The New York Times

If Igor Tudor’s appointment as Tottenham Hotspur head coach tells us anything, it’s that the board are concerned about the prospect of relegation to the Championship.

The 47-year-old Croatian twice rescued Udinese from relegation in Serie A, before plugging holes at Marseille and Juventus — ensuring Champions League football on both occasions. Tudor is a premium alternative to the likes of Tony Pulis and Sam Allardyce, who built reputations domestically on reviving disastrous seasons.

While Opta’s data model indicates Tottenham’s actual chances of relegation are remote, at 3.36 per cent, they are just five points ahead of a resurgent West Ham United in 18th, having failed to win in eight league matches.

With 12 top-flight games remaining, and 36 points available, The Athletic has assessed what going down for the first time since the 1970s would mean for Spurs.

Which players would be likely to depart?

The majority of Tottenham’s first-team squad should have no problem attracting interest from the Premier League and across Europe if the club were to be relegated.

The defence, probably the strongest area of the pitch in the first half of this season under the recently sacked Thomas Frank, would be pretty much picked clean, with a core of experienced internationals in their prime years unlikely to want to spend a season in the Championship. That would mean replacing Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. Kevin Danso and Djed Spence will also likely attract significant interest and could find new homes at top-tier clubs, either permanently or on loan.

Looking at midfield, January signing Conor Gallagher was courted by Aston Villa before deciding on a move to Tottenham, and will surely want to continue playing at the highest level. Rodrigo Bentancur committed his long-term future to the north London club last October and was pivotal under Frank before undergoing hamstring surgery in January, but may seek a move should Spurs go down.

In forward areas, it’s difficult to envision Dominic Solanke, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons or Richarlison spending a season (or more) in England’s second tier during their peak years.

And who could thrive?

Having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury in the recent 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United, the chances of Wilson Odobert departing in the event of relegation are reduced.

The France Under-21 international enjoyed his best stretch through January and February, thriving as a right-winger in Kudus’ absence. While Odobert may not return to action this calendar year, having a period in the Championship, where he would surely be one of the division’s most talented forwards, may aid his development and build confidence.

It would also offer the opportunity to build a long-term wing partnership with Mikey Moore, who is thriving on loan in Scotland at Rangers. After a difficult initial period under the Glasgow side’s previous manager Russell Martin, Moore has excelled under successor Danny Rohl and should head back to north London in the summer ready to make an impact, particularly if his parent club are in the second tier when he returns.

Archie Gray is perhaps another who may benefit from a season as a bona fide starter in the Championship, as would Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, who Spurs would do well to retain after attracting interest from Chelsea and Villa in January. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky would have the opportunity to develop into a starter, backed up by Brandon Austin.

Relegation would arrive at the perfect time for Luca Williams-Barnett, Jun’ai Byfield and Tynan Thompson to step up from the academy and contribute, while offering senior opportunities to academy graduates Dane Scarlett, Jamie Donley and others who are currently out on loan. Souza, 19, who arrived from Brazilian side Santos in January, could also benefit.

While Tottenham would undoubtedly field lucrative proposals for his signature in the summer, 18-year-old centre-back Luka Vuskovic is among the brightest prospects in the world in his position. The Croatia international is already attracting interest from across Europe thanks to an impressive debut season on loan at Hamburg in the German Bundesliga, but a stint in England’s second tier would help with his long-term adjustment to the Premier League’s intensity once Spurs manage to return to the top flight.

Will the cost of season tickets reduce?

Tottenham have one of the Premier League’s most expensive season tickets, with prices ranging from £856 to £2,147 ($1,159 to $2,907) — not including domestic cup or Champions League matches.

At arguably English football’s most impressive venue, a short train ride from central London, the club can justifiably market themselves as a premium sporting product when competing at the top of the Premier League. However, Spurs have been dreadful at home this season, winning just twice and losing seven times in 13 matches. And while they might expect to win significantly more often at home if they were relegated, supporters would expect a notable deduction in both matchday and season ticket prices. On Wednesday, The Athletic reported that Tottenham had decided to freeze their season ticket prices for next season following consultation with fan groups.

While there is little comparison between Tottenham’s financial power and that of any club previously relegated from the Premier League, Villa, Newcastle United and Fulham come closest. Villa were most recently in the second tier in 2018-19, when they won promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs. That season, their cheapest adult season ticket (purchased during early-bird sales) was £322, with others costing up to £595. The following year, as a top-flight club again, their ticket prices increased to £370-£684.

For new season-ticket purchasers, Newcastle’s category-two season ticket prices dropped around 10 per cent (£520 from £578) as they bounced straight back in 2016-17 as EFL champions, then increased by 15 per cent the following term.

Though Newcastle and Villa may be more similar to Spurs in terms of historical footballing success, Fulham are based in an affluent part of west London, have some of the league’s most expensive season-ticket prices, and were in the Championship more recently.

For their second-tier 2021-22 season, the cheapest season ticket at Craven Cottage was £399, with the most expensive at £809. There were eight price categories in total, with a mean cost of £554. After winning promotion, the cheapest season ticket for new purchasers was £460, with the most expensive at £1,005 — a mean cost of £666.25, a 20.3 per cent increase.

In reference to the threat of relegation and the knock-on financial effects, a Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust spokesperson said: “While we know the spectre of relegation is real and we are confident that the club are acutely aware of its catastrophic implications, we believe that their 100 per cent focus is, rightly, on improving performances and results. In short, avoiding relegation at all costs.

“The impact on supporters, damage to reputation, financial sustainability and practical considerations like ticket pricing, are matters for another day. But whether or not the club is successful and retains its Premier League status, salutary lessons need to be learned throughout the club and wise investment made to ensure we are never in this position again.”

How far could going down set Spurs back financially?

There is no precedent for a club of Tottenham’s size and financial strength suffering relegation to the Championship, so it’s difficult to say.

They are the ninth-wealthiest team in the world game, according to Deloitte, with revenue of €672.6million in 2024-25 — around €88m more than the next-richest, London rivals Chelsea. After reaching the upcoming round of 16 in the Champions League despite their domestic struggles, that number is in line to increase this season. No club in the 34-year Premier League era have recorded more than £200million in single-season revenue and gone down.

