Cartilage Free Captain

A couple of days ago we reported on news regarding Thomas Frank’s forthcoming appointment as head coach at Tottenham Hotspur, and who he wanted to bring from his current club, Brentford to serve as his assistants. Turns out, none of the names on that original list are coming. But according to the Athletic (£), Frank will bring three people from his current job with him, including a highly regarded assistant whom Brentford wanted to take over for Frank when he left.

Jay Wright writes (Jay Writes?) that Frank will be joined by coach Justin Cochrane, analyist Joe Newton, and trainer Chris Haslam. Cochrane is considered a highly regarded young coach, and Brentford were considering tapping him to stay at the club and take over for Frank. Cochrane apparently turned down the opportunity to become a Premier League manager for the first time to stay with Frank as his top assistant.

Is that weird? It feels a little weird, but there are probably reasons why Cochrane would want to do that. Maybe the timing didn’t feel right. Maybe Cochrane decided he didn’t want to be a manager at the highest level of English football and preferred the (relatively) less stressful life as an assistant. Who can say? It sounds like Brentford’s loss is Tottenham’s gain.

The Athletic also writes that Cochrane’s status is what took the club so long to announce Frank’s appointment, as they were trying to work out where he would go and what he wanted. Cochrane is also part of the England coaching setup under Thomas Tuchel and will apparently stay on there as well.

I do wonder what this means for Matt Wells and Rob Burch, the two assistant coaches under Ange Postecoglou who weren’t let go when Ange left the club. We’ll probably find out whether they’ll find roles under Frank or if they will find other positions within Spurs’ organization or at other clubs.

It’s time for F***, Marry, Kill: Tottenham Hotspur once more. Since the last piece, I have been sheltering myself from the rocks and various debris thrown my way after suggesting I sell half our midfield. The forecast after this? Well, more of the same.

It’s time to take a look at Spurs’ attack, starting with the wingers. For each, we’ll give you our thoughts as to why they should stay (Keep), head out on loan (Loan), or go (Sell - either via an actual sale, or conclusion of their contract); though there may also be a bacon sandwich that pops up here and there also.

Editor’s note: this series and a couple of the pieces in it were nearly completed at time of writing, so we will still cover players whose future has already been confirmed (i.e. released players)

Timo Werner - Sell (Loan concluded) - confirmed

Well... yeah. I actually feel a bit sad about this in that I really hoped, both for Timo and Spurs’ sake, that it would work out for him here. He showed promising signs in his loan late in the 23/24 season, but this season he just went from bad to worse before disappearing into the ether. Or should I say, “before being disappeared”? Ange Postecoglou clearly tired of the German’s inability to hit the broad side of a barn, and from there the only outcome was for Timo to head back to Germany.

Son Heung-min - Bacon Sandwich

Sonny is now officially a club legend. In my books, that means he can do whatever the hell he wants with my blessing. If he wants to see out the remainder of his contract at the club, fantastic. If he wants to chase the bag in Saudi Arabia, well, you go get yours Sonny (the grossness of sportswashing aside). If he wants to make a heroic homecoming to South Korea, or hang out with some friends in MLS, absolutely!

Son is turning 33 next month, and as such there’s no way Spurs would (or should) offer him a deal that he would want to accept beyond next season. He is also clearly in a physical decline - the amount of minutes he has played through his career taking a toll - but he has also managed to reinvent his game as his athletic tools have waned, becoming a more creative presence while still able to burn a defender on his day. Unfortunately, that’s probably not enough to be a regular starter for a Champions League club, and that’s okay! He’s been a faithful servant when others haven’t, and he deserves to finish a legend. Do what you want, Sonny.

Brennan Johnson - Sell*

*If an offer around what we paid is received

Yes, I can already hear the commentariat screaming at me now. Hear me out. Brennan Johnson is very good at the most important and hardest thing to do in football. He is bad to okay at everything else. What do you do with that? The funny thing is if he had just a bit more physicality and a long-range shot, he would fit right in as a striker and we’re probably not having this conversation, as that is a skillset that works well up front; but you can’t carry his lack of progressive skills on the wing at the top level... unless you have somebody elite on the other side.

Which Spurs do not.

