Archive June 6, 2025

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has emerged as Tottenham’s leading candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou as manager.

Spurs are in a strong relationship with Frank, according to multiple sources, and initial inquiries have already been made about the Brentford coach’s availability.

When club chairman Daniel Levy chooses who to appoint, Frank has a good relationship with Spurs technical director and fellow Dane Johan Lange.

But the likes of Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and Fulham’s Marco Silva are among others understood to be in the frame.

And Tottenham is even considering replacing former United States manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Postecoglou paid the price for Spurs’ miserable Premier League season, which finished just one place above the relegation zone.

And their Europa League triumph was not enough to save the Australian from what had seemed inevitable for weeks.

Leading contender Frank, 51, has been in charge of Brentford for more than six years, and what a job he has done.

He made them a top-flight team by winning the Championship play-off final at Wembley in 2021.

Would Brentford be drawn to the Premier League’s 10th place finish this year, seven places and 18 points clear of Spurs?

In January, he told Football Focus that managing Brentford was the “perfect job” – but also accepted he would not be at the club forever.

Chris Sutton, a Premier League champion with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-1995, told BBC Sport, “The manager has to handle that expectation,” adding that there is “many more pressure” at Tottenham than there is at Brentford.

What would Spurs look like if Frank were to step up?

“It’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer because he’s a really flexible manager”, said football tactics writer Alex Keble.

He will adapt his tactics to the opposition, much like Unai Emery at Aston Villa, “.

Iraola may feel that he has unfinished business at Bournemouth because he was arguably the Premier League’s manager of the year.

They only missed out on European football because they finished ninth in the Premier League.

His high-energy pressing style has seen Bournemouth earn rave reviews from pundits and opposition players – and would not be too far away from the intended style of Postecoglou at Spurs.

His managerial career began at AEK Larnaca in Cyprus, but he was fired after almost eight weeks without a win.

His second role was with Spanish second-tier Mirandes, where he led them to the Spanish Cup semi-finals for the second time in their history, but he left when his contract expired.

He moved to fellow second division side Rayo Vallecano and led them to the last four of the cup as well, before securing promotion to La Liga via the play-offs.

Glasner’s name is in the frame after he secured a stunning FA Cup final win against Manchester City and took Crystal Palace into Europe.

After replacing Roy Hodgson as manager in February 2024, the Austrian continued to excel in this campaign, finishing seventh overall.

The 50-year-old’s current contract expires in 2026, and last month Eagles chairman Steve Parish criticized any Tottenham connections, insisting Glasner would remain Crystal Palace manager after the season.

Silva’s reputation has improved since his two and a half years at Fulham, which he lost to Everton after 18 months in charge in 2019.

After spending almost two years out of the game, since taking over in west London he has re-established Fulham as a Premier League force, finishing 10th in 2022-23, 13th last season and 11th this campaign.

The Portuguese led Estoril to the Portuguese top flight and the Europa League before beginning his managerial career there.

He won the Portuguese Cup during his one season at Sporting, and he led Olympiakos to the Greek League title during his other year there, where he also managed the Champions League.

He spent four months at Hull in 2017 but left after they were relegated from the Premier League, before joining Watford and taking the team into the top four during his first few months in charge.

Former Brighton boss De Zerbi built a strong reputation during his time in the Premier League.

The 45-year-old is excited about Champions League football starting next season and has just led Marseille to second place in the league behind Paris St-Germain.

Many Tottenham fans would have a dream team reunion with Pochettino in mind. However, it appears highly unlikely on first glance.

The Argentine remains a hero among some of the regulars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He joined the team in 2014 and won the Champions League final, second and third.

And he sparked a flurry of excitement in some fans of his former club in March when he declared his desire to return to Tottenham one day.

The United States boss is under pressure in his current role but the country’s soccer federation would be owed what has been described by a well-placed source as” one of the biggest financial compensation fees in football history “if Pochettino was to leave for Spurs – or any other team for that matter – before the next World Cup.

Terzic took Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final last season, which his side lost to Real Madrid at Wembley. After asking the club to end his contract, the German left shortly after.

Italian Farioli, 36, resigned as Ajax manager at the end of the campaign after his team’s dramatic late collapse caused his team to lose the Dutch title. Despite doing so, he received a lot of praise during his tenure.

With five games left, a team had never before been unable to win the league when leading by nine points.

In his first managerial position with Ipswich Town, McKenna led them from League One to the Premier League in just two and a half years, despite only spending one season in the top flight.

An expansive brand of football saw them gain promotion with successive second-place finishes, scoring 101 goals in League One and 92 in the Championship.