While their current wage bill would dwarf any in Championship history, Tottenham’s relative frugality in terms of salary spending means they are in a comparatively better position than some of their competition in the event of relegation. And as covered above, many of the highest earners would surely depart, whether on loan or for large transfer fees — though Spurs’ weak bargaining position could mean such players leave for reduced fees or require the club to pay a wage contribution. It is not yet clear whether Tottenham have inserted relegation clauses into first-team contracts.

And their stadium, which is set to host Tyson Fury’s return to boxing in April and a Bad Bunny concert in June, as well as the regular pair of NFL games in the autumn, is a huge money-spinner. Relegation would have a limited impact on such operations outside football.

Though dropping to the Championship may not pose an existential threat to the north London club, television, matchday and sponsorship revenues will decline considerably.

The Premier League’s UK rights deal is worth £6.7billion for the years 2025-29, with U.S. rights holder NBC paying £2bn for rights through 2028. The EFL’s deal with Sky Sports, in comparison, is worth £935m over five years. Needless to say, Tottenham would need to bounce back from relegation at the first time of asking to minimise the long-term harm.

Will sponsorship opportunities be affected?

Tottenham’s current deal with global principal partner and front-of-shirt sponsor AIA expires at the end of the 2026-27 season.

Industry sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, say they would not be surprised if the club were thinking of looking for alternatives to the Hong Kong-based insurance company, which will become the club’s training kit partner from July 2027 until 2032. With a reduced global audience in the Championship, Spurs would likely renegotiate deals with other existing partners or secure new short-term sponsorships.

“There may not be a relegation clause in their front-of-shirt contract with AIA,” says Mike Jackson, chief executive of Elite Sports Marketing, a sponsorship agency which works with several Premier League and Championship clubs.

“(Premier League strugglers) Burnley, or even Coventry City (who are currently top of the Championship), will have relegation and promotion clauses, which give first option to the company to continue the sponsorship at up to seven or eight times what they’re paying in the Championship, but AIA may not have that clause, because it would never have been a consideration that Tottenham would get relegated.

“Conversations (with AIA) are probably happening as we speak. Tottenham will understand that AIA will not pay a Premier League rate (the contract is reported to be worth £40million per year) for a Championship club. They will not get the billions of eyeballs in the Championship that they would in the Premier League, and the reputational harm of not renegotiating the deal is not worth it in the long term. Having assessed the Championship market, it could be around the £4million to £5m range.”

In the event of relegation, Spurs may continue with AIA on revised terms, but if an agreement cannot be reached, they could explore the market for a one-year front-of-shirt deal. A short-term arrangement like that would allow them to find a more lucrative long-term alternative should they return to the Premier League within a year.

“I expect AIA to stick with them next year, but if they don’t, they will be fine because of the size of the club in the Championship,” says Jackson. “If you look at it from a brand’s point of view, they will know success is guaranteed practically every week. So it’s nothing but good news, records being broken, etc. So it’s good for any brand that joins them.”

How will it affect the club’s international visibility?

For international fans, the EFL’s iFollow subscription service means that watching Tottenham on a game-to-game basis can largely remain the same. This season, the service is priced at £180 for all 46 of a Championship side’s league games.

British supporters would also have much more Tottenham on their television sets should they go down, with every match, except the Saturday 3pm kick-offs, available on Sky Sports.

However, not being involved in the world’s biggest sporting league will have detrimental effects on retaining followers around the world and attracting new ones. There would be no marquee matches against traditional rivals Arsenal or Chelsea, never mind the increase in interest when playing against Liverpool and Manchester United, two of world sport’s titans.

And following a World Cup being held in North America this summer, Tottenham’s absence from the 2026-27 Premier League will take them out of the equation for many new fans of the sport in the United States and Canada looking for an English club to follow.

Tottenham Hotspur have frozen their season-ticket prices for next season following consultation with fan groups.

The decision is the result of discussions with the club’s Fan Advisory Board and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, which began late last year.

Spurs did not raise season the price of season or match tickets for the current 2025-26 campaign, but began removing the concession for new senior season ticket holders (for those aged 65 and above) — a decision which resulted in criticism from some fan groups.

The club increased season-ticket prices by six per cent for the 2024-25 season, leaving the most affordable adult season ticket at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium priced at £856.

Senior supporters who purchased a season ticket for the current campaign did not receive a concession, while existing season ticket holders who become eligible for a discounted season ticket from 2025-26 saw their concession begin to be reduced, with a five per cent fall each season for the next five years.

From 2029-30, senior season tickets at Spurs will therefore cost 25 per cent more than they did last term.

Tottenham have the second most expensive adult season ticket in the Premier League at £2,223 – behind only Fulham whose dearest offering is £3,084.

Spurs sit 16th in the Premier League table before their next fixture, the visit of north London rivals Arsenal, five points clear of 18th-place West Ham United.

Time is running out for Randal Kolo Muani to prove that his loan to Tottenham Hotspur this season has not been a wasted opportunity.

The France international has failed to score or assist in 18 Premier League appearances for Spurs so far. Kolo Muani’s record in the Champions League is much better with three goals and two assists in seven games though, bizarrely, he has only found the net against his former employers Eintracht Frankfurt and current parent club Paris Saint-Germain.

With that in mind, Kolo Muani is probably desperate for a meeting with Juventus, where he spent the second half of last season on loan from PSG and who are one of already-qualified Tottenham’s four possible opponents in the round of 16, should the Italians overturn a 5-2 first-leg deficit at home and get past Galatasaray of Turkey in the ongoing play-off round.

Juventus are, of course, also the previous team of Tottenham’s new interim head coach, Igor Tudor.

Kolo Muani initially worked with Thiago Motta at the Turin club, scoring five times in his first three of 11 appearances under him but failing to find the net in the other eight.

Motta was then sacked in the March and replaced with Tudor, who has now arrived at Spurs in similar circumstances following last week’s dismissal of Thomas Frank. The 27-year-old will hope Tudor can reignite his form for the second year in a row, after he scored five times in six late-season games under him across Serie A and the Club World Cup, and boost his chances of making France’s squad for the World Cup.

