The Sun

ARCHIE GRAY’S painful gaffe at Nottingham Forest could actually accelerate his progress.

Durham-born Gray, 19, cost Tottenham the opening goal when he lost possession on the edge of his box, sparking a 3-0 defeat which heaped pressure back on boss Thomas Frank.

Yet former Spurs midfielder Micky Hazard, who also hails from the North East, feels the mistake could speed up the teenager’s football education.

Hazard, 65, told SunSport: “People look at the negative side of him giving the goal away.

“Actually, it’s a positive for him, because for a young boy of 19 to be playing in the Premier League with experienced pros, and showing the confidence and belief in his own ability, going to the edge of his own box, I think that shows a confidence way beyond his years.

“I’m not sure when I was 19, I would show for the ball in areas where I wasn’t at risk to a goal.

“Yes, he lost the ball, and he learned from that. And the next time he gets in that situation, he’ll play the pass first time, because he’s a clever footballer.

“That’s part of a learning process. And sometimes the learning process is quite punishing.

“It can quite hurt you when you’re learning. And it takes a big mistake like that to maybe make the learning so much quicker.

“I like him. He’s going to be a very, very good player. One day he could be one of our leaders.”

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Sunderland-born Hazard won the FA Cup in 1982 and the Uefa Cup in 1984 during his first spell at Spurs, before returning to the club to finish off his playing career in the mid 90s.

He remains a follower of Spurs and urged other fans growing frustrated with Frank just six months into the Dane’s tenure to show some patience.

Hazard added: “You can’t expect the manager to come in and change things to perfection overnight.

“Unless the process is given time, then it won’t work.

“He’s not just coming in to implement his own style. He’s coming in to play to our traditions, our philosophies, our style, while also adding his things to what needs to change.

“And when the two eventually settle in together and combine, that’s when we’ll see the success.”

Tottenham face Liverpool on Saturday in a big game for boss Frank after recent results.

But before the evening kick-off, the club have an important campaign which puts football into perspective.

They have teamed up with Samaritans and the Premier League’s Together Against Suicide initiative to help break the stigma around mental health and asking for help.

Spurs have released a powerful film where a young fan who is struggling with his mental health keeps seeing white phone box which symbolises the call to the Samaritans he’s avoiding.

Fans will be invited to share the message ‘To Talk is To Do’ – in reference to the club’s motto ‘To Dare is To Do’ – ahead of the Liverpool match, with a white telephone box placed outside the ground available for photos.

It comes at a time where one in four people experience suicidal thoughts and someone in the the UK takes their own life every 90 minutes.

The campaign has a particular resonance for Hazard, whose nephew Jason Lee Mead took his own life aged just 23.

Ex-Chelsea star Hazard said: “Jason was such a happy-go-lucky lad, but having done a course on suicide prevention and mental health and got qualified, I learnt within that course that they are the masters of disguise.

“They can disguise their innermost feelings better than anyone, and you’ll never know that they’re suffering.

“We have to keep talking about it, bringing awareness to the problem, and the more people are aware, the more we’re able to spot the signs.

“First and foremost, it’s just a simple, ‘Hello, how are you?’

“Those words start a conversation that potentially could save many lives.

“A simple, ‘Hello, how are you?’ can actually be the difference between someone being here and someone not.”

FORMER Manchester United starlet Charni Ekangamene has swapped defending for deliveries… by becoming a POSTMAN.

The Belgian spent five years at Old Trafford after arriving from United’s then sister club Royal Antwerp in 2009.

Midfielder Ekangamene played regularly for the Red Devils’ youth and reserve sides.

He made his senior debut while on loan to Carlisle United in 2014, and returned home to join Zulte Waregem later that year.

Now 31, he went on to play for clubs in Holland, Slovakia, Spain and Gibraltar – and has been with Belgian side Berchem Sport since 2023.

But Antwerp-born Ekangamene has also been working for Bpost, Belgium‘s equivalent to Royal Mail, since 2021.

He said: “This job is a perfect fit for me in terms of hours, as I’m still playing in the fourth division for Berchem Sport.

“I start early in the day, and I can even have a bit of a rest before the start of training.

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“I have been a postman for almost four years. I first used to go out on a bike, but nowadays I use a van.

“At least I now keep dry, and what with all the apartment blocks I have to deliver to, I still keep moving!

