Football365

This is the season of Premier League bosses being told they’re ‘getting sacked in the morning’. Thomas Frank has bucked the recent trend at Spurs.

It is a particularly close-run sack race in mid-February of a season in which six managers have already left their posts.

Under-pressure Brighton manager Hurzeler was told by his own fans he’d be getting “sacked in the morning” over the weekend.

And Frank was treated to a rendition of that particular chorus after another Spurs defeat left them 16th and three points above the relegation zone, before actually being sacked the following morning.

That has gone against recent trends. This is vitally important research which takes into account every coach fired since the start of last season, based on when the club statements confirming their departures landed, to see whether they really were sacked in the morning after all.

Ruben Amorim – sacked in the morning

The decision was probably made around the time of the acerbic meeting held between Amorim and Jason Wilcox the previous Friday, which itself was held after a damaging home draw with Wolves a few days before.

But Amorim was informed of the mutually necessary removal from his Manchester United post during the morning of January 5, which was relayed publicly by the club at 10:08am.

The draw with Leeds at Elland Road looks like a passable result in isolated hindsight; what would transpire over the next few hours from Amorim’s press conference onwards was so unexpected that no-one even sang about his impending morning-based sacking.

Enzo Maresca – NOT sacked in the morning

It took Chelsea 12 hours and 18 minutes of 2026 to dispense with a manager, which is pretty good going even for them.

Maresca was the first ever Premier League coach to be sacked on New Year’s Day, concluding a curious three weeks or so of unexplained cryptic public comments and rising internal tensions.

Having seemingly made it his early resolution to force the collective hand of the Stamford Bridge suits by picking passive-aggressive fights with the medical staff and overseeing a poor run of results and performances, Maresca made it until just after lunchtime of the first day of January.

Vitor Pereira – NOT sacked in the morning

How embarrassed the Wolves supporters who informed Pereira of his dawn departure must be that the confirmation actually arrived at 12:24pm the following day.

They had, to be fair, warned the Portuguese that he would be Sacked In The Morning during the two games immediately before that decisive Fulham defeat in November, when Wolves fell to Burnley and Chelsea at Molineux.

“Two months ago they sang my name, because together with the work we did last season, we are competing in the Premier League and not Championship. Now they sing my name to sack me,” Pereira bristled at the time after seemingly offering some of the fans out.

He cannot have been particularly surprised when they mocked him again as he went over to apologise for a 3-0 thrashing at Craven Cottage in what was ultimately his farewell.

Ange Postecoglou – NOT sacked in the morning

It ranks among the shortest manager sacking statements ever at 39 words, with the shy and retiring Evangelos Marinakis not even quoted as the club decided to ‘make no further comment at this time’.

The call came at 2:42pm, within 20 minutes of a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at the City Ground to which the travelling support kindly issued a Sacked In The Morning backing track.

Postecoglou must have been used to it by that point. Arsenal fans chanted it in literally his first game and it was ringing around St James’ Park during his seventh.

Hell, by the end of his sixth of eight in charge it was the Forest supporters themselves who called for Postecoglou’s head, which the Australian naturally put down to “just the climate we’re in” rather than him literally proving incapable of winning football matches.

Graham Potter – sacked in the morning

“I didn’t hear anything but I understand the frustrations. People are entitled to their opinion,” Potter pretended after the West Ham fans joined a Sacked In The Morning chorus led by Crystal Palace supporters at the London Stadium during a 2-1 home defeat on September 20.

West Ham did not play another game for nine days but waited seven before bringing to an overdue end the Potter experiment at 10:35am on a Saturday.

Nuno Espirito Santo – sacked in the morning

In perhaps the most Sacked In The Morning a manager has ever been, Nuno was officially relieved of his duties at about quarter past midnight on September 9.

It had been the most open of secrets long before then as Nuno actively took on a ‘furious’ Marinakis and new Global Head of Football Edu to the point he did seem to want to be pushed instead of walking.

His quest to relegate Forest as manager of a resurgent West Ham does not feel like a coincidence.

Ange Postecoglou – NOT sacked in the morning

Having spent most of the second half of an abandoned Premier League season being told by opposition supporters that he would be Sacked In The Morning, Postecoglou rose above it to lift the Europa League trophy come May.

Then he was sacked at 5:05pm on a random Friday just over a fortnight later because Spurs cannot have nice things.