This feeds into the Son, Wilson Odobert, and Mathys Tel options as well; all of these guys are incomplete players. Spurs need somebody complete. So if a club with a bunch of money comes in and offers to buy Brennan Johnson for what we paid, I am saying thank you very much and immediately reinvesting that cash into a top-level winger (no, not Bryan Mbeumo) - it’s the easiest way to get that influx of cash - but if that doesn’t eventuate, maybe we look at options around Wilson Odobert or Mathys Tel (or a Saudi club pays ridiculous money for Son).

This would lead to Brennan Johnson potentially moving into more of a bench impact role - which JOHNSON AGAIN OLE OLE! I will leave this on a positive: perhaps the most frustrating thing to see through the season just gone was for a player like Brennan, all physical tools and few technical, to be so lackadaisical in his defensive work-rate; however, after his time out of the side around two-thirds of the way through the season, he returned with a renewed vigor in that regard, really impressive with helping out Porro cover the right-hand side. If he can keep that focus, I think he can really do a job in a Thomas Frank-coached Spurs side, whose tactics I think will be of benefit to the Welshman’s game.

Wilson Odobert - Keep*

*But potentially loan out if Tel is signed, or Johnson or Son go

Wilson Odobert is an exciting, young winger. He’s also not very good. At least, not yet. There’s a lot of promise with Wilson; he can beat players at will and has a good work-rate out of possession, but he struggles to make an impact on the match if others don’t find him in space. Basically, he can disappear in games, and that makes sense for a guy who’s only 20! I think we sometimes forget that.

Time is on Wilson’s side, though, and if he keeps growing and improving, Spurs could have a very talented player on their hands. The only question is if he is going to be able to make the requisite impact as Spurs look to make an impression in the Champions League this coming season. If Spurs decide they are carrying too many raw talents, they could decide to loan the Frenchman out to gain some valuable experience and invest in somebody a bit more polished.

Mathys Tel - Keep (Sign)*

*If the price is right, and Spurs don’t see another talented prospect for cheaper elsewhere

In some ways, Mathys Tel is a raw player much like Wilson Odobert. In others, he is much further along in his development. Not willing to let the game come to him like his compatriot, Tel tries to impose himself on matches, sometimes to a fault; but that’s an approach to the game I love to see in a Spurs player.

Tel improved as his loan went on, with some impressive underlying shooting and shot creation stats: 0.54 xG+xA for a 20-year-old in a bad side is really good! He also has a level of versatility that could be useful - especially in a Thomas Frank side. The thing with Tel is opportunity cost. Is there somebody out there who could do the same (or more) for less? Maybe. Is he worth the original mooted £55 million? Almost certainly not right now; but I think he will be one day, and if Spurs can get him on the cheap he could end up a bargain.

Mikey Moore - Keep

Mikey Moore, long thought Spurs’ most promising academy talent, was a key contributor to Spurs’ 24/25 campaign. How many 17-year-olds not named Lamine Yamal are playing regular minutes for European champions? Not many.

It is possible Spurs opt to send Mikey on loan this coming season; but with European football meaning plenty of minutes to go around, and still very, very young, it may be that he stays closer to home, with some valuable cup minutes and cameos off the bench to see how he develops - with a loan perhaps looked at in January.

Dejan Kulusevski - Keep

Many commentors questioned why Deki was left out of the midfielders piece. The main reason was that there were already ten players to cover there, and I had deadlines to hit! That said, I’m still not convinced Deki is a midfielder. I know, I know.

He does some great things there - his ability to draw in defenders and release the ball can be quite dangerous around the box, and in broken play; but though he had some impressive appearances in the middle of the park last season, when he plays there you often see a disconnect between him and his midfield partners, with him often drifting to... well, the wing. This is not really the job of an attacking midfielder, who really needs to link the attacking and middle third - and it can make it difficult for Spurs to progress the ball. Bizarrely, though, he tends to progress the ball really, really well on the wing, almost acting as an auxiliary midfielder to move the ball up the pitch with quick passing and smart turns.

It’s almost like Deki has been used all over the pitch his entire career.

The reality is that Deki is a fantastic utility for a manager that loves to tinker and modify tactics, and that’s worth its weight in gold. He may not always start, and he may not always play in the same position, but he can kind of play anywhere across the front-line or in attacking midfield and do a job (and generally a good one at that). I think he could spend a fair amount of time this coming season operating just off the striker, slightly different from the advanced midfield role he played often through 24/25, and I am still intrigued by the idea of Kulustriker.