“Between working for Bpost and playing for Berchem I earn over 3,000 euros [£2,630] a month.

“When I was at Manchester United I was being paid four times as much.

“But after I left them, my football career did not turn out as I had expected.

“I gave it my all. But you can’t always get all you want.”

MANCHESTER UNITED are set to welcome back Harry Maguire to ease their defensive crisis.

Maguire has not played since he sustained a thigh injury in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham on November 8.

The 32-year-old has missed United’s last five games and Ruben Amorim’s side have conceded eight goals during that run.

United have not rushed back Maguire ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday now that they are without Noussair Mazraoui.

Amorim admitted last week that Maguire “sometimes has an issue” and the club have afforded him more recovery time.

Maguire missed 14 games through injury last season and a calf strain ruled him out of the European Championship 18 months ago.

The club’s approach to fitness issues under Amorim is in stark contrast to predecessor Erik ten Hag, who drew criticism for rushing back players from injury.

Amorim has substituted one centre back for another centre back 20 times this season to manage their workloads.

Only the bottom four Premier League clubs and Bournemouth have shipped more goals than United this season.

Mazraoui, who started at centre back in the draw with West Ham and win at Wolves, missed the 4-4 draw with Bournemouth on Monday night to link up with his Morocco teammates ahead of their AFCON curtain-raiser against Comoros on Sunday.

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Centre half Matthijs de Ligt has been absent for United’s last three matches due to a back problem and Amorim has turned to 19-year-old Ayden Heaven to start in the middle of the back three.

However, Heaven struggled in the stalemate with West Ham – when he was substituted at half-time – and in the thrilling draw with Bournemouth.

Lisandro Martinez is back after a ten-month absence with a knee injury but has not started a game since February 2.

Amorim was forced to name rookie defender Tyler Fredricson – who has not played since being hauled off at half-time of the Grimsby debacle in August – on the bench against Bournemouth.

United head to Aston Villa on Sunday and host Newcastle on Boxing Day before their final match of the calendar year at home to Wolves on December 30.

Manchester United and Manchester City are firmly in the race to sign Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo in January.

Sky Sports is reporting that Spurs are also chasing the 25-year-old, but Pep Guardiola‘s City are considered the front runners by some.

Semenyo has a £65 million release clause in his contract, which becomes active on January 1.

Liverpool are also said to be in the ‘background’ with an interest in the Ghana international. Mohamed Salah‘s situation at the club may influence their thinking.

Semenyo has scored seven goals in 15 games this season including a strike against Man United on Monday night.

Sky Sports reports that United have held a long-time interest in Semenyo, and news of his release clause has caused them to genuinely consider making a move.

The club hadn’t planned to spend big in January, and money, as with all Premier League clubs these days, is a factor.

They are not currently at risk of breaching the PSR regulations, spending £65m, particularly if it’s a flat fee, could have serious repercussions on what they can afford to spend in the summer, where strengthening their midfield is the absolute priority.

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Man United’s attacking options did improve last summer after they spent £71m on Bryan Mbeumo and £62.5m on Matheus Cunha.

Both men have made an impact at Old Trafford, but Semenyo could bring the added dynamism that Ruben Amorim seeks.

Still, with Casemiro 34 in February, Man United know they need to find a top-level defensive midfielder with Carlos Baleba and Adam Wharton on their shortlist – and they will cost.

For City, Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden have been playing wide for the majority of this season with Rayan Cherki making progress recently.

Savinho – who nearly moved to Spurs last August – Oscar Bobb and Omar Marmoush have mostly been on the outside looking in.

Semenyo would offer any prospective suitor pace, skill and power from the wide areas with a proven eye for goal.

When considering his age and statistics, £65m is good market value in this day and age – as crazy as that sounds.

Bournemouth made around £208m in player sales this summer and only spent £100m. Raking in another £65m would be great, but it would surely leave them needing to do some business to replace Semenyo.

They sit 13th in the Premier League table.

MICKY VAN DE VEN has revealed that he and his teammates had to convince former boss Ange Postecoglou to change his tactics at Tottenham – and it led to silverware.

Spurs ended a 17-year wait to add to their trophy cabinet when they beat Manchester United in the Europa League Final in May.

But it was not enough to save Postecoglou’s job because he was sacked a matter of weeks later.

