The New York Times

Under normal circumstances, equalising in the 89th minute of an away game in the Champions League would prompt wild celebrations, but Tottenham Hotspur’s players and coaching staff were subdued after their 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday evening.

Glimt produced a frenetic firework display before kick-off, which was soundtracked by AC/DC’s 1990 hit single Thunderstruck, and it served as a complete contrast to Spurs’ performance.

Five months ago, under then head coach Ange Postecoglou, Spurs beat Glimt 2-0 in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final to secure a 5-1 victory on aggregate. Glimt had 69 per cent possession but, according to data from Fbref, only registered an xG of 0.5. It was a rare, disciplined display from Spurs, who lost 22 games in the Premier League last season and conceded 65 goals.

Spurs have improved defensively under Thomas Frank, who replaced Postecoglou in June, but they were dreadful on their return to Norway. Possession was split fairly evenly, but Glimt recorded 18 shots and an xG of 2.5, according to Fbref. Frank’s side took eight shots and, not for the first time this season, mainly threatened from set-pieces. They escaped with a point thanks to a combination of poor finishing from Glimt’s strikers and a slightly bizarre own goal by Jostein Gundersen.

After a bright start under Frank, Spurs seem to be slowing down. This was the third time in the last four games that they have conceded first and equalised after the 80th minute. You are allowed to be excited and proud on the first occasion that you pull off an unlikely comeback. By the third time, you should be worrying that it is part of an unhealthy and unsustainable pattern.

Tottenham’s best performances under Frank have been the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain and last month’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad. He came up with a specific plan for both opponents, which the players executed superbly. This squad seems to find it a lot more difficult when they are expected to be the protagonists and dominate the ball against lower-quality opposition.

This is partially because they are missing their first-choice centre-forward, Dominic Solanke, along with creative midfielders Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison due to injury. Xavi Simons looks destined to be the long-term solution in the No 10 role, but Frank keeps using him on the left. They should still have had more than enough firepower to beat their Norwegian opponents.

Mohammed Kudus, Joao Palhinha and Simons dropped to the bench as Brennan Johnson, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert supported Richarlison upfront. Pedro Porro and Johnson wasted possession on the right wing on multiple occasions. In the 26th minute, Odobert dribbled across from the left and linked up nicely with them until Porro’s simple pass for Bergvall went out for a throw-in.

Kevin Danso, who replaced the injured Cristian Romero at centre-back, lost the ball after trying to dribble past Glimt’s forwards, and the move ended with Jens Petter Hauge firing a shot inches past the post. Spurs did not progress the ball with any conviction. They were content to pass it sideways and backwards.

Spurs improved after the introduction of Simons and Kudus in the 60th minute, but this picks at an awkward issue. Frank is excellent at reacting in games and making adjustments to help his side recover. Spurs fans have seen glimpses of this, and it happened during his time in charge of Brentford. For example, when Brentford were losing 2-0 to Leicester City on the opening day of the 2022-23 season, Frank switched to an aggressive 3-4-3 formation and they drew.

But Spurs need to be more proactive and assert their authority. Spurs played the game on Glimt’s terms

Frank admitted that they were slightly surprised by Glimt’s clever midfield rotations, but it was concerning how easily full-back Frederik Andre Bjorkan was allowed to rampage down the left wing. He earned a penalty, which Kasper Hogh missed, by overlapping and being wiped out by Rodrigo Bentancur. Hauge skillfully evaded Porro for both of his goals. Andreas Helmersen hit the bar while Patrick Berg’s stinging effort was saved by Guglielmo Vicario. Spurs did not just play badly against Glimt; they were battered. Micky van de Ven’s reckless tackle on Sondre Aukland straight after Bentancur’s goal had been disallowed hinted at the underlying frustration.

After the game, Frank was asked why Spurs are struggling to control games and have to keep mounting comebacks. “That can be various reasons,” he said. “I think against Wolves we had no problem controlling in the beginning. I think we were by far the best team against Wolves in the first half.

“I think Brighton was a different game. I think also we were by far the best team in the first half. Just conceded one fairly well-played goal, and as we talk about a game, a goal that shouldn’t have been conceded. Today, I felt we struggled in the first half. So I think that’s the only time we struggled in the three games against a very good Bodo team. Up here, a lot of teams will struggle when they play against them here. So it’s just fair play to Bodo.”

