Daily Star

Ange Postecoglou has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur despite ending their long wait for silverware.

The decision comes just weeks after he guided Spurs to the Europa League with a 1-0 victory against Manchester United to end Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought and return the club to the Champions League next season.

But the 59-year-old also oversaw the club's worst-ever Premier League campaign, as the North Londoners finished an embarrassing 17th in the table. Postecoglou appeared at Spurs' trophy parade in high spirits as he told fans: "[In] all the best television series, season three is better than season two."

The Aussie's manager's apparent intention to remain in North London has not been reciprocated by club owner, Daniel Levy, who today decided to end his two-year spell with the Lilywhites.

A statement read: "Following a review of performances and after significant reflection, the Club can announce that Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties.

"Ange joined us from Celtic in the summer of 2023 and oversaw a period of change on the pitch, returning us to the attacking brand of football that has traditionally been associated with the Club, while writing a new chapter in our history by leading us to UEFA Europa League glory in Bilbao last month - an achievement that will live with us all forever.

"We are extremely grateful to Ange for his commitment and contribution during his two years at the Club. Ange will always be remembered as only the third manager in our history to deliver a European trophy, alongside legendary figures Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw.

"However, the Board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place. Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games.

"This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season. At times there were extenuating circumstances - injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign.

"Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.

"It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond.

"This has been one of the toughest decisions we have had to make and is not a decision that we have taken lightly, nor one we have rushed to conclude. We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision.

"We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future - he will always be welcome back at our home.

"News on the appointment of a new Head Coach will be announced in due course."

Postecoglou was hired by Spurs in 2023, after he left Scottish giants Celtic, where he had won two Scottish Premierships. He made a bright start to life in North London.

After an unbeaten start with two wins and a draw in his first three matches, Postecoglou received the Premier League Manager of the Month award for August, becoming the first manager since David Wagner to win the award in his first month in the division.

He would also win his first North London derby and their first victory against Liverpool in five years - thanks to one of the most controversial VAR decisions in history. However, Spurs would end up outside of the Champions League spots - finishing 5th.

Postecoglou's second season in English football was tough, with Spurs struggling domestically amid a brutal injury crisis that saw their squad pushed to breaking point.

There were also regular arguments and flash points between Postecoglou and fans in the stands, appearing to cause a rift between the manager and the Tottenham faithful. However, to many all was forgiven when he brought home the Europa League trophy in Bilbao.

Tottenham are yet to announce who will be their next manager, but numerous Premier League candidates, including Thomas Frank, Oliver Glasner, Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva, have all been linked with the position.

Tottenham transfer news: Four stars to target under new boss – including ex-fan favourite

Tottenham could be set for a summer of change with Ange Postecoglou reportedly facing the sack despite leading Tottenham to Europa League triumph and a Champions League return

Ange Postecoglou’s future at Tottenham is uncertain, with the Aussie reportedly on the brink of being sacked by Spurs.

Despite winning the Europa League to lift Spurs’ first piece of silverware for 17 years, it’s reported that Postecoglou is at ‘extreme risk’ of being sacked. Thomas Frank is said to have been targeted to replace Postecoglou.

The Danish manager has impressed during his time in charge of fellow Premier League side Brentford. Having established the Bees as top-flight regulars following their promotion in 2021, Frank could be given the chance to manage in the Champions League if a move to Tottenham comes to fruition.

Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at four players that Frank could sign to turn Tottenham around.

Eberechi Eze

Crystal Palace’s FA Cup hero Eberechi Eze has since hinted he wants to challenge for trophies and “win everything”.

Despite “everything” being way out of Spurs’ capabilities at this point, the lure of Champions League football, and a club that realistically should be challenging for trophies and European football more regularly, could be enough to tempt the 26-year-old.

Kevin Schade

A player well known to Frank at Brentford, Kevin Schade has impressed under the Dane’s guidance.

The 23-year-old has caught the eye with dazzling displays this season, specifically excelling with his ball carrying and athleticism, as well as an ability to play several different positions in midfield and up front.

Despite the German being under contract at Brentford until 2028, it’s unlikely a huge offer will be needed for the Bees to consider selling.

