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Late goals by Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson helped Tottenham avoid an almighty upset at Coventry in the Carabao Cup.

Spurs were set to follow up Sunday’s painful derby defeat to Arsenal with a 1-0 loss in the third round after Brandon Thomas-Asante fired the Championship side into a deserved lead after 63 minutes.

Moments earlier, Ange Postecoglou’s decision to substitute Lucas Bergvall had been met with boos from the away end.

However, with time running out and Postecoglou’s bold prediction last weekend of always winning silverware in his second season being set to come back to bite him, Djed Spence found an equaliser with three minutes left.

Spot-kicks were still on the cards until Rodrigo Bentancur played through Brennan Johnson, who chipped home in the 92nd minute to earn Tottenham a precious 2-1 win and leave their travelling support singing about Wembley.

This was the first meeting between the clubs in 11 years, but it was a fixture synonymous with the 1987 FA Cup final when Coventry triumphed 3-2 to clinch the only major trophy of their history.

Postecoglou was eager to deliver silverware for Spurs, but made eight changes from Sunday’s north London derby loss.

Fraser Forster was recalled for his first start in more than 12 months and almost gave away a goal inside 60 seconds, but atoned for a poor pass out from the back with a fine save to deny Jack Rudoni from 20 yards.

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When Tottenham did eventually settle, they were forced into a 17th-minute substitution when Wilson Odobert went down after a strong challenge from Jake Bidwell.

Johnson was sent on and while the visitors continued to dominate possession, they could not fashion any chances and almost conceded again during an end-to-end 38th minute.

Firstly, Rudoni’s shot from Bidwell’s cross was blocked by Destiny Udogie and Johnson led the Spurs counter-attack but his cutback failed to pick out a team-mate, which resulted in Norman Bassette being sent away only to fire over.

After no first-half shots and a smattering of boos from the away crowd, Postecoglou sent on full-back Spence and two minutes later they did register an effort of note.

Dominic Solanke carried the ball and found Johnson, but his low effort was blocked by ex-Tottenham youngster Luis Binks.

It was not a sign of things to come as after Timo Werner was again dispossessed, Bassette tested Forster with a low strike.

The 24,606-strong crowd could smell blood and wanted a penalty after 56 minutes when Bidwell raced onto Ben Wilson’s pass and collided with Forster, but play continued and Spurs’ stand-in captain Ben Davies slid in to deny Haji Wright’s goalbound effort.

Thomas-Asante lifted over shortly afterwards before Postecoglou’s night went from bad to worse as his decision to bring off the lively Bergvall sparked boos.

Seconds later and the home faithful were on their feet in celebration after Bassette produced a superb cross for Thomas-Asante to slot past Forster.

No immediate reaction was evident as Ellis Simms headed wide soon after for Coventry.

James Maddison did go close in the 77th minute when he controlled Radu Dragusin’s long-range pass but curled wide from range before Ephron Mason-Clark failed to sufficiently connect with Simms’ deflected shot.

As Postecoglou was facing up to a second consecutive early exit in this competition, his blushes were spared when Dejan Kulusevski linked up with Spence, who prodded home for his first Spurs goal.

With three minutes left, Tottenham sensed their moment and in the second minute of stoppage time Bentancur played in Johnson, who rolled the ball past Wilson to ensure the full-time whistle was greeted with chants of ‘Wembley’ from Tottenham’s travelling support.

We’re already four games into the season so it’s surely fast approaching the time when at least one Premier League club panics and sacks its clearly irredeemably flawed manager.

There is, happily, no shortage of candidates this season and we’d be amazed not to see at least one or two clubs make a desperate move in and around the November international break.

But who will those moves see come in? It will definitely be these guys. Yes, we can exclusively reveal the next manager for all 20 Premier League clubs. Make a note, because all of this are absolute certainties with almost no chance of looking very stupid quite soon (or in some cases, already).

Arsenal: Cesc Fabregas

It seems unlikely it will be Arsenal’s decision as to when Mikel Arteta needs replacing, so brilliant is the job he’s currently doing. When it does come time for Arteta and Arsenal to part, it’s likely he’s either given in and decided to go to Man City on the basis that if you can’t beat them, re-join them, or been spirited away by Barcelona, who remain a) keen observers of Arteta’s progress and b) enormously fond of a managerial change.

Or he may simply decide a la Klopp that he’s had enough of prowling Premier League touchlines half a Richard Keys-baiting yard outside his technical area. He might just walk away.

But if it is indeed any of those or other similar scenarios, Arsenal will be seeking continuity. Evolution not revolution. So who better than a cerebral Spanish midfielder who already knows the club? Fabregas is the perfect choice for a club that is already as we speak proving itself capable of upending the truism that making former players managers generally goes tits up.

Of course, Fabregas’ chances of success will rest on being able to retain the services of Arsenal’s current set-piece coach. If he can’t do that? It’s so Jover.

READ: 16 Conclusions on Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal

Aston Villa: Thomas Tuchel

Doesn’t feel like a thing anyone needs to worry about all that much for a good while, with the match of club and manager here feeling like it’s absolutely perfect. Unai Emery appears to be that absolute sweet-spot of a manager for a club like Villa: plenty good enough to elevate them into the elite without being too susceptible to having his head turned and being whisked away by one of the super-clubs.

He’s a very good manager, but not a particularly sexy one. And that’s great for Villa, but makes life very hard for us. It’s impossible to even make a sensible prediction about when this might happen, but it does seem reasonable to assume we’re talking about an Aston Villa that offers far greater appeal to a far wider range of managers than the Gerrard-schooled relegation scrabblers Emery himself inherited.

We’re pretty sure Thomas Tuchel is going to end up back in England at some point, but aren’t quite convinced the very biggest clubs will touch him. Just too spiky and awkward. But he would nevertheless represent a big-name coup for a team just outside that gilded elite. It does appear inevitable that he will one day manage Tottenham, but that might just be because he’s previously managed Chelsea and that does seem to make it mandatory. An upwardly mobile Villa might be a better fit.

Bournemouth: Inigo Perez

All things happen for a reason. Was supposed to join Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth as assistant manager but couldn’t because of work-permit issues. Six months later, found himself instead back at their former club Rayo Vallecano and this time in charge of proceedings himself.

Iraola has done the business for Bournemouth, and it’s far more likely at this point that Iraola is pinched than sacked. It stands to reason, therefore, that Bournemouth’s next appointment should therefore be of the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ variety and ‘young Spanish Rayo Vallecano coach’ is obviously unimprovably similar to Iraola even if he hadn’t already worked with him.

