The Guardian

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Brighton: Fabian Hurzeler takes his Brighton side to Selhurst Park tomorrow for what promises to be a spicy M23 derby between two sides whose extreme animus mystifies many but dates back to the 1970s. Brighton go into the game on the back of an emphatic midweek defeat at the hands of Aston Villa, while Crystal Palace will be hoping to retrun to winning ways after their late, late smash-and-grab to rescue a point at Southampton on Wednesday.

With his side just four points away from the fifth place that will almost certainly guarantee qualification for next season’s Champions League, Hurzeler has urged his players to prepare for a succession of finals during the run-in. “The whole season we have to deal with setbacks and it’s always about how you come back,” he said. “It is always the question, if the glass is half full or half empty and I always see it as a half-full glass and that’s the main message. It’s to see all the upcoming games like a final, and like this we have to prepare, and like this we will go into the games.

“Everything in the past was in the past and now it’s really about winning something and we have to be on our highest level. We need two things. We need this togetherness and we need this positive energy. We will go all in with the staff, with all the players and then we see what we get.”

Palace inflicted the first home defeat of Hurzeler’s reign by romping to a 3-1 success at the Amex Stadium in mid December and the 32-year-old German is fully aware of the importance of the fixture to Brighton supporters and admits his side have a duty to make amends.

“I can feel it [the passion] and I think it’s also our responsibility to give them something back,” he said. “In the first derby we weren’t on our highest level, we didn’t give the fans what they deserve and tomorrow it’s an opportunity for us and also our responsibility to make it better than the last time. There’s already a big motivation because it’s the final third of the season, it’s about achieving something, it’s about winning something, and every game will be important, and therefore the motivation is very high. We will go all in, we will try to win this game for our fans.”

Joel Veltman, Adam Webster, Tariq Lamptey, Igor Julio, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner and Georginio Rutter remain sidelined for Brighton.

Share

An email: “On the subject of Ange Postecoglou,” writes Peter Wilkinson. “I’m not a Spurs fan so I don’t have a dog in the race but it amuses me that while fans give players and managers absolute pelters, as soon as they get a bit back the fans start clutching their pearls saying it’s a disgrace. If you can’t take it, don’t give it out.”

A fair point well made, Peter. Ange is due to face the press shortly in an appointment he’s probably looking forward to with as much relish as a trip to the dentist for root canal surgery. It could get spiky, mate.

Share

José Mourinho: Fenerbahce have issued a strident defence of their manager after he grabbed the nose of Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk in bad-temperered scenes that followed the Turkish Cup quarter-final clash between the two sides on Wednesday night.

The altercation occurred following Fenerbahce’s defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals, but Fenerbahce claim Buruk was play-acting by tumbling to the floor after Mourinho pinched his hooter. The Portuguese was shown a red card for his troubles and now faces a potentially lengthy ban but his club are standing resolutely by their man, insisting his opposite number incited the incident and then dramatised his reaction.

“[Buruk] had the audacity to make disrespectful hand gestures after crossing the police line,” harrumphed a Fenerbahce statement posted on X. “After our manager touched his nose momentarily in response to these provocations, the person in question threw himself to the ground in an exaggerated manner.

“The disrespectful statements and actions of this person, who professionally threw himself to the ground with a ‘shot’ reflex as a continuation of this plan after excessive provocations, are recorded in the images.

“The meaninglessness of a person whose nose was touched jumping to the ground and writhing for seconds and the acting that was played are known to the entire public. It is obvious that the images of this person throwing himself to the ground from his football career continued in his coaching career, and that this attitude is a characteristic stance.

“It is clear that the evaluation of the ugly provocations and what happened afterwards should not be one-sided, but should be based on a cause-and-effect relationship.”

As Elton John famously sang, sometimes sorry seems to be the hardest word.

Share

Updated at 11.06 CEST

Leeds United: In news that is unlikely to comfort fans who are worried their team will “do a Leeds” and blow their chances of promotion o the Premier League, Daniel Farke has assured Leeds fans their team will not “do a Leeds” and blow their chances of promotion to the Premier League.

Second in the Championship table after surrendering a five-point lead, Leeds have won only one of their last five matches and could fall out of the automatic promotion places if they fail to beat Luton Town tomorrow and Burnley get a result against Coventry, but Farke is convinced they will be in the top flight next season.

“I was involved in that [2018-19 promotion, with Norwich City] battle and yes, Leeds fell apart and I was struggling to explain it because they had a really good coach in Marcelo [Bielsa],” he said. “And for me, I liked the Norwich team, but Leeds had by far the better players and by far the better side and I was thinking, ‘why does this happen?’.”

Farke sensed the weight of expectation at Elland Road from the opposition dug-out when his Norwich side won 3-1 there in February 2019 when both teams were vying for top spot.