Maybe this was an important lesson for Frank about European competition, and Spurs fans should be glad it has happened now. This was his first away game in the Champions League, and he will have a better understanding of the different challenges they can present.

Spurs have still only lost once under their new head coach. They have a newfound resilience and mental fortitude. They have four points from their first two games in the Champions League. The most important outcome is that they grow in confidence and start to click in attack sooner rather than later.

(Top photo: Lise Aserud/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

Just when it seemed defeat was looming, an own goal late in the game earned Tottenham a draw against Bodo/Glimt as Thomas Frank’s team came back from two goals down in Norway.

Though the scoreline would suggest this was a close Champions League tie, Glimt impressed and would have been deserved winners against a below-par Spurs had defender Jostein Gundersen, under pressure from Richarlison, not directed the ball over the line at his near post in the 89th minute.

Sloppy in possession and showing little creativity in attack, Tottenham were fortunate to go into the break on level terms. Only Kasper Hogh will know how he managed to miss his 35th-minute penalty so spectacularly. Rodrigo Bentancur had been penalised for a rash tackle on Fredrik Andre Bjorkan but the hosts, who had enjoyed over 60 per cent possession and had 11 shots to Spurs’ three in the first 45 minutes, were unable to take advantage.

It wasn’t long after the break that Glimt were celebrating after Jens Petter Hauge — who had gone close in the first half — curled a lovely shot into the far corner in the 53rd minute. Bentancur thought he had equalised moments later, only for it to be disallowed as Micky van de Ven was deemed to have fouled Odin Bjortuft in the build-up.

The visitors then lost possession in their own half and Glimt clinically took advantage with hometown hero Hague beating Guglielmo Vicario with a rasping effort in the 66th minute. Tottenham responded positively, halving the deficit through Van de Ven’s header two minutes later, and went close again only for Destiny Udogie’s header to hit the crossbar late on.

The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jay Harris analyse the action.

Why were Tottenham so awful in the first half?

Tottenham allowed Glimt to completely dominate the ball. The first warning sign came in the fourth minute when Pedro Porro took a poor touch and was easily dispossessed by Bjorkan. Glimt’s full-back sidestepped a clumsy tackle from Lucas Bergvall, charged down the left wing and passed it to Patrick Berg, who fired a stinging shot straight at Vicario.

Frank’s side were ponderous in possession. Every time they worked the ball down the right through Bergvall and Brennan Johnson, they ended up passing backwards instead of whipping a cross into the box.

Spurs’ aimlessness was summed up by Glimt’s penalty. Vicario hit a pass long towards Johnson, who ducked out of an aerial challenge with Bjorkan. Glimt attacked down the left wing and Bjorkan charged towards the byline. Bentancur frantically raced across and wiped him out.

Glimt’s fans were buzzing with anticipation, but the pressure clearly overwhelmed Hogh. The striker blazed his spot kick so high over the crossbar it would have flown out of the stadium had it not bounced back off the protective netting.

The visitors did not learn their lesson and a few minutes later, Kevin Danso’s overconfidence led to another good opportunity for Glimt. The Austrian international tried to dribble past multiple players in his own half, lost the ball and left a huge pocket of space. Hauge collected the ball, cut inside on his right foot and fired a shot which just flew past the post.

Spurs lacked creativity, their ball retention was woeful and they were very lucky not to be losing at half-time — but things were about to get worse.

Jay Harris

Do Spurs need more options up front?

Tottenham are relying too much on Richarlison right now.

Dominic Solanke’s ankle injury, which has just been addressed by surgery, means he has not played for more than one month, while Randal Kolo Muani has only been able to make one brief substitute appearance since joining on loan a month ago. This puts too much of a burden on Richarlison, who has now started eight of Spurs’ 10 games this season.

This performance showed how much Richarlison needs some support. He missed a golden chance early on, failing to turn in Bergvall’s cross from close range. He continued to work hard and eventually forced the late equaliser, but Spurs could have done with some different options through the middle here against strong opponents.

