Nations League fixture in 2020.

England were the beneficiary of two of said spot kicks as they thrashed San Marino 10-0 in a World Cup Qualifier under his watch.

He also has a habit of handing out two or more cards per side, as Monaco and Benfica found out when seeing three each in November, when Monaco’s Wilfried Slingo was sent off.

AZ Alkmaar v Tottenham prediction

AZ Alkmaar 12/5 – Draw 13/5 – Tottenham Evens

We have to remember this is the first leg so the game doesn’t need to be won on Thursday.

That said, Ange only knows one way and we’re willing to predict that the hosts will fight fire with fire.

AZ have both scored and conceded 13 goals in the Europa League this season, matching Spurs average of 3.25 goals per match. The visitors have achieved that average by scoring 17 and conceding nine.

The biggest concern for Spurs in Alkmaar is their less than full strength defence; Kevin Danso is likely to make his first European start for the club and could partner Archie Gray.

The talented youngster will no doubt play for England one day, but it won’t be as a defender. He lacks the positional awareness of an experienced centre-back, often found wanting for goals scored at his nearest post.

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Manchester United and Tottenham target Angel Gomes is set to leave this summer.

The Lille midfielder’s contract expires this summer, and the 24-year-old is wanted by several Premier League sides, who will be queuing up to submit a contract offer.

Having originally left United in 2020 a return to Old Trafford is on the cards for Gomes, though there is also interest from West Ham, Aston Villa, as well as Spurs.

According to Romano, writing for GIVEMESPORT, the midfielder will be ‘100%’ leaving this summer, placing multiple clubs on high alert.

He said: “Yes, Premier League is a possibility for Angel Gomes while also clubs in the Bundesliga asked for information to his new agents. He will 100% leave Lille.”

He made just 10 appearances for the Red Devils before leaving in 2020 and, since then, he’s notched 134 games for the French side, scoring 10 times and assisting on 19 occasions.

Lee Carsley awarded him his senior England debut earlier this season, with Gomes playing both home and away games against Ireland and Finland before the turn of the year.

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Where would be the best move for Gomes?

With multiple clubs on the table, Gomes has a significant decision to make and has many factors to consider. Take United, for example, they do not possess a player like Gomes who can take the ball and beat the press from deeper positions and he could well form a strong partnership with Manuel Ugarte.

However, Ruben Amorim’s inflexible system may well dissuade him from joining as he wouldn’t have the same freedom as he has had at Lille or from what we saw in his impressive England performances.

They are also a team in flux currently languishing at the wrong end of the table and he will be in no hurry to join his former club, who are also keen on another Lille-free agent in Jonathan David.

Aston Villa could be the most attractive option for a midfielder given they are likely to achieve European qualification in some form after impressing in the Champions League this term.

But with Unai Emery already having the likes of Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana and John McGinn to call upon, game time may be hard to come by.

Tottenham or West Ham could offer him the best chance of becoming a regular starter given that neither possesses a player like him in midfield and both would benefit from a player who is calmer on the ball. Previous reports also claimed that he would favour a move to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Rodrigo Bentacur and Yves Bissouma could provide a strong partner for him while he could play alongside either Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse or Guido Rodriguez at West Ham, especially with Tomas Soucek likely to depart.

Ange Postecoglou wasn’t impressed with a reporter’s line of questioning ahead of Tottenham’s trip to AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.

Spurs have endured a difficult season under Postecoglou, with the Europa League the only remaining opportunity for the Australian to “win a trophy in my second season” as he insisted he always does early in the campaign.

Winning the gong would also grant them entry into the Champions League, which provides a huge carrot given European football looks incredibly unlikely through the Premier League as they currently sit 13th in the English top flight.

Rather than asking Postecoglou about the upcoming clash with AZ Alkmaar, one reporter instead decided to fish for a story on Bissouma, and the Spurs boss laughed off his attempts, insisting “you’re better than that!”

The reporter asked: “Yves Bissouma posted a couple of pictures of himself at a ski resort. First of all I assume you gave the players a couple of days off?”

“Seriously, what sort of question is that?” Postecoglou said, before adding sarcastically: “No I didn’t, we were training but he decided to go skiing…

“Come on mate, you’re better than that!”

Refusing to back down, the reporter then asked Postecoglou whether Bissouma did indeed go skiing.

Postecoglou bit back: “Well, he obviously did.

