Football365

An absolutely bumper weekend of Barclays, this. And the revolution will be televised.

Eight of the ten fixtures are broadcast live across this weekend. While Burnley, Bournemouth, Sunderland and Brighton might ask what they’ve done to offend anybody, the rest of us can sit back and enjoy a pure feast of football.

There are massive six-pointers in the Champions League race. Huge games for the title challengers. Chances for the relegation battlers to nudge ever closer to survival and to top it off an absolute guarantee of nonsense in the headline Super Sunday slot.

Liverpool v Tottenham is about as close as you can get to certain ridiculousness and ritual humiliation in the Premier League, and that held true in times when Spurs have been relatively competent. We genuinely cannot wait to see what they’ve got in store for us at a time when relatively competent feels like an absurd pipe dream.

Game to watch: Liverpool v Tottenham

I fear to watch, yet I cannot turn away. Lord alone knows what happens in here. We’ve given up thinking that Spurs have hit rock bottom because every time we say it they find new, previously undiscovered rockier bottoms.

But if their trip to Anfield contains something worse than having to sub off a distraught keeper after 17 minutes because he’s been directly responsible for two of the three goals already conceded then, well, it’s going to be quite the spectacle.

Thing is, if you were going to pick one ground for Spurs in their current tailspin to somehow conjure up the worst thing yet, Anfield is the one you’d go for.

Spurs’ last four visits here have ended 5-1, 4-0, 4-2 and 4-3. And those atrocious bare numbers tell barely half the story anyway. There’s a very strong argument that the 4-3, nominally the closest and least embarrassing of those defeats, was in fact the worst.

Spurs were three down inside 15 minutes that day – a week after they’d been five down in 21 minutes at Newcastle – but battled back to 3-3 in stoppage time before chaotically handing Liverpool a winner after one of Richarlison’s most cursed celebrations ever.

In the 4-2, Spurs were 4-0 down inside an hour. The 4-0 was in last season’s Carabao after Spurs had taken a 1-0 lead to Anfield on the back of an inspired Antonin Kinsky debut in the first leg. The 5-1 was Liverpool’s title party, in which an early anomalous Spurs lead was swiftly turned into a 3-1 half-time advantage for the hosts.

The point here is that all the hits Spurs have been playing under Igor Tudor’s watchful eye over the last few weeks are precisely the sort of things they’ve been routinely doing at Anfield for years anyway.

The last time Spurs actually won here, their goalscorers were Luka Modric and Rafa van der Vaart.

Which all does kind of explain the otherwise inexplicable decision to keep Tudor on. He is now just a sacrificial lamb, served up on the Anfield altar for ritual humiliation so that at least it isn’t the next new guy facing it.

Spurs have left themselves with no option other than a series of desperate gambles.

Spurs are betting everything on the idea it will end up being worth throwing this game away – despite then having only eight games in which to save themselves from themselves – in the hope that allowing the new manager a free swing in a dead rubber against Atletico Madrid and then hoping against hope for a bounce in the gigantic pre-interlull six-pointer against Nottingham Forest is a better Hail Mary than trying anything at all at Anfield, where misery has been all but guaranteed for season after season anyway.

The counterpoint to that, of course, is that this is itself an unusually vulnerable and fragile Liverpool team. Among Spurs’ current direct rivals, Forest have won here while both Leeds and Burnley have left with a point.

When you think about it, the new rock-bottom Spurs might actually manage to find this weekend could be that they accidentally draw this game and the sacrificial manager survives.

Team to watch: Man United

Because they’re quite interesting to watch at the moment anyway, but also because it’s just a very rare opportunity. After Sunday’s Champions League qualification six-pointer against Aston Villa, United play Bournemouth on Friday night and then… nothing until they face Leeds on April 13.

Now there are exaggerating elements at play here. The shuffling of fixtures for TV has served to make the gap as large as it can possibly be, with a Friday night fixture before the international break and a Monday night game when they belatedly make their post-FA Cup quarter-final weekend return after it.

But still. It remains an extraordinary thing, especially when this is Manchester United Football Club We’re Talking About, to be looking at a 24-day chasm between fixtures in what is traditionally considered the busiest part of the season.

It really has been a mad campaign of Big Sixery. You’ve got two clubs still, in theory, chasing the quadruple. One apparently barely even trying to fight what is now, dizzyingly, the likelihood of relegation, and another casually sauntering through the shortest possible season any top-flight team can have and with what now appears to be a laser focus on winning as many games as possible but never enough of them in a row to knock that haircut grifter off his f*ckin’ perch.