Richarlison was brilliant here in May when Spurs sealed their place in the final of the Europa League. He was not at the same level today.

In an ideal world, Frank would be able to rotate between his three number 9s, keeping them all fresh, sharp and hungry. Instead, he is forced to keep playing Richarlison, even when his output is clearly below his best.

He may have to try something different at Leeds United on Saturday, like a turn back to Mathys Tel, who started up front against West Ham and Doncaster Rovers.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

How will this performance be viewed?

Spurs did not learn their lesson during the first half and Frank, surprisingly, refused to make any changes at the break. They were then punished in a chaotic 15-minute spell.

Bjortuft played an incisive pass which cut through Tottenham’s midfield and found Hakon Evjen in space in front of their defence. Evjen passed to Hauge, who tricked Porro far too easily with a simple drop of the shoulder before gliding into the box on his right foot and curling a shot past Vicario.

Spurs thought they had equalised within 60 seconds when Bentancur deflected Johnson’s shot into the net. However, it was ruled out following a VAR review because Van de Ven pulled the shirt of one of Glimt’s defenders from Porro’s initial delivery. Van de Ven was incensed and soon made a reckless tackle on Sondre Auklend, which resulted in a yellow card. The Netherlands international was captain on the night due to Cristian Romero’s absence but it was an erratic response lacking in composure.

Frank sent on Mohammed Kudus and Simons, but the situation did not improve. Simons lost the ball from a free kick and Glimt ripped Spurs open on the counter. Just when the move appeared to have slowed down, a poor pass from Van de Ven to Vicario allowed the home side to reclaim the ball. Hauge found himself one-on-one with Porro again, danced past him, moved the ball onto his left foot and drilled a shot into the bottom corner.

Spurs completely restricted Glimt when these teams faced each other in the Europa League semi-finals in May but it was the opposite story on this occasion. Van de Ven’s consolation barely changed anything in terms of the game. Up until the 89th minute, it looked like Glimt were more likely to score a third than Spurs find an unlikely and undeserved equaliser.

Somehow though, Tottenham pulled it off. Archie Gray strode into the box and his shot deflected off Gundersen into the net. It was such a bizarre goal that VAR took a few minutes to check any potential issues.

Spurs escaped with a point but that will not mask how badly they performed.

Jay Harris

What did Frank say?

The Tottenham head coach said his team showed “big character” to earn a point.

“I think that’s hugely important in any team that they have that and keep running, keep fighting, keep doing the right thing,” he told reporters after the match.

“I felt that we kept doing the right thing, we kept moving the ball, kept reducing the situation from the side and showed great character to come back into the game, which I’m very, very pleased with. But big praise to Bodo. I think until the 2-0 they were the best team. I think after that the game changed a bit and I think we got more on top.

“Of course, I hope we could have done a little bit more first half, got a little bit more into the high pressure in situations. And I would say, especially on the ball, I felt we could and should have kept the ball better in situations.”

What next for Spurs?

Saturday, October 4: Leeds (Away), Premier League, 12.30pm UK, 7.30am ET

(Top photo: Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have ended their relationship with Rothschild & Co, as the Premier League club say they do not need the multinational merchant bank’s financial advice because they are not for sale.

Former Spurs chairman Daniel Levy appointed Rothschild to help find potential external investment in April 2024 and it was still advising Spurs when they were forced to issue a London Stock Exchange statement on September 8 to confirm they had rejected two expressions of interest from Amanda Staveley’s PCP International Finance and Firehawk Holdings.

In that statement, the club’s board and majority shareholder ENIC said Spurs were “not for sale and ENIC has no intention to accept any such offer to acquire its interest in the club”.

However, last week, when Spurs had to issue another statement to say they had “unequivocally rejected” a third informal expression of interest from a group led by American crypto investor Brooklyn Earick, Rothschild was no longer listed as an advisor.

When asked by The Athletic if this meant Rothschild had been sacked, a club spokesperson said: “We’re grateful for the support of Rothschild in recent years.

“However, given the club is not for sale, we mutually agreed there is no longer a role for them and have mutually ended the mandate.”