All this to say - he’ll be staying with the club, pretty much regardless of what anybody thinks. Deki’s injury saw off any thoughts the club may have had of selling him, with him potentially out for a good chunk of the first part of 25/26.

Bryan Gil - Sell

Yeah. Players of Bryan Gil’s stature tend to not succeed in the Premier League, UNLESS they are quite technically gifted, or extremely pacey. Bryan Gil is neither, and he is thus not a fit for Spurs. They love him though in Spain, where he should return the club a small fee - though nowhere near what Spurs paid for him.

I miss Erik Lamela.

Manor Solomon - Sell

Yes, Manor Solomon lit up the Championship last season; but history is littered with players who were brilliant in the Championship and then failed to make an impact at Premier League level. Manor Solomon is at his peak now, both in terms of his career and value, and he has a pretty sordid history of injuries. With the season just gone, he should comfortably fetch eight figures for Spurs. That’s a pretty easy sale in my books, and a quite tidy return for a free player.

Yang Min-hyeok - Loan

Yang moved to Spurs permanently in January and immediately headed to Queens Park Rangers on loan. I thought he would struggle with the physicality of the Championship; but he actually did okay from that respect, with the bigger surprise being his technical ability not popping in way some may have expected.

That said, he started around half of his matches at QPR, gaining regular minutes and returning two goals and an assist. Not too bad for the now-19-year-old’s first taste of English football. I think the club will want to build on this with him heading out on loan again. Frustratingly, unless there’s some part of the deal we’re missing in which he technically transferred to Spurs before the start of the 24/25 season before being loaned back to the K-League, he will never qualify as UEFA club-trained for Spurs, so it may be that unless he really breaks out he just becomes a tidy profit generator for the club.

Oyindamola Ajayi - Loan

Outside of Spurs winning the Europa League, was there a better moment this season than Damola Ajayi scoring his first senior goal for the club on debut against Elfsborg? The vibes were so great in that moment, it felt like they couldn’t be defeated... yet here we are. Keep the vibes good, guys! Please don’t yell at me in the comments!

Ajayi has shown promise in the U21’s at the age of 19, so I’d say he’ll head out to the lower levels of the English football pyramid to really test himself against grownups. Let’s see how he goes.

There you go. Like the midfield, the wide areas need quite a bit of work in terms of reinforcement. I believe that signing a starting-level winger is critical for Spurs this summer, and to make that happen, we could see a domino effect amongst the squad of loans and sales, leading to potentially further investment for some young talented depth. Let’s see how Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici view the situation.

Check out our previous pieces here:

What is this? Three tennis hoddles post in three days? This is fitzie’s fantasy.

RealJC in shambles.

Let’s get to it

————

For those of you who closely follow the hoddle of coffee, you’d know that your hoddler-in-chief featured The Beach Boys before. That occurred on 28 November 2023.

You see, fitzie was in a reflective mood after just winning his mixed doubles league in Washington DC. In that hoddle I shared a snippet of a memory shared one day. That same hoddle featured The Beach Boys as its track of the day:

“Today’s TOTD is one I listened to back in 2016. It was en route from London to Sussex. My tennis team at the University of Westminster was travelling to play another team. It was our first competitive match. On the way there I had listened to the Beach Boys.

I lost my singles that day 6-1 6-1. That loss was soon made up for. I hated losing that match. I learned a lot about myself that day. But what I most remember is how much fun I had with my friends. They are the first image that pops into my mind when I think of Brighton.”

Fitzie’s track of the day, part one: Wouldn’t It Be Nice, by The Beach Boys

I’ve been thinking a lot about that day tonight following the news of Brian Wilson’s death.

There isn’t anything I can add to the conversation that pushes it forward more than what Bob Dylan, Elton John, Mick Fleetwood and many others have already shared. But I’ll share that day in the United Kingdom a little bit more.

It was around September, and I was still questioning why I had moved to the UK. A few other guys and I at university formed a tennis team. We were pretty good and played competitively.

We had a match scheduled against the Univeristy of Sussex. I ran (literally) from West Hampstead to Baker Street Station, approximately 5km, as a “warm up” - only, I didn’t get to stretch afterwards.

We took a minivan from Marylebone to Sussex. On the way there I was listening to a radio station based in California, 100.3 The Sound. They were discussing how Wouldn’t It Be Nice by The Beach Boys was constructed, and I was hooked.