Not like Chelsea and Liverpool have been going around having entirely normal seasons either, is it?

Anyway, Man United. Big game this one for both teams, obviously. Villa at least will come into it with the confidence of being England’s only winners in the first leg of the various European last-16 games this week, but that in itself only highlights the curious unintended and unwanted advantage this lightly-raced United side have fashioned for themselves in this season’s four-into-three battle for Champions League places.

They may have only two matches to play in the next entire month, but they’re also coming into this one on the back of a 10-day rest since Newcastle and Carrick’s first defeat.

Manager to watch: Pep Guardiola

He’s done it again, hasn’t he? He’s gone into a massive Champions League match and instead of just backing his normal team to be normally good enough in a normal way playing normally against an elite but wounded opponent, he has overthought it and paid the price.

Three wingers this time. Three wingers in the Bernabeu, leaving a threadbare midfield that was all too easily played through and over by Real Madrid. We’re not even sure peak Rodri would have been able to do what Guardiola demanded of him in what did look at times more like a 4-1-1-4 than anything else in that costly first half.

Fair to say those quadruple hopes now look quite unlikely, but the Premier League title hopes are not yet forlorn.

They do have almost no margin for error, though. City are likely to find themselves 10 points adrift of Arsenal by the time they take to the field against West Ham on Saturday night. Even with games in hand, that is not a gap that can be allowed to remain at this stage.

They must win against a West Ham team who are in decent nick and will quite rightly view this game as something of a free hit in a relegation battle they do currently appear to be winning.

It feels like a dangerous moment for Guardiola and his team, a trappy fixture they ought to win but against a dangerous, confident opponent and sandwiched between two Champions League games against Real Madrid that have already sent Pep’s galaxy brain to Mars.

Player to watch: Kai Havertz

It is inevitably and understandably tough to predict quite how Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is going to set about keeping all his plates spinning from one match to the next at the moment, with the Gunners shuffling their depleted pack to keep all four trophies in sight and cause all manner of metaphors to be excruciatingly mixed.

But one side-effect of injury problems and competing on multiple fronts can be that the return of a long-term injured player provides a welcome freshness. Kai Havertz feels like that man for Arsenal right now.

He stepped off the bench to get them back on level terms at Leverkusen this week and you wonder if now’s the time for him to get just a third Premier League start of the season. With Martin Odegaard still absent and Eberechi Eze still unpredictable against anyone other than Spurs, Havertz might just be the man to help Arsenal recover their open-play mojo and unlock what is sure to be stubborn opposition in Everton.

David Moyes’ side are unbeaten in six away from home and will not make life easy for whoever gets the nod from Arteta on Saturday evening.

Football League game to watch: Coventry v Southampton

It’s turning into a victory lap for Coventry, whose lead at the top of the Championship is already eight points and could stretch out to 11 before the 3pm games even begin this weekend.

Second-placed Middlesbrough are also in Saturday lunchtime televised action against Bristol City, who have once again secured mid-table anonymity and no more than that.

Southampton, for their part, still have play-off aspirations. They sit three points outside the top six and can’t really afford to see that gap stretch out at this stage.

European game to watch: Atletico Madrid v Getafe

If only to see whether Getafe have brought the right boots with them, and how long their keeper lasts if not.

Women’s Super League game to watch: Aston Villa v Man City

It’s been a month since the last WSL action, which might be just as well for Aston Villa given how each of these teams got on in their last game all the way back in the mists of time. Well, mid-February anyway.

Champions-elect City sauntered to a 6-0 win over Leicester on that occasion. For Villa, it was a wild 7-3 defeat to Spurs.

Now Spurs have been impressive in this season’s WSL and look set for a top-five finish, but before the trip to Villa had scored 19 goals in 15 games. City have scored 47. Six of those came in the reverse fixture against Villa, who a week before the Spurs embarrassment had lost 4-1 to a Liverpool side who’d only picked up one win all season until then.

However big the gap between games, we’re really not sure you want to come up against this Man City side on the back of conceding 11 goals in your last two games against significantly weaker ones.

Nottingham Forest find themselves in the tricky predicament of juggling a Premier League relegation battle with a Europa League run.

Their fourth permanent manager of the season, Vitor Pereira, insisted before Forest‘s Europa League round of 16 first leg against FC Midtjylland that he is keen for them to be “competitive in both” competitions, but this is difficult to pull off in their current situation, and his team selection on Thursday night underlined where his true priorities lie.