The spokesperson added that British law firm Dickson Minto will continue to provide independent advice while the club is the subject of takeover speculation, which has stepped up since Levy was sacked on September 4. That ended almost a quarter of a century in charge at the north London club, a tenure that started when ENIC became Spurs’ majority owner in 2001. The British investment firm had bought its first shares in in the club in 1991, before steadily increasing its stake over the next decade.

Founded by British businessman Joe Lewis, ENIC now owns almost 87 per cent of Tottenham’s shares. ENIC itself is controlled by the Lewis and Levy family trusts, with the former controlling just over 70 per cent of the business and the latter owning the rest. This means that the Levy family trust owns about 26 per cent of Spurs.

Under Levy, Spurs built a state-of-the-art stadium and training ground, gained a reputation for being a well-run business and consistently qualified for Europe. But they also hired and fired managers regularly, sold their best players and did not win many trophies.

What does this mean for Spurs?

Rumours about a potential takeover at Spurs have regularly surfaced for several years, with the club repeatedly denying it was on the market, but three approaches for the club have reached the public domain in the last month. This is partly because of the uncertainty caused by Levy’s exit and the fact that Lewis, 88, has kept a low profile since pleading guilty to multiple counts of insider trading in the U.S. in early 2024, but it is also because Spurs are still subject to the UK’s Takeover Code.

Tottenham became the first sports team in the world to be floated on a stock market in 1983, spending the next 18 years on the London Stock Exchange. They then moved to the smaller Alternative Investment Market between 2001 and January 2012, when they were de-listed and taken private.

However, 13 per cent of the shares are still held by approximately 30,000 small shareholders, and it is still possible to trade those shares in auctions held every other month by Asset Match, an online platform. The next auction closes on November 27.

To protect the interests of these small shareholders, any takeover at Spurs will have to follow the same rules as a publicly-listed company, with transparent bids and clear deadlines. This is why Staveley’s PCP had to admit that it did not intend to launch a formal bid for the club and can now not come back to the negotiating table for six months. And Earick, a former DJ and ex-NASA employee, now has until October 24 to announce a firm intention to bid or his group will also have to step back.

Since emerging as a potential bidder, the 41-year-old American has put several posts on social media to counter Spurs’ claim that his interest was unsolicited, as he was given a full tour of the club’s facilities in early August.

However, where his money comes from remains unclear beyond media references to a 12-strong group of American sports investors who are willing to pay £3.3billion for the club, with a further £1.2billion available to upgrade the playing squad. In March, an Earick-led bid to buy Maserati’s Formula E team collapsed at the 11th hour despite him announcing himself as “chairman and CEO” on social media a month earlier.

With Spurs not being advised by a major bank, it is hard to dispute their owners’ claims that they are not for sale. But many sports industry insiders remain convinced that the Lewis family will, at the very least, eventually explore their options, with the advice of at least one multinational financial advisory group.

(Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke will undergo surgery to fix his ankle problem, head coach Thomas Frank said on Monday.

The 28-year-old did not travel to Norway for Spurs’ Champions League fixture against Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday, and has not played for the north London side since their second game of the season against Manchester City.

“Dom has got that ankle issue that’s been bothering him for a little while so now it’s time to make a minor surgery,” Frank said in Monday’s pre-match press conference.

“It’s a small procedure, so that will mean he’s not ready for (tomorrow). We will have more news about timeframes after the international break but I don’t expect it to be long.”

The striker, who joined Tottenham in a £65million deal from Bournemouth in August 2024, sustained an ankle injury in pre-season and missed five of their summer fixtures before returning as a substitute in the Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Solanke then appeared off the bench in Tottenham’s first two matches of the season with Richarlison starting up front.

The north London side bolstered their options at striker on transfer deadline day with the loan signing of France international Randal Kolo Muani from PSG.

(Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Joao Palhinha could not hide his joy, ripping his shirt off in celebration as he ran over towards the fans in the north-east corner of the stadium. He had just rescued a point for Tottenham Hotspur, driving the ball into the far bottom corner of the net from just outside the box. Four of the five added minutes had already gone.

It was the only moment of quality in an utterly miserable second half on Saturday against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the sole glimmer of light in what was otherwise total darkness. Over the course of that half, Tottenham had found themselves tactically manoeuvred, unable to respond to Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira’s switch to a 5-4-1.