Brentford: Graham Potter

Genuinely unpleasant to even think about a Brentford team in the Premier League without Thomas Frank and his hair running things from the sidelines. It’s just not something that any of us are really prepared for. He’s part of the furniture and a huge factor in Brentford even being here in Our League at all, never mind as an absolute fixture like they are now.

We often find ourselves pondering precisely how and where Graham Potter makes his return to top-flight management, and it strikes us now that this might be a decent fit. Potter would perhaps consider it beneath him, but the more time that passes the more willing he may have to become to swallow his pride, and a well-run club beginning with the letter B in the south of England that got itself promoted playing The Right Way before establishing itself as a solid Premier League side would at least have the benefit of familiarity. They even play in stripes. It’s basically perfect, if you think about it.

Brighton: Kosta Runjaic

Overachieving coaches punching above their weight in Europe are the order of the post-Potter day for Brighton.

Runjaci currently has Udinese top of Serie A, albeit we’re only four games into his reign there and the season itself. But if ‘Kaiserslautern, 1860 Munich, Pogon Szczecin, Legia Warsaw, Udinese’ isn’t a managerial run that simply screams ‘Brighton’ as its next stop then we don’t want to know what is.

Chelsea: Ruben Amorim

Mourinho’s heir, isn’t he? Far more so than Andre Villas-Boas ever was. No need to complicate matters here because Chelsea is already plenty complicated enough. Take the low-hanging fruit and the most obvious of all possibilities. Apart from Frank Lampard.

Still, it has long seemed inevitable that Amorim will follow the well-worn path from Portugal’s Primeira Liga to the Barclays, and Chelsea does appear by far the likeliest destination.

We’re as confident as we can be that Amorim will be next through the Chelsea revolving door, but nevertheless remain extremely excited to find out which of the currently warring owners actually gets to make the appointment.

Crystal Palace: Roy Hodgson

Because neither he nor they can frankly help themselves.

Everton: Sam Allardyce

Because if you’ve already got Sean Dyche as manager and have to press the big red managerial firefighter emergency button because you keep losing games after going 2-0 up, then there really is only one further step to be taken down the road of despair you have paved for yourself.

Go and get Big Sam. It’s not all bad news, because it’s also an appointment that offers everyone a shot at redemption. It feels deeply quaint now to imagine a world where a manager steps in before Christmas to rescue a relegation-haunted Everton side and steer them to eighth (eighth!) in the table only to be binned off because fans aren’t happy with the style of play, but that was Allardyce’s fate in his previous spell at Goodison and it was somehow only six years ago.

The other good thing about taking this circular approach is that appointing Allardyce again would logically mean they’re only two years away from having Carlo Ancelotti back, and that would be nice wouldn’t it?

READ: The Premier League sack race has Dyche way out in front

Fulham: Rob Edwards

Feels like Marco Silva has been there a lot longer than three years, and that’s a compliment. He’s established Fulham as a mid-table Premier League side after a fair bout of yo-yo-ing between the top two divisions, and that’s no mean trick.

Tricky to know exactly where Fulham might go next after Silva, but there is a hint in their list of past managers. It’s not a perfect pattern, but in general the Fulham approach is to alternate between ‘Very British’ and ‘Exotically Foreign’. This is a club that within the last 25 years has been managed by Jean Tigana, Martin Jol, Rene Meulensteen, Felix Magath, Slavisa Jokanovic, Claudio Ranieri and Silva but also by Chris Coleman, Roy Hodgson, Mark Hughes, Kit Symons and Scott Parker.

On the basis that it’s ‘Very British’ due up next, we’ll go with Rob Edwards based on little more than a hunch. It’s not always very scientific, this.

Ipswich: Mick McCarthy

If they’re replacing Kieran McKenna they’re probably done for anyway, so might as well do it with their c*cks all the way out and bring back Big Mick for one last Premier League hurrah at a club where he once branded fans ‘numbskulls’ for criticising his style of play.

On-field results will likely be abysmal, sure, but think of the press conferences and post-match interviews. The Barclays needs and deserves this. And with a McKenna-less Ipswich likely doomed anyway, nobody actually loses out at all when you think about it. It’s win-win. Kinda.

Leicester: Gary O’Neil

Another club with a fantastically varied set of managerial appointments over the last 15 years, with names like Paolo Sousa and Sven-Goran Eriksson and Claudio Ranieri and Claude Puel sitting right there alongside your Nigel Pearsons and Craig Shakespeares, your Dean Smiths and the Ian Holloways of this world. And that’s without even mentioning dear old Brendan.

Enzo Maresca was a pretty left-field punt as well that worked out pretty well, while Steve Cooper strikes us a solidly sensible pragmatic piece of business ahead of what was always likely to be a wildly difficult return to the Premier League.

Which all makes predicting where Leicester go next near impossible. They love a big sexy foreign name but are equally at home with a Proper Football Man. Brendan Rodgers seems obvious now, when you look at the full list of names they’ve gone for in the past.

Does feel like we should now be approaching the point where Leicester appoint a member of the 2015/16 Fairytale squad as manager, but there’s no real contender there.

We’re going quite prosaic here, then, with Leicester deciding former Bournemouth and Wolves boss O’Neil (Wolves sack him in November, by the way) is the man to lead them back into the Premier League after relegation is confirmed on the final day of the season and Steve Cooper walks.

Liverpool: Xabi Alonso

But it will be a pure disaster that lasts less than a season, Alonso’s handsomely bearded reputation having already lost some of its lustre with his miserable failure to do any more unbeaten seasons with Leverkusen. All will agree that the perfect moment was right there in 2024 and everyone missed it.

Manchester City: Vincent Kompany

Still not quite sure how he ended up being Bayern Munich manager, but it matters not. He has, and with it the very ideal stepping stone back to Manchester City where the chance to prove whether he’s an Arteta or a Solskjaer or a Lampard feels increasingly like something that is absolutely sure to happen at some point over the next couple of years.

The timing will come down to many things. Really would not be a surprise if Pep Guardiola got bored and decide to Klopp his way off on a six-month farewell tour this season. Then there is the spectre of what happens with the 115 charges.

That, though, is just another feather in Kompany’s cap to help make him the perfect candidate. He’s already if anything over-qualified for the Club DNA and Knowing Our League criteria of any managerial appointment, but now Bayern have provided him with relevant Big Club managerial experience while he’s also a man who knows his way out of the Championship. A perfect all-round skillset, then, to cover any and all the eventualities that could exist in City’s uncertain future.

Manchester United: Ruud van Nistelrooy

He’s already in position, isn’t he? Ready and waiting to take the reins on a temporary basis if/when the Erik Ten Hag experiment finally comes to its grimly inevitable conclusion. And the good news for United fans is that handing a beloved former striker with limited top-level managerial experience the permanent gig after an eye-catching mood-lifting spell in caretaker charge has absolutely never gone wrong before and there’s no reason to think it could possibly do so now.