“I was thinking then I loved so much to be in this stadium and the atmosphere and what a big club this is,” he said. Of course I was working for a different club at this time, but I was thinking one day I would like to come back and help this club to stay, in these situations, a bit more calm and positive. This is why I wanted to sign two years ago. I know how difficult it is to stay calm and cool with this club, believe me.

“So my composure and calmness is more than enough for all Yorkshire. Everyone is allowed to panic, it shows how much they care. But my task is to make sure we stay cool, that we stick together, don’t over-react, that we’re not over-motivated and that we totally believe.

“This is what I bring to this club. I can’t guarantee [promotion] right now, but I’m totally calm right now, totally composed and I totally believe the boys are doing a great job. And believe me, in the end, next season we will play in the Premier League. I’m 100 per cent convinced of this.”

Leeds face relegation battlers Luton tomorrow at lunchtime and Farke, who has no new injury worries, has confirmed goalkeeper Karl Darlow will start in place of Illan Meslier after a string of costly errors by the Frenchman.

Share

Updated at 10.55 CEST

West Ham: Graham Potter’s side host out-of-sorts Bournemouth at the London Stadium tomorrow, hoping to win for the first time in four Premier League outings. West Ham go into the game on the back of a defeat at the hands of Wolves on Tuesday, their sixth loss in 11 matches since Potter took over from Julen Lopetegui. The 49-year-old has told his misfiring West Ham stars they are “some way off” what he expects of them and says they are playing for their futures.

“You can’t play for West Ham and throw games away,” he told reporters. “It’s impossible. Every game is massive for us. So we have to remember that, starting with Bournemouth on Saturday and finish as strong as we can. I would say we are some way off, for sure. In the end we want to control games and dominate games through attacking football, and we are far from that.

“When you understand where we’ve come from and what the bigger picture is, it’s a bit more understandable. But at the same time we have to acknowledge we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ll need to carry on improving daily and then see how we can improve the team in the next transfer window, and keep taking steps. But with the ambition I have for this football club, we are some way off from where that is.”

Share

England women: Leah Williamson has praised the form of her Arsenal and England teammate Alessia Russo before the No 9 spearheads the Lionesses’ attack in their Women’s Nations League double-header against Belgium, starting in Bristol tonight. Tom Garry reports …

Share

Updated at 10.38 CEST

The weekend’s Premier League fixtures

Everton v Arsenal (Sat 12.30pm BST)

Ipswich Town v Wolves (3pm)

Crystal Palace v Brighton (3pm)

West Ham v Bournemouth (3pm)

Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest (5.30pm)

Tottenham Hotspur v Southamptopn (Sun 2pm)

Brentford v Chelsea (2pm)

Fulham v Liverpool (2pm)

Manchester United v Manchester City (4.30pm)

Leicester City v Newcastle United (Mon 6pm)

View the Premier League table

Share

Absolution of Hillsborough officers prompts fury

A 12-year investigation into the Hillsborough disaster by the police watchdog has concluded that no senior South Yorkshire police officers were guilty of misconduct for falsely blaming misbehaviour by Liverpool supporters. David Conn and Peter Walker report …

Share

Postecoglou cops earful during Spurs loss

Tottenham Hotspur: Despite his post-match protestations to the contrary, Ange Postecoglou appeared to goad Tottenham’s travelling fans at Stamford Bridge last night with a gesture that further damaged the increasingly fragile bond between the Australian manager and dissatisfied supporters. Jacob Steinberg reports from Stamford Bridge …

Share

Updated at 10.38 CEST

Premier League: Enzo Fernandez scored the only goal of Thursday’s game to move Chelsea into the top four, while a clearly exasperated Ange Postecoglou may have finally fractured his relationship with Spurs fans beyond repair. David Hytner reports from Stamford Bridge …

Share

Updated at 10.38 CEST

The weekend is almost upon us ...

Welcome all as we strap ourselves in ahead of another weekend of piping hot football action. The weekend’s first order of business is tonight’s Women’s Nations League match between England and Belgium at Ashton Gate, but before that we’ll get to see and hear no end of top flight managers fielding interrogatory projectiles from the men and women of the Fourth Estate ahead of the latest round of Premier League action.

As is customary, we’ll be here throughout the day to flag up all the major talking points and bring you any other news that happens to present itself as the day unfolds. In the meantime, our crack team of writers have been scouring the weekend fixture list to come up with these 10 things you ought to keep your eyes peeled for in the Premier League this weekend.

Share

Updated at 10.38 CEST

In fairness to Ange Postecoglou it will go down as one of the great managerial ear-cuppings. It was bitter, it was undignified and, rather than an act of defiance, it is probably going to be remembered as the moment of high farce that finally broke Postecoglou’s relationship with Tottenham’s fans.