There was so much to unpack in that song. The gorgeous arrangement, how the vocals layered upon themselves in that baroque fashion. How it sounded so 1950s but also so fresh. It was magical.

I played that song on repeat for the roughly two hour trip past the Amex and to the University of Sussex.

I lost my singles match 6-1 6-1 that day. It was my first competitive match in five years, and I hated losing. What I remember more about that day, though, is the trip to Brighton Beach my tennis team and I took afterwards. It was a beautiful experience sharing dinner with them and running around Brighton Beach pier, as the waves crashed behind us.

Maybe that’s what The Beach Boys were all about. Gettin’ around, having a Surfin’ Safari, making sense of our disappointments and anxieties in a way that sounds beautiful and relatable.

Those people were my closest friends during postgrad. Many of us went our separate ways. Some of us, including me, went back to our home country. But I still return to see one of them, at whose wedding last year I served as witness.

It was a long trip back to Maylebone (and from there back to West Hampstead) that night. As we drove up the highway beneath the black sky, I again turned on The Beach Boys, slumped in my seat and stared out the window.

I’ll remember that day forever.

Fitzie’s track of the day: I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, by The Beach Boys

And now for your links:

Jay Harris ($$): “Micky van de Ven says Ange Postecoglou sacking was ‘strange’, expects Thomas Frank as successor”

Football London: “Son Heung-min debate, James Maddison question - Thomas Frank’s strongest Tottenham XI”

The Guardian: “Mauricio Pochettino said the US can win the World Cup. Now they can’t even win a game”

AP: “10 songs to celebrate the life and legacy of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson”

Micky van de Ven had a pretty good day yesterday. Starting at right back (!) for Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier, Micky scored a second half goal in injury time and also had an assist in a 8-0 drubbing of Malta in Groningen.

Afterwards, of course, Dutch sports outlet Voetbalzone asked Van de Ven about his club football, specifically the recent sacking of Ange Postecoglou and what he felt about that. Micky, being media trained, was pretty neutral about it, but did call the decision “strange” in lieu of Spurs winning the Europa League trophy.

What? You don’t speak Dutch? Well, fine, here’s a translation.

“[Postecoglou’s firing] was ultimately a decision made by the club. As players, we don’t really have much say in that. Of course, he was the first manager in a long time to actually win a trophy and bring success to Spurs. So if you look at it that way, it’s obviously a strange decision.

“It’s a club decision that we don’t have much influence over, so we’ll just have to see what happens next. We’re seeing rumors, of course, about the Brentford manager [Thomas Frank] possibly taking over. So yeah—again, it’s the club’s call, and we’ll have to wait and see.

“I think a lot of players had a good relationship with [Postecoglou]. And like I said, he was the first coach in a while to bring success to Spurs. That shows he definitely had quality—no question about it. So from that perspective, yeah, it’s strange that he was sacked.

“But of course, what we showed in the league was just not good enough. And that can’t all be blamed on the manager—there were definitely other factors at play.”

That’s a pretty solid answer from Micky. Since Ange was let go we’ve been hearing mostly unsourced and dubious reports of Tottenham player anger, with some breathlessly suggesting there might be a player revolt of some sort after Thomas Frank’s appointment. I don’t get that sense from Van de Ven’s answer here — it’s a pretty even handed response to a pretty obvious question.

Footballers know the drill. They are signed to a club to play for that club, and they don’t get a lot of input (rightfully so) as to who the club selects to lead them. It can make for uncomfortable situations at times, especially when the manager you signed to play for is fired, but they’re all professionals. This shouldn’t be new to any of them.

Is Van de Ven wrong that sacking Postecoglou is a little “strange”? Not at all! It’s a sentiment shared by many, many Tottenham fans based on the reaction on social media. But I don’t get the sense that he’s ready to down tools over this. Or at least he’s not going to say that in the media.

As you read by now, Carlos Alcaraz won his second French Open on Sunday after a thrilling final against Jannik Sinner.

On Monday, the Spaniard travelled to (what looks like) relax in Ibiza, the gloriouslly beautiful island off Spain.

No, your eyes do not fool you: There is Carlos Alcaraz hanging out with former Tottenham (and Brentford) player Sergio Reguilon.

Who knew the two were friends? Or did they just bump into each other?

Carlos Alcaraz has said that he is a supporter of Real Madrid, which used to be Reguilon’s club before joining Spurs in 2020 along with Gareth Bale. That was a good day.