Pereira protected regular Premier League starters Ibrahim Sangare, Neco Williams and Nikola Milenkovic by benching them, but there was still enough quality on the pitch to right the wrong of the 3-2 loss to Midtjylland under Ange Postecoglou in October.

And after the morale-boosting draw against Manchester City, it proved to be one step forward and two steps back as their same old problem held them back against Midtjylland.

In October, Midtjylland edged out an end-to-end match, in which the Danish outfit and Forest had a near-exact xG, but their second meeting of the 2025/26 campaign at the City Ground was very different.

READ: Ranking all 31(!) Premier League managers this season: Mikel Arteta off top spot

This time, it was Forest on the front foot for the vast majority of the match, and were it not for their glaring Achilles heel, they would likely already be out of sight in this tie.

Their ten shots in the first half only included three on target, with each of these efforts being from range as Omari Hutchinson, Elliot Anderson and Ola Aina forced saves.

Morgan Gibbs-White’s deflected shot that went narrowly wide was the only notable attempt they carved in Midtjylland’s penalty area in the opening half, but more openings came their way after the break.

Whether their own players got in the way or they tried to walk the ball into the net, Forest continued to be perturbed by a severe lack of a killer instinct in the final third, while Gibbs-White is usually their sole creative spark.

And this has been the story of Forest’s season, with Wolves (22) the only side to score fewer goals than Pereira’s side (28) in the Premier League. The 17th-placed side are also underperforming their xG by five goals, with the absence since October of Chris Wood, who scored 20 goals last year and has three in nine games this term, sorely felt.

His replacement, Igor Jesus, has only two goals in the Premier League but seven in the Europa League, with Gibbs-White sitting as their top scorer in the league with eight.

Forest does have the bonus of being the best defensive unit of the Premier League’s bottom five based on goals conceded, but this means nothing if they cannot convert their defensive work into wins, and their downfall against Midtjylland gives encouragement to their relegation rivals.

Just as Forest were losing momentum and hope in attack, they were punished for their wastefulness as Gue-sung Cho brushed off a weak challenge from Aina to head home Ousmane Diao’s cross to give his side the lead with ten minutes remaining.

Once this goal went in, it felt inevitable that Midtjylland would seal their second away win vs Forest of the season and they are now firm favourites to progress in the competition with their unbeaten home record in 2025/26.

Forest do have more pressing concerns in the Premier League, and with Pereira struggling to fix their long-term issues in the final third, they could easily give Spurs an undeserved reprieve in the relegation fight as West Ham comfortably looks the most accomplished of the three teams.

According to reports, Sean Dyche has set a condition as his ‘stance’ on replacing Igor Tudor at Tottenham Hotspur has emerged.

The former Nottingham Forest, Everton and Burnley boss has become the betting favourite to replace Tudor at Spurs, and he may soon get a call to get the Premier League strugglers out of the sh*t.

Tudor is proving a disastrous appointment as he has lost his first four games in charge, with Tottenham’s performance worse under him than under Thomas Frank.

Under Tudor, Tottenham‘s relegation fears have increased and he has looked out of his depth as they only sit one point clear of the relegation zone with nine Premier League games remaining.

Spurs would have been justified if they opted to sack Tudor after their embarrassing 5-2 loss to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, but he will remain in charge for Sunday’s game against Liverpool at least.

READ: Spurs acceptance of humiliating relegation is final stage of grief

Still, Fabrizio Romano has warned Tudor that he can be “sacked at any moment” if he does not quickly inspire improvement.

“Tottenham are in a very difficult moment after the defeat against Atletico Madrid,” Romano said.

“It is four games under Igor Tudor and four defeats, which is the first time in Tottenham’s history with a new manager. It is also the first time Tottenham have lost six consecutive matches.

“At the moment Tottenham have confirmed that Tudor will take the press conference ahead of the Liverpool game, but he remains at serious risk of being sacked at any moment. The situation is very fluid in the short term.

“For the long term the plan has always been clear, because Tudor signed a short contract and in the summer Tottenham want a new manager.

“The two names still very high on the shortlist are Roberto De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino.”

De Zerbi and Pochettino are options for if Spurs avoid relegation, with a manager in the ilk of Dyche to be their next boss if they opt to make another change this season.

And a report from talkSPORT claims Dyche’s ‘stance’ on joining Spurs is that he ‘would be reluctant to take over on a short-term deal’. They have also named two alternative options for the north London side.

The report claims:

‘The former Burnley and Everton boss would seek a commitment beyond the end of the season, just as he did when appointed by Spurs’ relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.