Here was a man on the edge, the list of grievances piling high, the emotion impossible to contain as he watched his side somehow cancel out Chelsea’s 1-0 lead at Stamford Bridge. Postecoglou had heard the chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” from the travelling supporters when he brought Pape Sarr on for Lucas Bergvall in the 64th minute. Now came vindication. On 66 minutes: a first shot on target. This was progress. Three minutes later, Sarr charging into midfield, knocked Moisés Caicedo over and unleashed a shot that went in thanks to more dreadful goalkeeping from Robert Sánchez.

Nobody seemed quite sure how to react. Spurs were lucky not to be 4-0 down, but now the entire feel of the evening had changed. Stunned, Chelsea pointed at Caicedo lying on the turf and complained to Craig Pawson about his decision to play on. Postecoglou, though, was not to know that the video assistant referee was about to get involved. Too wrapped up in his own redemptive arc, he did not anticipate that there was a strong chance that the goal was going to be chalked off.

And so Postecoglou made his move. What was that, mate? I don’t know what I’m doing? The satisfaction was immense. Postecoglou could not stop himself. He looked left, gazing at the celebrations in the away end, and lifted his right hand to his ear. Spurs, at long last, had finally seen a cup. Postecoglou sarcastically waved at the critics. He had not counted on Pawson wandering over to the pitchside monitor to have a closer look at Sarr’s tackle. He had not imagined the moment would slip from his grasp so quickly.

It did not take long to see that Sarr had caught Caicedo before making off with possession. There was no way the goal could stand. Postecoglou looked disbelieving but the reality was that his self-indulgence had backfired. Nobody was buying it when the Australian later insisted that he had only been trying to tell the away fans to make some noise.

The situation looks almost impossible to salvage. Success in the Europa League could change everything but Spurs do not look like a team ready to win silverware. They are a clownish proposition under Postecoglou. Conviction is missing with and without the ball. The defence is a mess and there are no patterns in attack. Chelsea, who have lacked creativity in recent months, could have been out of sight inside the first 20 minutes.

Doctor Tottenham will see you now. Chelsea needed their appointment with the Premier League’s most effective healing force. Enzo Maresca, another manager dealing with a fanbase teetering towards mutiny, relished the chance to divert from his patient approach and target Postecoglou’s inviting high line with a series of direct long balls. Nicolas Jackson, back from a two-month layoff, could have scored after speeding away from Cristian Romero inside a minute. The striker’s shot was saved and Micky van de Ven, sprinting back to help out, whacked the rebound against the woodwork.

The tone was set. Malo Gusto shot just wide and Jackson continued to bully Romero. Spurs were frazzled, timid and uncoordinated. There was no composure. Guglielmo Vicario made a good save from Jadon Sancho, who produced an improved display on Chelsea’s left, but he also flapped at crosses and sent simple passes into touch. Djed Spence tripped over his own feet trying to dribble out from the back. Bergvall dozed off and lost Cole Palmer, who almost set up Enzo Fernández for a tap-in. Dominic Solanke waited forlornly for someone to pass to him. James Maddison drifted around, offering nothing. The wingers made no impact.

Playing at a sharper tempo than in recent months, Chelsea were always going to break through. They had the incentive of reclaiming fourth place and reigniting their push for Champions League qualification. They still have flaws but this was better. Jackson’s movement made a difference up front and when the goal came, Fernández taking advantage of awful marking to head home early in the second half, there was joy for Maresca in seeing Palmer emerge from his slump to claim his first assist since December.

Spurs were well beaten. This was their 16th defeat of a dreadful league campaign, heightening the sense that Postecoglou is on borrowed time. He hung around on the pitch when it was over but he did not dare go to the away end. The divisions are probably too big now. Faith in Angeball was already dwindling. The ear-cupping will do nothing to bring back the believers.

It was a typically incident-filled meeting between these sworn enemies but, really, there was only one place to start. Ange Postecoglou, the remorselessly under-fire Tottenham manager, had been barracked by his own club’s supporters when he replaced Lucas Bergvall with Pape Sarr in the 64th minute.

Bergvall had enjoyed a few bright moments. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” the travelling hordes informed Postecoglou. And so just imagine how the fiercely proud Australian must have felt shortly afterwards when Sarr won the ball off Moisés Caicedo and unloaded a low shot that the Chelsea goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, inexplicably allowed to beat him.

We would not need to imagine because Postecoglou turned to face the Spurs fans, who were celebrating wildly, and cupped his ear in their direction. It was simply a stunning illustration of just how frayed the relationship between them has become. Was this breaking point?

There would be a twist when the VAR, Jarred Gillett, went over the Sarr challenge on Caicedo and he did not need to look too long to see the obvious foul. The goal was disallowed. Sarr was booked. Postecoglou was crushed.

Chelsea had been in complete control up until the Bergvall/ Sarr change, leading through Enzo Fernández’s header, the only wonder being how they were not further ahead. The outstanding Caicedo would see a goal chalked off by the VAR early in the second half.