It isn’t every week your hoddler-in-chief gets to write two tennis posts in consecutive days. Today was such lucky day.

Alcaraz will soon shift his focus to the grass court season after taking his holiday in Ibiza. He is currently scheduled to play at the Queens Club Championships next week, which is a 500 level ATP Tour event.

Queen’s Club usually has a strong entry field due to how close it is before Wimbledon. Other entrants this year include British #1 Jack Draper, last year’s champion Tommy Paul and runner-up Lorenzo Mussetti, Tommy Paul, Holger Rune and Ben Shelton. Other interesting players include Frances Diafoe, Grigor Dimitrov, Jakub Mensik and Matteo Arnaldi.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Roller Derby Queen, by Jim Croce

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “The first task facing the next Spurs manager: Connect with players like Postecoglou did”

David Hytner: “Cheikh Sabaly’s clincher condemns England to sobering defeat by Senegal”

BBC: “One year to World Cup, have Tuchel’s England regressed since Southgate?”

Out of Ange Postecoglou’s assistant coaching staff, only top assistant Matt Wells and goalkeeping coach Rob Burch remain. But as Thomas Frank gets set to join Tottenham Hotspur, his assistants will look very familiar to him.

According to journalist Sam Tabuteau who covers Brentford locally, Frank is looking into bringing as many as five of his backroom staff to Tottenham next season, including his top assistant and goalkeeping coach.

Claus Norgaard is an assistant who has been with Frank for a number of years, dating back to when he was head coach at Brøndby in Denmark. Justin Cochrane is a former youth academy coach at Spurs who had roles with a number of Tottenham’s U-squads, all the way up to the U-23s. He left the club to join Frank in 2018 when he took over Brentford.

Keith Andrews’ appointment might excite some Spurs fans as he’s a dedicated set piece coach, something that has been perceived as a club weakness under Ange Postecoglou. Manu Setolo is Frank’s goalkeeping coach, which would seem to seal the fate of current Spurs GK assistant Rob Burch.

A notable exception to Frank’s backroom staff is Kevin O’Connor, a former Brentford player and club legend who, I would assume, will be staying at the club.

This doesn’t preclude the possibility of Matt Wells staying on — he is, by all accounts, a talented assistant and would provide some continuity for the returning Spurs players should Frank opt to keep him on. Long time Tottenham assistant Ryan Mason, of course, left the club this summer for his first head coaching appointment at West Bromwich Albion.

The tweet doesn’t make it sound as though his assistants are a done deal, but if Fabrizio Romano is correct about the appointment being imminent, it implies whatever negotiations concerning Frank’s staff have already been resolved. We’ll find out soon enough, I guess.

Ben Davies has had his Tottenham Hotspur contract extended through the upcoming 2025-26 Premier League season, but that might not mean he won’t be switching clubs this summer. According to Sky Sports, Wrexham are still interested in bringing the Spurs CB and Wales international back “home”.

We wrote on the Wrexham rumors last month when a dubious source said that Wrexham were hoping to bring Davies in on a free transfer. The Sky report seems to corroborate that past article, but I honestly thought that Spurs triggering Davies’ contract extension made it essentially a done deal that they were keeping him.

And they might yet still do that, only that Sky is now saying that Rob and Ryan haven’t been put off by the idea of paying a small transfer fee to bring Davies to the Championship. The implication is that Tottenham may not want to let Davies go until (unless?) they bring in more defensive options this summer. With Thomas Frank joining the club imminently, one expects that the transfer rumors and activity will kick into full gear when the second window opens up on June 16.

I don’t think the idea of Davies heading down a division and playing for international television darlings Wrexham is a bad idea. In fact, for Wrexham it might be a very good idea. Davies is a consummate professional and would probably still cook in the Championship, and honestly Wrexham probably needs all the help it can get to consolidate its status as a second division club. I don’t hate the idea at all. But if they’re going to do that they’ll now need to negotiate with Spurs, not just with Ben Davies.

I don’t know about you but I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the meeting between Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Levy.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham Hotspur has appointed its next manager. The club and Brentford manager Thomas Frank are now in complete agreement for Frank to assume the role of head coach at Spurs, and the decision will be announced soon.

There are still a few details. Romano’s statement of the fee “in the region of £10m” implies that it’s probably negotiated down slightly from the hard number, or has been structured in a way that Spurs don’t have to pay it all immediately. We also don’t know what Frank’s assistants will look like and whether Matt Wells will stay on as part of Frank’s new staff at Spurs.