He arrived on loan from PSG on the final day of the summer window and made his debut a couple of weeks later as a substitute in the Champions League opener against Villarreal but then suffered a dead leg in training that forced him to miss five games. Maybe that was an early sign this relationship was going to be tricky.

The majority of Kolo Muani’s 12 league starts for Spurs have come either at the tip of a 4-2-3-1 formation or on the left in support of Richarlison.

Frank experimented with personnel and the team’s shape a lot, which meant it was difficult for any of the attacking players to find consistent form.

Until he suffered a groin injury in January, £55million ($74.5m at the current rate) summer signing Mohammed Kudus’ position as the first-choice right-winger was secure, but the manager kept switching between Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert for the other positions behind a central striker.

Spurs never played to Kolo Muani’s strengths during the Dane’s brief reign.

He has only taken 11 shots in the Premier League, and registered an xG figure of 1.33. He has 1,028 minutes of top-flight game time for the north London side in total across 18 appearances.

Tottenham’s club-record signing Dominic Solanke, who returned from an August ankle injury a month ago, has only played 408 minutes in seven league outings but managed to take nine shots and score twice from an xG of 1.21. The England international tends to be more involved in the build-up play than the Frenchman, but it is not good enough that the latter has barely been presented with any high-quality chances by his team-mates.

Kolo Muani is capable of scoring a variety of goals.

Those three strikes against Frankfurt and PSG came from him reacting quickly around the six-yard box to pounce on a loose ball, while during his time in Turin last season he displayed a trademark move which Spurs fans have rarely seen him attempt.

Kolo Muani’s biggest assets are his speed and ability to carry under pressure. He excelled in Tudor’s 3-4-2-1 system at Juventus because it was built around moving the ball quickly. Whether it was Francisco Conceicao, Nicolas Gonzalez or Kenan Yildiz playing behind him, they knew to release the ball into space for Kolo Muani to chase, so he could drive at back-pedalling and off-balance defenders.

He scored twice in a 5-0 stroll past Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the group stage of the World Cup, and should have had a hat-trick. Here, he latches onto a simple long ball from Khephren Thuram for his second goal.

And here, in the 66th minute, Kolo Muani accelerates away from Al Ain’s disjointed defensive line but sees his attempt at a chipped finish saved by Rui Patricio. He had intelligently curved his run and moved across the defenders when they were too busy concentrating on Conceicao as he dribbled upfield.

There are lots of other examples of Kolo Muani tearing through teams with his pace.

He overtakes Antonio Rudiger and Aurelien Tchouameni in this next set of images but his chip over Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois lands on the roof of the net.

It is difficult to recall many occasions when he has been presented with similar opportunities during his time with Spurs, apart from last month’s 2-0 Champions League home win against Borussia Dortmund, when he should have shown more composure.

Tudor and his coaching staff need to maximise Kolo Muani’s threat on the counter.

Spurs released a video interview with Tudor on Tuesday, and there were a couple of lines in it which will give supporters a small dose of optimism.

The Croatian said “there is no time to find excuses”, which might sound like an obvious thing to say but fans became frustrated by Frank’s attempts to justify poor performances. Tudor added “I like to be positive” and “I like to play offensive football”, which will both be a relief ahead of his debut in the north London derby at home to league leaders Arsenal on Sunday. The last time these clubs met, in November, Spurs only registered an xG number of 0.03 in a 4-1 defeat.

The most interesting thing Tudor spoke about was in relation to injuries.

With Odobert joining Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski on the treatment table, Tudor does not have a natural right-winger. During his spells in charge of Marseille, Lazio and Juventus, he rarely moved away from playing a back three. However, Cristian Romero has only served one game of a four-match ban, while Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro are recovering from injury. There is a small pool of defenders to pick from.

“We need to find the best system that suits the players that are available at this moment,” Tudor said.

This suggests he is considering different formations.

Tudor’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system could work but would involve dropping midfielder Joao Palhinha in alongside Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin at centre-back. Djed Spence and Archie Gray could play as wing-backs with some combination of Solanke, Kolo Muani, Tel and Simons as the three up front. Frank already used a version of this towards the end of his reign. The problem is, one more injury would topple this whole plan.

Another option is a back four and two central strikers, with Simons roaming behind them. Solanke’s ability to drop deep could be beneficial for Kolo Muani by drawing defenders out of position and creating more space for the latter to run into.

They have only started once together so far — the 2-2 draw with visitors Manchester City earlier this month. Frank was unable to develop them as an effective combination due to Solanke’s injury struggles. Tudor could now benefit from having both available and desperate to prove they should play at the World Cup for their respective countries.

Kolo Muani scored with each of his first three shots for Juventus, though one of them was a freakish deflection. It is a level of efficiency Spurs are desperate for him to replicate in their final 12 games of the season as they seek to push clear of the relegation places.

In Tudor, they have arguably the perfect manager to unlock his talents.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) has accused the club of selectively omitting key points from the minutes of their latest meeting.

THST met with four representatives of the club, including chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and chief communications officer Kate Miller, on February 3 — eight days before head coach Thomas Frank was sacked.

THST claimed that “a number of specific points raised during the meeting” were not included in the final, publicly-available minutes — including fans’ concerns “at the risk of relegation” and the club’s “lack of ambition”.

“As a democratic supporters’ organisation elected to represent fans’ views, we believe it is vital that supporters can see what issues are being raised with the club, how those issues are being discussed and what responses are being given,” THST said in a statement, accompanying the publication of the minutes.

“Publishing a full record of the points raised helps ensure accountability and allows members, and the wider fan base, to understand how the Trust is fulfilling its role on their behalf. Transparency is integral to our role and in our dealings with the club.”

Among the sections that THST said it had asked to be included but were not accepted by the club was a paragraph in which the Trust relayed supporters’ fears over Spurs’ “current position and direction”.