The passions raged, the game broke up and out of the chaos came a Spurs revival. They got on to the front foot, making Chelsea nervous and Enzo Maresca’s team needed a fine Sanchez save to deny Son Heung-min at the far post. In the end, Chelsea hung on to fire their hopes of a Champions League finish. The future for Postecoglou and Spurs remains less certain.

It is always possible to feel the ghosts of previous meetings when these two collide and Chelsea’s 4-3 win at Tottenham’s stadium on 8 December was a part of it. At that point Chelsea were being talked about as dark horses for the title. They have had to realign their sights. Spurs lost Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to muscle problems that night and this was the central defenders’ first league start together since then.

It fed the line about whether we would see the real Spurs because, after all the injury misery, this was pretty much Postecoglou’s strongest XI. The only certain starter who was missing was Dejan Kulusevski – a big loss.

Maresca’s answer to several selection teasers and the injury-enforced absence of Wesley Fofana had been to start Malo Gusto at right-back and drop Reece James. He stuck with Jadon Sancho ahead of the fit-again Noni Madueke. The return of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson was a boost.

Tottenham got a warning about Jackson’s threat inside the opening minute. His speed is not a secret. But being forewarned does not equal being forearmed. It was a long ball over the top by Trevoh Chalobah and Jackson was able to get in between Romero and Van de Ven, taking a touch and prodding goalwards. Guglielmo Vicario half-blocked and when Van de Ven’s panicked clearance hit Jackson, the ball ricocheted against a post and away.

Chelsea were in the mood from the first whistle, pushing high, bringing the intensity. Spurs struggled to get out. Postecoglou felt the frustration bubble. He delivered a rollicking to Bergvall in the 20th minute after the midfielder failed to track a run into the area by Palmer, who crossed low. Destiny Udogie would make a saving challenge on Fernández in front of goal.

Chelsea’s dominance of the first half was total. It was there in their physicality. When Van de Ven tried to burst upfield, he was stopped unceremoniously by Caicedo, who promptly suggested he should not try that again. Or choicer words to that effect. There were numerous examples of Spurs looking weak in the duels. Caicedo was like a wrecking ball.

Chelsea were able to find spaces in between the lines, to work their passing patterns whereas Spurs were tentative on the ball, gripped by anxiety. Time and again they misplaced passes before the interval. Son Heung-min fired in a low shot from a tight angle, which Sánchez shovelled away but that was it from them as an attacking force in the first half. The lack of cohesion was startling.

It was frustrating for Chelsea that they could not take a lead into the interval. Gusto had rifled into the side-netting on eight minutes and there was the staggeringly good Vicario reflex save from Sancho in stoppage-time. Sancho was one of two Chelsea players over at the far post on Pedro Neto’s cross and he was always going to cut inside and shoot, having seemed reluctant to do so on a couple of previous occasions. He got a hold of it from about six yards. Vicario, who had been a little erratic, threw out a hand to tip over.

When Romero barged into Levi Colwill to spark a bit of the argy-bargy with which this fixture has become synonymous, the half-time whistle was looming. It was an isolated illustration of first-half fight by Spurs and the hope from their side was that it could re-emerge with them for the second period.

Instead, it was Chelsea who kept their feet against Tottenham’s throats. Palmer had worked Vicario when he floated over the cross to break the deadlock. No one could say the goal had not been advertised. Fernández was unmarked, Spurs’s defensive structure in tatters. His header was firm and true.

Spurs got away with one shortly afterwards when Caicedo fizzed home the sweetest of volleys after the visitors could only half-clear a Fernández free-kick. Following a lengthy VAR review, Colwill was adjudged to have been offside in the middle.

Preamble

From the Cockney Cup Final to the Battle of the Bridge, Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur is a rivalry that rarely disappoints. The Blues’ last two trips to Spurs have seen them win 4-1 and 4-3, punishing two of the Angiest performances of their rivals’ Postecoglou era.

Tottenham’s permanently embattled manager needs a win, but must try and get it done at a ground where Spurs have won just once in the league since 1990. Having finished three points clear of Chelsea last term, Postecoglou’s side are 15 points adrift as it stands, playing out their games while Enzo Maresca’s team chase a top-five finish.

Despite that, there’s a debate to be had over which of these two coaches is more popular with the fans. Postecoglou remains loved and admired by a significant chunk of Spurs fans, with anger at their plight trained on Daniel Levy. Maresca, meanwhile, appears to be tolerated rather than cherished by Chelsea fans.

In fact, the Italian is only a couple of rungs below his opposite number in the “sack race” betting, with his team drifting from surprise title contenders. Chelsea can go back up to fourth with a win tonight, and shake off the nagging doubt that they lack the extra gear many of their top-five rivals are deploying with the season’s end in sight.

Kick-off is at 8pm. Will anyone actually enjoy it? We’ll find out.