I have my issues with Fabrizio Romano, but I’ll admit that when he reports something as done, it’s done. Thomas Frank will be the next head coach of Tottenham Hotspur, and presumably when the comms and new videos are recorded and edited, we’ll get that announcement. I’d guess either later today or tomorrow.

What an incredible two days of tennis we had over the weekend. This year’s French Open was the first time since 1984 that the top two seeds squared off in both the men’s and women’s singles finals.

And, wow, did it deliver.

Men’s singles: (2) Carlos Alcaraz def (1) Jannik Sinner 4-6 6-7 6-4 7-6 7-6

This was simply one of the best matches I’ve seen in recent years.

Carlos Alcaraz came back from the brink to defeat Jannik Sinner, saving three championship points in the process. The victory marked the first time in Alcaraz’s career that he came back from two sets down to win a best-of-five match.

His victory also ended Sinner’s streak of 31 consecutive sets won at majors (T-3 all-time). This match is a good reason why Sinner isn’t quite ready to be compared to any of the big three. First, he lacks a huge weapon to win clutch points (like Federer’s serve), and he was clearly gassed towards the end of the match.

And Alcaraz’s freestyle play allows him to take more risks, thus pulling up clutch shots when he needed it most.

It was an incredible final, and the highlight posted above is but a sliver of the level of quality displayed during the 5.5 hour match. Roger Federer said it best. This match had three winners: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Tennis.

Women’s singles: (2) Coco Gauff def (1) Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 6-2 6-4

An equally dramatic, but less quality, match in the women’s final saw Coco Gauff secure her second major trophy at age 21.

To be fair, the conditions were incredibly difficult. Winds were averaging 12mph, with gusts reaching up to 33mph. That makes it very challenging to control the ball, and Gauff handled the conditions far better for Sabalenka.

The Belarusian stormed to a 4-1, 40-0 lead in the first set but totally capitulated from there. The moment seemed too big for her and the conditions too difficult. She hit 70 unforced errors during this match, while Gauff played a far cleaner game.

After a certain point it was clear Sabalenka was playing agaisnt herself more than Gauff, which her American opponent took advantage of.

With Roland Garros now over, we immediately head to the grass (otherwise known as the best time of the season). Alcaraz will head into Wimbledon as the odds-on favourite to defend his title, whereas Gauff faces a much more open field.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Stand!, by Sly & The Family Stone

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Thomas Frank led Brentford to new heights. It’s no surprise he is the leading contender for Tottenham job”

BBC: “‘Opposite of Postecoglou’ - what could Spurs expect from ‘chef’ Frank?”

Football London: “Who are Thomas Frank’s backroom team? Justin Cochrane, Keith Andrews and who could join Tottenham”

It is not a done deal yet, but all signs are now pointing to Brentford manager Thomas Frank taking over for Ange Postecoglou as head coach at Tottenham Hotspur. According to Matt Law and John Percy at the Telegraph, Frank has verbally agreed to take the reins at Spurs starting this summer, and talks are now continuing as to assistant coaching staff and compensation.

The Telegraph writes that it’ll cost Spurs £10m to get Frank out of Brentford, which feels like a lot but is small potatoes when it comes to player acquisitions. That’s in addition to paying out the remainder of Postecoglou’s contract, said to be £4m plus whatever bonus he got for winning the Europa League. So it won’t be cheap, though I can imagine Daniel Levy is trying to get that out clause reduced as I type this.

Interestingly, the Telegraph also has the first real confirmation that Spurs executive Scott Munn has left the club. In what has turned out to be a complete Aussie-ectomy at the club (which includes Postecoglou and assistant coach Mile Jedinak), Munn has apparently been relieved of his duties, likely to make way for Vinai Venkatesham as Chief Executive Officer. We had rumors that this was going to happen, but it’s the first time we’ve seen something in print to suggest it actually has. Johan Lange, meanwhile, is staying and will be helped by Fabio Paratici when he starts July 1.

And there’s more: Percy and Law state that the futures of Cuti Romero and Son Heung-Min are both somewhat in question, with the article stating Sonny had “left some players and staff with the impression he could leave Spurs.”

So while we didn’t wake up to news of a new managerial appointment, it certainly sounds like there’s movement in that regard, and Frank could soon be starting his wild years at Tottenham Hotspur.