It read: “The team is not winning, and change is not visible. Having watched just four home league wins in a year, this anxiety and pessimism is not surprising. Fans are genuinely concerned at the risk of relegation. The belief generated by the Europa League win has now been lost. Fans are concerned at a perceived lack of ambition and at results, performances and the failure to strengthen the team despite injuries to key first team players.”

THST claimed seven other sections which it had asked to be included were also left out by the club, including the Trust’s concerns about the use of young players and supporters’ desire for “a style of play that transcended as a ‘golden thread’ from the youth system right through to the men’s first team”.

Tottenham declined to comment, but sources close to the club, not authorised to speak publicly, indicated that they were asked for a narrative account of the meeting but chose to stick to a more procedural version of the minutes.

A THST source disputed this version of events, and said the Trust only agreed to publication of the minutes in the club’s preferred format on the basis that it would also publish the amendments which were omitted.

Venkatesham has been given overall responsibility for matters on and off the pitch since executive chairman Daniel Levy was sacked by the majority shareholding Lewis family in September.

THST and the club have an agreement to meet twice a year to discuss supporter experiences and concerns.

Frank was dismissed as Spurs head coach on February 11 and has been succeed by Igor Tudor on an interim basis until the end of the season.

Spurs are 16th in the table, five points above the bottom three, ahead of their next fixture against league leaders Arsenal on Sunday.

The fallout from Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to sack Thomas Frank has dragged into a second week.

After contacting Robbie Keane and informally approaching Edin Terzic and Marco Rose about the vacancy, Igor Tudor was announced as Frank’s replacement over the weekend. The 47-year-old Croatian, previously in charge at Marseille, Lazio and Juventus, among others, will take charge on an interim basis until the end of the season.

However, there were still a few issues to resolve with the rest of the coaching staff. Would Tudor be allowed to bring in his own team of assistants, or be forced to work with the carryovers from Frank’s regime?

Negotiations with Brentford over hiring Frank last summer were complicated by how many of his colleagues he wanted to bring with him. Spurs paid Brentford £6.7million to hire the Dane, but that figure rises when you include the appointments of assistant coach Justin Cochrane, head of performance Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton. Medical lead Nick Stubbings, head of strength and conditioning Tom Perryman and nutritionist Ted Munson worked under Frank at Brentford, too.

Andreas Georgson left Manchester United last summer to move to Spurs and he has a long-term connection to Frank, having been in charge of his Brentford side’s set-piece routines during the 2019-20 season, when they finished third in the Championship then lost the play-off final to Fulham.

Frank’s backroom staff was completed by first-team assistant coach Matt Wells, goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte, individual development coach (IDP) Cameron Campbell, first-team/academy transition coach Stuart Lewis and assistant goalkeeping coach Dean Brill. In an interview which was published on the club’s website at the time, Frank revealed he requested the newly-created role of an IDP coach, along with sporting director Johan Lange.

Wells was the only member of Ange Postecoglou’s first-team staff to stick around when the Australian was fired at the end of last season, while Lewis and Brill were promoted from the academy. Frank’s assistants were a blend of people who had worked with him for a long time, had experience of European competition or had a long-term connection to Spurs.

On Monday, The Athletic reported that Cochrane, Haslam and Newton had followed Frank out of the exit door, along with John Heitinga. The latter only joined the club in the middle of January. Heitinga, who was one of Arne Slot’s assistants when Liverpool won the Premier League last season, departed only 33 days after he was appointed as a first-team assistant coach. It is a farcical situation which highlights the mess Tottenham now find themselves in.

It makes sense that Cochrane, Haslam and Newton have gone, because of how close they were to Frank. It is a particular shame that things did not work out with Cochrane, who will now fully focus on his role assisting England head coach Thomas Tuchel at this summer’s World Cup. Cochrane had spent time working in Tottenham’s academy earlier in his career and the move across London from Brentford was supposed to be a grand homecoming that reunited him with Wells, a colleague in those days, though the latter left the staff in December to become head coach of MLS side Colorado Rapids.

Tudor has been allowed to bring in a few familiar faces to support him. Ivan Javorcic will be his assistant, Riccardo Ragnacci is the new physical coach and Tomislav Rogic will work with the goalkeepers.

Rogic is arguably Tudor’s most trusted lieutenant. They have known each other since 2014, when Rogic briefly worked under Tudor in what was the latter’s first crack at management in their homeland with Hajduk Split. Rogic gained further experience at Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit in Russia, Club Brugge of Belgium, India’s national team and China’s Shanghai Port before he was reunited with Tudor two years ago at Lazio and then joined him at Juventus.

Ragnacci has also worked with Tudor on a couple of occasions.

They first crossed paths during 2021-22, when Tudor led Hellas Verona to a ninth-placed finish in Serie A. Tudor left the club that summer and went to Marseille but Ragnacci stayed on for another 12 months. He spent a season each at Lecce and Empoli before the pair were reunited at Juventus last year. Tudor had replaced Thiago Motta as head coach in the March on an interim basis and was handed the role permanently after qualifying the Turin club for the Champions League — they finished fourth, a point ahead of Roma. Ragnacci joined his coaching staff in July but left three months later when Tudor was fired.

Javorcic represented Brescia during his playing career and had a spell with Atalanta as well as Italian lower-league sides Crotone, Treviso, Arezzo and Pizzighettone. He had a brief spell in charge of Venezia in 2022 and became countryman Tudor’s assistant at Lazio two years later. Tudor replaced former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri as head coach in March 2024 and won five of his nine league games in charge. Lazio qualified for the Europa League by finishing seventh but Tudor left that summer due to a dispute with the club’s owner and sporting director. Rogic and Javorcic both followed him to Juventus early last year.

On paper, it seems like a messy situation.

Tudor’s backroom staff is now a wild mix which includes people loyal to Frank, or who he recommended to Spurs. He needs to find a way to quickly forge a tight-knit unit with everybody on board as Tottenham try to stave off relegation. The risk with these situations is that Tudor only trusts his long-term associates and the other coaches are left feeling excluded or unable to have an input on tactics and team selection.

Pay close attention to the dynamic between the goalkeeping coaches, Otte and Rogic.