Obviously, there is one manager out there United have always wanted and he remains the dream. But you can’t just expect to appoint a manager like Gareth Southgate out of the blue. If they want to land that sort of coup they’ll have to be patient, and that gives Van Nistelrooy the chance to at least state his case.

Newcastle: Max Allegri

The next managerial appointment at Newcastle really does feel like it needs to be a statement one. We’re not remotely sure it will be a good one, but it will be an appointment designed to declare and re-affirm their new-found stature despite those pesky rules that have thus far stopped them just buying all the players they want to as they should, by rights, be free to do.

We’re pretty sure Newcastle would be in a much worse state without Eddie Howe, but there’s also a very real chance that relationship does reach breaking point quite soon – especially if on-field results don’t continue on their current excellent if shakily-foundationed path.

That will leave Newcastle on the hunt for a big-name manager not averse to spending a lot of money in an attempt to buy his way to success. And for an added bonus he will need no time acclimatising to a team in black-and-white stripes. These are the sort of marginal gains that can make all the difference, you see.

Nottingham Forest: Bruno Lage

Because if you’re a Premier League club replacing Nuno Espirito Santo as manager, history tells us your choices are either Bruno Lage or Antonio Conte. And Bruno Lage feels much more likely here. To the extent that what began as purely a banter answer now has us thinking it might actually be a good idea.

Lage didn’t have a great time at Wolves, sure, but is now back at Benfica and boasting a 100% win rate in his second spell at the club. Can’t argue with that, as long as absolutely none of you go and check how many games he has managed in that second spell. Please don’t do that.

Southampton: Matt Le Tissier

With Rickie Lambert as his assistant. Premier League managers have dabbled in conspiracy theories about refereeing vendettas and fixture computers being out to get them, but we’d love to see one go full tinfoil hat and blame a tight offside decision on the shadow government or claim vaccines causes handballs.

Tottenham: David Moyes

Most managerial appointments are, by definition, a response to the failure of the previous regime and thus have a tendency to offer a wild change in philosophy and approach. At few clubs is this ‘appoint the opposite of the previous clown’ strategy more transparent than at Tottenham.

ENIC and Daniel Levy have been running the show at Spurs for 25 years now, and their list of permanent managerial appointments amounts in man ways to a quarter-century cry for help.

ENIC inherited George Graham as manager, a man still widely despised in this part of north London despite being the second most recent Spurs manager to win a trophy. They made the populist decision to replace him with club legend Glenn Hoddle.

Since then, they’ve gone for: Jacques Santini, Martin Jol, Juande Ramos, Harry Redknapp, Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood, Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Sante, Antonio Conte, Ange Postecoglou. It’s a wonder the very club itself doesn’t have whiplash given the number and extent of those lurches in opposite directions.

But it does give us a huge clue about where they go next after Angeball’s increasingly inevitable demise. Spurs are fun to watch and easy to beat. They need a manager who can make them excruciating to watch but hard to beat. They need David Moyes.

As an added bonus, he also knows his way around ending an embarrassingly long trophy drought at a London club that isn’t as big as it thinks it is. He’s perfect.

Then after 18 months of that, Spurs will bring Roberto De Zerbi back to Blighty after three wildly successful years with Marseille. He will bring Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg back with him as assistant coach, and another 18 months or two years down the line Hojbjerg will step up to the big chair himself thus fulfilling Mourinho’s prophecy once and for all, bringing a dark and endless winter across the land. None of those managers will win any trophies. There is no point fighting any of this. It is all as inevitable as night following day.

And after that it’ll probably be Thomas Tuchel, on the basis Spurs will be long overdue a former Chelsea boss by the time that lot have all been tried and discarded in about four years’ time.

West Ham: Michael Carrick

A tale to warm the heart as both club and manager get back to their footballing roots. Carrick has been and managed back in the north-east where he was born, so it’s only logical that his next step up the managerial ladder is a return to the club that nurtured and developed him.

Might need things to pick up a bit at Middlesbrough to really put himself back on the radar of any Premier League chairmen with itchy trigger fingers, but has got plenty of time to get West Ham’s attention now. They’ve only just appointed a new manager and, as we know, managers at West Ham always last absolutely ages. No rush at all here.

Wolves: Rui Vitoria

Honestly, we’ve no idea here beyond a sneaking suspicion we might all be about to find out the answer quite soon. So we’ve made a few assumptions, and these are they:

We think Wolves will need a new manager soon, so let’s look at available managers.

We think Wolves will want experience as a response to Gary O’Neil’s rookie stature, so let’s look at experienced managers.

We think Wolves will want a Portuguese manager because frankly it’s been a while.

Sergio Conceicao fits the bill but is surely far too ambitious a catch for their current state. Rui Vitoria, sacked by Egypt after a disappointing AFCON, and still available seven months later, ticks every box.

The Tottenham Hotspur soap opera continues after Ange Postecoglou’s poor set-piece record haunts him again in defeat against Arsenal.

Spurs have won just one of their four Premier League games so far, losing their previous game toothlessly to North London rivals Arsenal in quite a stale 1-0 loss.

Having finished fifth in their first season in charge under new boss Ange Postecoglou, the Lillywhites have got off to a poor start with questions already being asked of the Australian.

Former Spurs midfielder, Jamie O’Hara, who isn’t shy on voicing his opinion on social media, as well as talkSPORT said: “I’m not sure what to think of his (Postecoglou) tactics at the moment because Tottenham look so soft and are conceding goals for fun,”

Tottenham have also come under fire for their set-piece defending, with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario often looking suspect on corners.

On that matter, O’Hara said: “The set-pieces are a disgrace both in attack and defence; he needs to work on that. I’d give Ange Postecoglou a 3/10 for the way he managed the game against Arsenal.”

Since then, Postecoglou has addressed the talk regarding the set-pieces.

Speaking post-match, he said: “I know for some, people think I don’t care about set-pieces, and it’s a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages. I understand that. Like I said, we work on them all the time, like we do with every other team.”

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Since Postecoglou’s arrival, Spurs have conceded 18 times from set-pieces, with 13 of them coming from January onwards.

O’Hara, who played 93 times for Spurs in the Premier League, continued his damning assessment of Spurs.

He said: “Cristian Romero is another I’d give a 3/10 to, he got beaten by Gabriel for the goal and he seems to gift the opposition a goal every week. Brennan Johnson was the worst player, he is woeful. He was nowhere near good enough and he was hiding, but he never produces when he does get the ball. I’d give him a 2/10 as well. I look at it and think, have we brought in top players? Dominic Solanke, one good season at Bournemouth and we signed him for £60million.”