“I don’t worry about those things, mate. They’re adults, they’re human beings, they had a couple of days off.

“They can choose to use that time as wisely as they can to help them be ready for what’s in store for us.

“You kind of hope that they’re sensible about these things and go about whatever they do in a manner that befits the position they hold, but I have no concerns… and he’s fine.”

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Bissouma is in line to feature for Spurs in their last-16 first leg tie against AZ Alkmaar, who they beat 1-0 during the league phase of the Europa League in October.

Centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, as well as striker Dominic Solanke, have also travelled to the Netherlands.

“All three have been training with us and training well,” Postecoglou said. “I’ll decide whether they get significant match minutes or not, but it’s great to have them back.

“They feel good. They’ve been pretty frustrated not being able to help, but they’re in a position where they can.

“In the last few weeks we’ve had [Guglielmo] Vicario, Destiny [Udogie], Wilson [Odobert] and [James] Maddison all come back and you’ve seen the impact they’ve had. I’m sure the guys coming back now will have equally as important an impact.”

Spurs are aiming to win a first trophy since 2008 and Postecoglou says his players “really understand there is a great opportunity” in the Europa League.

“The club hasn’t in recent years done well in this competition, but it’s a major European competition, we’re in the last 16, there’s an opportunity there and we’ll see how far we can go in it.

“We’ve got to make sure, whatever happens at the end of the game, we’ve still got an opportunity to go back to Tottenham and win the tie.”

Southampton winger Tyler Dibling is reportedly drawing significant attention from top Premier League clubs, with Tottenham Hotspur emerging as the frontrunners for his signature.

The 19-year-old has been one of the standout performers in a tough season for Southampton, despite the club’s imminent relegation to the Championship.

Dibling, who is highly regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in English football, has impressed with his direct attacking style, scoring four goals and registering two assists in 28 appearances this season. His performances have earned comparisons to players like Cole Palmer,

Former England player Dion Dublin notably compared both Dibling and Chelsea star Palmer, adding to the 19-year-old’s hype.

“Do you know what it is? I don’t want to put any pressure on him, but he plays his game like Cole Palmer, doesn’t he?”

According to talkSPORT, Tottenham, who are currently facing a disappointing campaign, are eager to bolster their squad this summer, and Dibling has become a key target. While Southampton has reportedly set a price tag of £50 million for the winger, Spurs believe the price could drop if the Saints are relegated.

The north London club is confident they can secure a deal for Dibling, especially with Southampton’s financial pressures post-relegation.

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Despite Southampton’s struggles, Dibling’s individual form has been a highlight, and his rapid rise has attracted interest from several top clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Aston Villa.

However, Tottenham are reportedly in pole position to sign the young winger, with talks expected to intensify once Southampton’s relegation is confirmed.

Dibling’s ability to operate on both wings could provide valuable depth for Spurs, who have faced injury woes and a lack of goals this season.

With record signing Dominic Solanke struggling and sidelined with injury, Dibling could be a smart addition to Tottenham’s attack. Additionally, he could eventually serve as a long-term replacement for Tottenham captain Son Heung-min, whose contract is set to expire in 2026.

As the summer transfer window approaches, all eyes will be on Dibling’s next move, and Tottenham appear well-placed to secure his services, despite growing competition.

For no real reason other than a bit of sh*thousery, here are five Premier League managers we don’t expect to be in their current Premier League roles by the end of 2025.

We took the decision to exclude the three managers of the three clubs obviously getting relegated from consideration, because that would have been no fun.

Ange Postecoglou (Tottenham)

Astonishingly fortunate to still have a job having created an injury crisis with his absurd football and then survived a disastrous series of results precisely because of that same injury crisis.

Having weathered the worst of the storm it now looks like Postecoglou will probably survive the season, especially while the Europa League remains an attainable goal. And it’s a goal that Postecoglou’s own failures this season have paradoxically rendered more achievable given it is now very obviously a primary focus.

If he delivers that promised second-season trophy and with it a Champions League place, he will be able to legitimately point to the fact this instantly becomes Spurs’ best season in 40 years and it would thus probably be quite harsh to bin him despite the obvious frailties and flaws inherent in everything he does.

There is no doubt the fact that his future prospects at Tottenham now rely on a high-wire, high-stakes, high-risk, high-reward, sh*t-or-bust gamble on one knockout tournament does feel very much in sync with his ‘Just who we are, mate’ philosophy.