Otte has previously worked with the United States’ men’s national team (USMNT), Burnley, Borussia Monchengladbach and Liverpool. Retaining him suggests Spurs want Otte to be part of the long-term coaching staff regardless of what happens with Tudor over the next three months. Yet we are in a situation where he, Rogic and Brill will be responsible for only three senior goalkeepers. And how will first-choice Guglielmo Vicario react if newcomer Rogic asks him to do something completely different to what was expected under Frank? It will be slightly awkward undermining Otte’s previous instructions right in front of the guy.

It will be interesting to see how all the players react, really.

The majority of this squad will be working under their third head coach in less than a year. They are constantly being asked to adapt to different formations and styles of play. Tottenham’s next game is a home north London derby against arch-rivals and Premier League leaders Arsenal. Tudor probably does not have enough time with the squad before that match on Sunday. Spurs are also grappling with an injury crisis for the second season in a row, which gives Tudor a limited group of players to pick from.

Based on his previous jobs, the Croatian prefers to use a 3-4-2-1 system, but centre-back and captain Cristian Romero has only served one game of a four-match suspension while first-choice full-backs Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro are both injured, massively restricting his defensive options.

Research has shown that footballers are more susceptible to injuries after a coaching change, due to the new tactical demands placed on them. Tudor and his staff have to try to strike a delicate balance between injecting more energy and intensity into the team’s performance without overloading individuals.

It is an imperfect and disjointed coaching staff, but all that matters is they pick up enough points over the remaining 12 games to propel 16th-placed Spurs away from the relegation zone.

Welcome to Row Z, The Athletic’s weekly column that shines a light on the bonkers side of the game.

From clubs to managers, players to organisations, every week we’ll bring you the absurdities, the greed, the contradictions, the preposterousness and the oddities of the sport we all love…

Sir Jim is sorry… if you didn’t like what he said

It’s a common theme in English football parlance that supporters and the media “want to hear more” from their owners.

Full credit to Manchester United’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe, then, for making everyone want to hear less from him. Much less.

Row Z was beyond shocked to hear that the 73-year-old white, male billionaire who doesn’t live in the UK had less-than-sympathetic views about the country taking in immigrants — you know, those people who might be fleeing war or persecution and attempting to find a better life in the UK.

It’s just so out of keeping with Ratcliffe’s character, what with him cancelling staff Christmas parties, ordering people to work in the office instead of at home, cutting staff bonuses, swapping staff lunches for a piece of fruit, making 450 people redundant, turfing the women’s team out of their own training ground building and choosing to watch a Premier League match instead of the women’s FA Cup final (which United won for the first time) and, when asked about progress of the women’s team, said: “There’s only so much that you can do… if not, you get spread too thinly.”

He’s just a people person.

“I mean, the UK has been colonised, it’s costing too much money,” Ratcliffe told the world in a Sky News interview last week while also claiming the country’s population had increased by 12million in the past six years (it’s 2.7m). “The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it?”

The list of those either condemning or distancing themselves from Ratcliffe’s comments included the UK prime minister, the mayor of Manchester, numerous Manchester United supporter groups, anti-discrimination campaign group Kick It Out and England rugby union captain Maro Itoje. Oh, and Manchester United themselves, who released this statement that named no names: “Manchester United prides itself on being an inclusive and welcoming club. Our diverse group of players, staff and global community of supporters reflect the history and heritage of Manchester, a city that anyone can call home.”

One person not on the above list is Nigel Farage, the leader of UK political party Reform. It’s always good to be on the right side of the argument, isn’t it?

To be fair to Ratcliffe, he later said he was sorry if people didn’t like what he said. Nice one.

We’ve yet to hear from any of Manchester United’s foreign players on the comments (not that it is on them to respond, nor should we blame them if they keep their counsel), but far more pertinent would be a penny for the thoughts of England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, for example, whose parents both migrated to England from Ghana.

How about defender Ayden Heaven, who also has Ghanaian heritage? Further afield, Leny Yoro was born in France and is of Ivorian descent, Joshua Zirkeee was born in the Netherlands to a Nigerian mother, Tyrell Malacia was born in the Netherlands and has a Curacaoan background, while Patrick Dorgu was born in Denmark but his family’s roots are in Nigeria.

Even Manchester United’s other owners, the Glazer family, came to America via grandparents who were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants.

Is it annoying when someone from a foreign land moves to your country? Well, let’s ask the residents of Monaco, who kindly took Ratcliffe in when he moved there in 2020. Monaco, completely coincidentally, doesn’t collect personal income tax or capital gains taxes. What a guy.

A short-lived Tudor time?

So it turns out Tottenham Hotspur, or Tottenham as they just love being called, had a plan all along when finally sacking Thomas Frank, who leaves the club with the worst win percentage of any permanent Spurs manager.

In hiring renowned (sort of) firefighter Igor Tudor purely for three months to keep them in the Premier League, Spurs have essentially called on the Croatian Sam Allardyce.

A club statement announcing Tudor’s appointment left out some crucial details about his career, though, which Row Z has helpfully amended in brackets for your delectation.

After spells with a range of clubs including Galatasaray (sacked after 10 months), Udinese (sacked after eight months), Hajduk Split (resigned after seven months) and Hellas Verona (left by mutual consent after eight months), Igor led Marseille to a third-place Ligue 1 finish in 2022-23, securing Champions League qualification (and left immediately after doing so).

In March 2024, he joined Lazio, delivering a strong finish to their Serie A campaign to secure Europa League qualification (and resigned immediately afterwards), and most recently at Juventus, guided them to the Champions League having arrived in March 2025 (sacked after seven months).

To be fair, it’s only a three-month appointment and Tudor achieved several objectives at said clubs, so Spurs (who were ninth in the most recent Deloitte money league with revenues of £584million, $796m) should be fine as they look to finish higher than last year’s effort of 17th.

At the very least, Tudor’s arrival has headline writers and pun purveyors delighted.

Talking of managers who might not hang around long…

Since we’re thinking about managerial statements, Nottingham Forest published 229 words of gushing praise when hiring Sean Dyche the other day.