Spurs went 1-0 down, never looked like getting back into the game, and were one minute away from what would have been a painful home defeat against the club who are bottom of the league. Palhinha’s goal at least saved them from the ignominy of that.

But just because Tottenham found a way to scrape a point, it does not mean that fans will brush over the obvious flaws in this performance. The weaknesses were there for all to see.

Spurs were clunky and predictable in possession, apart from a spell at the end of the first half when Mohammed Kudus looked too quick and too sharp for the Wolves defence. He had a header palmed onto the bar by Sam Johnstone and a lovely ‘goal’ disallowed for offside.

But in the main, whenever Spurs got the ball, you knew what they were going to do. It would go out to a full-back, down the line to the winger (Kudus on the right or Xavi Simons on the left), they would attempt an overlap and try to get a cross in. At times, it nearly worked, but there was little subtlety to it, nor any surprise. When Pereira changed Wolves’ formation at the break, with Jackson Tchatchoua and Hugo Bueno at wing-back, even that route was shut down. Wolves controlled the game from then on, Spurs offered nothing else until the equaliser.

What will have concerned Tottenham fans is that some of these problems felt predictable.

New head coach Thomas Frank has started well here — Spurs finished the game third in the Premier League, and a win would have put them second — but the weaknesses of this team are as clear as their strengths. Good on set pieces, good defensively, good in wide areas, but lacking in open play and lacking in possession, especially in home games when they have to take the initiative. If Tottenham do not go ahead from a set piece, they do not always look bursting with ideas about what to do next.

It was impossible not to watch this game and think back to the 1-0 home defeat against Bournemouth four weeks ago. That day, Spurs came up against a very clever, ruthless, pressing team and were made to look clueless on the ball. Bournemouth should have won by far more than one goal.

While Bournemouth are clearly a better side than Wolves, you could easily spot some similarities between the two matches, including in the starting midfields that Frank selected. Against Bournemouth, it was Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr. For Wolves, it was Palhinha and Bentancur plus Lucas Bergvall.

With Palhinha and Bentancur sitting in front of their defence, Spurs struggle to progress the ball through the centre of the pitch. It feels as if those two players are there for other reasons: to foil attacks, to keep a structure out of possession, even to attract opponents to create space for team-mates. But it leaves Tottenham unable, or unwilling, to play through the middle.

This is not to criticise Palhinha, who has brought a lot to the team since joining on a season’s loan from Bayern Munich. He is one of the league’s best midfielders against the ball, as he showed in the 2-0 away defeat of Manchester City a month ago. Spurs would not be able to win games like that without him. He can be an exceptional game-manager, as he showed when they held on to beat Villarreal 1-0 last week in the Champions League. He brings a sense of focused protection that this team desperately lacked last season.

But that does not mean that Palhinha is always right for every game. Especially not at home, alongside Bentancur, in a match when Tottenham have to take the ball and do something with it. That is a game for Bergvall, for Sarr and, when they get fit again, for James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. But it is not a game for Palhinha, who just looked, not for the first time, a bit imprecise and one-dimensional in the heart of Saturday’s midfield battle.

Sometimes, the ball came to him and he lost it. Sometimes, Spurs just bypassed him and went wide instead.

We are still in the very early days of the Frank era and the overall picture is good, but it feels as if this season will stand or fall by these home league games against non-elite sides.

Frank was brought in from Brentford to raise Tottenham’s floor, rather than their ceiling. But if they struggle to convince in a match like this, fans will ask what the plan is for such games, and how Spurs can better impose their will upon them. And whether Palhinha, the indispensable man for the harder games, the man who rescued a point against Wolves, is always the right answer on a night like this.

(Top photo: Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur rescued a point at home to Wolves on Saturday evening, drawing 1-1 with the Premier League’s bottom side thanks to a 94th minute goal from Joao Palhinha.

Spurs, with Pedro Porro rested and Djed Spence switched to right-back, struggled to get a foothold during the first half as the visitors defended impressively. And it was winless Wolves who took the lead, Santiago Bueno poking the ball home from close range after a defensive scramble following a set-piece caused goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario some problems. Any hopes this setback would spur the hosts into action were misplaced, with the visitors from the Midlands continuing to look the more dangerous side.

