Daily Mail

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest scores, team news and updates form Wednesday's Carabao Cup action including Manchester City vs Tottenham, Brighton vs Liverpool, Preston vs Arsenal, Newcastle vs Chelsea and Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace.

Ange Postecoglou has questioned whether Erik ten Hag would have been sacked if he was at Tottenham rather than Manchester United.

Ten Hag was sent packing on Monday after nearly two-and-a-half years at the club, and is set to be replaced by Ruben Amorim with United willing to play the Portuguese's release clause.

He will have the task of turning around the Red Devils' fortunes when he takes over, with the club 14th in the Premier League and having not won in Europe for over a year.

Postecoglou, meanwhile, speaking before his side's Carabao Cup game against Manchester City this week, compared the Dutchman's efforts at United to his own at Tottenham.

He gave his verdict on his dismissal, pointing to the fact that he managed to win two trophies in two years.

'Nah, not really shocked,' Postecoglou, whose Spurs side beat United less than a month ago, said. 'Disappointing as it was, it was almost inevitable with the scrutiny he had.

'If you look at Erik, he was there for two and a bit years. He won a trophy in each year, they finished third in his first year. If he was here with that record would he have lost his job? I don't know.

'Would he be under the same scrutiny? I don't know, because everyone tells me all I have to do is win a trophy, but I have got a feeling it would be the same because, just the nature of the world today.'

Tottenham haven't won a trophy since 2008 when they lifted the League Cup, with supporters desperate for silverware again.

Ten Hag, meanwhile, won the League Cup in 2023 and FA Cup in 2024.

Postecoglou is determined to deliver that, but is keen not to underestimate the importance of finding the balance between silverware and long-term success.

He also wished the best for Ten Hag, who is now out of work having left his role at Old Trafford.

'As a manager you have to hit a sweet spot where you get success, you play football everyone likes, you get every signing right,' he continued. 'In that moment you seem to get some sort of validation.

'Anything other than that, it seems to be for some clubs they want trophies not football, others want football. It is a difficult task.

'But what you have seen in the past, I'm sure Erik will bounce back from that because he is a good manager. You have seen it with other managers. I'm sure his career will continue to go on strongly.'

George Weah played 15 games for Chelsea in the 1999-2000 season, before featuring nine times for Manchester City in the following campaign.

But the legendary Liberian explained on Monday night that he actually supports a different Premier League team.

Weah - who also represented Monaco, PSG, AC Milan and Marseille during his playing career - revealed at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony in Paris that he had followed Tottenham Hotspur since he was a child.

The 58-year-old, who won the 1995 edition of the Ballon d'Or was a special guest at Monday's ceremony in Paris.

While on stage Weah was asked which players he most liked to watch.

He replied by pointing at former Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and saying: 'Yeah, that's one of my players that I love.

'I'm a fan of Mr Kane. When you were playing for my team, I'm a fan. I'm a very good fan because I believe that he's a very strong and very clever striker.

'I support the team... Tottenham, since I was a kid. I love him.'

Many fans watching the awards ceremony on television were quick to express their surprise at Weah's revelation.

One took to X (formerly Twitter) to write: 'Weah has been a Spurs fan this whole time and WE NEVER KNEW?'

A fellow Tottenham supporter added: 'No way George Weah is a Spurs fan, big up.'

Meanwhile, a Chelsea fan tweeted: 'George Weah supports Tottenham?!?!?! Wonder how he felt scoring the winner against them for us.'

Kane - who responded to Weah's praise with a wide grin - left Tottenham to join Bayern Munich in August last year.

But Kane is still Tottenham's all-time leading scorer with 280 goals in 435 games.

Kane came 10th in the overall vote for this year's Ballon d'Or.

The 31-year-old England captain also shared the Gerd Muller Trophy with Kylian Mbappe after they both scored 44 club goals last season.

Kane's 44 Bayern goals came in just 45 appearances, while Mbappe featured in 48 matches for PSG last season - before leaving to join Real Madrid during the summer.

Despite his incredible tally of goals, Kane failed to help Bayern win a team trophy in his first season in Germany.

However, Bayern currently sit top of the Bundesliga after eight rounds of fixtures this season.

Jean Philippe-Mateta's second-half goal condemned Spurs to a 1-0 defeat

Guglielmo Vicario claimed that Crystal Palace showed more willingness to fight

LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday

Guglielmo Vicario accused his teammates of lacking the desire to fight after Tottenham became the first team to be defeated by Crystal Palace in the Premier League this season.

'They fight and I think we lacked that today,' said Vicario. 'We are disappointed because we have to fight. We play good football but maybe sometimes we lack the desire to fight. They (Crystal Palace) showed a real desire to fight for something.

The Spurs keeper went over to a half-empty away end at the end of the game to apologise and admitted that Ange Postecoglou's side must do better.

'We lacked a bit of energy and to be better than them. We have to take this personally and it has to hurt us a lot. Football gives us an opportunity again and we have to be ready for the cup (against Manchester City on Wednesday),' said Vicario.