Ivan Juric – NOT sacked in the morning

A day after securing the earliest relegation in Premier League history, Juric was asked to pack his bags and leave the St Mary’s premises. Quite what delayed it until 12:15pm is a mystery.

Sean Dyche – NOT sacked in the morning

With preparations well underway for their FA Cup tie against Peterborough at 7:45pm that evening, Everton allowed Dyche to oversee a morning training session before sending him on his way at 4:34pm.

Leighton Baines had just over three hours to compose himself on “a difficult day” which at least ended with the Toffees beating ‘Fergie’s killjoy nepo baby’.

Julen Lopetegui – NOT sacked in the morning

Lopetegui might have sensed something was up when his pre-match afternoon press conference before an FA Cup tie against Aston Villa was cancelled, even if he did take training in the morning.

The Spaniard was said to be ‘furious’ with how it all played out up to his official departure at 3:15pm; he should arguably have simply won more than six of his 20 Premier League games or not spent £40m on Max Kilman.

Russell Martin – NOT sacked in the morning

“You don’t even get sacked in the morning now, you’ve got to change your song mate!” said Postecoglou a few days after his Spurs side delivered the final blow to Martin at Southampton.

Barely 20 minutes after completing his post-match duties following a 5-0 hammering at home to Postecoglou’s men in December 2024, Martin had met his Saintly demise around 10:15pm.

He was then given the Sacked In The Morning treatment for most of his Rangers reign.

Gary O’Neil – NOT sacked in the morning

It was earlier that same day, around 12:55pm, when the axe finally fell on O’Neil at Wolves after a defeat at home to Ipswich.

O’Neil had declared that “the negative noise is always loudest” after being jeered off following a 4-0 humbling at Goodison Park ten days prior. Being 19th is pretty resounding too.

Steve Cooper – NOT sacked in the morning

There was little sense from anyone outside the executive boardrooms at the King Power Stadium that Cooper would be shown the Leicester door after a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea made it five games without a win.

Yet the news broke at 3:50pm the following afternoon that the manager who had the Foxes in 16th was being let go. For Ruud van Nistelrooy. Then Marti Cifuentes. Then a sustained fall into a Championship relegation fight for which Cooper would have been perfect.

Erik ten Hag – sacked in the morning

The meeting in which Ten Hag learned his Manchester United journey was being brought to a belated end, led by Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth, was said to be cordial, respectful and a direct contrast to the summit that ultimately put Amorim out of his misery.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has insisted that he will remain in charge of the Premier League giants after Tuesday’s loss against Newcastle United.

Spurs are facing the increasingly real threat of relegation from the Premier League as they are 16th in the table and only five points clear of 18th-placed West Ham.

The north London outfit slumped to another defeat on Tuesday night, deservedly losing 2-1 against out-of-form Newcastle United. They are now winless in eight Premier League games.

Therefore, Frank is incredibly fortunate to still be in a job, but he is currently the favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked.

Speaking towards the end of the Newcastle match, Glenn Hoddle insisted Spurs “have to understand” that they are in a relegation battle.

“You’ve got to say what it is and they are in a relegation fight. The players have to understand that and the fans have to understand that,” Hoddle said.

READ: Worst-ever Spurs manager Frank surely to be sacked, Chelsea let Palmer down, Bournemouth find gem

“It is the reality and you have to scrap for every single point.”

Post-match, Frank valiantly insisted that he will “keep going” as he is “convinced” about his future.

“Yeah. I am convinced I will be. I understand the question,” Frank responded when asked whether he thinks he will keep his job after the loss to Newcastle.

“It is easy to point on me but it is never only the head coach, ownership, players or staff. It is everyone.”

He added: “Everyone knows what position we are in and what we need to improve on. That is what we are working hard on.

“I also think there is a lot of studies that show it is not the right thing to do.

“The only thing I am focused on is fighting. We of course understand we are not in a good situation. But with everything in life, you need to stay calm and keep going.”

He continued: “1000 per cent [I expect to remain in charge]. I’m also 1000 per cent sure I didn’t expect us to be in the position we are in with 11-12 injuries.

“There are a few before me up here at Tottenham and many other clubs that have lost their head. I have to stay calm. We have to get through this together.”

Frank also suggested that Tottenham’s injuries, suspensions and “pattern” over two years is behind their ongoing woes.

“I understand the fans’ frustration. It’s a position they don’t want to be in. We are working day and night to try and change,” Frank said on fan boos after ‘sacked in the morning chants’ from home supporters.