Thomas Frank introduced Porro, Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel to try to turn the game in his team’s favour, but it was holding midfielder Palhinha who rescued a point with a neat finish from the edge of the box. The goal was Spurs’ first shot on target in the second half, which tells its own story.

Jay Harris and Jack Pitt-Brooke break down the key moments from a frustrating evening for Tottenham fans.

Was this a missed opportunity on a chaotic day in the Premier League?

It was shaping up to be the perfect weekend for Spurs. Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool all lost earlier on Saturday, while either Newcastle United or Arsenal will drop points when they face each other on Sunday at St James’ Park.

Wolves had lost all five of their games in the top-flight this season and conceded 12 goals in the process. If Spurs had inflicted a sixth defeat, they would have moved up to second in the table. We might be little more than a month into the new season, but another victory would have maintained their early momentum under new head coach Frank.

Instead, Spurs failed to beat Wolves yet again, having dropped four points against Vitor Pereira’s side under Ange Postecoglou last season.

Frank tried every trick possible to reverse their fortunes, including sending on Porro, who had been rested, along with Odobert, Tel and Johnson. When striker Tel replaced full-back Destiny Udogie in the 83rd minute, Tottenham even switched to an aggressive 3-4-3 formation.

Few of these tweaks had the desired effect, however.

Spurs threatened on a couple of occasions in the first half through Mohammed Kudus and Lukas Bergvall but were toothless after half-time. As they became more desperate, Palhinha and centre-back Cristian Romero tried to score from long distance but fired their shots over the bar, before the former finally made an effort count deep into added time.

A draw is clearly better than a defeat, but this was an insipid performance at home when a victory would have given these players real confidence they can achieve something special this season.

Jay Harris

Can Frank deal with injuries better than Postecoglou did?

The fundamental problem Tottenham struggled with last season was how to manage their limited resources through the twin demands of domestic and European competition. They simply did not have a sufficiently deep or robust squad to cope, and while their Europa League campaign ended in triumph, it clearly came at the cost of domestic matters as they finished 17th.

Frank needs to find a way to manage his squad through the Premier League and Champions League campaigns, and tonight felt like a reminder of how difficult that will be.

Spurs are not dealing with a severe injury crisis yet, but are missing enough players to limit their options in games like this. With strikers Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani both out, Richarlison has had to carry the attack, and if he is not at his best it blunts the whole team. With James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski both recovering from knee surgeries, there is not a lot of creative quality in midfield either. Much is riding on new signing Xavi Simons but he was not in top form here either. Bergvall cannot do it all himself.

This is still a squad that should be good enough to beat Wolves at home, but this match was also a reminder that it does not take much for Spurs to look a bit flat, predictable and thin on the ground.

Maddison and Kulusevski will not be back any time soon, but they certainly need Solanke and Kolo Muani to return as quickly as possible.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Why were Spurs so flat-footed?

Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Sarr started together in the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth here last month. It was a disciplined and hard-working midfield combination that lacked creativity. Bergvall started instead of Sarr against Wolves, but Tottenham experienced a similar issue.

With Simons shunted out onto the left wing, Bergvall seemed to be the only player in the home side capable of progressing the ball in central areas.

Bergvall is quickly forging an excellent relationship with newcomer Kudus and they combined delightfully for a ‘goal’ which was unfortunately ruled out for a fairly clear offside. However, they were the only players to inject any spark into Tottenham’s attack.

Simons underperformed. He whipped in one fantastic cross for Kudus, whose header was tipped onto the bar by Sam Johnstone but apart from that moment, the Netherlands international kept losing the ball. He would either dribble for too long and get crowded out or overhit simple passes. A reckless tackle on Marshall Munetsi, which led to a yellow card, summed up his evening — everything was completely off the pace. Simons moved into the No 10 role in the second half but still struggled to make an impact.

Spurs need to become much better at creating chances from open play. Udogie looked threatening on the overlap but his crosses were ineffective. Richarlison lacks Solanke’s abilities to link the play up and offer a threat when running in behind the opposition. Even when Bueno scored for Wolves early in the second half, there was a lack of urgency.