Spurs were without Son Heung-min due to injury but Vicario stressed that they must learn to deal without their captain.

'We have to be able to win games without Son. We lacked in something - not in football, but attitude and fight,' the 28-year-old added.

Meanwhile, Postecoglou admitted that his side failed to deal with the nature of the game.

'It was a game which turned into, and it didn't surprise me, a bit of a battle. Lots of stop, starting and standing around. We didn't deal with that really well at all,' said Postecoglou.

'We didn't get to grips with the nature of what was transpiring out there. They dealt with it better than we did.'

Under Postecoglou, Spurs have gone behind at some point in 14 of their 24 away Premier League games and this was their ninth defeat in those 24 games.

The Spurs boss insisted that the goal they conceded 'had nothing to do' with playing out from the back after Micky van de Ven lost possession deep in his own half and Jean Philippe-Mateta scored.

'It was a poor goal to concede, it had nothing to do with playing out from the back. That can happen,' said Postecoglou, who called on his team to be more clearheaded.

'It was a game we needed to stay composed in and not fall into the trap of trying to play the game that ultimately Palace wanted to play,' Postecoglou added.

'We need to be a lot more clear-headed about how we deal with that rather than falling into the trap of doing what we did today. It was a big game for Palace.

'They were always going to be desperate to get a win and that happens. I just thought there was a lot of standing around today which I hate and I've said that before. But I guess it's just the nature of the way the game went.'

Palace boss Oliver Glasner admitted that victory eased the pressure but the Austrian insisted he was never concerned about his job, with victory lifting his side away from the relegation zone.

'We are a very good team and it's very difficult to beat us,' said Glasner. 'The biggest difference today was the bravery with which we played.

'We have to show it again in three days against Aston Villa. Regarding the intensity and the mindset, this is the benchmark.'

Tottenham youngster Mikey Moore has been handed his first start in the Premier League against Crystal Palace this afternoon.

Moore, 17, impressed during Spurs' 1-0 victory against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League in mid-week and has been rewarded with a spot in Ange Postecoglou's XI.

His display on Thursday saw him likened to Neymar by his team-mate James Maddison while Postecoglou admitted it was 'hard to keep a lid' on his talent.

With captain Son Heung-min ruled out of the game at Selhurst Park due to a hamstring injury, teenager Moore will again line up on Spurs' flank.

The out of form Timo Werner has been dropped and is among the substitutes while Wilson Odobert has missed out entirely on the matchday squad.

Richarlison, who returned to the side for the first time since August against AZ Alkmaar and scored the winner from the penalty spot, is also on the bench.

Moore became the youngest player to represent Spurs in the top-flight in May after coming off the bench against Manchester City aged just 16.

In the latest step in his rapid rise, he is also now the youngest player to start a Premier League game for the club since Stephen Carr in 1993.

Postecoglou saluted Moore after his dazzling performance in Europe last time out and backed him to remain level-headed despite his tender age.

'Just to be clear, I didn't call Mikey, Neymar!' said Postecoglou.

'I've got a feeling it won't affect Mikey. I don't think we'll see him arriving with different-coloured hair or a Ferrari. He can't drive, can he? I think he'll be fine.

'The biggest concern I have for him is physically. He's still a growing kid, his body is still adjusting to this level, so to ask him to play two games in a short space of time,

'I'd be cautious about that. He's very mature for a 17-year-old, he handles things really well - positive and negative.'

Postecoglou added: 'He is ready to start any game but I feel with young players you need to be really careful with their introduction into senior football.

'Even last year, he didn't have a full season of football. He had quite a few injuries, a couple of injuries that kept him out and he went from playing U-18s football to very little U-21s football before we integrated him. You have to look at that.

'I think he is still physically growing and you take that into account. I think he's ready to start a Premier League game, for sure.

'For us what we want to do is to continue to develop Mikey in the right way and give him a platform to keep improving. So far whatever we've asked of him, he's made a real impact and the plan is to continue to do that.'

Follow Mail Sport's live coverage to be kept up-to-date on all the action from the 2pm Premier League fixtures between West Ham and Manchester United and Crystal Palace vs Tottenham including live score, team news, latest updates and reaction.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust has expressed its disappointment at the club's decision to raise ticket prices for next month's Europa League game with Roma.

Spurs charged £30 for adult tickets and £10 for U18s for their first European home match this season, against Qarabag.

An adult ticket for the recent clash with AZ Alkmaar then cost £35.

The official attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Thursday's 1-0 win over Alkmaar was 53,438, which is 9,412 below capacity.

On Friday, Spurs revealed prices for their final two home fixtures during this season's Europa League group stage.

Tickets for their game against Elfsborg (January 30) will again cost £30 for adults and £10 for juniors. However, a club statement said that tickets for the Roma game (November 28) 'will be priced equivalent to Category C fixtures.'

Spurs use three categories - A, B and C - to determine prices for Premier League home games.