It was October 29 when the club eagerly highlighted “the former Forest youth player” in the second paragraph, plus noting his “experienced coaching team”, comprising two club legends (Ian Woan and Steve Stone).

The joyous statement talked of the “respected and experienced” Dyche’s “perfect blend of character, tactical acumen and proven achievement”, with the teams he had managed “defined by defensive organisation, resilience, and strength from set pieces”.

“As a former Forest youth player who lives locally, Dyche also has a deep understanding of the values and pride of Forest and its supporters,” the club added, before, for the second time, specfically referencing his character and tactical acumen, as well as his man-management skills, with all of the above representing the “best opportunity” for a successful season.

February 12 at 12.31am: “Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach.

“We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the club and we wish them the best of luck for the future. We will be making no further comment at this time.”

Forest had given Nuno Espirito Santo — you know, that guy who led them to their best finish in 30 years — a new contract in the summer. Obviously that didn’t last long, then they hired Ange Postecoglou, then Dyche, with those three contracts totalling six and a half years. Between them, the trio lasted seven months.

John Heitinga has left his role as Tottenham Hotspur’s assistant coach 33 days after being appointed.

Thomas Frank was sacked as head coach last week, eight months into a three-year contract. Former Juventus head coach Igor Tudor has replaced Frank on an interim basis until the end of the season.

Heitinga opted to leave the club as he did not wish to remain part of the new coaching structure under Tudor.

Tudor’s first official day in the role was Monday and his backroom staff has taken shape. The 47-year-old will be supported by assistant coach Ivan Javorcic, physical coach Riccardo Ragnacci and goalkeeping coach Tomislav Rogic. Both coaches worked under Tudor during his spell at Juventus last year.

There has been further change as Heitinga has left Spurs along with fellow assistant coaches Justin Cochrane and Chris Haslam. Cochrane and Haslam followed Frank when he left Brentford to join Spurs last summer. Cochrane had previously worked in Tottenham’s academy. The 44-year-old is also a member of Thomas Tuchel’s backroom staff and will support England’s head coach at this summer’s World Cup.

Set-piece coach Andreas Georgson and individual development coach (IDP) Cameron Campbell, who were appointed in the summer following Frank’s arrival, are set to stay. Goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte is expected to remain despite the arrival of Rogic.

New Year, new managers.

Chelsea kicked things off when they sacked Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day, before Manchester United parted company with Ruben Amorim four days later.

Now, after a pair of February firings this week, there have been four Premier League sackings already in 2026, the most ever seen across the first two months of a calendar year.

Tottenham Hotspur reignited the sacking spree when they dismissed Thomas Frank on Wednesday, while Nottingham Forest relieved Sean Dyche of his duties less than 24 hours later, releasing a statement in the early hours of Thursday following their 0-0 draw at home to last-place-by-a-mile Wolverhampton Wanderers the previous evening.

Both Tottenham and Forest have a turbulent history of mid-season managerial upheaval.

Of the 188 mid-season sackings (a figure that excludes managers who left their role voluntarily) in the 34-year Premier League era, Tottenham account for 14, more than any other club. They have now appointed former Juventus head coach Igor Tudor until the end of the season.

Forest, who have featured in 25 fewer Premier League seasons than Tottenham, have the highest dismissal rate, sacking a manager on average every 56.3 matches. Owner Evangelos Marinakis appointed Vitor Pereira on Sunday, making this the first time a Premier League club has employed four ‘permanent’ managers in the same season. Pereira was himself a casualty earlier this season, dismissed by Wolves in November.

Dyche’s draw against Wolves, despite Forest managing 35 shots in the match, proved his undoing. This is only the second time a Premier League manager has been dismissed having faced the men from Molineux in his final match. The other was Nathan Jones, sacked by Southampton this month three years ago after a 2-1 defeat, lasting just 94 days in the job.

But which sides do Premier League managers most often face before the axe falls?

Liverpool lead the way here, with 13 bosses dismissed in the aftermath of an encounter with the Merseyside club.

They delivered the final blow to Jose Mourinho’s reign at Manchester United, winning 3-1 at Anfield in December 2018. Scott Parker, now in charge of Burnley, was sacked by Bournemouth after a 9-0 defeat at Liverpool in August 2022. It remains the heaviest defeat preceding a Premier League dismissal.

Liverpool have also been in the front row for the final curtain of three Fulham managers: Jean Tigana (2002-03), Rene Meulensteen (2013-14), and Slavisa Jokanovic (2018-19). The only other instance of a club sacking three managers after the same opponent involves Crystal Palace, with Steve Coppell, Alan Pardew and Roy Hodgson all dismissed after facing Chelsea.

As two of the six ever-present Premier League clubs since it began play in 1992, it is little surprise that Liverpool and Chelsea rank towards the top of this list, having had more opportunities to face under-pressure managers.

Adjusted for games played, the list takes on a distinctly lower-mid-table feel, topped by Wigan Athletic, who spent much of their eight Premier League seasons treading water before finally succumbing to relegation in 2012-13.

They ushered five Premier League managers to their exits, with the most memorable dismissal arriving in the wake of the greatest moment in the club’s history. Wigan’s 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the 2012-13 FA Cup final was such a seismic upset that it fast-tracked the dismissal of Roberto Mancini, who was sacked two days later.

Among the current crop of Premier League sides, Bournemouth sit highest, with an opposition manager departing once every 82.5 games — most recently Maresca, who left two days after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with them.

They are fifth in the all-time per-game list, but over the past four years, there has been one golden rule for beleaguered managers: do not lose to West Ham United. Bruno Lage (Wolves) in 2022, Frank Lampard (Everton) in 2023, Erik ten Hag (Manchester United) in 2024, and Nuno Espirito Santo (Forest) in 2025 were all sacked after a defeat against the east London side.

Their 3-0 defeat by visitors West Ham in August brought a familiar and ominous sight for Forest managers: a visibly disgruntled Marinakis glowering down from the directors’ box at the City Ground.

Marinakis’ four Forest sackings have all followed losses at home, and he rarely allows his temper to cool, dismissing three of those managers within 24 hours of the match ending. Only Nuno was afforded a longer reprieve, with Marinakis waiting just over a week before dismissing him during the September international break.