After improving the defence so quickly following his off-season switch from Brentford, Frank still has a lot of work to do to make this team look slick going forward.

Jay Harris

What did Thomas Frank say?

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the Spurs boss was in a reflective mood. “I think we played a good first half. Without having enough clear cut chances we got into dangerous situations, some good situations we didn’t get enough out of.

“The second half I think we started ok, and then after the (Wolves) goal I felt we lost a little bit of of control. We didn’t keep the structure enough, we were rushing too much in my opinion. The effort and the mentality of the players was fantastic, staying in the game and keep on pushing and I think we got a well-deserved equaliser in the end.”

Speaking to The Athletic post-match, Frank pointed out that Spurs have had a poor record against Wolves recently. “I think if you look before the game, you would say there was a good chance for us to win. But I said this before the game, we haven’t beaten Wolves the last five times and now it is six times in a row. A team that has lost the first five (games) there is a time where they will get something.

I also said before the game they played very even games so it is never easy. That said, I hoped and believed if we hit a top performance we would win. We didn’t hit a top performance. I think we hit an average performance but you do that some times. We got a point where not everything worked and we move forward.”

What next for Spurs?

Tuesday, September 30: Bodo/Glimt (away), Champions League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

(Top photo: Ian Kington/AFP via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have announced that they have received and “unequivocally rejected” an expression of interest from a consortium led by Brooklyn Earick.

Earick, an American former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was reported to be planning a £4.5billion bid for Tottenham, per The Sun. A source close to the Lewis family described it as “unsolicited and unnecessary interest”.

While Tottenham have not received a bid from Earick and his consortium, they confirmed to the London Stock Exchange on Friday morning that they had rejected Earick’s interest, while reiterating that they are not for sale. The consortium is now required under the City Code to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the company, or announce that it will not, by October 24.

The statement says that the Tottenham board is “aware of recent media speculation” and that its majority shareholder ENIC “has received, and unequivocally rejected, an informal expression of interest” in buying the club from Earick. “The Board of the Club and ENIC reconfirm that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale and ENIC is not looking to sell its stake in the Club.”

A source close to the Lewis family added this afternoon: “This unsolicited and unnecessary interest does nothing to change the family’s resolve and commitment to do whatever it takes to drive success on the pitch. The club is not for sale.”

Tottenham have been very clear over recent weeks that they are not for sale. On September 7, the club released a similar statement announcing that they had “received and unequivocally rejected” two other expressions of interest, one from Amanda Staveley’s PCP International Finance and the other from a consortium called ‘Firehawk Holdings Limited’.

Tottenham will have their first board meeting since Levy’s departure today (September 26).

(Photo: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

For almost a quarter of a century, everything at Tottenham Hotspur revolved around Daniel Levy. He ran the club with total knowledge, total control, and his word was always final.

But when Levy was sacked on September 4, he wasn’t even allowed into the training centre to retrieve his possessions. Nor was his wife Tracey, who worked at the club until the day Levy was sacked. Their belongings were eventually returned by van.

A separation this sharp is standard practice in the corporate world. It would be the same at any blue-chip company. But it is still a remarkable moment in the world of Premier League football, an instant transformation of status for one of its best-known figures.

That glistening glass and metal training centre in Enfield, opened in 2012, was one of Levy’s biggest achievements at Spurs.

This was a facility worth boasting to the world about, far removed from the club’s rickety old home in Chigwell, Essex. This was where Levy would base himself, and where he would proudly take meetings. Until this month, that is, when the king found himself locked out of his own castle for good.

Of course, the central fact of the events of early September is that Levy was never quite as much the king of Tottenham Hotspur as he appeared to be. Even if he ran the club like he was an owner (he almost ran it like a founder), true power lay with the Lewis family. And they exercised that power in a brutal, ruthless way on September 4.

Levy is now left out in the cold, bruised, wounded, still with his minority shareholding in Spurs but with no executive voice.

Meanwhile, Tottenham — and by extension the Lewis family — have a hierarchy with a Levy-shaped hole in it that they need to fill.

When Peter Charrington chairs the first meeting of the post-Levy board on Friday, it will mark a historic break with the past 24 years.

Levy’s downfall was so sudden that even he had no idea on that Thursday morning that his tenure at the club was about to end.

