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Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Thomas Frank is Daniel Levy's biggest gamble yet after 13 managers in 25 years at Tottenham following Postecoglou axe
DANIEL LEVY was never going to win a popularity contest among the Tottenham fanbase. But after his drastic action over the last week, he is now well and truly under the pump, as Ange Postecoglou might have put it. 5 Thomas Frank is Tottenham's new manager Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 5 Ange Postecoglou was sacked after guiding Spurs to the Europa League trophy Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 5 Spurs protested Spurs chairman Daniel Levy in February Credit: Getty Chairman Levy already had thousands of Spurs supporters taking to the streets to protest against his running of the club last season. Yet since then he has ruthlessly sacked the man who delivered the club's first trophy in 17 years and who gave many fans their greatest night following the team. And he has replaced that man with a head coach in Thomas Frank who, for all the wonders he worked at Brentford, has no track record of delivering major honours. It is the 13th hiring-and-firing of Levy's 25-year Tottenham tenure — and his biggest gamble yet. READ MORE IN football GAME CHANGER Major Premier League TV change with broadcasting giant to lose all coverage Fans already accused the 63-year-old of failing to place winning silverware at the top of his priority list. Axing Aussie Big Ange just 16 days after he masterminded their Europa League triumph over Manchester United in Bilbao to finally lift Spurs' trophy curse will only amplify that perspective. Whether the views of many on Levy and the club's ownership are too entrenched to be altered by now is hugely debatable. But if this latest shove on the managerial revolving door in N17 goes badly, then the bad feeling towards the board could reach new decibel levels. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Frank, 51, will receive plenty of goodwill from many fans, who will respect how he had the Bees regularly overachieving during his near seven-year reign. But they will also be extending a word of warning to the friendly Dane over his new employer and half expecting him to be out on his ear in less than two years — because that is what usually happens. Sancho's Next Move: Three Clubs in the Race! | From The Sports Desk | Sun Sport As a statement following Postecoglou's sacking from protest group Change for Tottenham read: 'The real issue is not who wears the tracksuit but who holds the power. "Daniel Levy and ENIC have now overseen more than two decades of false dawns, short-term thinking and cultural decay. 'The manager may change but the problem stays the same.' And 59-year-old Postecoglou — should Frank decide to seek out his opinion — will hardly paint a positive picture of his old boss either, having been strung along with radio silence for a fortnight before being cold-bloodedly handed his P45. In fairness to Levy, making a change was not the easy, crowd-pleasing call. That would have been sticking with the Australian, given how many of the fanbase — including the thousands that previously wanted Ange out — were now behind him. Nor was it the cheap option either, flying in the face of a consistent criticism in this instance. Levy and majority owners ENIC have regularly been accused of not splashing the cash to a proportionate degree for their revenue streams. 5 Critics do not just include disgruntled supporters but current star defender Cristian Romero, who took aim at the board's lack of investment during a TV interview in December. Yet they have forked out around £5million to pay off Postecoglou and his staff, along with the £2m bonus the former Celtic boss picked up for his Europa League win. And they have spent more than £10m on landing Frank, plus his highly rated No 2 Justin Cochrane, fitness coach Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton. Levy believes the pitiful Premier League form under Postecoglou was more important than winning a European trophy. Spurs finished 17th last season and Levy made his point with reference to '78 points taken from 66 games' in the announcement confirming Postecoglou's sacking. Defender Micky van de Ven has already described binning Postecoglou as 'a strange decision', summing up the mood of a squad who were firmly behind the Athens-born boss. Whether it proves to be the right call or not, only time will tell. But one thing is for certain, if it does not, the fans will be venting their anger in only one direction.
