Category Sports News

Sean Dyche has called for some of his Nottingham Forest players to “have a look in the mirror” after an “unacceptable” first-half performance in their FA Cup loss at Wrexham.

Forest were the first Premier League side in third-round action and the first casualty at the hands of lower league opposition.

Having made eight changes from Tuesday’s Premier League win at West Ham, Dyche watched in fury as his side trailed their Championship opponents 2-0 at the break.

They fought back to make it 3-3 and force extra-time at Stok Cae Ras, but were beaten 4-3 in the penalty shootout after Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson had their spot-kicks saved by home keeper Arthur Okonkwo.

“The first half was completely unacceptable,” Dyche told TNT Sports.

“I let the players know and there are certain individuals that certainly know and they have to look in the mirror.

“But the strangeness of football, some players that came on in the second half were a credit and we went on and looked like a Premier League side.

“You can’t do that in the first half, it’s completely unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to me, but I said you have to look in the mirror because that’s unacceptable to the badge as well.

“They all knock on the door and say, ‘why aren’t I playing?’. Well the evidence is quite honestly there for some, not for all.”

While Dyche praised those who came off the bench – including two-goal Callum Hudson-Odoi – for acting as a “catalyst” for their second-half comeback, he continued to berate his side’s efforts in a poor first 45 minutes.

“I could have taken all of them off [at half-time],” he added. “The tempo, the mentality to take the game on was lacking so badly in the first half.

“Slow, methodical, we have done a lot of work on that. There was basically no intent, no real desire to make a difference. Second half, the changes were terrific.

The three goals at Wrexham meant Forest have now conceded 46 in all competitions this season, with bottom club Wolves the only side to have let in more among Premier League clubs – and only one more at that.

But with his side 17th in the league – seven points clear of the bottom three – Dyche’s focus will now be solely on keeping Forest in the top flight after an evening to forget in north Wales.

“Forest were nowhere near good enough in the first half,” former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“If they had played the whole game like they did the second they would have won convincingly, but full credit must go to Wrexham.

“Forest back to the drawing board and the task of trying to stay in the Premier League.”

Speaking on TNT Sports, ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman added: “The story tonight is Wrexham and the journey they have been on with the new owners. Nottingham Forest played their part in this story.

“The first 45 minutes, they may as well have not turned up. That is really disappointing because Sean Dyche trusted some of those players to do a job for him and they didn’t.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the Masters for medical reasons.

The 50-year-old world number eight, who won a record-extending eighth title in 2024, also pulled out of last year’s event on medical grounds.

He was due to face Australian Neil Robertson in the opening round on Wednesday but has now been replaced in the draw by Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin.

O’Sullivan, who claimed his first Masters crown in 1995 at the age of 19, said he made the “nightmare decision” not to take part in the Triple Crown event in 2025 because he was under a lot of pressure and “lost the plot”.

O’Sullivan has cited medical reasons or the need to prioritise his mental health for his withdrawals from serveral tournaments in recent years, including the British Open, Wuhan Open and World Grand Prix.

‘The Rocket’, who now lives in Dubai with his family, last competed at the UK Championship in December when he was beaten 6-4 in the first round by China’s Zhou Yuelong at York Barbican.

After his elimination, the Englishman said he was still unsure whether he would play at the Masters and would wait to see how he felt in January.

Tottenham Hotspur‘s main supporters’ group has accused the club of a “dramatic fall in ambition” after meeting with senior club figures.

Spurs have won just one of their last six Premier League games and find themselves 14th in the table with 27 points, just three more than at this stage last season.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) says members of its board met with “representatives of the Club at a senior level” on Friday to discuss supporter concerns.

Several players were pulled away from angry fans following their 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth on Wednesday.

Sections of the travelling support booed under-fire manager Thomas Frank, who also drew criticism for drinking out of a coffee cup emblazoned with the logo of rivals Arsenal before kick-off.

A THST statement cited the club’s lack of transfer activity this month as evidence of reduced ambition, as well as recent comments made by Frank.

“[He reminded] supporters that the club finished 17th in the Premier League last season, that the club is only participating in the Champions League through winning the Europa League, and that Bournemouth (a side without a win in 11 games) are ‘always a difficult team’ and that he is ‘not enjoying the job’,” read the statement.

THST accused players of “directly confronting” fans who were “exercising their right to express themselves”, and referred to the “embarrassment” of club captain Cristian Romero’s social media activity.

After the Bournemouth loss, Argentine Romero stated on Instagram “other people” should be coming out to speak and adding they “only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies”.

The post was deleted and reposted with an altered caption.

“While these incidents may have explanations that we could understand and even sympathise with, they demonstrate a lack of understanding and a lack of care about the perception of the football club,” said THST.

“We reiterated to the club that we believe the club leadership should address these issues publicly and through direct communication with fans.

“We stressed that fans need to hear directly from the club leadership [of] the ambition for the football club for this season, for next season, and for the foreseeable future.

“That begins, but is certainly not restricted to, the coming transfer window, in which all the stops need to be pulled out in order to demonstrate that Tottenham Hotspur are a serious football club and that we really do want to ‘win more, more often’.”

During his media conference on Thursday, Frank said: “I think it’s very important to stress that even though there’s noise, the club is very aligned.