Solanke is yet to get off the mark for Spurs since his arrival in the summer, still nursing an ankle injury, having missed games against Everton and Newcastle.

The 27-year-old seemed to be gifted a golden opportunity early in the first half of the North London derby, though he failed to pulled the trigger, looking like a player shy of confidence in front of goal.

Last season, the former Liverpool man scored 19 league goals, and Postecoglou and Spurs will be hoping he hits similar numbers this season to allow them to improve on their fifth placed finish last season.

Liverpool won in Milan but the Italians made it easy, though not easy enough for Darwin Nunez to stay onside.

Send your views on all subjects to theeditor@football365.com

Nunez = thick?

I saw a statistic recently highlighting how rarely Haaland is caught offside.

Watching Milan-LFC, I’m reminded that it’s not the crap finishing of Nuñez that drives me the most insane, but rather the utterly unnecessary offsides that seem to happen every other counter-attack. Utterly infuriating, and to me surely a very telling sign of how intelligent and disciplined a striker is.

It’s one thing if you’re fat and immobile, but if you’re already faster than the vast majority of players, what bloody excuse do you have?!

Henry, LFC

Were Liverpool playing Spurs or Milan?

Not aiming to be overly bantery with this… but when we scored two quick goals to overturn an early deficit tonight I might’ve fleetingly thought we were facing Tottenham at the San Siro.

A fullback assisting the center half for an easy, towering header from a dead ball, ok. A second fullback assisting a second center half for an easy, towering header from another dead ball, alright then. A willowy opposing goalkeeper with noticeably limited core strength (in this case possibly due to injury) flapping at crosses and set piece deliveries, it’s starting to get uncanny now.

All we missed was a gruff Aussie with hard, perma-sulk expression on the touchline and we’d have completed the full set.

Slight remorse for any bewildered Spurs supporter catching strays on a night their side don’t even lace them up, but this is genuinely what I thought in real time as the pictures come through. Maybe in his presser now Fonseca will say he doesn’t care about set pieces, then we’ll really have something won’t we.

Eric, Los Angeles CA (Tsimikas will never, ever be the Glen Johnson-type fullback capable of cutting in weak foot to opportunistically score. Absolutely atrocious strike on the player but rather inexplicably, left, right or center he does just keep trying doesn’t he.)

READ: Liverpool complete greatest ever comeback against Milan in massive dig at White, Jover and Arsenal

What’s the referee’s role again?

My mind is blown here. Clattenberg literally said the ref needs to give Milan some small fouls to “calm the crowd down because Milan are getting upset”. Is this really the referees role here? To manage the crowd? Not to play the game that is in front of them? And we wonder why fans get so irate with refs! How can we expect impartiality when we have an ex pro ref admitting he makes decisions to control the narrative of the game. Madness.

Matt J Morgan

Champions League apathy

Does anyone else have absolutely zero interest in this Champions League group stage? Game week 1 last night and I didn’t even bother turning on the TV as an avid football fan who literally spends the week reading about football and listening to podcasts.

Jeopardy and novelty is what makes sports exiting, how have the dimwits who run FIFA and UEAFA not realised this? I couldn’t give a shit about Inter playing Man City or Arsenal playing PSG in a money spinning exercise where after a load of pointless games the worst that will happen is that you have to play an extra play off game. As opposed to for example, if Arsenal were to play Real Madrid or AC Milan in a knock out tie with real jeopardy and novelty (as they don’t play each other every year) I would be all over that like a rash.

The same reason why the Super League will never work and the MLS is a load of rubbish. No jeopardy.

Chippy

Some reasons for Man Utd cheer

Just finished watching the highlights of the United game and while it was fun to watch, United dominating for a change, don’t see any of those goals being scored against better opposition. Barnsley really did not do themselves proud.

Nevertheless, there were some positives from United. The chemistry between the front three was excellent and there was some excellent decision making in the final third, which has been lacking even against weak sides. Rashford seems to have his mojo back and both of those were proper striker’s goals.

Eriksen struck two beautiful goals but he was moving like a retired footballer and it’s concerning that United will have to rely on him against stronger opposition where he can easily be a liability.

Adeel

Why Arsenal don’t need a striker, thank you

OK, go on then, I’ll bite to Andy H, Swansea.

Regarding our bench, you’re right, it did look a little different to what we would usually have but that’s going to happen when you’re missing Odegaard, Rice, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Merino and Tomiyasu. Want to tell me what City’s first eleven and bench looks like without Rodri, De Bruyne, Ake, Lewis, Bernardo Silva and Akanji?

You play the game in front of you with the players you have available. Arsenal were confident Tottenham couldn’t hurt them (proven correct) and they could get a goal on the break or at a set piece (proven correct). They may well play the same against City on Sunday – pretty sure City didn’t score against Arsenal last season. So, would Andy say City aren’t a good team either then?

On his point about top-notch striker…we seemed to do alright when Havertz got comfortable in that role and not only scored a load of goals but brought others into the game. I don’t think the way we play suits an out and out goalscorer as that could restrict the impact of others and that’s clearly what Arteta wants – everyone involved and everyone a danger.

We missed out on the title by two points last season and those were given up in silly results before Christmas, not when we started playing as a well-defined team and system.

Finally, from the weekend – what choice did the ref have when Szoboszlai booted the ball away after giving away a free kick whilst being on a booking? Not seen it discussed much so I was hoping someone could tell me as I want to be really clear on all the rules this season.

Stew

Are Spurs in trouble?

There’s been a lot said about big Ange (mate), apparently he’s lost 7 out of the last 11 league games. A quick check online seems to support that statistic. Their only wins during this sequence? Against Burnley (relegated with a whimper), Sheffield United (relegated without a whimper) and Everton (definitely candidates for the same unless there’s a drastic change).

That’s relegation form…at best. So, when their only win so far this season is against an Everton team that cant hold their own water, it begs a question, when do the media put him under the same scrutiny as ETH? Surely, he’s got be in the sack race now.

If he is, where do Spurs go from here? Tried hiring known winners in Conte and Mourinho, tried the up and coming in Big Ange, mate. So what’s next?

Just a thought.

MadX

P.S I like him, he seems down to earth, but almost resigned to the fact that this is Spurs being Spurs.

READ: Angeball among many Premier League things now on borrowed time

League table not important says man who supports team in fourth

Can people please stop referencing league positions 4 f**king games in as if they’re a barometer of anything? 3 points separate 2nd and 8th place for f***’s sake meaning that any alternative iteration of those positions could be reality next weekend (caveats apply).

Grow up. And don’t look at the table until at least 8 games in (unless doing so to compile a needlessly moody email).

James Outram, (tired and grumpy) Wirral

Can the blind lead us on commentary?