‘Other potential options are re-hiring two-time former interim Ryan Mason or club legend Robbie Keane, currently in charge of Hungarian champions Ferencvaros.’

Our pals at TEAMtalk have extensively broken down why the managerial situation is only the tip of the iceberg for Spurs, with ENIC grappling with multi-layered issues as they ultimately look to avoid relegation.

Former Tottenham Hotspur chief Daniel Levy has informed Harry Redknapp that he would appoint the 79-year-old to replace Igor Tudor.

Tudor is only four games into his tenure at Spurs, but it already feels that he is fortunate to still be in a job.

Under Tudor, Spurs have lost their last three Premier League games and are now on the brink of elimination from the Champions League following Tuesday night’s embarrassing 5-2 loss against Atletico Madrid.

Since this defeat, Fabrizio Romano has reported that Tudor could be sacked “at any moment” and has named two potential replacements, with his exit potentially to come if/when Spurs lose to Liverpool at the weekend.

And a report from talkSPORT claims Tudor has already ‘alienated many’ of the squad members at Spurs as he faces a ‘player revolt’.

READ: Spurs acceptance of humiliating relegation is final stage of grief

The same report claims Tudor is ‘unlikely’ to last beyond March’s international break, while Robbie Keane and Ryan Mason have been ‘sounded out’ as possible replacements.

CEO Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange have also faced heavy criticism for their role in Tottenham’s dramatic downfall, with the club significantly worse off, from a footballing standpoint, than they were under Levy.

And Levy has now had his say on who should replace Tudor, with the former Spurs chief said to have recommended Redknapp.

“I got a phone call last week from Daniel [Levy], funnily enough,” Redknapp said on talkSPORT Breakfast.

“I think I spoke to him once since I left all that time ago, and I was in the car last week and suddenly the phone goes, it’s Daniel Levy.

“I thought ‘that’s strange’ and I was on the phone to him for about half hour, chatting to him and he was explaining what happened to him, and how he got marched out of there, which was really strange.”

He added: “And he did say to me, ‘If I was there now, and I’m not just saying it, I would bring you back in until the end of the season, Harry’ – so it would have been interesting.”

Redknapp has also revealed what he thinks Spurs need to change to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

“It’s such a short-term job for someone,” Redknapp continued.

“Someone needs to go in there and just give the place a lift, that’s the key.

“It ain’t going to be what you’re going to do on the training ground, you’re playing Saturday, midweek, you’re not going to be out there putting on some super coaching training session.

“It’s going to be about the spirit around the place.”

Last summer was a big one for the goalkeeper market, with Manchester City signing Gianluigi Donnarumma, Barcelona bringing in Joan Garcia and Manchester United opting for Senne Lammens, among others.

This summer, Tottenham and Chelsea may have to enter the market for new keepers, which could spark its own domino effect.

Guglielmo Vicario is running out of time as Tottenham’s number one and Antonin Kinsky’s doomed cameo against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday ensured he is out of the race to replace him.

Meanwhile, Chelsea swapped Robert Sanchez for Filip Jorgensen on Wednesday and saw their own back-up make mistakes, with their first choice having experienced his own ups and downs during his time at the club.

The Blues could solve their own goalkeeping headache by promoting Mike Penders after his loan from Strasbourg, but after missing out on a more famous Mike – AC Milan’s Maignan – last summer, there could be demand for a more renowned upgrade.

Keep an eye out for Newcastle and Leeds as other clubs who might be considering their goalkeeping options, and the likes of Inter Milan on the continent.

But which goalkeepers could be available to meet the needs of those clubs?

It was a bit odd to see Tzolakis linked with Liverpool last month, but the Olympiacos regular could have his pick of other, more needy clubs in the summer.

The 23-year-old is a full Greece international and is approaching the last year of his contract with Olympiacos, who will have to decide whether to cash in.

Nottingham Forest have also been tipped to move him from one Marinakis club to another – and they do love a goalkeeper signing – but there will be plenty of suitors in mainland Europe for Tzolakis too.

The keeper with the highest market value on Transfermarkt with a contract expiring in 2027, Atubolu has played more than 100 games for Freiburg.

The German side may have to consider offers for him in the summer to avoid losing him for free, especially after Fabrizio Romano stated this month that he has “no plans to extend” his contract.

A move to Serie A has been touted.

It feels a bit tricky, if not impossible, to imagine a scenario where both Alisson and Mamardashvili continue at Liverpool for a second season together.