But even if we didn’t have to take the Spurs Trophy Factor into account – and we surely do – the bald fact that he probably needs to win the Europa League to have a better-than-even chance of seeing in 2026 as Tottenham manager is enough to make him an easy first pick here.

It’s not even ‘LOL Spursy Spurs’ to observe that on balance of probability they will not in fact win the Europa League. Fifteen of the 16 teams still in it will not win it and while Spurs have a better shot than most, it remains a pretty flimsy basket in which to have placed all one’s season-and-job-saving eggs.

And should Spurs go Full Spurs at any time over the next couple of rounds would anyone truly be surprised to see the perfunctory motions of the remainder of a moribund Premier League season gone through by Ryan ‘Interim’ Mason?

It would be purely symbolic at that stage and a neater summer split remains more likely, but while we have underestimated Daniel Levy’s level of attachment to his current manager before, we remain of the view that it would be more surprising if he is Spurs manager on January 1 than if he isn’t.

READ: Postecoglou sack: Five #AngeIn myths debunked as Levy urged to act now

Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)

Has made the foolish error of reversing Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea arc by starting superbly and then having it all turn to sh*t.

And the fact that turning a sh*t start into a superb finish still wasn’t enough to save Pochettino when it is generally considered a much more attractive way round to do things should really worry Maresca.

Very clearly still a manager adjusting to his first elite job who hasn’t yet quite learned that an elite job brings with it certain expectations, Maresca’s apparent fondness for saying very small-time things indeed has not endeared him to a Chelsea fanbase well used to managerial churn but also well used to extraordinary success.

With the erratic disruptor-in-chief Todd Boehly ever prone to a kneejerk response to any setback, it’s doubtful that even a probable saunter through the formalities of adding the Conference League to Chelsea’s otherwise complete set of European baubles could save Maresca now form and opinion have started to turn against him. And if they somehow don’t win the Conference…

Pep Guardiola (Man City)

The way we see it, there are only two possibilities here at opposite extremes of the spectrum.

Man City complete a reset and regeneration in the summer – they did, in fairness, make a start on this in January given their season was already f*cked – and a rested and rejuvenated Pep Guardiola has them back in their rightful place 10 points clear by the end of 2025.

Or, and we’re starting to think more plausibly, the summer gives him time to pause, reflect and realise he has had enough of it all, that he doesn’t have the energy or enthusiasm to rebuild a new great Manchester City side from scratch.

There is no in-between option that we can see at this time.

Whether it all ends in the summer or more damagingly and unpleasantly in the early months of the next season, the end has never seemed nearer for one of the great Premier League managers.

One thing that remains certain is that whenever Guardiola’s time at City is up it will one hundred per cent be on his own terms. He, not City, will decide when this ends. For all the giddy talk when City were at their late-2024 worst, there is quite correctly no way they will sack him.

Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth)

Because he will be tasked with finding out whether he can impose his slightly less demented brand of attacking football on Spurs’ pack of dafties after Postecoglou gets the tin-tack.

He probably shouldn’t accept the job but also he probably will accept the job, because football.

Iraola has shown a greater adaptability than Postecoglou managed with greater resources in the face of an injury crisis, with the obvious worry there for Spurs that he might just be another manager whose style of football carries enhanced injury risk.

Iraola’s Bournemouth have also been a gloriously streaky side, prone to bursting into runs of seven wins from nine games and then just not bothering to win in the league for another six weeks or somesuch. But what passes for endearing eccentricity at Bournemouth would see protests and banners at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

These are things to give Daniel Levy pause, but there’s obviously something he’s enjoying about Angeball because he hasn’t binned it off yet despite things getting well beyond the point he would normally have pressed the big red Ryan Mason button. So maybe when he does have to reluctantly change in the summer he’ll go for the nearest current match in the Barclays.

Let’s also not forget that the last managerial appointment Levy got undeniably right was when he appointed an enterprising manager who had caught the eye with a smaller Premier League club. Very Levy and Very Spurs that this is a tactic they have never once thought to try again because they thought they were bigger and cleverer than that.

Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)

F*ck it, got to go big with the last one here, haven’t we? Can’t all be built on logic. We did, of course, consider Ruben Amorim but our suspicion there is that there will be a deep reluctance from all sides to admit they’ve all f*cked it right up even as the earth is being scorched and salted. Everyone will stick it out for appearance’s sake and another two or three rounds of redundancies until at least this time next year, hiding behind the idea he needs to be given time for his signings to integrate with what’s left of the squad of unsuitables and undesirables he inherited.

Absolutely everyone involved will be lying to themselves as it all plays to an inevitable yet painfully drawn-out conclusion, but the key thing is we just don’t see that conclusion coming swiftly enough for a 2025 deadline.

Then we thought about Eddie Howe. We still suspect that if the owners of Newcastle even care that much any more and aren’t all distracted by the World Cup and such that they will at some stage wish to install a Genuinely Elite Manager at St James’ Park, and what Genuinely Elite Manager generally means is Not An English Manager.

But every time we make any attempt to get a ‘Howe Sack’ narrative moving the prick goes and wins like eight games in a row, so we’re not risking that again.

Arne Slot would be a bold choice but a performative one. Unai Emery? There were Mailbox rumblings after that Palace defeat that were hard to ignore. But is he really a big enough fish to justify going balls out? Not really.

It has to be Arteta. Another (probably) trophyless season is going to require a fresh round of process-trusting, and we’re just not sure anyone can be bothered with it anymore.

Arteta has cut an even more manic and frazzled figure than ever before this season, which also only makes us even more suspicious about his hair.

At some time Arsenal have to reach a point where they conclude Arteta has carried them far but can get them no further. The fact he still hasn’t won a non-asterisked trophy with his own team has to start counting for something, and it hurts him significantly that the team Arsenal couldn’t stay with isn’t even Man City but a team under a brand new manager.

Ange Postecoglou was so giddy about getting some players back that he chose not to play his best ones against the reigning champions. Defeat to Manchester City is on him.

Ange Postecoglou has been aghast at having to answer the same questions about Tottenham’s struggles this season. “I don’t know how else to explain it, mate,” he said earlier this month, shaking his head while extolling the virtues of his young, overworked team during an injury crisis.

But those “most extreme circumstances” have abated to the point where he can afford to drop the guy who got two assists in their last game against Ipswich, the guy who scored a superb solo goal in that same game and has been their best player this season, and the guy who also scored and has been lauded for one of the best individual performances of the season in the aftermath. He must have quite the squad. That’s the only logical explanation for a top manager to be leaving those players out of the starting lineup for a trip to the Etihad.

You can probably guess where we’re going here. A top manager would surely have looked at the fixture list and decided not to play Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Djed Spence against relegation-threatened Ipswich if he didn’t think them capable of playing two games in the space of four days in order to take the field from the start against the reigning champions. Ange Postecoglou is not a top manager.

He even hailed Djed Spence’s form as being “as good as any full-back” in the Premier League when asked about his England chances, pointing out that “he’s not really a left-back” before switching him into his more natural position to tear Ipswich apart on Saturday.

But Pedro Porro was preferred and Jeremy Doku was delighted to see him. There were at least three occasions when the City winger breezed past Porro when we thought he would either have been bullied off the ball by Spence or at least matched stride for stride.

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It was his deflected cross that found the actual Erling Haaland unmarked in the six-yard box to sweep the ball past Guglielmo Vicario, after Destiny Udogie – whom Spence should also been playing ahead of – watched the Premier League’s most feared marksman amble past him into position. It was horrible defending.

City were good in the first half, sweeping the ball from side to side quickly. Savinho really should have scored from an excellent Doku cross and Haaland could have had a hat-trick had he not fluffed one chance and seen another well saved by Vicario. But Spurs were all over the place.

They looked like they didn’t know what they were doing again, having looked like a proper team for the first time in a long time against Ipswich, just as they did for most of the second half here, particularly after the introductions of Son, Spence and Kulusevski shortly after the hour mark. Funny that.

Postecoglou has had the significant caveat of Tottenham’s undeniably significant injury crisis to lean upon amid questions over his future this season, with three Premier League wins on the bounce before this drawing attention away from his side being knocked out of both domestic cups. But there’s no excuse for this team selection.

“Those three have played a lot of football in recent times,” he said ahead of kick-off. But he’s got to plan better. Wilson Odobert, James Maddison and Porro were all fit to start against Ipswich but were saved for a trip to Manchester City. It just doesn’t make sense. Playing your best players in big games is Football Management 101.