A few months ago I was assaulted on an overground train by a Brentford fan after a home win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The British Transport Police were rapid in their response, unsuccessfully but immediately halting a Victoria line train to find him, before arresting him the next week on his own way to his team’s home match. Over a few months of back and forth updates with the BTP the case was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

This Saturday at a sunny pub with my dad, among chatter about Tottenham’s seasons’ woes while an FA Cup tie played out on the TV screens I got an unexpected call from BTP for a final update. The CPS had decided there was not enough evidence to secure a conviction against the individual.

Of course I wasn’t naive enough to think this wasn’t a probable outcome. The train was disgustingly packed and the case officer had already explained the issue with securing usable footage from the train or even the platform. The officer subsequently explained that the footage recorded by the assaulter’s sons as they filmed the incident in bouts of laughter was not looked at because they are not the individuals under arrest. Essentially, the case was never going to go anywhere with the available evidence coming from such a crammed environment.

Despite assuming the outcome, it was still a punch in the gut. I remembered his smug face looking at me as I asked him to stop, fully knowing he held all the power in that moment and that nobody would stop him. With the case now complete, I wonder if the arrest itself was a big enough wake-up call for the individual or if the outcome will empower him to keep up his toxic behaviour with the knowledge that he can essentially “get away with it”.

The second punch in the gut would come a few hours later when I saw a post by Women of the Lane, a group set up to be a community and bridge between the club and women and non-binary fans, revealing their correspondence with the club over Chris Brown’s scheduled appearance at the stadium. I hadn’t even seen the announcement but in finding the event online I was disgusted.

Spurs were forthcoming with their support over the assault on me, opening an encouraging and frank dialogue. They explained their numerous projects and plans that support women at Spurs, including becoming the first club to sign up to the mayor of London’s women’s safety charter, co-launching Women of the Lane, participating in Haringey council’s “Walk For Women” through Tottenham, and ongoing conversations with Transport for London on how to create a safer environment for travelling fans.

The appearance of a man with convictions for violence and who was once subject to a five-year restraining order after his ex-girlfriend alleged he had been abusive, and who has previously been denied entry to the UK due to serious criminal offence, performing at the very home of my and other women’s beloved football club is more than saddening and disappointing. It rocks the very bones of my fanship for the team I’ve followed and adored for most of my life, through thick and thin. The stadium may be a venue with shrewd revenue capabilities for the owners, but at the very heart is still ultimately the home ground for one of the biggest and oldest Premier League clubs.

The email from Spurs reminding me to renew my season ticket is still lingering, unopened in my inbox. Owning a season ticket was once a dream of mine but that is now muddied, inviting a complex conundrum where I want to continue watching and enjoying my club’s football, yet continuously dreading every journey there and back, feeling anxious and tense as match-day approaches and knowing that despite progress, the club is still platforming an abuser such as Chris Brown.

There is no perfect football club, and in a sport tarred with historic sexist, racist and homophobic abuse, navigating shifting attitudes allows some bumps in the road. But with a club like Spurs in 2025, you somehow expect better, and begin to question whether these positive conversations are inherently just lip service. My mind keeps returning to the two teenage boys on the train, laughing and filming as their dad committed assault and verbally abused a woman on public transport. I’m not sure what the future of fanship in the men’s game holds, but with the unapologetic platforming of an abuser and the lack of retribution for those carrying out toxic behaviour, it doesn’t feel very hopeful.

His passport still bears the name “Angelos Postekos”. It was the name legally given to him by his parents, eager for their children to fit into their adopted home, aware that they would face enough obstacles – a different language, a different culture, a different skin tone – without throwing a long name into the bargain.

But he always hated the name Postekos. To him it smelled too much of embarrassment. Of apologising for who you were. Of changing your essence to please others. Of compromise. And so, as soon as he had any say in the matter, he resolved he would be known by the name his father had used, and those who came before him, back in the old country. Before everything changed forever.

And so it is the name of Ange Postecoglou that sits just behind Ruud van Nistelrooy in second place on most oddsmakers’ lists of the next Premier League manager to get the sack. Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth appears to be first choice to replace him. According to reports, there has already been some contact and terms are not expected to be an issue.

The vultures and the pundits have been circling for weeks. Marco Silva at Fulham still has his admirers. Brentford are bracing themselves for an approach for Thomas Frank. Meanwhile Postecoglou continues to prepare his Tottenham team for the visit to Stamford Bridge, a ground where Spurs have won once in 35 years. Everything here seems to be pointing in one direction.

Of all the clubs Postecoglou has faced in his long career, Chelsea are the only one to have beaten him the first three times in a row. There is a kind of circularity here, given it was that first defeat – a 4-1 Chelsea win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in late 2023 – that sealed his legend in English football, while also setting the madcap template for what was to follow.

As it turned out, this would not be Postecoglou’s first experience of constructing an elite footballing outfit from the bare minimum of usable resources. Reduced to nine men by the dismissals of Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, Spurs continued to defend with a daringly high line, continued to launch waves of startling attack. Chelsea picked them off in the end. It was Postecoglou’s first Premier League defeat. But it also made his name. The name he chose for himself.