Alisson is approaching the final year of his contract, but the current expectation is that he’ll fulfil it, which could consign ex-Valencia number one Mamardashvili to a second season on the bench.

Liverpool are unlikely to sell the Georgian, whom they consider Alisson’s successor, but there have been whispers of him pushing for a loan.

And given the 25-year-old’s potential when playing regularly, that has to be somebody’s short-term solution. We dare Chelsea to make that call.

The German legend is out of contract at the end of the season and Bayern Munich have big plans for Jonas Urbig to become their long-term number one.

Neuer could yet get a new contract but Bayern are in no rush as his 40th birthday approaches and he recovers from an injury.

Sporting director Max Eberl said: “We know what age Manu is. We have always said, now he should first turn 40 at the end of March. And then we will sit down in peace and talk. Then he has to tell us how he feels, what his mood is like. And we have to decide for ourselves how to proceed. He’s had an outstanding season so far, he’s a top goalkeeper. But this injury doesn’t change anything for us.”

Neuer has been with Bayern for more than a decade and was the best in the world at his peak. If he’s not ready to retire and his contract lapses, it would be fascinating to imagine him at another club.

Brighton are notoriously tough sellers but are still the kind of club who can offer a platform towards bigger things.

Verbruggen has been with them for three years now and has also become an established Netherlands international during that time.

Chelsea have shown interest in yet another raid on Brighton, our colleagues at TEAMtalk have reported.

Trubin was one of the names tipped for Manchester City before they bought Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford.

The 24-year-old is likely to have other potential routes out of Benfica – and possibly into the Premier League – after a season in which he has only conceded 15 goals from 23 games in the league.

Trubin even scored against Real Madrid in the Champions League for good measure, which absolutely isn’t what clubs will be signing him to do, but can’t have harmed his profile.

Perennially linked with major European clubs but still at Porto after seven years, could Costa put himself back in the shop window if Portugal have a decent World Cup run?

It may not help that he signed a new contract with Porto just before Christmas, but his release clause decreased from €75m to €60m with the updated deal.

Still only 26, Costa’s days of being a name in the gossip columns are unlikely to be over.

Of all the goalkeepers that were on the move last summer, you might struggle to find one filled with more regret than Trafford.

Just weeks after thinking he’d landed a dream opportunity with Manchester City, the club went and signed Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, crushing his hopes of claiming the starting role.

Unused in the Premier League since Donnarumma’s arrival, Trafford may have to seek an exit from the Etihad to avoid his career stagnating.

Still only 23, he was close to joining Newcastle before City came back in for him and that could be one of the avenues that opens back up for him.

Martinez got itchy feet in the summer when Manchester United were interested in buying him before opting for Lammens instead.

Unai Emery hasn’t had to utter the words ‘Marco. Bizot.’ like a broken record too much since, but Martinez might still have ideas of an exit.

The likes of Inter and Juventus have been linked with the Argentine, who has a long contract at Aston Villa but is now 33 and may start to decline in market value.

Kobel has been Borussia Dortmund’s number one for the past five seasons after joining from Stuttgart and is a regular for Switzerland too

His impressive form has led to links with a Premier League move and at the age of 28 he could be ready. There are two years left on his contract, so a lot will depend on Dortmund’s valuation.

He refused to comment on transfer speculation last summer, but if he doesn’t sign a new deal in Germany, it soon could be the optimal time for Dortmund to cash in.

Kobel has kept the most clean sheets of any Bundesliga goalkeeper this season and Newcastle are among the clubs linked, but there could be more offers to field.

Sean Dyche could still be in play to replace Igor Tudor as interim Tottenham Hotspur manager, with the north London club struggling with the multifaceted issues involved with sacking Igor Tudor, while the return of club legend Robbie Keane is also proving problematic to pull off.

Tudor is in the midst of a disastrous run as caretaker boss in north London, having lost all four of his games in charge since being appointed as Thomas Frank’s replacement on February 14, conceding 14 goals in the process.

With nine Premier League games remaining, Tottenham are spiralling towards relegation unless they have a sudden turnaround in form, which looks highly unlikely to happen under the hapless Tudor.

In light of their struggles, and in the wake of the latest debacle at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening, the club’s decision-makers are currently grappling with the pressure of a deepening crisis as they deliberate over Tudor replacements.

While sources from our friends over at TEAMtalk have downplayed links to Sean Dyche, a move for the former Everton and Burnley can still not be completely ruled out at this stage – especially if other options, like Keane, falter.