Turgid home performances in front of your own fans rarely help a manager’s case, and the toxic atmosphere that greeted Frank after Tottenham’s 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United last Tuesday night made his position untenable. But it is away matches that account for a slight majority of dismissals, at 53 per cent.

There is minor evidence that managers are granted more clemency on their travels. The most common scoreline preceding a sacking after an away defeat is 3-0, compared to 2-1 at home, suggesting that a slender loss on the road is punished less regularly.

In rare cases, not even victory is enough to mask the wider malaise that has placed a manager on the chopping block. Twelve have been sacked after a win, most recently Daniel Farke, now in charge of Leeds United, who was dismissed by Norwich City in November 2021 with the club bottom of the Premier League, despite beating Brentford 2-1 away hours earlier.

The decision to sack a manager rarely hinges on a single game, but there are telltale signs when a match is a must-win. The least subtle example came in David Moyes’ final game as Manchester United manager in April 2013: a 2-0 defeat at Everton, accompanied by a memorable image of a fan in the stands near the dugouts dressed as the Grim Reaper, brandishing an inflatable scythe.

Job security for a Premier League manager grows more precarious by the season. The eight sacked so far in 2025-26 lasted an average of 319 days in charge, the shortest tenure of any single campaign’s cohort of dismissed bosses.

The margins for error are shrinking rapidly.

Igor Tudor knows better than to think he is your first choice. It is the story of his coaching career. In 12 jobs, he has only been hired at the start of the season three times. His reputation is like that of The Wolf in Pulp Fiction. If you’re hiring Tudor, it’s because someone’s in a panic and there’s a bloody mess to clean up.

Udinese were on a 10-game losing streak in April 2018. They were sliding towards relegation for the first time in almost a quarter of a century. Luigi Delneri got the sack. Massimo Oddo couldn’t revive them. Udinese were flat-lining. Tudor found a pulse. They had four games left. The first one was dramatic. Udinese were seconds away from beating Benevento, only for Bacary Sagna to score an equaliser for Roberto De Zerbi’s team in a dramatic 3-3 draw. But they Udinese beat Verona and Bologna by 1-0, and Tudor was their saviour.

The Croat left, only to return a year later. Udinese had not learned their lesson. They needed him again. A point was all that kept them out of the relegation zone. Not even Davide Nicola, the coach best known for rescuing Serie A teams in times of trouble, managed to shock Udinese back to life. Only Tudor could do that. Udinese took points off the Milan clubs, beat the teams around them and ended in 12th, their joint-highest finish in the past 13 years.

In the interim, Tudor has tried to shrug off the stereotypes and step out of the pigeonholes. Italy has a tendency to place coaches in categories. He was, for a long time, portrayed as an escape artist like Nicola and Davide Ballardini. A Harry Houdini figure from Split. To leave it behind, Tudor did something unexpected. When Juventus fired Maurizio Sarri in 2020 and promoted Andrea Pirlo, Tudor was invited to become his assistant.

Not many head coaches accept becoming a No 2. But this was Juventus, the club Tudor served as a sharp-elbowed centre-back for the best part of a decade. Pirlo had never coached before. He’d been hired, initially, to take charge of the under-23s. Il Maestro lacked experience. Tudor, by contrast, didn’t and Juventus’ executive team, which included Fabio Paratici, later of Tottenham Hotspur, thought he might be able to lend a hand.

While Juventus’ nine-year title-winning streak ended that season, they played a modern hybrid style of football with Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski (the pair made more than 40 appearances each and Radu Dragusin played four times), beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou and winning the Coppa Italia. Since that season, Juventus have not bettered the 78 points they racked up in the league. Some thought Pirlo deserved more time. He was fired after only one season.

But Pirlo’s career since at Fatih Karagumruk in Turkey, then Sampdoria in Italy’s second division, and now Dubai United has raised questions: how much of that season at Juventus was down to him and the presence of players such as Cristiano Ronaldo? And how much of it was down to his assistants, Tudor and Antonio Gagliardi?

A partial answer came when Tudor stepped in for Eusebio Di Francesco at Hella Verona in September 2021. They had lost every game and, as happens every year since they were last promoted, pundits had taken one look at Verona’s squad and predicted relegation. Tudor instead made them a revelation. It was their best season in years, a ninth-place finish, 53 points.

Verona’s attack was the joint-fourth best in the league in Tudor’s time. Diego Simeone’s son, Giovanni, scored 17 times, his best goalscoring season, and got a move to Napoli soon afterwards. Other players’ careers were launched by Tudor, as was his own.

The same executives who picked De Zerbi to coach Marseille picked him. Only once in the past eight years had Marseille collected more points than under Tudor. He was not made to feel welcome.

“What Igor went through, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” Marseille president Pablo Longoria reflected in Le Provence. “He found himself in a club where everyone was against him: inside and outside. Fans were whipping up tension against him. They were calling for Jorge Sampaoli to come back, others asked for power to be given to the players. There were calls to fan groups to get rid of the coach. When I returned to Marseille, the pre-season was like the 37th round of the league, where you’re playing for your life. That’s not normal. And again, I didn’t see the situation coming.”

Whistled from the start of his Marseille career, Tudor silenced the sceptics in an atmosphere far more hostile than the one awaiting him in north London. His first defeat actually came against Tottenham in the Champions League group stage, when the team was undone by a Chancel Mbemba red card and a couple of Richarlison second-half goals. In Ligue 1, Marseille didn’t lose until October. After a sticky patch, they then went on a long winning streak into the New Year. The boos turned to cheers, as Marseille knocked PSG out of the Coupe de France and qualified for the Champions League again.

Tudor then left of his own accord, citing personal reasons. “Working at Marseille is like working at another club for two or three years,” he said. Exhausting. De Zerbi would probably agree.

The experience at the Velodrome encouraged clubs of similar stature to reach out to Tudor. When Sarri quit as Lazio coach in March 2024, Tudor’s first game featured a stoppage-time winner against Juventus. It was another reminder to his old club of what he could do after being on staff the last time they won something and having caused an upset with Verona too.