It should come as no surprise that the 38-year-old from Northern Ireland is regarded as having one of the best managerial prospects in the industry.

After spending just £4 million on his side’s last campaign, he was linked with the summer jobs at Brighton, Manchester United, and Chelsea.

However, he signed a four-year deal at the Tractor Boys in May 2024 and would be expensive to prise away from Ipswich.

Former England boss Southgate has been resting since stepping down following the Euro 2024 final, which the Three Lions lost to Spain.

Three years prior, his England side lost to Italy on penalties in the Euros final.

The 54-year-old was in charge of England for eight years, and he was honored in the New Year’s Day of 2025.

Since being fired by Barcelona at the end of last season, the former midfielder has been unemployed.

The 45-year-old, who guided Barca to the La Liga title in 2023, has recently said he is looking for a return to football.

Ange Postecoglou has been sacked as Tottenham manager 16 days after leading them to victory in the Europa League final.

A 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao brought Spurs a first major trophy for 17 years.

However, it came towards the end of their worst Premier League season, with the London club finishing 17th after losing 22 of their 38 matches.

The Australian told fans “season three is better than season two” as they gathered at a victory parade to mark European success in his second campaign.

But the 59-year-old’s time in north London has ended two years to the day after Spurs announced he would join them from Celtic on a four-year contract.

Spurs said in a statement Postecoglou would be remembered for delivering “one of the club’s greatest moments” in becoming only the third manager to win them a European trophy.

But they added they could not base their decision on “emotions aligned to this triumph” and felt a change was necessary after a “review of performances”.

Tottenham finished fifth in Postecoglou’s first season in charge before he kept his promise to provide silverware in his second year.

“The opportunity to lead one of England’s historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime,” he said in a statement.

“That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream.

Tottenham’s decision to sack the man who guided them to a first trophy since 2008 will divide opinion across their fanbase.

He becomes the fourth Spurs manager – after Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte – to lose his job since Pochettino was sacked in November 2019, less than four months after taking them to the Champions League final.

Former Australia boss Postecoglou’s reign began in spectacular fashion, despite the exit of the club’s all-time leading scorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

Spurs set the pace in the early stages of the 2023-24 Premier League season by taking 26 points from their first 10 games, with Postecoglou winning three consecutive manager of the month awards.

But five defeats in their final seven matches cost them a spot in the Champions League 12 months ago, and things continued to unravel in 2024-25 after a slow start to the season.

Postecoglou, who was initially praised for the attacking style he implemented, was forced to defend himself from criticism for sticking to his principles and had to contend with a catalogue of injuries to key players.

Aside from their run to the Carabao Cup semi-finals, where they were thrashed 4-0 by Liverpool after taking a slender one-goal lead to Anfield, they have struggled in domestic competition.

Since 6 November 2023, Spurs have collected 78 points from 66 top-flight games – the 16th best record in the Premier League over that time.

While Tottenham scored 64 goals in the season just gone – as many as fourth-placed Chelsea and more than Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in sixth and seventh – they conceded 65 with only Wolves and the relegated trio of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton conceding more.

Postecoglou’s unwavering belief in himself and his forthright – sometimes blunt – approach has been a feature of his spell at Tottenham.

He accused a reporter of discounting the impact of injuries on his side’s results after a 6-3 home defeat by Liverpool, and repeatedly insisted he would not alter his style.

Postecoglou also publicly described Timo Werner’s performance as “not acceptable” after replacing him at half-time during a 1-1 Europa League draw at Rangers.

There were elements of that abrasiveness in the statement his representatives released after his sacking, which read:

“When I reflect on my time as manager of Tottenham Hotspur my overriding emotion is one of pride.

“The opportunity to lead one of England’s historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime.

“Sharing that experience with all those who truly love this club and seeing the impact it had on them is something I will never forget.

“That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream. There were many challenges to overcome and plenty of noise that comes with trying to accomplish what many said was not possible.

“We have also laid foundations that mean this club should not have to wait 17 more years for their next success. I have enormous faith in this group of players and know there is much more potential and growth in them.

“I sincerely want to thank those who are the lifeblood of the club, the supporters. I know there were some difficult times but I always felt that they wanted me to succeed and that gave me all the motivation I needed to push on.

“It’s important to acknowledge the hard working people at Spurs who gave me encouragement on a daily basis.

“And finally, I want to thank those who were with me every day for the last two years. A fantastic group of young men who are now legends of this football club and the brilliant coaches who never once doubted we could do something special.