Indeed, a report from The Independent states that Dyche is still very much in the running to take the temporary reins and guide the club away from the drop.

READ: Who will be Spurs manager next season? ‘Dark horse’ joins Pochettino on list

The same report also suggests that former Crystal Palace striker Dougie Freedman and Bournemouth’s Tiago Pinto are on the list to become the club’s new sporting director in the summer, as a complete revamp behind the scenes is set to take place.

As for Spurs’ hopes of bringing Keane back to the club, TEAMtalk’s Fraser Fletcher adds that while the 45-year-old ‘remains a viable candidate to take on the role’ his ‘potential appointment is not without issues’.

The club legend, who has impressed in his role with Hungarian champions Ferencvaros, is eager to step up to a permanent position at Spurs and is known to be ‘very much open to a permanent appointment back at N17’, regardless of what division Spurs find themselves in next season.

However, it’s claimed that Keane would ‘want a long-term contract to commit fully’, though Spurs would prefer, at this stage, to ‘only offer Keane a deal until the season’s end’.

Should they preserve their Premier League status, the club would have more ambitious managerial targets in mind, including the return of Mauricio Pochettino.

Keane, meanwhile, also remains on the shortlist of suitors for Celtic, leaving Tottenham in a real dilemma as they sit on the brink of what would be a disastrous drop into the second tier of English football.

Tottenham owners ENIC have responded to the dire straits at their football club not by relieving enflamed firefighter Igor Tudor of his duties but through the tremendously timed opening of season ticket renewals for the 2026/27 season.

Tudor has lost all three of his Premier League games in charge to leave Tottenham one point above the relegation zone and illustrated his expert man-management skills in a 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash on Tuesday to all-but end the career of Antonin Kinsky.

Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Thursday that Tudor is “at serious risk of being sacked at any moment” and that Roberto De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino are “high on the list” to take over in the summer.

That won’t provide much solace to Spurs fans, who look set to endure a season in the Championship if Tudor remains in situ for much longer as they struggle to understand his continued employment by the club after uncovering new nadirs with each passing game and spectacularly managing to make Tottenham significantly worse than they were under predecessor Thomas Frank.

We can only imagine the rush of traffic on the Tottenham website after their “incredible” supporters received the email announcing the release of season tickets for next season.

With their hands tied by their ‘Ticketing Charter’, ENIC had no choice but to open renewals before Sunday, the day of their next thumping defeat, at the hands of Liverpool, but have made concessions to placate their loyal fans amid the very real risk of relegation.

They are extending the renewal window beyond the end of the campaign so that the fans know if they’re spending their hard-earned cash to watch Liverpool or Preston next season. Good of them.

And those generous Spurs chiefs have also taken the charitable decision to freeze prices, meaning their lowest adult ticket stands at a measly £856, a mere £236 more than the current highest in the Championship at Middlesbrough.

The email read: ‘As previously communicated, General Admission Season Ticket Renewals for 2026/27 open today (Thursday 12 March).

‘In line with our Ticketing Charter published in March 2024, we are committed to opening renewals by no later than 15 March each year.

‘We recognise the seriousness of the current league position of our men’s team and, following discussions with our Fan Advisory Board and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, can confirm the renewal window for 2026/27 will now remain open for an extended period until Sunday 7 June to ensure fans have full clarity on next season before renewing.

‘Everyone at the Club remains absolutely steadfast in our collective commitment to improve our Premier League position and finish the current season as strongly as possible.

‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your incredible support during this time.’

I was eight years old back in 1993 when I saw my team lose an FA Cup semi-final to Arsenal; Tony Adams scored the only goal 10 minutes from time and I was heartbroken.

I ran to my room at full-time to cry my eyes out on my bed, pausing to occasionally curse at my posters of Teddy Sheringham, Nick Barmby and – caught in the crossfire simply because he was also blu-tacked to my wall back then – the Ultimate Warrior. It was the first time football really hurt.

Two years before, I had carefully selected the club that would be mine forever. And the reason is foolproof: my favourite letter was T (I was six), and this team had four of those in their name! I remember following their progress by checking the newspaper each week, looking at a table of football team names and numbers and starting to piece together what it all meant. I saw Tottenham play for the first time at Wembley in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final, coincidentally also against Arsenal. Shortly after, that was when ‘they’ became ‘we’.

Fast-forward to the present day and a whole lot has happened since. Much of it was joyful. There was Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola, a Worthington Cup, a Carling Cup, Bale, Ajax away, and that night in Bilbao.