Christian Eriksen

This would be a remarkable move, but why not? Eriksen is a free agent after leaving Manchester United, but while it goes without saying the 33-year-old wouldn’t be signed as a starting option, he would add a wealth of experience to a relatively young Spurs side.

Plus, there’s the boost of a former fans’ favourite returning to the club - something Frank might need, given he’d be replacing Tottenham’s first trophy-winning manager since 2008.

Morten Hjulmand

Spurs have been accused of having a soft underbelly in midfield this season and have regularly lost control of matches in the engine room.

However, the signing of Morten Hjulmand would change that. Well-known to Frank as a 15-time Denmark international, the Sporting midfielder has plenty of the qualities Tottenham are currently lacking. Capable of breaking up play, picking out a pass and even scoring from range, he’d be a welcome addition to Frank’s potential Tottenham side.

Tottenham now have their very own Erik ten Hag moment.

What do they do about Ange Postecoglou? Because if he’d have lost the Europa League final, then his P45 would be in the post the next day. Much like how it would have been for Ten Hag, if Manchester United lost last season’s FA Cup decider against Manchester City.

United decided to stick with the Dutchman, removed most of his staff and brought in a new coaching set up, while letting him make more signings. But by November, they’d lost faith in Ten Hag, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS made the costly decision to replace him.

Now hindsight is a great thing and this column would have said Ten Hag deserved another season - but they never gave him that. They gave him a few months. If Spurs decide to stick with Postecoglou after the emotional scenes in Bilbao which also secured Champions League football, then they need to really show loyalty in the Aussie coach.

That means if they don’t start the season well, then Tottenham owner Daniel Levy can’t just pull the trigger then. It’s now or it’s next summer. Anything in between will just set Spurs back years. Much like it has for United.

Onside

The decision to allow Alan Hansen to hand Virgil van Dijk the Premier League trophy. Touch of class.

Offside

UEFA running out of medals for a European final after Tottenham beat United? Bet they didn’t run out of free booze for their VIPs

Tottenham have announced their open-top bus trophy parade after they won the Europa League by beating Manchester United to lift their first piece of silverware since 2008

Tottenham have announced the route and plan of their open-top bus parade after winning the Europa League.

Ange Postecoglou’s side secured the club’s first silverware since 2008, and a first European trophy for 41 years as they beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao on Wednesday. Spurs have since returned home and will celebrate their success with fans.

While United were not planning to hold a parade of any sort if they had won the Europa League, Spurs are pulling out the stops for the celebration which will take place today, on Friday, May 23.

The parade will get underway with a 5.30pm start at Edmonton Green, with the bus then travelling southbound through Fore Street and the High Road, heading past the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It will then continue down Lansdowne Road, along Willoughby Lane and Northumberland Park, before coming to an end by 7pm.

Spurs players and staff will get off the bus and take to a stage outside the stadium once the journey is finished, where they will again lift the trophy. There will also be live music, a DJ and a legends Q&A session from 3pm for fans who attend.

“We expect the High Road area outside the stadium with a view of the stage to be extremely busy and full to capacity early – we encourage spectators to spread out along the Parade route,” Tottenham said.

“You will be able to watch a livestream of the staged event on the Club’s official website, app and YouTube channel no matter where you are, with a number of screens also positioned at intervals along the route.”

Postecoglou teased a ‘massive parade’ after Spurs’ triumph in Bilbao, saying: "What I do know is, I'll go back to my hotel room, get my family and friends together, open up a nice bottle of scotch, have a couple of quiet ones, get ready for a massive parade on Friday.”

Tottenham declined to hold an open-bus parade after winning the League Cup in 2008. The 1991 FA Cup final victory over Nottingham Forest was the last parade the club hosted around the old White Hart Lane stadium.

Manchester United or Tottenham will be in the Champions League next season - but UEFA have been told they have to make a decision with 'neither team deserving to qualify'

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have been told they shouldn't be in the Champions League and UEFA must make a decision.

The two stuttering English sides will meet in Bilbao later this month after they overcame Athletic Bilbao and Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals respectively.