Scottish Sun
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Three reasons Ange Postecoglou should be sacked despite winning Europa League, and three reasons he should be kept on
The Aussie made good on his promise to end Spurs' 17-year trophy drought - but what next? STICK OR TWIST Three reasons Ange Postecoglou should be sacked despite winning Europa League, and three reasons he should be kept on IT was a horrific game, won by a joke of a goal. But there isn't a Spurs fan in the land who cares about any of that now. Advertisement 6 Ange Postecoglou has delivered Tottenham fans the trophy they so desired Credit: Alamy 6 The club now face the question of whether to stick with the Aussie or move on Credit: Getty The big question, though, is whether Ange Postecoglou's reward for breaking the club's 17-year trophy drought should be to get another go, or receive his P45. Sun Sport looks at the arguments both ways... ANGE IN - The hoodoo is broken The big Aussie put himself under huge pressure when he pointed out, 'I usually win a trophy in my second season'. He then made it tougher when he doubled down to insist, 'I ALWAYS win a trophy in my second season'. Advertisement READ MORE ON FOOTBALL TOTT OF THE WORLD Inside Spurs' wild dressing room celebrations as stars down beer & pizza Having done that and delivered on his promise, many will think it would be utterly unfair for Postecoglou's reign to be cut short. That Postecoglou believes this can be the turning point is clear, too, after he spoke of his desire to move the club on over coming seasons. Postecoglou feels that the lack of silverware was a huge albatross hanging over the club. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Advertisement By ending that jinx, everything can be easier. In the aftermath of victory, he said: 'I'd be disappointed if I couldn't continue on this path but I understand why it would be difficult for a club like this to buy into one person's vision. Ange Postecoglou fumes after being labelled a 'clown' and refuses to answer question during press conference 'But mate, I'm a winner. I've been a serial winner my whole career.' The Europa League trophy is the physical embodiment of his self-confidence and proof that Postcoglou has the courage of his own convictions. Now, he would argue, he deserves the time to underline all that. Advertisement Loyalty counts When James Maddison and Sergio Reguilon raised the banner showing a picture of Postecoglou complete with THAT quote to the Spurs fans amid the Bilbao celebrations, it said a great deal about the bond between the manager and his players. Maddison is understood to have had his own fall-outs at times with the Aussie this season, while Reguilon was sent out on loan twice and barely kicked a ball for Spurs over two campaigns. But they were making a statement on behalf of the dressing room - that whatever their various issues might have been, they clearly like the manager on a personal level. Other players have also voiced their positive feelings about Postecoglou. Advertisement And while football is about tactics and intelligence, it is also an emotional game - if you like a manager and want to play for him, you are more likely to perform better. Tottenham ratings: Bissouma dominates Europa League final as occasion gets to Udogie BRENNAN JOHNSON was Tottenham's hero as they finally ended their 17-year trophy drought in the Europa League final. Despite being without James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski for the clash in Bilbao, Spurs came up with a massive win against Manchester United. Johnson scored the goal as he helped bundle in from a corner in a tussle with Luke Shaw to send fans into dreamland. But Spurs also owe a huge thanks to Yves Bissouma who was totally dominant in midfield. At the other end, Destiny Udogie struggled to get up to the pace of the match as he was up against Manchester United's Amad Diallo. Spurs had just three shots, only 27 per cent of the ball, and completed a mere 115 passes over 90 minutes. But it didn't matter, as United never really looked like finding a leveller to take it to extra time. SunSport's Henry Tomlinson gave his ratings for the Tottenham players… Continuity counts Now Spurs have won a trophy, it will ease so much tension - both on and off the pitch. Change for the sake of change now threatens to blow all that up and bring in a new level of uncertainty. A new manager means a new coaching team, and probably a new set of players as well - any boss worth his salt will want to have a level of autonomy. Advertisement While this has been a roller-coaster of a season - admittedly one with more plunges than ascents - Postacoglou has managed to cope with the intensive gaze of scrutiny and come out the other side reinforced and stronger. The Australian has admitted the domestic season has been 'unacceptable' but success does tend to breed success and he will now be emboldened to be the manager who can lead a bold new Spurs era. 6 Sergio Reguilon and James Maddison paraded a banner of Ange in Bilbao Credit: Getty ANGE OUT - Months of misery One night of glory - albeit glory earned through cussed defiance and one-dimensional anti-football - cannot wipe away everything that has gone before. Advertisement Postecoglou won 26 points in his first 10 games at the Spurs helm. The subsequent 65 have garnered just 77 points. That is relegation form, by any standards. By far the club's worst campaign of the Premier League era, arguably worse than the relegation season of 1976-77 given the resources at his disposal. And simply not good enough for Tottenham Hotspur. Advertisement Yes, Postecoglou's squad has been plagued by injuries for much of the past 18 months. 