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“It’s a position the club have been in the last two years. The pattern is the club are struggling to compete in Europe and the Premier League.

“Part of that is to eliminate injuries and suspensions which doesn’t have. We face a Newcastle team that has struggled a little bit lately. But I think they were more on top first half and then we came back into it well.

“The second goal is a bit symbolic of our season.”

Peter Crouch has predicted the scores as Man Utd take on Tottenham and Liverpool face Man City in the Premier League this weekend.

The Red Devils host Thomas Frank’s Spurs as the Man Utd look to make it four straight wins under new interim head coach Michael Carrick on Saturday.

Man Utd have moved themselves up to fourth in the Premier League table under Carrick as they eye Champions League football next season, while Tottenham are 14th with their last league win coming on December 28.

And Crouch reckons Man Utd will emerge victorious from the Premier League clash at Old Trafford at 12.30pm on Saturday afternoon.

Previewing the match on the That Peter Crouch Podcast, the former Tottenham striker said: “It’s big for Spurs to have Solanke back but I’m not sure if he’s injured for this game.

“Regardless of whether Solanke is in or not… if he’s in, it makes it a lot better because I think Tottenham are a better side with someone up top like that.

READ: Pep Guardiola makes NINE ‘hopeful’ demands as third Eddie Howe ‘sack decision’ made

“The Tottenham fans haven’t been over the moon with how it’s going at home have they, let’s be honest.

“Michael Carrick has got the bounce at the moment and that’s why I think it will be a Manchester United win, personally.”

When asked for his prediction, Crouch replied: “I’m going to go with 2-0 to United.”

Liverpool have been having a poor season in the Premier League with Arne Slot’s side currently sixth after winning their first match in six league matches last week.

On their match against second-placed Man City on Sunday, Crouch predicted: “This is always a tough one, isn’t it? I’d like to go for 2-2 because it’s been working for me and I can just see it.”

He added: “I’m going to go with Hugo Ekitike to score first.”

On Liverpool in general, Crouch continued: “I thought Liverpool did well on the weekend [against Newcastle]. Florian Wirtz looked sharp and Ekitike.

“Do you know what Ekitike’s second goal reminded me of? It reminded me of peak Fernando Torres at Anfield, where he slows people down and then bursts.

READ: Are Man Utd being fooled by Elliot Anderson’s energy over excellence?

“I remember Torres doing that to Rio [Ferdinand] a couple of times, where he slowed him down and then bang, gone with the pace, outside the right foot. It reminded me of him.”

On facing Man City, Liverpool boss Arne Slot said in a press conference on Thursday: “Well, I mean [what] you remember is that a game we played over there in the first half we were completely outplayed for large parts, not for a complete 45 minutes, but for large parts. It’s another moment for us to see where we are in the development of this team.

“That, of course, being said, we also know the importance of a result on Sunday but that goes for all the 20 teams that are playing this weekend in the Premier League.

“It’s the end phase of the season so results matter more and more. [They are] a very good team that were even able to win yesterday against the team [Newcastle United] that we beat during the weekend not even with their starters.

“That tells you combined with the game we played against them what a force City still is and always will be.”

The comeback against Manchester City over the weekend showed the Tottenham players “are still playing” for Thomas Frank amid pressure on his job, according to former Everton CEO Keith Wyness.

Spurs have been in good form in the Champions League with three wins in their last three matches, including a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt last week, to secure their qualification for the last 16.

However, it has not been the same story in the Premier League with two wins in their last 15 matches in the league and Frank’s side find themselves 14th in the table.

Despite failing to win at the weekend against Man City, Tottenham showed fight to come from two goals down to grab a point against the Citizens, thanks to two goals from Dominic Solanke.

And Wyness thinks the character they showed to come from two goals down shows that the Tottenham players are still fighting for Frank, who is under pressure.

Wyness told Football Insider: “I don’t think they’re out of getting a European place by any means yet. I think they could still challenge for that and that would be acceptable, I think, to the Spurs fans, and they see some growth coming back.

READ: Five players with Prem experience who can be signed now, including ‘wonderful’ forward Klopp ‘lied to’

“But Frank got that second half out of them and that did surprise me. I mean, like everybody, I was writing them off at 2-0 down, but the comeback certainly showed me that the players are still playing for Frank, and so I think, look, it’ll settle down at Spurs. We’ve got to, I hate using the excuse of injuries, but in this case, it is such a long list.