And lightning-quick centre-back Van de Ven, 24, has admitted that members of the Tottenham dressing room were forced to intervene when rivals had worked out how to get the better of them.

Speaking on The Overlap, sponsored bySky Bet, the Dutchman said: “At the beginning of the season [the first under Postecoglou] everything was new, so no team was used to playing against our system at that point.

“We were playing unbelievable football but then the injuries came and suspensions came, which changed things, but before we were flying.

“Managers these days analyse everything – they have four or five people around them who analyse everything about the opponent.

“And at that point people knew what we were doing and sometimes we didn’t really have a plan B, so we were getting exposed without having solutions.

“At one point, we spoke with the manager and said that sometimes we need to change some things because we were getting too exposed.

“Of course, we won the Europa League and knew that this was a big opportunity for us to bring silverware to Tottenham, but we needed to change things.

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“In games where we were 1-0 up, we can’t keep playing our football, sometimes we needed to sit back and make sure that nothing was coming through us.

“And that helped us at the end to, of course, win the Europa League.”

Postecoglou, 60, had a torrid 39-day spell in charge of Nottingham Forest after being shown the door by Spurs.

But Tottenham have still been inconsistent since Thomas Frank was appointed as his successor.

The North Londoners suffered a 3-0 defeat to Forest on Sunday and are already six points adrift of the Premier League’s top four.

THOMAS FRANK is a good man – he is intelligent and sparky, loves football and wants to do something special at Tottenham.

He is a manager who was desperate for the chance to prove himself on a bigger stage than Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium.

But with every passing week, it is harder and harder to shake the feeling that Spurs might just be too big a club for the Dane.

That he cannot quite grasp the scale, the scrutiny, the depth of longing inside the fanbase, the sense of frustration that permeates every pore.

The reality, obvious as it might seem, is that Spurs aren’t Brentford, where building a genuine rapport with the fans meant so much, where expectations and ambitions were always limited.

However, in N17, legitimately or otherwise, that is simply not the case.

If you have the best stadium in the Premier League, an income stream that guarantees more than half a billion pounds through the books every season, and a rich seam of history that fans always want to mine, finishing in the top half is not even close to enough.

Let alone the dreaded prospect of another campaign in which, while Spurs do not actually flirt with the danger of the drop, it is close enough to haunt minds.

Under Frank, so far, every forward step has been followed by one in the opposite direction.

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Spurs have had one genuinely decent month this season, a seven-match unbeaten run from the start of September.

But as we approach the Christmas carnage, they have still not won more than two matches in a row at any point in the campaign.

Just two home wins in the Prem is pretty much relegation form, previously balanced by away performances.

Yet what the fans who travelled to the City Ground on Sunday witnessed was the sort of gutless, guileless and hopeless display that drains faith, no matter how much Frank might urge patience and time.

Two wins in a week against old club Brentford and a decidedly limited Slavia Prague had raised the bar, not lowered it.

Frank had put a few coppers back into repaying the debt many supporters feel he owes them for the miserable displays they have already witnessed against Bournemouth, Wolves, Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham.

But Spurs didn’t merely knock that bar off at Forest. They didn’t even attempt to jump.

Frank’s overdraft facility with the Spurs fans feels exhausted already.

There is little or no good will, either, not since he publicly dug them out over their treatment of Guglielmo Vicario after the Fulham debacle.

If the invertebrates XI turn up again when Liverpool – who smashed Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs 6-3 in the corresponding game last term – come calling on Saturday, the mood inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be beyond mutinous.

Frank was supposed to be the antidote to the one- dimensional Aussie, whose sacking was deserved — even if he delivered on that seemingly bonkers trophy vow.

Yet it feels that administering the dose has only uncovered the spread of the illness.

Even a few weeks ago, Frank could respond to criticisms of his side’s lack of attacking endeavour by pointing to the huge improvement in Spurs’ defending.

But even accounting for last week’s two clean sheets, they have still conceded 16 in the last seven games — and far too many of them have been self-inflicted wounds.

Vicario’s error count shows no sign of stabilising, Djed Spence became the latest to make a public show of disrespect, Pedro Porro is increasingly being questioned, as are Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur.

To be fair, Frank has been without his two best attacking players all season – with no indication when Dejan Kulusevski or James Maddison might ever be spotted on the pitch again – while striker Dominic Solanke has also been sidelined for virtually the entire campaign.