I was going to write in to reply about commentary for the blind and partially sighted but I’m neither so I’m not qualified to talk about their experiences. It would be good to hear from a visually impaired person or maybe for F365 to do an article on the subject. I’d imagine given the number of audio descriptive services “tech bros” at clubs are starting to provide shows that radio is not the ideal solution. Is ADC much more detailed than radio? I don’t know, it would be interesting to hear from someone who does.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein has commented on whether Tottenham Hotspur could sack Ange Postecoglou following their 1-0 loss against arch-rivals Arsenal.

Postecoglou was lauded at the start of last season as he successfully overhauled Tottenham‘s style of play, making his side one of the most entertaining sides to watch in the Premier League.

Spurs ended the season poorly but still finished fifth in the Premier League and two points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Before this season, Tottenham’s target for the new campaign would have likely been to qualify for the Champions League and/or win a trophy.

However, Spurs have endured a difficult start to the new season. They have one win in four Premier League games and last time out, they were beaten 1-0 at home against North London rivals Arsenal.

Following this result, Postecoglou is the eight-favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked. Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano provided his verdict on whether Spurs could make a “shocking decision”.

READ: Top 10 Premier League players, managers, clubs and even abstract ideas living on borrowed time

Romano said: “It’s absolutely everything under control at Tottenham – a slow start, of course, a disappointing North London derby, but at the same time, they are not considering any shocking decision for the manager.

“This project is completely, completely involved in the ideas, the plan… the whole project is around Ange Postecoglou. Even in the summer transfer window, they were blending transfers together with him: [Dominic] Solanke, and also the others.

“This is something they are building with the manager – not just for the manager, but with the manager, so they are not going to change anything now. It was again a poor start to the season where they were also unlucky, if you remember the Leicester game. So it’s probably a difficult moment in general for Tottenham, but they absolutely trust in the manager and trust Postecoglou.

“So at the moment there is nothing negative ongoing at the club, no bad feelings, just the moment to change things, and they will do that on the pitch I’m sure.”

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365…

👉 Hoddle claims Spurs lack ‘X-factor’ star for key Postecoglou tactic underscored by ‘abysmal’ facet

👉 Cristian Romero slams Tottenham in deleted post after losing NLD derby to Arsenal

👉 Tottenham star emerges as top alternative for Real Madrid if Arsenal deal proves ‘difficult’

A further update has since been revealed by Ornstein. He suspects Postecoglou will still have the backing of Tottenham’s board.

“So this noise and understandable reaction from a lot of the public, and Spurs fans post the north London derby defeat, I suspect will not be replicated inside the club and in the hierarchy,” Ornstein told The Athletic FC podcast.

“If they are fully behind Ange Postecoglou in the way that Arsenal were when Mikel Arteta was facing external pressure, then you’d like to think that in time, things will improve.

“Whether it’s in the way that Arsenal have, or better, or worse, we will have to wait and see.”

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has defended his belief of “always winning things” in a second year at a club after his side’s loss to Arsenal.

Following the 1-0 home loss by Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby, the former Celtic boss was asked about his pre-season comments about achieving success during a second season after doing so with the Scottish champions.

The 59-year-old said “nothing’s changed” regarding that mindset as he attempts to build on last season as he guided Spurs to fifth place in the Premier League.

Former Australia boss Postecoglou – who also won silverware at South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar as well as in Japan with Yokohama F Marinos – takes his Spurs side to Coventry in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

Spurs’ last trophy came when they lifted the League Cup in 2008, and Postecoglou was again pressed on his comments over targeting silverware this season.

“It is amazing, isn’t it? I just stated a fact and it seems like am I supposed to just lie or just say it never happened?” Postecoglou said at a press conference.

READ: Top 10 Premier League players, managers, clubs and even abstract ideas living on borrowed time

“It is confusing to me that people are making a big deal out of something – surely I am supposed to answer something that is true?

“Like if I don’t win in the second year this year, and I come out next year and say, ‘well I always win in it’… well no, actually it is not true.

“But I have just said something that is true and it seems like it has upset a lot of people for some reason.”

Postecoglou added: “Do you really think it’s me sort of boasting?

“How am I supposed to answer something that is true? Is it to say, ‘well, actually, it wasn’t that important. They were easy competitions, and they don’t mean anything’?

“If you have achieved something, aren’t you supposed to say, ‘yes I have and that’s what I hope to do again’?

“I am not really sure why people misconstrue it as me trying to boast about something. I have answered a question which is true.

“That’s always happened and my plan is for it to happen again this year – and if it doesn’t happen, then I can’t answer that question the same way next year, I can say ‘mostly’, and not ‘always’.”

READ: F365 Live: Recap Tickers talking north London derby and Postecoglou sack prospects…

Postecoglou is likely to utilise his squad against Coventry, who reached the semi-finals of last season’s FA Cup where the Sky Bet Championship side were beaten on penalties by Manchester United after fighting back from 3-0 down.

Youngsters Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Mikey Moore could all be involved, while Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, Djed Spence and Timo Werner should also feature.

Midfielder Yves Bissouma missed the north London derby after picking up a groin problem while on international duty, and will not be rushed back into action.

“No. He is not where we want him to be (in his recovery),” Postecoglou said.

“But hopefully there is still a chance (he will be available) for the weekend (against Brentford).”

Tottenham will not be sacking Ange Postecoglou any time soon with their “whole project” built around him, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Spurs have not got off to the best of starts this season under the Australian coach with their recent narrow 1-0 loss to arch-rivals Arsenal in the North London Derby leaving them 13th in the Premier League table.

Postecoglou’s side got four points from their opening two fixtures against Leicester City and Everton before succumbing to back-to-back defeats to Newcastle United and Arsenal.

And that has piled pressure on Tottenham boss Postecoglou with their poor run of form going back to last season and now only Wolves (11) and Everton (9) have had more Premier League defeats from ever-present side since the start of March 2023.

Speaking on his Daily Briefing podcast on his Substack, Romano revealed that there was no chance that Tottenham will sack Postecoglou any time soon.

When asked if Postecoglou was in danger, Romano replied: “Not at all, zero percent. No, no, no and no.

“It’s absolutely everything under control at Tottenham – a slow start, of course, a disappointing North London derby, but at the same time, they are not considering any shocking decision for the manager.

“This project is completely, completely involved in the ideas, the plan… the whole project is around Ange Postecoglou. Even in the summer transfer window, they were blending transfers together with him: [Dominic] Solanke, and also the others.

“This is something they are building with the manager – not just for the manager, but with the manager, so they are not going to change anything now. It was again a poor start to the season where they were also unlucky, if you remember the Leicester game. So it’s probably a difficult moment in general for Tottenham, but they absolutely trust in the manager and trust Postecoglou.