“It is unique in terms of that depth that I’ve seen for many clubs. So I give them the benefit of that and I understand a bit more why they haven’t gone further in the transfer window. I think the kid from Hearts is one for the future. He may be a young talent, but I don’t expect him to get much time.

“Still, look, Spurs, I think, are going to be OK as the players come back. But we’ve got to look at the timings of that, and then I think that everybody will start to ease off and things will calm down at Spurs.”

READ: Are Man Utd being fooled by Elliot Anderson’s energy over excellence?

Former Tottenham head coach Tim Sherwood can’t see Frank losing his job before the end of the season as Spurs would have “sacked him by now”.

Sherwood said on Sky Sports: “If they haven’t sacked him by now, they won’t.

“They don’t want to sack Frank. They’ll give him to the end of the season, and who knows?”

New Tottenham Hotspur forward James Wilson has been told that he deserved “better” than a move to the Premier League side in January.

One of the more surprising deals in the winter transfer window came as 18-year-old Wilson left Scottish side Hearts to join Spurs. This is a loan deal with an option to buy in the summer.

The teenage striker is regarded as a big talent for the future and has already been capped at senior level for Scotland. He has eight goals and three assists in his 45 appearances for boyhood club Hearts.

On deadline day, Arsenal were the first Premier League club to register their interest in landing Wilson, though he ended up at Spurs after they moved to the front of the queue for his signature.

Now, Hearts manager Derek McInnes has explained why he thinks Wilson was wrong to choose to join Spurs.

“James wanted to go, that has to be said. So you don’t want to keep a player who then becomes unhappy,” McInnes said.

READ: Ranking £138.4m worth of January signings by how excited we are for their debuts

“His head was turned with the Tottenham thing. First of all it was Arsenal, then Arsenal went quiet and then all of a sudden Tottenham came to the table yesterday [Monday] afternoon.

“I don’t think it’s the right move for him. Ultimately, it’s academy football and I think he’s better than that, but it was something James wanted to do.

“I couldn’t guarantee him minutes, such is the way it’s been. I told him and his agent knew that our preference was for him to stay, fight for your place, be part of something.

“Get a loan in Scotland if need be, if you need to top your minutes up, and we can maybe recall you so you still get the best of both worlds.

“He made the decision and I hope it goes well for him because he’s a great kid and we’ll see how it plays out.”

Tottenham’s only other signings in January were Conor Gallagher and Souza, though they were heavily linked with Raheem Sterling, who is a free agent after leaving Chelsea.

Pundit Paul Merson has explained why he thinks Spurs need to sign Sterling on a free transfer.

“They need players in. Thomas Frank and Tottenham have been unlucky with Solanke, Kulusevski and Maddison all out,” Merson told Sky Sports.

“I would bring Sterling in. I think it’s a no-brainer on a free transfer. I really do.

“You don’t want to start bringing every Tom, Dick and Harry in to try and stay up.

“They just need one or two players in and get their players fit.”

Cristian Romero took to Instagram minutes after the January transfer window closed to bemoan the ‘disgraceful’ lack of players Thomas Frank had to call upon in Tottenham’s draw with Manchester City on Sunday.

Romero was withdrawn at half-time thanks to what Frank revealed after the game was an illness, leaving Radu Dragusin on the pitch as Spurs’ only fit centre-back with Micky van de Ven missing the game with a knock and Kevin Danso out with a toe injury he suffered in the Champions League win in Frankfurt.

Spurs won a point from 2-0 down after Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo had put Pep Guardiola’s side into what looked like a comfortable lead before a brace from Dominic Solanke was enough to earn a draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And with the squad in general ravaged by injury, Romero took to Instagram to vent his frustration at the insufficient depth at Tottenham.

‘Great effort from all my team-mates yesterday,’ Romero wrote.

‘They were incredible. I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn’t feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available – unbelievable but true and disgraceful,’ he continued, accompanying the paragraph with a facepalm emoji.

‘We’ll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together. All that’s left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans.’

Tottenham have brought in Conor Gallagher from Atlético Madrid in a £34m deal this winter, while left-back Souza has joined from Santos for £13m, and teenage strikers Mason Melia and James Wilson arrived from St Patrick’s Athletic and Hearts respectively.

But Spurs fans – promised the purse strings would be loosened following Daniel Levy’s departure – will question why more business wasn’t done in January amid huge pressure on Frank over his future at the club with them sitting 14th in the table.