6 But plenty feel a major contributor to those absences has been Postecoglou's playing style - if your defenders are permanently playing on the margins, rather than being able to relax a little during games, they are more likely to be injured. And while his personnel was in a constant state of flux, Postecoglou was wedded, for far too long, to a style of play that failed to take the actual manpower into consideration. Advertisement It's all well and good playing a high line, with inverted full-backs, and playing out from the back, if you have Micky van der Ven and Cristian Romero available. But not if your central defenders are Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray, with Ben Davies at left-back, in front of a stand-in keeper who cannot kick. 6 Postecoglou's Spurs have endured a disastrous Premier League campaign Credit: PA Fan unrest Daniel Levy has long been the Aunt Sally for the Spurs supporters. Advertisement But the relationship between the fans and the manager has suffered as well - perhaps irretrievably. In those early months it was all Robbie Williams and 'Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, Ange Postecoglou'. Those have not been heard too much in recent months. Postecoglou lost a lot of the fans at the end last season, when he simply did not understand how any of them - let alone many - were willing to lose at home to Manchester City to help ensure Arsenal did not win the title. Advertisement His arguments were sound - he is a football manager, whose job is to win games and get the best possible finish for his club. But football is not just about 'football'. It is about so much else - and tribal rivalries run deeper than blood. This season, as Spurs lost game after game - 21 and counting in the league - the simmering discontent has boiled over. Not in chants, perhaps. But in the bars and the stands, on the podcasts, in the social media chat rooms. Advertisement Does one night of joy transcend that? 6 Tottenham fans continue to protest against the club's ownership Credit: Alamy One swallow does not make a summer No fan who was in Bilbao, or watching at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in a pub or at home, will ever forget that feeling of sheer, unbridled ecstasy at the final whistle. All those seasons of frustrations, the near-misses, the agony, gone, in one blast of the referee's whistle. Advertisement Yet Tottenham SHOULD be winning things. They are the ninth-richest club in the world. With the best stadium in England. And one of the best training grounds anywhere, For all the koans about the club being reluctant to dig deep, Spurs HAVE spent money, too. My conclusion by Martin Lipton I am beyond thrilled that Spurs won in Bilbao. And I believe Ange Postecoglou is a decent bloke and a decent manager, who deserves his day in the sun. He had faith in himself when plenty did not. But I do not feel that he is the right man for the next stage. It is for Daniel Levy and the board to make the final call. And if Postecoglou is sacked, and the next appointment does not work out, I will not blame Levy and Co for the decision. It would be the right one. Last season, finishing fifth having lost Harry Kane - if he had not been sold, that would surely have been third or fourth - felt like a decent return. Advertisement Even then, plenty of fans looked at the Europa League as a competition Tottenham genuinely could win. But when Juande Ramos won the League Cup in 2008, it was not the start of anything. He was gone before the end of the year. Manchester United stuck with Erik ten Hag last summer basically because he beat City to win the FA Cup. It was an epic mistake and keeping Postecoglou on the basis of an emotional response would represent Spurs doing pretty much the same thing.
The Irish Sun
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Three reasons Ange Postecoglou should be sacked despite winning Europa League, and three reasons he should be kept on
IT was a horrific game, won by a joke of a goal. But there isn't a Advertisement 6 Ange Postecoglou has delivered Tottenham fans the trophy they so desired Credit: Alamy 6 The club now face the question of whether to stick with the Aussie or move on Credit: Getty The big question, though, is whether Ange Postecoglou's reward for breaking the club's 17-year trophy drought should be to get another go, or receive his P45. Sun Sport looks at the arguments both ways... ANGE IN - The hoodoo is broken The big Aussie put himself under huge pressure when he pointed out, He then made it tougher when he doubled down to insist, 'I ALWAYS win a trophy in my second season'. Advertisement READ MORE ON FOOTBALL Having done that and delivered on his promise, many will think it would be utterly unfair for Postecoglou's reign to be cut short. That Postecoglou believes this can be the turning point is clear, too, after he spoke of his desire to move the club on over coming seasons. Postecoglou feels that the lack of silverware was a huge albatross hanging over the club. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Advertisement Most read in Football Exclusive By ending that jinx, everything can be easier. In the aftermath of victory, he said: 'I'd be disappointed if I couldn't continue on this path but I understand why it would be difficult for a club like this to buy into one person's vision. Ange Postecoglou fumes after being labelled a 'clown' and refuses to answer question during press conference 'But mate, I'm a winner. I've been a serial winner my whole career.' The Europa League trophy is the physical embodiment of his self-confidence and proof that Postcoglou has the courage of his own convictions. Now, he would argue, he deserves the time to underline all that. Advertisement Loyalty counts When James Maddison and Sergio Reguilon Maddison is understood to have had his own fall-outs at times with the Aussie this season, while Reguilon was sent out on loan twice and barely kicked a ball for Spurs over two campaigns. But they were making a statement on behalf of the dressing room - that whatever their various issues might have been, they clearly like the manager on a personal level. Other players have also voiced their positive feelings about Postecoglou. Advertisement And while football is about tactics and intelligence, it is also an emotional game - if you like a manager and want to play for him, you are more likely to perform better. Tottenham ratings: Bissouma dominates Europa League final as occasion gets to Udogie BRENNAN JOHNSON