Of course, Frank could still turn it around. Tottenham’s two greatest managers did, as, to a degree, did the best of the Premier League era.

Bill Nicholson started with a 10-4 victory over Everton but then won just two of his next 12 games.

Keith Burkinshaw took Spurs DOWN in his first season.

Mauricio Pochettino feared he might be sacked when his side were 11th at the end of October 2014.

Beat Liverpool on Saturday and it could be Frank’s turning point.

Lose again, without putting up a fight, and it will feel terminal.

FORMER Tottenham owner Lord Alan Sugar called on the North London club to hire Jurgen Klopp as manager.

Spurs are 11th in the Premier League after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Current boss Thomas Frank is under pressure after just one win in his last seven league games.

Lord Sugar, who owned Tottenham from 1991 to 2001, wrote on X: “With the massive fortune of the Lewis family it would be a win win situation if they hired Jurgen Klopp in January.

“Loads of money for players and a great manager. Who agrees #coys“

Klopp publicly announced his retirement from management after leavingLiverpool in July 2024

He became Red Bull’s new Global Head of Football in January.

It has been widely reported that Klopp has an exit clause in his Red Bull contract that allows him to apply for the German national team job if it becomes vacant.

It remains unclear if a similar clause exists for a domestic club role.

Klopp won the Bundesliga twice with Borussia Dortmund, before lifting the Premier League and Champions League trophies with Liverpool.

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When Lord Sugar took over in 1991, Spurs were close to bankruptcy.

Now, the North London side are owned by the investment group ENIC, who are 86% majority owners, controlled by the Lewis family trust.

The owners invested in their new stadium, which opened in 2019 and cost about £1bn.

THOMAS FRANK gave his players two days off this week – and Spurs ended up looking like a team that had not kicked a ball in ages.

Tottenham were back to stinking the place out, in spite of their recent revival, as former transfer target Callum Hudson-Odoi took full advantage.

The winger netted after Ibrahim Sangare exploited a cock-up between Archie Gray and Guglielmo Vicario, before adding a second through a cross that went all the way in.

Hudson-Odoi, whom Spurs considered signing a few years ago, then teed up a stunner for Sangare to cap Spurs’ humiliation.

It made for painful watching for Frank, especially after he had rewarded his weary players with Wednesday and Thursday off this week following back-to-back home wins over Brentford and Slavia Prague.

The Dane was even forced to endure chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ from the unsympathetic Forest supporters as he presided over a sixth defeat in 16 league games – the same amount as he has won – and possibly his most emphatic yet.

While close pal Sean Dyche enjoyed his best home victory of his tenure to move Forest further clear of the drop zone.

This fixture had been earmarked in the calendar as one to watch when Ange Postecoglou took the Forest job on September 9.

It would have been the first time the Aussie had faced Spurs since being sacked just over a fortnight on from ending their 17-year trophy curse with Europa League glory.

But Big Ange proved to be a big disaster at the City Ground and lasted only 39 days before he was fired and replaced by Dyche.

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Forest were missing one of their key players here with Matz Sels failing his race to be fit due to a groin issue, meaning the brilliantly-named Brazilian John Victor made his Prem debut between the sticks.

References for the 29-year-old, based on his shaky displays in the Europa League, are not exactly glowing in these parts – and yet he was put under next to no pressure.

Sangare came within a whisker of giving the hosts the lead inside three minutes when he planted a header from Nicolo Savona’s cross onto the foot of the post.

It bounced out for Morgan Gibbs-White – whom Spurs famously tried and failed to sign in the summer – and he had a shot blocked, before Vicario’s impressive reflexes repelled Neco Williams’ follow-up.

If the early save showed the good of Vicario, then the opening goal demonstrated the bad.

The Italian had the whole game in front of him, so he knew Gray had Sangare right on his tail, yet passed the ball to the youngster anyway.

It looked a bad call, but the major mistake for the goal, from Spurs’ perspective, was what Gray did next.

The teenager should have passed it first time out wide to Pedro Porro but instead took a heavy touch, which allowed the eager Sangare to pick his pocket.

Ex-PSV Eindhoven man Sangare had the wherewithal to square the ball just before Vicario intercepted, allowing former Spurs target Hudson-Odoi to fire into an empty net.