“I said it, the club worked relentlessly to try to do the best they can to improve the squad, especially Johan, Fabio and Vinai, and of course all the people behind them,” Frank said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s game against Manchester City.

“I mean it, we can’t be too obsessed with short term fix that’s not helping on the long term, because if we don’t do that, all the hard work we put in now can be limited for the future. And that’s not that we (don’t) want badly short-term success as well.

“I can promise that the Lewis family is super committed to this project. They want to do everything, and I would go against my rule, hopefully only once, that there’s no doubt it’s clear that the club wants to sign Semenyo. They did everything.”

“I think that’s a clear signal that the Lewis family is very committed. That’s a big signing with finances and all that. So it’s aligned with that,” Frank continued.

“That’s the quality players we are looking for to improve the squad. And if we can’t find that, then it’s definitely better to take the right decision. It’s not the same that we’re just getting quality players going forward, because we all know it’s not that easy.

“And I’m sure if we’re not, for whatever reason, able to get another player in, or players in this window, then for the summer, it’s a big summer ahead, and I’m sure we’ll see big improvements there.”

A new report has revealed whether five ‘dramatic late deals’ involving Tottenham Hotspur are likely to happen in the coming hours.

Spurs have been active in this transfer window, paying around £48m combined to sign Conor Gallagher and Souza on permanent deals.

The north London outfit appear to have remained in the market for futher additions since landing Gallagher and Souza, with Thomas Frank‘s side mainly linked with possible attacking reinforcements.

This is becuase Tottenham have been toothless in attack this season and could turn to alternatives to provide a greater output.

To facilitate a move for a new signing or two, it has also been suggested that Spurs could offload a couple of unwanted talents.

Summer signings Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel have flattered to decieve this season and have been linked with several potential suitors across Europe.

READ: Premier League winners and losers: Arsenal, West Ham, Ekitike, Glasner, Carrick, Newcastle

However, journalist Matt Law has poured cold water on suggestions that Kolo Muani and/or Tel could leave Spurs in the final hours of this transfer window.

Law also cannot see Spurs signing Jhon Duran and/or Moussa Diaby. He wrote for The Telegraph: ‘Never say never, but the chances of Tottenham pulling a deadline day rabbit out of the bag are currently rated as unlikely.

‘Spurs have dismissed any suggestion of making a dramatic late move for either Jhon Duran or Moussa Diaby, which means Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel may have to stay put’.

RMC Sports’ Fabrice Hawkins claims Spurs have ‘informed’ Kolo Muani’s parent club, Juventus, that he will remain until the summer.

Law has also explained why Spurs are unlikely to make a move for AS Monaco star Maghnes Akliouche.

Law claimed:

‘Monaco’s move for Simon Adringa has raised hopes among some Tottenham fans that it could open the door for a late swoop for winger Maghnes Akliouche, who Thomas Frank travelled to watch personally shortly before the summer transfer window shut.

‘But, at the moment, Monaco officials do not believe the two deals are linked and do not expect Akliouche to join Tottenham today.’

Interestingly, Frank revealed at the end of last week that Spurs tried and failed to sign Man City newbie Antoine Semenyo in this window.

He said: “It was clear, there is no doubt, that the club wanted to sign [Antoine] Semenyo. They did everything and I think that is a clear signal that the Lewis family is very committed.

“That’s the quality of players we are looking for to improve the squad.”

Liverpool are reportedly ‘unlikely’ to let Andy Robertson join Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day, as they are unable to recall Kostas Tsimikas from his AS Roma loan.

Thomas Frank’s side have been in talks with Liverpool over a deal to sign the Scotland captain in the January transfer window.

A transfer looked likely a couple of weeks ago as the Reds considered recalling Tsimikas from Roma, but a deal has failed to materialise.

Liverpool’s inability to sort a replacement for Robertson has hindered Tottenham’s pursuit, and the 31-year-old is now likely to leave as a free agent when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Spurs could save their pennies and get Robertson for nothing in the summer, but Frank is desperate for more defensive depth now, especially given Destiny Udogie, Pedro Porro, and Djed Spence’s injury concerns.

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Robertson to Spurs ‘unlikely’ amid Liverpool ‘stance’

Despite interest from Tottenham, Sky Sports explains why a deal for the left-back is ‘unlikely’ on deadline day.

It is claimed that Liverpool’s inability to recall Tsimikas has halted proceedings, as Roma refuse to terminate the Greek international’s loan.