“So at the moment there is nothing negative ongoing at the club, no bad feelings, just the moment to change things, and they will do that on the pitch I’m sure.”

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE FROM F365…

👉 Tottenham star emerges as top alternative for Real Madrid is Arsenal deal proves ‘difficult’

👉 Arsenal rubbish but Arteta brilliant in pre-ordained NLD that raises Postecoglou doubts

👉 Spurs top scorers against the Big Six: Son slowly closing the gap on the most obvious of leaders

Journalist Charles Watts – who has covered Arsenal for years – thought Tottenham were “really poor” in their loss to the Gunners at the weekend.

Watts said in his Caught Offside column: “I thought Spurs were really poor on Sunday to be honest.

“I expected them to really take the game to Arsenal giving the players that Mikel Arteta’s side were missing.

“But after a bright opening 15 minutes they barely laid a glove on them. It just looked like they had no idea how they were going to break Arsenal down.

“I do like Ange Postecoglou and he does like to play football in the right way. But even the Celtic fans who adored him north of the border warned that he doesn’t really have a Plan B.

“That always seemed to cost Celtic when they played teams who were superior to them in the Champions League and right now it looks like it is costing Spurs.

“Given who Arsenal were missing on Sunday I turned up at the ground expecting to see a Tottenham side who believed they could get one over their neighbours.

“But instead I saw a team who looked like they had no real belief that they could get through such a good defence. There was no real quality or guile.

“If I was a Spurs fan I would have been really disappointed with that performance and would be a bit concerned about what was to come this season.”

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero has emerged as an alternative option to Arsenal’s William Saliba as Real Madrid look for a new centre-back, according to reports.

Real Madrid are apparently looking to bring Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, Manchester City midfielder Rodri and one of Saliba or Tottenham star Romero to the club next summer.

It is a move back to their old transfer strategy of bringing in ‘Galacticos’ or the world’s best players to the Bernabeu with Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe arriving at Real Madrid over the last year or so.

The Independent chief football writer Miguel Delaney insists Real Madrid could be ‘further flush with cash next summer’ and will look to flex their muscles in the transfer market.

Delaney wrote in his column:

‘This summer’s signing of Kylian Mbappe nevertheless marked the start of a new era where the club has been willing to assert its financial power, thanks to a number of recent changes. One is how successful the strategy of targeting younger players was, having brought two Champions Leagues over three seasons in 2022 and 2024.

‘That has restored Madrid’s economic strength and only improved their international commercial profile, to go with how the refurbishment of the Bernabeu is planned to make it a lucrative money-spinning European events centre like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Madrid may be further flush with cash next summer if Fifa’s newly expanded Club World Cup goes as planned, and the prize money reaches €80m.’

Saliba has formed part of a brilliant partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of Arsenal’s defence with the Gunners having the best defensive record in the Premier League last season despite finishing as eventual runners-up.

But it will be hard to get Saliba out of the Emirates Stadium as the France international is now part of a successful Arsenal team who want to compete for titles and silverware.

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE FROM F365…

👉 16 Conclusions as wide-eyed Spurs throw themselves into Arsenal’s well-constructed but entirely obvious NLD trap

👉 Arsenal rubbish but Arteta brilliant in pre-ordained NLD that raises Postecoglou doubts

👉 Spurs top scorers against the Big Six: Son slowly closing the gap on the most obvious of leaders

And that means Real Madrid could turn to Tottenham defender Romero instead with a move to the Spanish capital likely to appeal to the Argentina international as Spurs struggle to compete at the top of the Premier League.

Delaney added:

‘Madrid are meanwhile keenly interested in Saliba as the future of their defence, although there is an awareness right now that he could be the most difficult to sign due to Arsenal’s burgeoning strength. That has ensured Romero has been made a secondary option, which would also fit with an existing business relationship between Tottenham and Madrid.

‘Such a summer would increase the age profile of Madrid, after years where they made a virtue of having the next best talents on the planet. Some within the club have even commented internally about how Mbappe represented such a departure from recent strategy. Perez’s say ultimately has sway over everything, and his insistence that Madrid should always have the best players in the world is well known.’

As the dust settles on the weekend, we ask whether Man Utd expectations should be lower and Arsenal can win anything without a top-class striker.

Send your views on all subjects to theeditor@football365.com

Man Utd expectations should be top four

I’ve thought this for a long time, so I’m glad I finally got around to writing it after a win so it looks less knee-jerky.

But really, at what point do we stop judging United by their ability to win titles and start judging them by a fairer yardstick?

Not sure who said it, and I’m only paraphrasing, but there is a saying “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit”.

Ignoring the “excellence” part because, let’s be fair, nothing has been excellent in the 11 seasons (Jesus Christ…) since Sir Alex retired, let’s focus on the “we are what we repeatedly do” part.

United have finished in the Top 4 in five out of 11 seasons. José did write off one of those league campaigns (Tuanzebe in midfield, etc.) and focused on Europa League as a means of reaching the Champions League, and he actually won it, but still…

Realistically, United have been a 50/50 team when it comes to even getting in the Top 4, so why are we judging Ten Hag and a new United team by their ability to compete with City and Arsenal for the title?

United haven’t been within an arse’s roar of a league title since they won it in 2013. Sure, we finished second twice, but City were over the hill and far away in both of those seasons.

A lot of money has been spent (wasted) by the Glazers in the post-Sir Alex years, and a lot of money has already been spent by INEOS and a new regime put in upstairs, but honestly, apart from click bait and engagement, why does anyone actually think United can compete for the title in the next three years even?

This is a team that finished two of the last three seasons outside of the Top 4 with a goal difference of 0 and -1 (only one of those under Ten Hag before you start).

It’s time that we all realise and accept that finishing in the Top 4 this season would represent progress. And a proper goal difference wouldn’t hurt either!

Without getting too “Moneyball” about it all, 76 points has been good enough for 4th place or higher in each of the last 10 seasons. This 2 points per game tally is a far more reasonable target for Ten Hag and United this season than trying to bridge a 31-point gap to Manchester City in one season.

It’s not a given (nothing is with this squad), but beat Crystal Palace and a struggling Spurs team in the next two league games, and United will be on 12 points from six games. Not glamorous by any means, and I’m sure people will still be calling for Ten Hag’s head, but bang on target for a Top 4 finish.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the media, and the fans, are correct to say United should be challenging for the biggest trophies, but for the last ten years, this has been “Manchester United” in name only.

Quite a few of the United teams in that time have failed to cross a bar I didn’t even realise existed most of my life – actually being likeable to the fans!