However, they both followed that up with a poor display in the Premier League over the weekend - United fell to West Ham while Spurs were bested by Crystal Palace. It leaves them 16th and 17th in the the table.

And Richard Keys has now told UEFA to make a decision regarding next seasons Champions League - with one of the two set to book their spot in Bilbao.

"Spurs 17th. United 16th. They’ve lost 37 league games between them," the disgraced former Sky Sports presenter said on social media after their latest defeats.

"Only the 3 relegated clubs are worse. One or the other is supposed to be playing CL football next season. UEFA have to re-visit that decision now. It shouldn’t be allowed."

Arsene Wenger also recently suggested the current rules should be changed in an appearance on Keys’ beIN Sports programme.

“No – they should qualify automatically for the Europa League again but not necessarily for the Champions League,” said Wenger.

“Especially when in the Premier League, five teams have already qualified for the Champions League. I think this is something that UEFA needs to think about and needs to review.

"On the other hand people will tell you that to keep the Europa League focused, interesting and motivated you need to give them that prize [of qualifying for the Champions League]."

Gary Neville would then agree with Wenger: "I agree a little bit with Arsene Wenger [that Europa League winners shouldn’t earn direct passage to the Champions League] purely because every game we are watching at the moment we are just talking about the money at stake.

"Nobody is talking about winning the Europa League to win a trophy. The Uefa Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup used to be big trophies that clubs could win and you used to think ‘wow, what an achievement.’

"Everything now is about a £60m game or a £100m game, the FA Cup has become devalued, really great competitions are becoming devalued."

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have booked their spot in the Europa League final as both teams navigated semi-finals clashes with Athletic Bilbao and Bodo/Glimt

It will be an all-English affair in the far north of Spain later this month.

Manchester United are set to return to Bilbao after a second-half flourish saw them overcome Athletic Bilbao after the Basque side had threatened an unlikely comeback.

In the far frozen north, Spurs battled Bodo/Glimt and the conditions for their spot in sunny Spain later this month. Bodo have claimed some scalps above the Arctic Circle, and they went into the game 3-1 down on aggregate.

However, there would be no comeback in Norway as Ange Postecoglou's side ran out 2-0 winners.

And Daily Star Sport has all the information for the final later this month.

When and where is the final?

The Europa League Final will take place at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, on Wednesday, 21 May 2025.

United fans will feel right at home after their recent jaunt to the Basque region for the first-leg of the Europa League semi-final earlier this month.

This marks the first time the arena will host a Men's European final, following its stint as the venue for last season's Women's Champions League final.

UEFA approved the stadium to host both events as a consolation prize after it missed out on hosting matches at the EURO 2020 Championships.

What time is the final set to start?

The final is scheduled to kick-off at 8pm at the San Mamés Stadium.

Will the match be televised?

Yes, the match will be broadcast live on TV through various broadcast partners worldwide. In the UK it will be shown on TNT Sports.

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Watford midfielder who played until he was 55 dies

Ex-Tottenham and Watford star Dennis Bond has died at the age of 77 as his boyhood club Spurs paid tribute to their former midfielder

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Watford midfielder Dennis Bond has died aged 77.

Bond began his career at Watford in 1964, with the midfielder later joining Tottenham in 1967 and Charlton Athletic in 1970 before returning to Watford two years later, where he played until 1977.

Spurs led the tributes to their former player with a statement on social media which read: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former midfielder Dennis Bond at the age of 77.

"The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with Dennis’ friends and family at this impossibly sad time."

Bond, who grew up in Walthamstow, played 27 times and scored once for his boyhood club Spurs, but he spent the majority of his playing days at Vicarage Road, playing 301 games and scoring 42 goals for the Hornets.

The midfielder officially hung up his boots at the age of 55 after featuring for Boreham Wood, Waltham Abbey and Potters Bar Town.

Bond signed for Spurs for £30,000, a record fee for Watford at the time. He went on to play for the Lilywhites in the Cup Winners’ Cup.

In an interview with the Hornets, he spoke of his pride in featuring for Tottenham in Europe, he said: “It was a big game but the way the manager spoke to us calmed us all down and so by the time we went out it was just another game of football. By having us all relaxed we enjoyed our football a lot more.”