was Tottenham's hero as they finally ended their 17-year trophy drought in the Europa League final. Despite being without James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski for the clash in Bilbao, Spurs came up with a massive win against Manchester United. Johnson scored the goal as he helped bundle in from a corner in a tussle with Luke Shaw to send fans into dreamland. But Spurs also owe a huge thanks to Yves Bissouma who was totally dominant in midfield. At the other end, Destiny Udogie struggled to get up to the pace of the match as he was up against Manchester United's Amad Diallo. Spurs had just three shots, only 27 per cent of the ball, and completed a mere 115 passes over 90 minutes. But it didn't matter, as United never really looked like finding a leveller to take it to extra time. SunSport's Henry Tomlinson gave his Continuity counts Now Spurs have won a trophy, it will ease so much tension - both on and off the pitch. Change for the sake of change now threatens to blow all that up and bring in a new level of uncertainty. A new manager means a new coaching team, and probably a new set of players as well - any boss worth his salt will want to have a level of autonomy. Advertisement While this has been a roller-coaster of a season - admittedly one with more plunges than ascents - Postacoglou has managed to cope with the intensive gaze of scrutiny and come out the other side reinforced and stronger. The Australian has 6 Sergio Reguilon and James Maddison paraded a banner of Ange in Bilbao Credit: Getty ANGE OUT - Months of misery One night of glory - albeit glory earned through cussed defiance and one-dimensional anti-football - cannot wipe away everything that has gone before. Advertisement Postecoglou won 26 points in his first 10 games at the Spurs helm. The subsequent 65 have garnered just 77 points. That is relegation form, by any standards. By far the club's worst campaign of the Premier League era, arguably worse than the relegation season of 1976-77 given the resources at his disposal. And simply not good enough for Tottenham Hotspur. Advertisement Yes, Postecoglou's squad has been 6 But plenty feel a major contributor to those absences has been Postecoglou's playing style - if your defenders are permanently playing on the margins, rather than being able to relax a little during games, they are more likely to be injured. And while his personnel was in a constant state of flux, Postecoglou was wedded, for far too long, to a style of play that failed to take the actual manpower into consideration. Advertisement It's all well and good playing a high line, with inverted full-backs, and playing out from the back, if you have But not if your central defenders are Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray, with Ben Davies at left-back, in front of a stand-in keeper who cannot kick. 6 Postecoglou's Spurs have endured a disastrous Premier League campaign Credit: PA Fan unrest Daniel Levy has long been the Aunt Sally for the Spurs supporters. Advertisement But the relationship between the fans and the manager has suffered as well - perhaps irretrievably. In those early months it was all Robbie Williams and 'Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, Ange Postecoglou'. Those have not been heard too much in recent months. Postecoglou lost a lot of the fans at the end last season, when he simply did not understand how any of them - let alone many - were willing to lose at home to Advertisement His arguments were sound - he is a football manager, whose job is to win games and get the best possible finish for his club. But football is not just about 'football'. It is about so much else - and tribal rivalries run deeper than blood. This season, as Spurs lost game after game - 21 and counting in the league - the simmering discontent has boiled over. Not in chants, perhaps. But in the bars and the stands, on the podcasts, in the social media chat rooms. Advertisement Does one night of joy transcend that? 6 Tottenham fans continue to protest against the club's ownership Credit: Alamy One swallow does not make a summer No fan who was in Bilbao, or watching at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in a pub or at home, will ever forget that feeling of sheer, unbridled ecstasy at the final whistle. All those seasons of frustrations, the near-misses, the agony, gone, in one blast of the referee's whistle. Advertisement Yet Tottenham SHOULD be winning things. They are the ninth-richest club in the world. With the best stadium in England. And one of the best training grounds anywhere, For all the koans about the club being reluctant to dig deep, Spurs HAVE spent money, too. My conclusion by Martin Lipton I am beyond thrilled that Spurs won in Bilbao. And I believe Ange Postecoglou is a decent bloke and a decent manager, who deserves his day in the sun. He had faith in himself when plenty did not. But I do not feel that he is the right man for the next stage. It is for Daniel Levy and the board to make the final call. And if Postecoglou is sacked, and the next appointment does not work out, I will not blame Levy and Co for the decision. It would be the right one. Last season, finishing fifth having lost Harry Kane - if he had not been sold, that would surely have been third or fourth - felt like a decent return. Advertisement Even then, plenty of fans looked at the Europa League as a competition Tottenham genuinely could win. But when Juande Ramos won the League Cup in 2008, it was not the start of anything. He was gone before the end of the year. Manchester United Advertisement
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
CALUM CROWE: The size of the Scottish Premiership was never the biggest problem here... it's the man in charge of the SPFL
If Barry Hearn was calling the shots in Scottish football, Neil Doncaster would have been handed his P45 and marched out the front door of Hampden a long time ago. Back in 2014, at a time when the newly-formed Scottish Premiership had been without a title sponsor for 18 months, Hearn delivered a scathing verdict on the SPFL and its chief executive.