Tottenham currently look unlikely to sign Liverpool’s Andy Robertson today.

Spurs have wanted the left-back but Liverpool are unable to recall Kostas Tsimikas from Roma to cover.

Roma can cancel the loan agreement but do not have a replacement themselves that is close to happening.

Liverpool do not want to weaken their squad before the deadline and, in that vein, they have taken a similar stance on Curtis Jones, amid interest from Inter Milan.

Liverpool have been looking into the market for additions and are set to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes – but he will not join until the summer.

A move for Sunderland’s Lutsharel Geertruida also fell down over the weekend.

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Liverpool’s defender transfer woes

Liverpool have been exploring the market for additions and are set to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes, but he will not join until the summer.

A move for Sunderland’s Lutsharel Geertruida also fell through over the weekend.

Sanctioning the sale of Robertson makes no sense given Arne Slot’s lack of depth at the back, and a lack of midfield depth is also why Inter will not be signing Curtis Jones.

The Serie A giants had asked about a deal to sign Jones amid interest from Nottingham Forest in Davide Frattesi, but the Reds are not willing to let the 25-year-old go as they push for Champions League qualification.

Tottenham have made an offer for Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo as they look to get a deal over the line on deadline day, according to reports.

After Spurs came from two goals down to earn a point at home to Manchester City, thanks to two goals from Dominic Solanke, Thomas Frank promised Tottenham will be “active” in the transfer market on deadline day.

He told reporters after the match when asked about deadline day: “We are active, no doubt about that. If something happens, let’s see.”

In the winter transfer window, Tottenham have already signed England international Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid and Brazilian left-back Souza from Santos.

They have been linked with a number of players over the last week and now reports in Spain are claiming that they’ve lodged a bid for Barcelona centre-back Araujo, who has been linked heavily with a move to the Premier League over the last year.

Spanish website Fichajes claims that Barcelona have received an ‘offer’ from Tottenham worth €35m (£30m) to sign Uruguayan centre-back Araujo before the transfer deadline.

READ: 16 Conclusions from Tottenham 2-2 Man City: Comebacks, Solanke, Simons, Rodri, Soccer Aid

The report adds: ‘The proposal is structured as a fixed fee of €30 million plus €5 million in add-ons, a formula that FC Barcelona is already analysing internally.’

With Araujo not playing his best football at the moment, Barcelona are concerned that his market value will only decrease in the future, which ‘adds pressure’ to their decision.

Tottenham’s interest ‘has now materialized with a formal offer’ and Spurs are hoping Barcelona ‘might be tempted to accept due to their current financial situation’.

The report continues: ‘The potential departure of Ronald Araujo is causing internal division. Part of the club believes that letting go of a center-back of his age could be a significant sporting risk. Others believe FC Barcelona should be pragmatic.’

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After coming from behind to earn a point against Man City on Sunday, Frank was asked why his side couldn’t start games with more urgency, he said: “I wish I could (clicks fingers) do it like that. Then it would be easy. It’s not. I need to look at the game back. I think we did still some okay things in the first half and just made two mistakes.

“They punished the first one so hard after 12 minutes which makes things more difficult to come into a football game, but what I liked of the second half is we were even more aggressive in the high pressure, and finally the 50-50s landed a little bit more for us. It felt like everything landed for them in the first half.

“Mid pressure was good so not too much through us and then we played more behind them and hurt them more in that way. How united the fans and the players were second half. That’s what we need to build. The fans helped us massively and pushed us towards a big point and they were fantastic against Dortmund so can we do that more and more consistently together we can create some magic.”

Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, Spurs always do a nonsense.

It might be impossible to ever predict exactly what you’re going to get from Spurs, but you can be pretty certain it will involve nonsense of some sort.

And on the best days, on days like this one when the Spursy gods smile down benevolently upon us all, you get every kind of nonsense from one of the worst first-half performances ever recorded to a stirringly unlikely comeback and a point earned from a genuinely outrageous finish to secure a result the main beneficiary of which is Arsenal.

There is never a wider purpose. There is never a deeper meaning. They are just entirely ridiculous entirely all of the time, and it is all just a bunch of stuff that happens.

Over the years they’ve had good teams, they’ve had bad teams and they’ve had indifferent teams. What they’ve always had is teams capable of the utterly absurd for good, bad and both. You really do just have to try and roll with it.