But there was also Ilie Dumitrescu, Paolo Tramezzani, 2002’s Blackburn Rovers, Ben Foster, a lasagne, Vincent Janssen and being beaten 3-0 by Dinamo Zagreb while their manager sat in prison.

That latter list includes moments stretching across 30 years that brought shades of denial, anger, bargaining and depression, but then eventually acceptance. The last four months alone have featured heavy doses of the first four stages of grief in a jumbled mess, each one sparring with the other to take centre stage.

But on Tuesday night at the Metropolitano, when Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha lay prone on the deck after heading each other instead of the ball, the final stage was reached.

Tottenham: Romano reveals Tudor could be ‘sacked at any moment’ as he names two replacements

Tottenham actually started well against Atletico. In the first five minutes, we had a coordinated attack as well as a shot. It felt like ages since we had an attack and a shot. It was nice. But at Spurs, a ‘nice’ moment has a nasty habit of turning into an absurd situation real fast.

Antonin Kinsky slipped over while clearing the ball in the sixth minute. Then Micky van de Ven also slipped when in possession. When Kinsky kicked the ball off his own leg and became the 65th person to fall on their own bollocks in the first 15 minutes at the Madrid ice rink, I welled up as I almost pleaded with Julian Alvarez not to score. He scored. It was 3-0.

Kinsky was hauled off, blanked by his ‘manager’, headed down the tunnel, and legitimately might never be seen again. And Spurs still conceded from the next attack anyway. The young Czech keeper, hearing those home cheers shortly after reaching the dressing room, would probably have breathed a sigh of relief that maybe the whole story might not be about him.

One positive thing about Spurs is that we actually turn into a pretty decent side after we concede four or more in a first half. So obviously, at 4-0, Pedro Porro finished a slick team move to incite “well now..if Spurs can grab a second goal here then it’s game on”.

And Spurs should have. Richarlison had a free header, but he gave Jan Oblak a chance to save, and a couple of seconds later, Antoine Griezmann provided the kind of flick that leaves a lot of people, especially Ally McCoist, with a tingle in their loins.

Julian Alvarez, who is not noted for his searing pace, collected the pass from Griezmann about 50 yards away from the Tottenham goal with Porro approaching.

Alvarez was running towards Guglielmo Vicario while also focused on controlling a football. Porro was running after Alvarez and very much not also focused on controlling a football, and yet the gap between the two had actually widened by the time the Argentine fired in a long-overdue fifth goal. A reminder: Pedro Porro starts for Spain.

One positive thing about Spurs is that we are a tough side to play against when trailing 5-1. So we duly scored again to make people think the second leg could include a hint of jeopardy.

When the fourth official raised the board indicating injury time, the hope was for no more action – just take 5-2, get home and start planning for the annual defeat to Liverpool. At least Romero is back for that game, right? Within 60 seconds of that thought process forming, Romero jumped for the ball, headed Palhinha and duly ruled both men out of the game at Anfield.

And that was the moment. Acceptance. Calm. There is absolutely no doubt now that Spurs are getting relegated this season. It all became a real possibility after the 2-1 defeat to West Ham in January and far too much nonsense has happened even since then.

But it’s okay. The Championship isn’t the end of the world. It’s embarrassing that we are going there for sure, but when aren’t Spurs accused of being embarrassing? People still take the piss out of us for finishing third in the Leicester season, and that was our highest-ever Premier League finish at the time.

And that happened a year before we completed our only unbeaten home Premier League campaign. Seventeen wins and two draws in 19 games at White Hart Lane that season. But then we knocked the stadium down. Cos obviously.

Tony Adams’ late goal at Wembley is in the past, and soon enough, so too will be the 2025/2026 season. Daniel Levy is gone so there’s nobody to blame anymore. Even the Ultimate Warrior has passed on, so f**k it, bring on Blackburn, bring on Lincoln and bring on QPR.

Let’s look forward to a new season of finishing fifth and reaching the play-off final, before losing that in the kind of comical fashion that only Spurs can. And when we do, eventually, even that will be fine. Acceptance.

Interim boss Igor Tudor could be “sacked at any moment” by Tottenham after losing to Atletico Madrid, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Spurs have lost all four of their matches since Tudor took over from Thomas Frank until the end of the season and there have already been claims that the Croatian could be replaced.

Tudor was particularly heavily criticised for starting young Antonin Kinsky in their 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in midweek before withdrawing him on 17 minutes with Tottenham 3-0 down.

He was accused by Peter Schmeichel of “killing” the young goalkeeper’s career and there were claims in the Telegraph yesterday that the players have ‘no faith’ in Tudor.