Sir Jim and his mates can’t snap their fingers and undo ten years of decline with one signing or some new equipment in Carrington. It’s going to take a long time – regardless of whether Erik ten Hag, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Zinedine Zidane or whoever else you fancy is going to be the manager when they get back to the big time.

INEOS and United had a very good transfer window this year. They will need at least 2-3 more very good transfer windows to be truly competitive again. If United stay relatively injury-free, I’m convinced they’re good enough to finish ahead of Spurs, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Aston Villa with Champions League distractions (the Top 2, in whatever order, plus Liverpool is settled for me).

Finishing in the Top 4, ideally adding another trophy, and playing some decent football along the way – that would be real progress this season. It’s time we all admitted it.

James, MUFC

MORE ON MAN UTD FROM F365:

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👉 ‘Pressure’ ramps up in Man Utd, Liverpool battle for Bundesliga star ready to ‘leap’ to Prem

The Arsenal reality check

Lot of very excited Arsenal fans out there after the NLD win.

Not at all surprising. They were excellent on Sunday. In the absence of Rice and Odegaard, and the lack of a recognised top class centre forward, Arteta set up to nick a 1-0 and executed it perfectly. It was a masterclass in setting a team up in the midst of adversity to win a one off game. They remain the best organised defensive unit in the PL. They will always be a top 3 side because of that alone.

But. BUT.

For starters, it was only Spurs. They haven’t started calling Ange “Aussie Ardiles” for nothing. Also, try parking the bus at a decent team and offering nothing apart from the odd set piece, and see what happens.

Now we come to that lack of a top notch centre forward. That will bite you on the arse. It bit you last season, and the season before. You still haven’t rectified it, so you cannot expect to do better than you did before.

Finally, your bench, guys. Your bench. On Sunday, 5 of your 9 were A. Heaven, I. Kabia, M. Kacurri, M. Lewis-Skelly, and E. Nwaneri. That’s not a bench, that’s a random collection of Pro Evo Master League regens, after you’re about 15 seasons in. Sorry, but you can’t win a league title or a CL with that as your “bench”. It’s laughably weak.

So, by all means – enjoy your derby day, you were brilliant, you deserved it. But temper your expectations. Everything else still points to bridesmaid status once again.

Andy H, Swansea

Spurs are old-fashioned

Something I note about Spurs is how out of date they look. The two dominant styles of play in the prem in the last 10 years have been Guardiola’s possession-at-all-costs approach, and Klopp’s hardcore pressing.

In the last few years, we’ve started to see tactics shift to counter these: either assembling your midfield as a chunky 5 man pentagon (as it were) to force the possession onto the flanks, against the former; or letting your back 5 stand still with the ball in a ‘come on then!’ stance, before ideally zipping through the press gang with a few quick passes (that De Zerbi was big on).

And now teams are countering those counters: 4-4-2 is basically coming back, with teams either shaping it as 4-1-1-2-2 to give more ‘vertical’ levels to get through; and/or using more direct players – 3 centre backs in a back 4 to help at set pieces; Doku-ish wingers to take the ball on when teams are forced out wide; sepia centre forwards allowing teams go back to front quickly when it’s on.

But where in this progression are Ange’s Tottenham at the moment? When he no-mate-ed the media for asking if he would try and get better at set pieces, a lot of people thought this was bluff; that in reality, he would obviously be correcting a mad gap in his team’s defence. Apparently not.

And have they got a real chalk-on-boots number 7/11 to stretch teams out and get round the sides? Is their perma-possession approach leading to anything? Is Maddison given a defined job description, or just given the ball and told to fix a wet attack? Has £60m bought them a champions league standard striker?

Spurs have just hired Ange because he was the opposite of Conte. They are still trying to win 2021’s football matches. Someone at the club with a brain would have seen a 0-0 was on offer on Sunday, from an Arsenal who need to pick their battles right now; and a less kamikaze manager would happily have taken it to put a bad start to the season behind them.

Neil Raines

READ: 16 Conclusions on Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal

Are Liverpool one more defeat away from a crisis?

This might merely be a symptom of me giving less f***s about what is basically a bunch of men chasing a bag of wind around a pitch whilst another bunch of men (mainly) shout at them, but Liverpool’s defeat at the weekend sums up the intrigue of football and why it maintains my interest.

Before the Forest game (kudos to them and the goal was a thing of beauty), everything in Liverpool’s garden was rosy, but they are off to Italy to play Milan in a game that is extremely losable, and it is entirely possible that should they indeed lose that the word crisis will be mooted and they will go into next weekend’s game against Bournemouth very nervously, with Slot under a lot of pressure (and then we will really find out what he is all about).

Now, if only City could have a crisis, well, then the intrigue would ramp up. I’d rather they had one on the pitch, but at this point I will take all I can get.

Mat (it’s only a game fellas)

PGMOL making an Arse of things

It seems like every season the PGMOL start off with some new directive, some new way for the fastidious little gnomes to control and ridicule the game whilst chanting “the letter of the law” like the Sandford Neighbourhood Watch Alliance.

Its usually something fairly innocuous that has little impact but riles the type of person who sits quietly during a group discussion until they can pipe up with smug glee “well actually I think you’ll find…”.

Invariably the refs take to their master’s new orders with gusto and in the first few games we get one decision so scrupulous and pious in its application it results in weeks of discussion and argument amongst fans and the media. Alan Shearer does his fence straddling scrunchy face calling out the new law as ridiculous whilst shaming the player as daft for breaking it, and Football Twitter has a slightly larger than usual meltdown under the weight of all the ‘game’s gone’ posts.

What happens next though it what really bugs me. The refs double down. As if to take pressure off their hyperactive and subsequently hassled colleague they then take his faux par as the new standard and we get months of jobsworth behaviour. They overwhelm us with pettiness to justify their position then when players complain they shrug like they have no part in how the rules are enforced.

A few years back it was a handball in the box, which resulted in months of penalties anytime the ball grazed a defenders arm which wasn’t gorilla glued to their waist or clasped behind their back like and OAP at an art gallery.

This time it’s Declan Rice and the slightest nudge of a ball that was rolling past his foot, the daft idiot. So now, regardless of context or common sense, there is a yellow card for any player who touches the ball after the whistle is blown against their team. This is stupid enough in itself but the knock on effect of such a harmless offence being dealt with so harshly is that even run of the mill infractions are then treated with increased severity.

This weekend thus saw a new Premier League record for yellow card offences with 65 cards shown over the ten games. Taylor managed fourteen in the Bournemouth Chelsea game and following suit Gillett produced seven in just the first half of the North London derby. One commentator even suggested raising the suspension threshold for yellow card offences to even out the new enforcement as if that would solve anything.