Postecoglou was five years old when he stepped off the boat in Melbourne in 1970, too young to understand the complex waves of violence and politics and opportunity that had washed him there. The Postecoglous came from a long line of successful merchants. Dimitris Postecoglou, Ange’s father, owned a furniture business in Athens. Life was comfortable. Life was good.

Then in 1967, a right-wing military junta seized control of the country, imposed a terrifying autocratic regime, liquidated the family business and forced the Postecoglous into exile. And so on to the boat to Australia they stepped, to a land where they would have no money, no language, no job and no roots.

Growing up in suburban Melbourne, Ange would piece together his gilded past in snatched fragments. There was always love and there was always optimism but there was always nostalgia, too, for Europe, the motherland, a certain longing for everything they once had, everything that was taken from them. For the days when the Postecoglou name was taken seriously.

We are, in life, shaped by who we once were. How must it feel being raised in a new world stripped of the glories of the old? How does that define you? Postecoglou’s father is no longer here, but as he later put it: “If I can make a difference and somehow his name continues on, I’m hoping those sacrifices he made were worthwhile.”

Perhaps it helps to make sense of Postecoglou’s career, then, to see it as a kind of honour mission, even a vengeance of sorts, the sacred duty of restoring the Postecoglous to their rightful place. This is why the most reliable way of rattling him is to disrespect those A-League titles, those AFC championships, his fair‑dinkum schtick. It strikes at his greatest insecurity: the fear of being once again a low-status outsider in a big, frightening world.

Even his footballing philosophy, that unshakeable faith in his methods, can be seen through the same prism. The noise is just noise. Individual victories and defeats come and go. What matters is the project as a whole: the art of staying steadfast in a fragile and capricious world. Power can be seized in an instant, and power can be lost just as quickly. All that matters, when the paths of history begin to diverge and the momentum starts to shift, is being on the right side of the break.

Tottenham and Postecoglou have been through hell this season. Injuries upon injuries, fixtures upon fixtures, criticism upon ridicule, defeats upon defeats. Through it all, he has endured: a little prickly at times, a little weary and browbeaten at others, but still essentially faithful. “Surviving tough times can often unite people,” he said in an interview with Australian television last week. “Because there’s nothing down the track which will be anywhere near as bad as what we’ve gone through.”

Postecoglou knows this lesson in football because he knows it from life. The vultures and the pundits are circling. Everything seems to be pointing in one direction. The smart money reckons Postecoglou is toast if he loses. But what if he pulls out a win?

The fixtures ahead are kind. Injured players are coming back. An international break has offered time to work, time to recuperate, time to reset. A coin toss of a quarter-final awaits against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. Win that, win the next, win the next. It feels outlandish beyond belief. We are reminded that this is the same man who as Socceroos coach once declared his ambition to win the 2018 World Cup.

But everything Postecoglou ever earned in his life had to be built from a clean, clear vision. A significant minority of the fanbase still adores him and a good proportion still sympathise for his plight. The dressing room is still on his side. You draw your greatest strength from your moment of greatest crisis. This is what you have to believe. Because if you don’t, who else will?

Ange Postecoglou has admitted there are some “outstanding candidates” waiting to take over if Tottenham decide to sack him. With Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Brentford’s Thomas Frank expected to be in the running if Spurs move in a different direction, Postecoglou finds himself under growing pressure as a defining point in the season approaches.

Although the former Celtic manager’s job is likely to be on the line if his team lose their Europa League quarter-final to Eintracht Frankfurt this month, he said he was relaxed about the speculation over his position. Postecoglou denied having any issue with Mauricio Pochettino’s remarks about wanting to return to Spurs one day and dismissed suggestions that talk over his future was a distraction before Thursday’s trip to Chelsea in the Premier League.

“I know what my responsibilities are and I am sure if the club decide to go in a different direction there are some outstanding candidates for it,” he said. “And you know what, maybe someone will think: ‘Ange Postecoglou is not a bad coach, maybe we’ll take a punt on him.’

“It doesn’t rock my world. It doesn’t consume me. I am here, I am passionate about what we’re doing. I was brought in to change the way the club plays, rejuvenate the squad and bring success. I am focused on that.”

Postecoglou, who said Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso would miss the game, gave short shrift to the idea that Pochettino’s comments about managing Spurs again were disrespectful.

“If he wants to come back one day I hope it happens for him,” Postecoglou said. “We all have dreams and aspirations. You’re suggesting he is trying to put pressure on me? I don’t feel disrespected. I think if you ask Mauricio that question directly, you’d get a pretty clear answer as to what his intent was. I’m more focused on trying to make sure we win tomorrow night.”