Telegraph
13-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Starmer's latest Hail Mary won't produce a miracle
The reshuffle roadshow is about to kick into gear again, with Downing Street sources hinting ministers should sit by their phones in the days following the upcoming spending review. That would make it almost a year since the Government was elected and would give new ministers, or existing ministers with new portfolios, a few weeks to master their briefs before the start of the summer recess the following month. These personality-driven exercises are no substitute for actual news stories, of course. Observers will be relatively uninterested in seeing which of the new intake from last year's general election will take the first steps on the ministerial ladder (and there are likely to be a few who do so). Inevitably there is far more interest in seeing which of the well-known names around the cabinet table might be handed their P45, though currently only Bridget Phillipson, Richard Hermer and Lisa Nandy are rumoured to be in the firing line. It is unlikely that Rachel Reeves, one of the most important of Keir Starmer's cabinet allies, will be shifted. Moving her away from the Treasury or out of the cabinet altogether would say more about Starmer's judgement in appointing her in the first place than it would about Reeves's ability to do the job. In the fourth quarter of last year, contrary to expectations, the UK economy grew instead of contracting, registering a 0.1 per cent increase on the previous quarter. That is undoubtedly good news for a chancellor who has staked her reputation on her ability to drive growth and, as last year's Labour manifesto put it, 'to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7.' We're still a little way off achieving that, but growth is better than contraction. The problem is that real GDP per head – a proxy for living standards – declined by 0.1 per cent in the same quarter, following a 0.3 per cent drop in the previous quarter of 2024. In other words, by that measure, the average person may be no better off than they were half a decade ago. Nevertheless, the reasons Starmer will want to keep Reeves in post are unchanged. A different headline today will be less welcomed by Reeves. It's now being reported that 'Chancellor Rachel Reeves's online CV exaggerates how long she spent working at the Bank of England.' Given the importance that Reeves herself attached to her experience as an 'economist' with the central bank, this could damage her – and Britain's – credibility enormously. Revelations are also emerging over her expenses claims while she worked for HBOS. None of this means Reeves is under any serious pressure to resign. But the regular revelations about her pre-parliamentary career are proving an unhelpful distraction and she must hope that that particular well is finally drying up. If she does decide she has to go, she knows also that there is a willing replacement waiting in the wings in the form of Pat McFadden, who is, if anything, an even closer political ally to the prime minister than Reeves. McFadden has the intellect, ministerial ability and a helpful dour Scots demeanour that might reassure the country and the markets that he is a man who will brook no nonsense from his party when it comes to steering the economy in the right direction. Like John Smith, without the jokes. Other big beasts whose backs we could see the end of before the summer recess include foreign secretary David Lammy – particularly if the Chagos deal continues to go south – despite his belated attempts to paint himself as Donald Trump's best friend and greatest admirer after years of hurling insults. Jonathan Ashworth is being briefed against in his role as business secretary, which is unfair, given he is one of the government's best communicators, a skill that is all too rare and precious in this administration. Thankfully, Liz Kendall seems immoveable. She has earned the opprobrium of all the right people by her unpopular (but correct) decisions on Waspi women and her recent unpopular (but accurate) observations that too many benefit claimants are 'taking the mickey' and she needs to be given a chance to introduce the kind of radical reforms to the welfare system that governments of both colours have been promising for decades but have never delivered. Before then, we have the local elections in England, which will be the first real test, not only of the government but of the opposition parties, and there will be particular attention paid to Nigel Farage's Reform UK to see whether the hype will lead to actual gains. If it does not, if the Reform bubble looks to have burst, Starmer may feel under less pressure to conduct an extensive clear-out of the cabinet. Those ministers who currently feel vulnerable will be watching May's coverage with more interest, and more of a vested interest in the outcome, than usual.