We come back time and again to that infamous 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the early days under Ange Postecoglou, and we put it to you that no other team could conjure a scenario where they lose 4-1 but appear to have the whole thing being played out on their own terms. That was a game that happened to Chelsea, even as they were scoring three unanswered goals in the second half. At no point in proceedings were Chelsea actually in control of what was going on, they were just along for the ride with the rest of us.

The time between City’s all-too-easy opening goal and all-too-easy second goal was one full of opportunities for City to score all-too-easy other goals but lacking certainty and conviction because it was all just too absurdly easy.

It felt like a scam, and City weren’t going to fall for it. Until Spurs plumbed depths so unprecedented that City had literally no choice but to do so and made the fatal mistake of scoring their second goal to apparently end a contest that hadn’t ever really started.

Throughout the first half there was a curious sense of City being deeply wary of the fact Spurs might be trying to drag them down to their level and beat them with experience.

It’s understandable, of course; there are few teams who’ve suffered more by being swept up in Spurs nonsense than Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. This is a fixture he routinely overthinks like no other; it should be no surprise to see him do the same when all he really needed to think was ‘These are sh*t’.

City playing within themselves at 2-0 made some sense, but the failure to mount any truly compelling bid for victory at 2-2 was shameful, really. Erling Haaland and co should face tougher questions than they are likely to, which again is because this just felt like a game where, bizarrely, it was always Spurs’ level that set the tone, from the Soccer Aid first half to the Total Football of the second.

There remains no excuse for the overall paucity of their league campaign. It is still ridiculous that relegation remains a plausible outcome. It is still ridiculous that Thomas Frank is still here. It is still ridiculous that more hasn’t been done over the last month to supplement a bare-bones squad trying to play twice a week.

Yet that second-half performance was as good as it was unexpected. Several players produced the best work they’ve ever delivered in Spurs colours.

Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray, Joao Palhinha, Xavi Simons, Dominic Solanke. All exceptional in the second half, and all players who have had their doubters.

His hold-up play, the intelligence of his runs and the range of finishing he brings make Spurs a wholly different prospect than they have been without him.

For all that Spurs fans enjoyed the comeback, they will be holding their breath for a more definitive update on the late ankle injury that forced him off the field and clearly caused discomfort. They cannot afford to lose him again.

Simons nearly got the goal his performance deserved with a deflected effort superbly saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma as he became the game’s driving force in that absurd second half in which a makeshift Spurs XI looked the better side against title contenders.

It’s true and fair to say Spurs cannot use injuries and absences as an excuse for being quite so bad as they have been this season, but it would be equally wrong-headed to dismiss it out of hand.

Spurs were by the end of this game missing 12 first-team players split roughly betwee certain starters in their strongest XI – Romero, Van de Ven, Porro, Kulusevski, Maddison, Kudus – and key squad components – Bergvall, Spence, Danso, Bentancur, Richarlison, Davies.

They finished this game with a 17-year-old making his debut, midfielders at centre-back and right-back and almost none of their outfielders in the same positions as they’d started the game.

He remains a solution in their midfield rather than the solution. They still urgently need a progressive passing type in there to make them just less wretched a watch against teams who won’t allow them to play as much football as City did.

But he still brings plenty to that Spurs midfield that was sorely lacking before. There has always been drive and energy to Gallagher’s play. The lack of finesse at the end of it all can be frustrating, but in a Spurs team that can look so pedestrian so often it’s really not hard to see how he could end up a firm favourite.

Even in the first half when every other Spurs player was dropping a 2/10, Gallagher was a solid and busy 6. In the second half, he gave Simons and Solanke a run for man of the match.

The second goal will quite rightly be remembered for Solanke’s outrageous, improvised scorpion kick finish but it simply doesn’t happen without Gallagher showing the wit and desire to win a midfield ball he had no right to and then bursting away to get the cross in.

Gallagher’s obvious and still at 25 puppy-like energy and enthusiasm for the game can often give off the appearance of a headless-chicken chaos. But he’s better than that. He reads the game smartly; the interception that led to the second Spurs goal was one of three for Gallagher in a game where no other player on either side managed more than one.

As with Simons’ contribution to the first goal, there is a clear sense here of something Spurs have lacked. Of a player doing something nobody else here would or could. And then playing in a Proper Number Nine to do likewise.

He is precisely the kind of player Spurs have lacked for so long and even out of position and facing the daunting prospect of Antoine Semenyo in full flow was rarely perturbed and only occasionally found out. Far less so than the far more experienced (albeit returning from long-term injury) centre-back Radu Dragusin to his left.