Spurs are 14th, lost their Carabao Cup semi-final to Liverpool and went out of the FA Cup in the fourth round. Much rests on whether they can end their 17-year wait for a trophy by winning the Europa League, which would earn qualification for the Champions League.

The Tottenham chair, Daniel Levy, has defended the club’s spending in advance of a planned protest by supporters at Sunday’s meeting with Southampton.

Spurs announced their financial results for the year to 30 June 2024 on Monday, with losses falling from £86.8m to £26.2m despite a 4% decrease in revenue to £528.2m. Match-day income fell from £117.6m to £105.8m owing to Tottenham not being in Europe last season and Levy referenced the “highly challenging season” under Ange Postecoglou this term.

That, and frustration over ­spending by the owner, Enic, has increased discontent among ­supporters, with another protest planned by the fan group Change for Tottenham.

Levy pointed out they had spent more than £700m net on players since opening their ­stadium in 2019 and called on supporters to get behind the team when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals of the Europa League next Thursday.

“We currently find ourselves in 14th position in the Premier League, navigating what has been a highly challenging season on the pitch,” said Levy. “We are, however, in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Winning this competition would see welcome silverware and mean ­qualification for the Champions League. We must do everything we can to support the team in these final key stages. Since opening our new stadium in April 2019, we have invested over £700m net in player acquisitions. Recruitment remains a key focus, and we must ensure we make smart purchases within our financial means.

“I often read calls for us to spend more, given we are ranked as the ninth-richest club in the world. However, a closer examination of today’s financial figures reveals that such spending must be sustainable in the long term and within our operating revenues. Our capacity to generate recurring revenues determines our spending power.

“We cannot spend what we do not have and we will not compromise the financial stability of this club – indeed, our off-pitch revenues have significantly supplemented the lower football revenues this year, testament to our diversified income strategy.”

AroundAbout 2,000 fans attended the Change for Tottenham protest before the home fixture with Manchester United on 13 February. There were chants for Levy to leave the club and several banners were held up. Spurs were ninth in Deloitte’s list of the world’s richest clubs and spend 42% of their revenue on wages, the lowest of any team in the top 10.

For most football fans, the name Jack Marshall would be of no significance. But for the Tottenham forward Lenna Gunning-Williams the name is synonymous with the start of a compelling – and unorthodox – journey into the world of professional football.

Unlike most professional players in the modern game, the 20-year-old did not get her first taste of academy football until her mid-teens. Instead, she spent the earliest stages of her career juggling grassroots football with an acting job. Between the ages of 11 and 16 Gunning-Williams played a leading role in the hit CBBC football drama Jamie Johnson. Her character, Jack Marshall, was a young girl vying with the boys while dreaming of going pro – something that resonated with the actor herself. “I feel like we actually kind of relate, being young, growing up in football with boys. Our journeys are similar,” the England Under-23s international says as we sit down at Spurs’ training ground.

Gunning-Williams’s time on Jamie Johnson came with some unforgettable experiences – including a training session with the England players Fran Kirby, Jordan Nobbs and Nikita Parris at St George’s Park. That day in particular remains special to the Tottenham player as six years later she found herself in the exact same spot, only this time as an England international.

“It is funny, the pitch we train on for the under-23s is the pitch in the bit from Jamie Johnson. So that’s the first thing I thought. I was like: ‘Oh, like a full circle moment.’ I don’t really tend to think about Jamie Johnson too often because my focus now is football. But it’s little things like that I’m like: ‘That’s really cool.’ Lenna then would have no idea that Lenna now would be in the under-23s training at St George’s Park.”

The forward’s time on the CBBC show came to an end in the series three finale, although she did return for the odd cameo after that. A career in acting was never something that Gunning-Williams entertained as a teenager despite her success – it was always football. “I knew I couldn’t really act either,” she jokes. “I just got away with it because I was young! If I tried to do that now people would be like: ‘What is she doing?’”

Jack Marshall was taken out of the show at Gunning-Williams’s request, and her exit storyline mirrored what she was striving for in real life. “I got written off Jamie Johnson by going to an academy in London and then I joined Spurs’ Academy,” Gunning-Williams recalls. “It was really weird how they aligned.”

Although she stepped away from CBBC in 2018 to pursue a career in football, Gunning-Williams still gets recognised as her on-screen alter-ego: “Most of the time it literally is like: ‘Jack, oh wait, Lenna.’ A lot of people really do believe that I am real-life Jack Marshall, which is quite cute actually. Because I suppose the people that grew up watching it were around my age, they grew up with me because I was acting as an 11-year-old being 11, so it makes sense. But yeah, it’s crazy how much the new generation have watched it because I thought it fizzled out a bit but I still get recognised for it, which is quite cool.”

Still playing Sunday league football, the forward was scouted by Tottenham in her mid-teens. Back then, the under-16s were still a grassroots team so it wasn’t until the following year that Gunning-Williams experienced academy football for the first time.