It has been revealed that Tottenham have put him on press conference duty ahead of their match against Liverpool in the Premier League at the weekend – but Romano has warned that he could still lose his job “at any moment”.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Tottenham are in a very difficult moment after the defeat against Atletico Madrid.

READ:Kinsky ‘storms’ down tunnel and Tudor doomed, but there is some good news for Spurs…

“It is four games under Igor Tudor and four defeats, which is the first time in Tottenham’s history with a new manager.

“It is also the first time Tottenham have lost six consecutive matches.

“At the moment Tottenham have confirmed that Tudor will take the press conference ahead of the Liverpool game, but he remains at serious risk of being sacked at any moment.

“The situation is very fluid in the short term.

“For the long term the plan has always been clear, because Tudor signed a short contract and in the summer Tottenham want a new manager.

“The two names still very high on the shortlist are Roberto De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino.”

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365…

* ‘Pained’ Postecoglou regret trips ‘desperate’ Tottenham with 16-word mistake reminder

* Doomed Igor Tudor is ‘absolute tool’ but was Kinsky sub the right move?

* Who will be the next Spurs manager? Dyche odds-on favourite but Redknapp is ‘available’

Tottenham are currently just one point above the relegation zone in the Premier League and now face the very real possibility of being in the Championship next season.

Relegation would lead to a mass exodus at Tottenham and players like Cristian Romero could leave regardless of how they finish the season.

Romano has revealed that there is a “serious possibility” that the World Cup winner will leave Tottenham in the summer transfer window.

Romano added: “Another important story at Tottenham is about Cristian Romero.

“There is a serious possibility that Romero could leave Tottenham in the summer transfer window.

“Top clubs in Europe and also abroad are calling and asking about the situation of the Argentine defender.

“So Romero is one to watch in the summer because there is strong interest.”

“The last time I interacted with the fans there was 200,000 on the streets of London,” said Ange Postecoglou, who’s a man in “pain” at seeing Tottenham go from bad to worse since he was dismissed in June.

Successor Thomas Frank was sacked a month ago and replaced by renowned ‘firefighter’ Igor Tudor, who’s doing a marvellous job of torching his own reputation and that of Tottenham Hotspur football club.

He’s lost all three of his Premier League games in charge to leave them just one point above the relegation zone, and led Spurs to a 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash on Tuesday.

Tudor has been roundly criticised for dropping Guglielmo Vicario in favour of Antonin Kinsky, who made two errors leading to goals in 17 minutes before being hooked by the no-nonsense Croat.

But rather than revel in Tottenham’s demise since he was sacked after guiding them to Europa League glory last term, Postecoglou is really upset at having to see some of the 200,000 fans he last saw partying on the streets with him enduring a tough time. It’s more a ‘regret trip’ than a guilt trip, but he’s in “pain” too, guys.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Postecoglou was asked if he was the least surprised person to witness Tottenham’s struggles. He replied: “No, I wouldn’t say that.

“I am still invested in the club because I have an attachment to those players, I worked with them for two years. The last time I interacted with the fans there was 200,000 on the streets of London.

“It pains me to see it. It definitely looks like the players are fairly lost at the moment. There’s obvious pressure there. It’s a real difficult time.

“It all manifested itself with what happened last night. It’s almost the worst-case scenario: you playing a side away from home, Atletico, who never drop below a performance level of two. They’re always at a really strong level. It was a horror start for them.”

Postecoglou insists Tudor must “install some belief into the players” as the Atletico defeat illustrated the “desperation” of his former side.

“There is no way that anyone would say, objectively, these players are performing at the level they are capable of,” Postecoglou added. “You’ve just got to try and ease the pressure on them somehow.

“Even last night, I thought it was a tremendous opportunity for them because they’ve done really well in the Champions League, they’re on the good side of the draw. Atletico away is tough but you’ve still got to take them back to Tottenham but it just felt like the pressure was there.

“I’m sure they would have trained on the pitch the night before but the amount of times they were slipping over, I think that’s still pressure. There’s just a real desperation in everything they do.

“Mentally, you’re desperate and that manifests itself in a physical way. You’re lunging for things, you’re rushing things.

“It’s hard for me to comment from the outside. For me it’s just about instilling some belief into the players. Show them the kind of players that they are, not that they can be.”

Asked if he would consider returning to Tottenham to save them from their current predicament, Postecoglou chuckled and replied: “No comment.”

He sure smiles a lot for a man in “pain”.