There are few players in the game who love a tackle more than Palhinha. He made six here, which was of course more than anyone else on either side (although a nod to half-time sub Sarr and his four) and extends his lead at the top of the all-comers list in the Premier League this season.

The grumblings about him earlier in the season were always misdirected. The problem was never Palhinha’s destructive No. 6 stylings, and always Frank’s insistence on pairing him with Rodrigo Bentancur in a double cement-mixer pivot.

Spurs still do lack a midfield passer, and it’s absurd they don’t seem to be showing any urgency to address that, but it doesn’t make Palhinha’s presence a problem, whether deployed in his customary position or as emergency centre-back cover.

For a club with Spurs’ historic commitment to nonsense, there’s a lot to be said for someone who is just uncomplicatedly no-nonsense.

And that’s that while yes, Spurs clearly were miles better after the break than before it to a truly staggering degree, the doubts remain about the repeatability of this.

Solanke deserves huge credit for the spectacular brilliance of his second goal and for his initial work and perseverance of the first, one which we’re just about satisfied wasn’t a foul given the touch he got on the ball before he caught Marc Guehi.

But both goals are of the buy a ticket and take your chance variety. Yes, Simons, Gallagher and Solanke get credit for buying those lottery tickets but the amount of times those finishes result in one, never mind two, goals would be staggeringly small.

Spurs’ best bet really does still remain trying to play for two halves per game instead of just the one.

But with both Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso missing out here, the previous argument that a back three put the greatest number of Spurs’ few proficient round pegs in suitable round holes lost a lot of weight.

The post-match revelation that Cristian Romero was also struggling with illness explained a lot about why he’d been quite so far off it in a horrible first half, and why Frank opted again to try safety in numbers at the back, but the enforced switch to a back four improved Spurs markedly.

You would not, obviously, choose to lose your captain and star centre-back when you are already without two other high-class centre-backs against Man City, but the enforced return to a back four worked out wonderfully well for Spurs.

The addition of Pape Sarr to the midfield levelled up the numbers in there and massively eroded the levels of largely unencumbered influence Rodri and Bernardo Silva had enjoyed in the first half.

Semenyo put himself in direct opposition with Palhinha, who is not a centre-back, and Cherki against Dragusin, starting a Premier League game for the first time in a year.

Both scored before half-time, while Cherki was only denied a second goal by a Vicario save so improbable that none of the officials spotted what was a quite significant deflection to send the ball spinning the right side of the post from his point of view.

Yet in the second half, with a more orthodox back four and more mobile midfield with Gallagher and Sarr both in there, those channels and one-on-one contests evaporated.

It seems so churlish to criticise a team for the football that earned them a 2-0 half-time lead, and clearly we’re not pretending here that we foresaw that Spurs comeback. But City could and should have done more in that first half to truly put the game to bed given the sheer levels of generosity on offer from their hosts.

Spurs were that bad that we’re really not sure we can even say City were particularly good. They certainly weren’t ruthless, and paid a heavy price.

Neither Cherki nor Semenyo could get themselves anything like as involved in that second half, while Bernardo Silva too was less imposing, unable to recreate the bite and drive that saw him make such a fool of Yves Bissouma to create the opening goal.

The root of it all, though, seemed to be the near total loss of influence Rodri was able to exert on proceedings. It’s hard to escape the thought that he just isn’t the player he once was.

Sure, when teams give him the time and space that Spurs did in the first half he can still dictate a game with the best. But that was an alarming second half, one that ended with the indignity of Pep Guardiola forced to substitute him to save him from himself after getting away with two fouls that could have brought second yellow cards in the space of 10 seconds as the clock ticked down.

This was a player whose ability to control high-tempo, high-octane Premier League games single-handed has helped deliver multiple titles to the Etihad. His inability to do so here could be the one truly meaningful conclusion from this very daft football match.

On a day when Aston Villa also dropped points unexpectedly, the real winners are clear.

Spurs will feel far better about themselves than they did at half-time, but one point doesn’t dramatically alter the mathematics of what is still for the time being at least a relegation fight. It does far more to alter the equation at the other end of the table.

Arsenal fans have had their issues before about a lack of assistance from Spurs in a game against Man City, but they can have no such grumbles this time around. Arsenal did Spurs a massive solid on Saturday afternoon against Leeds, and that favour has been returned.