In just her second term with the under-21s she was called up to the first team and in November 2022 the dream was finally realised when the London-born player, who grew up not too far from Tottenham’s training ground in Enfield, scored on her first-team debut in a League Cup tie with Coventry.

“I imagined the night before – because I’m very much a visualisation, manifestation type of person – I was like: ‘It would be really cool if I scored a header.’ Scoring on your debut is something that you’ll remember for ever. Then I came on, 85th, 90th minute or something, it was really late. I scored and I was absolutely buzzing! I thought I was offside so I looked to the lino but their flag was down. It was really cool.”

Gunning-Williams’s whirlwind journey from child actor to professional footballer has been nothing short of unique. Following a successful season-long loan with Ipswich last term, where she scored 14 goals in all competitions, the forward has now established herself in the Tottenham first-team squad.

“I’ve really got stuck in with the girls and now I’m starting to make relations with them on the pitch. I trained with Spurs alongside playing matches with Ipswich last season. But being here full-time and my head being fully assigned with Spurs, I think it’s helped building relations and learning new positions. I’m only 20. I’m playing with people who have been in the game a lot longer than I have and I just need to learn from them, watch them and when my opportunities do come, take them.”

So, would Jack Marshall – that girl who dreamed of becoming a top player – be a fan of WSL star Lenna Gunning-Williams? “Wow. You know what I actually do. I feel like Jack would have a Lenna Gunning-Williams poster on the wall.”

It feels like there might be a lot of this between now and the end of the season. The title and relegation are effectively resolved, which means all that remains is the squabble over European qualification with nine teams in the mix for (probably) six places. The result was a strange, threequarter-pace game.

It would be unfair to say both sides were going through the motions but, equally, this wasn’t the most intense game you’ll ever see. It had seemed a phenomenon many thought impossible: a game even Angeball couldn’t make interesting. Tottenham’s defending, though, can conjure goals from anything.

The game had seemed to be drifting to stalemate when Spurs twice failed to clear, and Andreas Pereira reacted sharply to control Adama Traoré’s jab into the box and then shovel the ball on to Rodrigo Muniz, who rolled a neat finish just beyond the scrabble of Guglielmo Vicario. As if that weren’t generous enough, Ben Davies was then muscled off a bouncing ball by Ryan Sessegnon, who whipped a fine finish into the top corner. He rejoined the club from Spurs in the summer.

Fulham had rather more on the line than Spurs and it showed. The win lifted them to eighth, still outside likely European qualification but within three points of a Champions League place. Just as significantly, perhaps, the game served as an audition for Marco Silva if Ange Postecoglou is shuffled out in the summer and if he is interested in taking the job. The two exchanged a notably protracted hug before kick-off, Postecoglou laughing as his right arm waved animatedly. You could only imagine what he was saying: “Don’t take it, mate. It’s an absolute shambles.”

Now 36, Willian made his first start for Fulham since rejoining the club in January. He was typically involved – it’s easy to see why Silva is such a fan – and for much of the first half the game seemed principally to involve Willian snapping at the heels of Djed Spence as the Spurs defender was forced back towards his own goal. There was a scurrying run and a low shot deflected just wide early in the second half and a late long-range effort that also arced past a post, but the highlight, though, was an extravagant volleyed flick with outside of his ankle to Emile Smith Rowe.

Tottenham are not one of those sides chasing Europe through league placing, their potential route to the Champions League lying in the Europa League. That is now very clearly the priority, with the result that their side featured seven changes from the win against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. Given how many injuries Spurs have suffered this season, how exhausted they have appeared at times, that was an entirely understandable decision: rotation is either necessary or it’s not.

With no James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski or Lucas Bergvall, Tottenham were always going to struggle for creativity. The double change at half-time, Son Heung-min and Bergvall coming on for Brennan Johnson and Yves Bissouma seemed more a reaction to that early flatness than a pre-planned move to spread the minutes around.

It was Bergvall’s 52nd-minute cross that led to Spurs’ first real chance, Dominic Solanke heading just wide. This was the second successive game in which Bissouma was withdrawn at half-time. Given 12 players have played more minutes than him this season and he has only one year left on his contract, it would be little surprise were he to be offloaded in the summer.

Replacing him in Tottenham’s midfield, perhaps, could be Archie Gray, who, on his 13th league start for the club at last was used in his preferred position. The 19-year-old is a player of exceptional talent as he demonstrated by completing more than 90% of his passes and will surely in time make the deep-lying midfield role his own. But his most significant contribution was defensive, hacking the ball clear from inside the six-yard box as Spurs withstood an extended period of Fulham pressure in the minutes leading up to half-time. Otherwise, there was very little for Tottenham to take from the game.

For Fulham, though, the prospect of a return to European competition is very real. Five points now separate fourth from 10th; there might not be much to play for elsewhere but upper mid-table is shaping up to be a real dogfight.