Category A games are the most expensive and this season's opponents in that price bracket are Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Bournemouth, Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton have been designated as Category C fixtures this season.

Category C games are significantly less expensive to attend than Category A matches. The cheapest Category C ticket is £38, compared to £71 for a Category A game.

Meanwhile, the most expensive Category C ticket (not including hospitality) is £81, with Category A equivalents costing £109.

But the THST believes that Europa League group games should be priced lower than Category C matches.

A statement from the fan group issued on Friday afternoon read: 'The decision by @SpursOfficial to price tickets for the @EuropaLeague game against @OfficialASRoma equivalent to category C is disappointing.

'We had asked that tickets for these games would not exceed £35 in line with other home games in the competition. Almost 9,000 empty seats last night is a clear indication that pricing for this competition needs addressing.'

Spurs are in a strong position to qualify for the Europa League's round of 16 after taking maximum points from their opening three games in the competition.

Thursday's 1-0 victory over Alkmaar followed a 2-1 away win at Ferencvaros and a 3-0 home triumph against Qarabag.

Roma have only taken four points from their opening three Europa League games - against Athletic Bilbao, Elfsborg and Dynamo Kyiv.

Follow Mail Sport's live coverage to be kept up-to-date on all the action from the Europa League fixtures between Fenerbahce vs Manchester United and Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar including live score, team news, latest updates and reaction.

© Associated Newspapers Ltd

Ange Postecoglou has declared Tottenham undeserving of extra punishment despite the club's acceptance of an FA charge of failing to control their players during Saturday's 4-1 win against West Ham.

Spurs have decided to pay a £20,000 fine relating to their part in a bust-up sparked by a challenge by Hammers forward Mohamed Kudus on Micky van de Ven.

Postecoglou admitted that the Dutch defender's angry reaction, plus the speedy arrival of many of his team-mates, was 'not a good look'.

But he made it clear he felt that Kudus, who saw an of-field yellow card upgraded to a red on the advice of VAR having been caught on camera putting a hand in Pape Sarr's face, had been the only aggressor. Both clubs were charged, West Ham have until today to respond.

'I'm not really sure what we did wrong apart from, yeah, there was a coming together but a couple of our players had hit the deck by then so you would like to think we would go in there and at least protect,' said Postecoglou, referring to Richarlison who had also come into contact with Kudus.

'I thought our players controlled themselves but obviously the FA felt differently. I didn't think there was anything edgy in that game at all - just a player who lost his composure for a second, Kudus.

'For the most part, I thought there was a fair bit of restraint. I guess the look of it is not great but I don't think it was anything untoward.'

'I was obviously a bit mad, I stood up and I pushed him and then the situation happened from his side,' added van de Ven, who was booked. 'He literally punched me in the face and I went down.

'I didn't really see what happened afterwards. The FA said we need to get fined for this. It is not how I think about it. If I think about, it would be a different situation.'

Son Heung-min will be rested for tonight's Europa League visit of AZ Alkmaar, van de Ven's local club, where he was briefly a player as a youngster.

Postecoglou declared himself to be heavily influenced by the Total Football the Netherlands national team played in the 1970s.

'People talk about my high line but watch the Dutch in 1974 and you'll see something even more radical than me,' he said.' I've got a bit of a way to go.'

The FA has charged Kudus for improper conduct during West Ham's Spurs clash

During the clash, Kudus saw red for lashing out at Spurs' van de Ven and Sarr

LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday

Mohammed Kudus has been charged with improper conduct following his red card against Tottenham on Saturday – leaving the forward at risk of an even longer ban.

Kudus saw red in West Ham's 4-1 defeat after lashing out at Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr in the closing stages of the game.

The forward was originally shown a yellow card by referee Andrew Madley, but this was upgraded to a straight red on VAR review.

Kudus aimed two kicks at Van de Ven while the defender was on the floor, then shoved the Spurs man in the face after he had got up to confront him.

Despite his team-mates' attempts to retrain him, Kudus then also pushed Sarr in the face.

The 24-year-old has now been charged with improper/violent conduct by the Football Association. A statement read: 'Mohammed Kudus allegedly acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct after the offence that he was sent off for.'

Violent conduct offences are a minimum three-game ban but Kudus risks having this increased if his respective charge is upheld.

The forward is guaranteed to miss games against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton. The Hammers then play Newcastle and Arsenal in their two fixtures after the international break.

West Ham and Tottenham have also been charged for failing to control their players.

The statement added: 'Tottenham Hotspur allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn't behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the 82nd minute.

'West Ham United allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn't behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way at the same time.'

The two clubs and Kudus have until Thursday to respond.

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean had said after the game that Kudus could 'get done twice' for his two altercations.

'When you see the footage back, the first one he could have got sent off for, which hopefully he has,' Dean said.

'Hopefully the second one the FA will then take retrospective action so he'll get done twice in my opinion because he's hit two different players in the face on two occasions.'

Joey Barton was given a nine-game ban for three separate violent clashes when he was sent off for Queens Park Rangers against Manchester City in 2012.