Although Juventus took their revenge, winning 3-2 on aggregate, in the Coppa Italia semi-finals (as Arkadiusz Milik broke Lazio hearts with an 83rd-minute second-leg goal), he did very well. Sure, Roma got the better of them in the derby, but that 1-0 defeat was the only loss Lazio suffered in the nine league games Tudor oversaw. They climbed from ninth to seventh, as Napoli collapsed, and qualified for the Europa League. Tudor then walked, again of his own accord. His vision for the club was incompatible with that of the owner and sporting director.

Tudor thought Lazio’s squad desperately needed overhauling. He wanted to keep Daichi Kamada, who left for Crystal Palace. “He asked us to change eight players,” Lazio owner Claudio Lotito said. “That was too many for a group we consider to be up to the task. But he left like a decent person. I want to make that clear.”

Clubs come to Tudor when they’re on a cliff edge. He is not afraid to stare into the abyss. He won’t allow it consume him. Instead of asking him to stop teams falling out of the league, his recent briefs, Tottenham aside, have been about preventing teams from spiralling out of the lucrative European places.

A year ago, Juventus broke glass and pushed the emergency button. Heavy 4-0 and 3-0 defeats against Atalanta and Fiorentina damaged Thiago Motta so badly that the next big thing in Italian coaching was out of a job after just seven months.

Juventus were fifth at the time but the momentum was with the teams around them. Bologna, for instance, were looking better without Motta under Vincenzo Italiano and were about to win their first trophy in more than 50 years. Roma were resurgent under Claudio Ranieri and Lazio looked good under Tudor’s replacement, Marco Baroni. All in all, there were four teams within four points of one another battling for one spot. Juventus claimed it, losing only one of Tudor’s nine league games at the helm.

It went down to a tense final day in Venice, where Juventus went behind, got in front, lost the lead again and then won late. Qualification for the Champions League rolled his contract over. Juventus had a get-out. But their participation in the Club World Cup neared on the horizon and Damian Comolli, another ex-Tottenham employee, had only recently replaced the sacked Cristiano Giuntoli, becoming general manager and later chief executive.

Sticking with Tudor was, in some respects, a little underwhelming but given how steeped he is in Juventus’ DNA, it was not viewed unfavourably either. The Club World Cup was an opportunity for him to get to know the team even better and to, quite unexpectedly, have an audience with Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

Juventus started the season taking nine points from nine. The 4-3 in the Derby d’Italia against rivals Inter and a 4-4 draw against Dortmund in the Champions League were spectacular. But the team was overperforming its expected goals (xG), suggesting their form might not be sustainable. Kenan Yildiz, the team’s star playmaker, could not pull a rabbit out of the hat every game. Gleison Bremer, the club’s best defender, went down with a torn left meniscus and the strikers stopped scoring.

Tudor railed against refereeing decisions. He got angry with the fixture computer for piling games against Inter, Dortmund, Verona, Atalanta, Villarreal, Milan, Como, Real Madrid and his final game against Lazio one on top of the other.

Eight games without a win persuaded Comolli, who had not hired him in the first place, and the rest of the executive team that a change was needed. The cover of Luciano Spalletti’s book, which Tudor was reading in his office, showed his replacement.

The 47-year-old departed believing he could have turned it around. The calendar was softening up, after all. But he wanted more from Juventus’ senior players. It was a young group in need of leadership, expensively and poorly assembled by Giuntoli.

The new structure of the club was still taking shape and financial fair play rules limited what Juventus could do in the summer. They were, for instance, unable to make Randal Kolo Muani’s signing from PSG permanent. He moved to Tottenham on loan instead. Kolo Muani scored five goals in 11 games under Tudor. That’s five more than he’s mustered for Tottenham in 18 Premier League appearances.

Make no mistake, Tudor is ready for the Spurs job. He has saved clubs in worse positions with worse players and less time available. He has withstood the kind of hostility in Marseille you’ll never find in England and proven fans wrong. He has been around big-name players in each of his spells at Juventus, from Zinedine Zidane to Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Alessandro Del Piero used to get mad if we lost a game in training,” Tudor told DAZN in August. “That was the famous Juventus way. I’m the same in life. It’s about talking in facts and leading by example. I’m a man of few words and don’t turn the other cheek when someone is out of line. You have to always be on it in training because that way the game itself is easier.”

It’s the mentality Paratici tried to impose at Tottenham, only to acknowledge Tottenham has its own mentality, its own DNA. Tudor has been dealt as challenging a start to his interim role as the one he faced at Lazio. Injuries are bad, too, and he will perhaps have to adapt the 3-4-2-1 he has used since his days at Verona to fit the players available to him.

At Juventus, the motto is “winning isn’t important, it’s the only thing that counts”. How Tottenham win football games between now and the end of the season doesn’t matter. They have to win, whatever it takes. And Tottenham have decided, not without justification, that it takes Igor Tudor.

Tottenham Hotspur could face a battle to keep hold of Lucas Bergvall this summer after being forced to rebuff enquiries from rival teams in the winter transfer market.

Bergvall’s first season at Spurs saw him occupy a key role under then-boss Ange Postecoglou and named the club’s player of the year after helping them win the Europa League.

Postecoglou’s replacement as head coach, Thomas Frank, used the Sweden international less frequently and often out wide, rather than the central midfield position he favours and tends operate most effectively.

His situation alerted suitors in England and further afield, with Chelsea and Aston Villa among the 20-year-old’s long-term admirers.

Both sides made direct contact with Spurs to establish whether a potential opportunity existed, but it was made clear they currently do not intend to consider his departure and the matter advanced no further.

Villa’s check call followed Spurs pipping them to the signing of Conor Gallagher and Chelsea’s came around the time they were also evaluating a deal for Douglas Luiz, who ultimately joined Villa.

Bergvall moved to north London from Djurgarden in June 2024 and signed a new contract 12 months later, which secured his services through until the summer of 2031.

He is sidelined at present after suffering an ankle injury against Borussia Dortmund last month.