Fans took to social media to pay their own tributes to Bond. One user wrote: “Rest in peace,” as a second echoed: “RIP Dennis.” A third fan wrote: “Awful news. Rest in peace.” While a fourth added: “Rest in peace legend.”

Dion Dublin joked he'd take a fan outside during the BBC's Match of the Day coverage of Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur's FA Cup clash after he was called a "w*nker"

Dion Dublin joked he'd take a fan outside live on national TV.

Dublin was on punditry duty for the BBC as Tottenham crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Aston Villa. And Spurs fans were left less than impressed at half-time.

Knocking could be heard on the studio window as Joe Hart, Dion Dublin and Jermaine Defoe all tried to catch a glimpse of the culprit. New Match of the Day host Mark Chapman said: "They're angry behind at that first half... take us through that Dion."

However, Chapman was cut off by the x-rated comment from the fan - only for Dublin to respond: "I'l take him outside!" Laughter erupted in the studio as Chapman added: "You do that and I'll be just behind you!"

Spurs were a goal down at the break, after Jacob Ramsey had fired Villa ahead in the opening minute.

Aston Villa, with new signing Marcus Rashford on the bench, were in the ascendancy - and it didn't take long for them to have their second after the break.

Morgan Rogers was on target for the second as Villa cruised into the fifth round of the cup. Tottenham's fight back only took shape in added time when new signing Mathys Tel bundled the ball home.

It's another blow for Spurs boss Postecoglou, who admitted to the BBC Spurs are struggling with injuries: "Nothing really changes. We have a couple of weeks now where we don't have midweek games.

"This group has done an unbelievable job for two and a half months. I can't praise them enough, playing twice a week since November. They'll get the chance to reset now and finish the season strong.

"Europe is still very important to us, we're still in a great spot there, and we'll hope to get some players back over the next two weeks.

"We'll get players back which will help, we had 11 first-team players out today. Take that out of any team for one game and they would struggle - we've been doing that for two and a half months.

"The players are going out there and giving everything they can. It would be a lot better if they had some help."

Tottenham transfer news: Spurs smash transfer record for Irish wonderkid - but Brexit means he can't play  Daily Star

Tottenham transfer news: Ex-Man Utd talent and striker linked as struggles continue

As Tottenham’s struggles on the pitch continue both in terms of form and injuries, player arrivals have become paramount in North London heading into the final week of the window

Tottenham Hotspur have less than a week to potentially save their season as the January transfer window enters its final days.

Ange Postecoglou brought in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague earlier this month due to Guglielmo Vicario’s injury being one of many that the Aussie manager is having to contend with.

But with just days left of the window, Postecoglou will surely be looking to add more reinforcements to his depleted and struggling squad.

Here's the latest transfer talk from the Tottenham Stadium.

Goal-shy striker targeted

With Dominic Solanke sidelined and more firepower wanted by Postecoglou, Spurs are reportedly interested in signing Ajax striker Brian Brobbey.

According to the Record, Spurs are edging closer to a deal for the 22-year-old Dutchman. However, Brobbey’s form in front of goal is far from convincing and unlikely to be a signing that would excite Spurs fans.

Brobbey has scored just once in 17 Eredivisie games this season and only two goals in ten Europa League games across qualifying and the league phase. The former RB Leipzig striker has found himself before ex-Arsenal youngster Chuba Akpom and Manchester United flop Wout Weghorst.

Angel Gomes

Speaking of former United players, Spurs are said to be interested in signing England international Angel Gomes.

Gomes is a man in demand, with his old club and Newcastle United both linked with his signature, and he could be a free agent come the summer with his deal at Lille expiring at the end of June.

The 24-year-old made his England senior debut last year and has impressed in various roles in the middle of the park.

Timo Werner

One player who could be on his way out of north London and the Premier League is Timo Werner. The versatile German forward has been out of form and is now subject to interest from MLS side New York Red Bulls.

The 28-year-old is on loan at Spurs from RB Leipzig after extending his original six-month loan spell last January until the end of the current campaign. Spurs reportedly have an £8.5million option to buy in his loan deal.