Gray, to his credit, showed a positive response and drew a solid – if rare – save from Victor with a blast from the edge of the box.

The 19-year-old was coming up against his former Young Lions team-mate in Elliot Anderson, who played ahead of Gray at last summer’s Under-21 Euros.

Anderson has kicked on massively since then, looking like a shoo-in to start for Thomas Tuchel’s seniors at No.6 at the World Cup in the summer, barring injury and loss of form.

Anderson, in fairness, is three years older than Gray, with far more experience playing regularly in midfield in the Premier League.

Given time, the younger Spurs man, whose grandad Frank won the European Cup with Forest in 1980, could.

But if ever there was an action that summed up where the two are in their respective trajectories, it came here towards the end of the first half.

Anderson put an end to a dangerous Mohammed Kudus dribble with an inch-perfect tackle.

Gray then tried the same thing on Williams as the Welshman picked up the loose ball, but his challenge was poor and he was booked.

Tempers flared between Anderson and Pedro Porro just before the break, and the barney seemed to spread into the opposition dugouts, with coaches Matt Wells and Steve Stone both receiving cautions for dissent.

It could well have been the last meaningful action at Spurs for 37-year-old assistant Wells, who is in talks over becoming the new manager of MLS side Colorado Rapids.

Forest became even more dominant after the interval and instantly went further ahead through Hudson-Odoi once again.

The ex-Chelsea winger looked almost sheepish as his cross somehow evaded Vicario’s grasp and curled into the far corner with 50 minutes on the clock.

It could have been worse with Igor Jesus – whom the Forest fans amusingly declared can ‘walk on the Trent’ – and Omari Hutchinson fired narrowly wide.

Frank had attackers Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson – formerly of this parish – on the bench.

And yet the Dane turned to Ben Davies, Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall instead to transform his team’s fortunes, to no effect.

Forest’s fantastic day was complete when Hudson-Odoi laid off to Sangare, who belted the ball in off the post from 25 yards.

While Frank suffered the ignominy of those ‘sacked in the morning chants’ – with his players unlikely to receive an extra day off again any time soon.

VICARIO has found himself in the Tottenham firing line once again after conceding the ‘Spursiest goal ever’.

The 29-year-old didn’t cover himself in glory as he played a ball out to team-mate Archie Gray under increased pressure.

Nottingham Forest pounced on the ball that started from the Italian to his young colleague.

Gray had his back to the action and Ibrahim Sangare pickpocket him before knocking the ball beyond a diving Vicario to set-up team-mate Callum Hudson-Odio for the simplest of tap-ins for Sean Dyche’s side.

It was a real moment to forget for the Spurs No1 and the 19-year-old as Thomas Frank’s men fell behind at the City Ground.

Fans online were also left in disbelief as they reacted to the first half talking point.

One fan wrote: “Surely no club in the league does this s*** as much as Spurs?”

Another posted: “We need to sell Vicario and bring in a new keeper.

“How many more mistakes do we sit and tolerate because it’s Vicario? As much as he saves us at times he costs us points just as many times.”

A fellow punter agreed, saying: “Vicario needs to go. Poor from Gray as well, but that pass should never have been made.”

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Football fans of other clubs also got in on the discussion with one simply branding it “Spursy.”

Vicario’s afternoon only went from bad to worse as he was caught out once again for Forest’s second of the contest.

Hudson-Odoi’s cross into the box missed everyone but it sailed over the head of the keeper and into the back of the net.

Spurs have been out of form in the Premier League in recent weeks with just one win in the last six outings going into this one.

That came against Frank’s old club Brentford with the North London side suffering defeats to Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham.

In that run they also drew with both Manchester United and Newcastle United.

THE Premier League returns for another Super Sunday with FIVE blockbuster matches taking place today!

Sunderland and Newcastle face off in a long-overdue Tyne-Wear derby at the same time that Aston Villa travel to West Ham.

Manchester City will be hoping to close the gap on league leader Arsenal during their tough test against Crystal Palace, while Tottenham make the trip to the Midlands, where Nottingham Forest awaits.

Then Sunday’s footballing action will be wrapped up in London when Leeds head to Brentford.

Kick-off times: 2pm / 4:30pm GMT

Live stream: NOW TV / Sky Sports +

TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League

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