This behaviour from refs will of course settle down like it always does into something closer to sanity but this just magnifies how ridiculous the start of the season has become. These annual directives rarely change player behaviour in the long term, the game and human nature are what they are, but they can have significant impact without any meaningful justification. If Rice hadn’t received that yellow and stayed on the pitch would Arsenal have won the game and be level on points with City?

As long as the PGMOL feel the need for a yearly arse twitch and show of importance we’ll continue to see this kind of foolishness.

Dave, Manchester

Really angry about Kovacic

He can’t keep getting away with it!!!

Got round to seeing football highlights today (Monday). Genuinely didn’t care about anything other than the NLD this weekend. Can someone please explain how Kovačič didn’t get sent off for his reckless, out of control lunging tackle through the back of Wissa? Last season I remember him somehow avoiding red against Arsenal.

After the last couple of weeks of hearing squawking rival fans shriek “Letterofthelaw! Letterofthelaw!” over Rice’s gentle tapping of the ball after the Brighton player rolled the ball into his feet I’ve gone over chat from this weekends fixtures and seen no mention of this. I see Wissa’s out for two months, now. City still have Kovačič available. Maybe Arsenal should start playing in sky blue. I kid! I kid! There’s obviously no such thing as subconscious bias in referees…

Simon, Norf London Gooner

P.S. The referee ALWAYS has a choice. Don’t be gaslit.

Commentary on commentary commentary

First-time mailer here.

I’m writing in response to Steve Gilion’s recent mail on football commentary.

While I understand their perspective, I believe there’s a valuable role for commentary in enhancing the viewing experience.

It’s true that commentary can sometimes feel redundant, especially for experienced fans. However, it’s important to remember that not everyone shares the same level of knowledge or understanding of the game.

For less experienced viewers, commentary can provide essential context, insights, and historical perspective.

Furthermore, commentary can offer a unique perspective that goes beyond what is immediately visible on screen.

Skilled commentators can analyze tactics, formations, and player performances in a way that viewers might not be able to fully appreciate on their own.

They can also share personal anecdotes and stories that bring the game to life.

While it’s understandable to feel frustrated by generic commentary, I believe it’s important to recognize that there are also commentators who offer valuable insights and analysis. By providing a variety of perspectives and styles, broadcasters can cater to different viewers and make the game more enjoyable for everyone.

Ultimately, the value of commentary is subjective. Some viewers may find it unnecessary, while others may appreciate the added depth and context it provides.

Perhaps a solution could be to offer viewers the option to choose between different commentary styles or even mute commentary altogether during certain segments of the game.

Mever The Phenomenon, Nigerian Gooner

…I wouldn’t normally espond to a direct comment in the mailbox. And I mean zero malice. But this one sort of forced me.

I had just spent Saturday afternoon listening to Patrick Boyle’s excellent video about tech bros reinventing things and pretending they are new.

So when I read SC, Belfast: Commentary corner I was reminded of Boyle’s video. It is completely true that commentary on most sports, football included, is laughably silly. It is seldom insightful and often silent for long periods of time. Which is why many of us turn down the audio.

However, let us not forget that they are still commenting on television coverage. Which means virtually everyone is seeing the same thing the commentators are seeing. I often find it ironic when the commentators are describing an event I just witnessed and it is seldom convincing. I fail to see the value in this.

Having said that, there should absolutely be coverage of a footie game or any other sporting event, that describes the action for those not present or incapable of watching the television coverage of said event.

It’s called radio.

This is why so many Leaf fans turn down CBC, TSN or Sportsnet when watching beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. W crank up Joe Bowen on the radio instead because his coverage is better by orders of magnitude.

But there is simply no reason to try and reinvent television as radio. It is already there.

Sean, Roseville, Ontario, LFC (Holy Mackinaw, Joe!)

On that Carlingsmen XI

That was an absolute banger of an email from Craig Bridgeman. Had me remembering a few players I had completely forgotten about. Mails like this one is what keeps me coming back to F365 for more.

Also, Neil Raines, before the second half started, I tweeted that Tielemans would have one of his patented worldies against Everton in minute 72.

Glenn Hoddle has urged Ange Postecoglou to drop one his key Tottenham tactics as they lack the ‘X-factor player’ to make it viable.

Spurs have now lost seven of their last 11 games under the Australian boss after they fell to a 1-0 defeat in the North London derby on Sunday.

Gabriel Magalhaes scored the only goal of the game from a corner and while Postecoglou’s side huffed and puffed they were ineffective in the final third against stubborn Arsenal defence.

For the first time it seems Postecoglou is under pressure and Spurs legend Hoddle has told the former Celtic boss to reconsider his tactics going forward.

Explaining what went wrong against the Gunners, he said on talkSPORT: “The inverted fullbacks worked last season to a certain degree, but I look at Tottenham now and they’ve got some very good players, but if [Heung-min] Son’s not on fire they haven’t got an X-factor player at the moment.

“I feel like the inverted fullbacks have been sussed out. They can out-possession most teams, probably only Manchester City [have more possession].

“I think Arsenal knew Spurs could out-possession them and they banked in and made it very difficult to break them down.”

“What frustrates me is that unless you’ve got a [Kevin] De Bruyne or David Silva at his very best, people who can unlock a door, it’s very difficult.

“They’re trying to go through the eye of a needle, they’ve got so many men in the centre of the pitch so it’s impossible to get through the centre.

“They need that width, they need to try a different style to open teams up because as soon as teams bank against them [it doesn’t work].

“If they go 1-0 up in games like against Everton [4-0 win] they can counter then and I think they look better when they’re shifting the ball quickly on the counter, but that’s where I feel the next step needs to go, they haven’t got enough quality in the final third even though they get in some wonderful positions, the crossing was abysmal yesterday.”

MORE ON THE NORTH LONDON DERBY FROM F365:

👉 16 Conclusions as wide-eyed Spurs throw themselves into Arsenal’s well-constructed but entirely obvious NLD trap

👉 Arsenal rubbish but Arteta brilliant in pre-ordained NLD that raises Postecoglou doubts

👉 Arsenal man ‘chose the dark arts’ as Sky Sports ‘refuse’ to say sorry

Ally McCoist asked whether Hoddle thinks James Maddison can be the guy to unpick opposition defences.

“He’s got the ability,” Hoddle replied. “But if I’m playing No.10 I’m looking around me and I’ve got so many bodies in there there’s no space with the two inverted fullbacks.

“It’s like Piccadilly Circus in the middle of midfield sometimes. These wide men, if they’re going past their fullbacks and getting great crosses or shots in that would be fine, but they’re struggling, they need movement off them, once Spurs go wide there’s not enough movement.

“You see it with City, they make these lovely little blindside runs into the penalty area and they use them and use the space, there’s none of that with Tottenham.”