It felt like just another week at the start of an international break and came a couple of days after the closing of the summer transfer window.

Tottenham had lost their home game against Bournemouth on the Saturday, but they paraded Netherlands international winger Xavi Simons on the pitch beforehand, his signing from RB Leipzig having been a significant personal triumph for Levy. The chairman had been as involved as ever in Spurs’ transfer business over the prior weeks and months. Losing out to neighbours and arch-rivals Arsenal for Crystal Palace’s England forward Eberechi Eze in late August was painful, but Levy was determined to finish the window strongly, and on its last day, they also signed France striker Randal Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

After a long summer, it was time for everyone at Spurs to take a breath.

But then Levy walked into a meeting with Charrington, who the Lewis family had appointed to the board six months before, on what should have been a quiet day.

Instead, one era of Tottenham ended and another began.

However, even if the timing was a shock — not least to Levy himself — this did not come entirely out of the blue either.

The Athletic reported on the night of Levy’s dismissal that the Lewis family had increased their scrutiny of club affairs over the course of 2025, trying to get to the bottom of why exactly Spurs were underperforming on the pitch. Even though last season ended in triumph with victory in the Europa League final, it was a miserable experience in the Premier League. Tottenham looked like a team getting further away from the best sides in the country, rather than closing the gap, as they finished 17th, above only the three relegated clubs. More than six years after the opening of their new stadium, this was not meant to happen.

So in March, the Lewises appointed Charrington, a veteran private banker and senior partner at their luxury resort brand Nexus, to the board. At the same time, they hired United States-based management consultancy firm Gibb River to go into Tottenham and speak to senior staff about what was going wrong. Why was this football club, with some of the best facilities in the world, no longer competing on the pitch?

This review led to staffing changes that were significant enough on their own terms, even before the departure of Levy. First was the announcement that Vinai Venkatesham would be arriving as chief executive in June, the first time in two decades-plus under the ownership of the Lewis family’s ENIC investment group that Spurs had someone in such a role. Then there was the departure of board member Donna Cullen, a long-standing Levy ally and one of the most influential figures behind the scenes at the club throughout his tenure.

The summer was busy enough anyway, just for football reasons. There was a change in the structure, with chief football officer Scott Munn leaving. There was a change of head coach, with Brentford boss Thomas Frank replacing Ange Postecoglou. There was a demanding transfer window, where Tottenham desperately needed to reinforce their first team. Only once that was done could they make the final and most important move of all.

There was another story in the background this year, aside from debates over whether or not Levy was running Spurs well.

This concerned the future ownership of the club.

It was no secret that during the final years of his chairmanship, Levy was pursuing the idea of selling a stake in Tottenham. The idea, in short, was that he would find a new investor who would buy a big chunk of shares — something along the lines of 10 per cent of the club for £400million. Levy was very open about this, saying in public in 2024 that the operation “requires a significant increase in its equity base”. In private, his pitch to potential investors was that he had built the platform for Spurs and now needed to raise substantial capital for the next phase of their growth.

Such a deal, had it happened, could even have altered the balance of power at the club. New money and a new backer would have given Levy what he was looking for.

Over the course of this year, though, a new theory started to emerge. That there might be a larger investment, not just for a minority stake, but for a new investor or consortium buying out the Lewis family’s majority shareholding. And that under this scenario, Levy might be asked continue to run Tottenham on behalf of a different backer, although well-placed sources have denied these talks ever took place.

Clearly, no such deal, whether for a smaller stake or a larger one, ever materialised. And the Lewis family have made clear their own position on this over the course of this month, that the club is not for sale, and the search for fresh external investment is over.

Now he is out, Levy is stuck in a rare position. His family still own 29.88 per cent of ENIC’s majority shareholding, and therefore roughly 26 per cent of the club. But now that he is off the board, his options are limited. Levy has no control, no decision-making power and no voice. If Levy wanted to attend a game at the stadium that he oversaw the construction, and watch the team he has supported since childhood, you may be more likely to see him in the stands than back in the executive box.

It is not only Levy who finds himself in a strange situation this autumn. Just as he has to get on with life without Tottenham, they have to get on with life without him.

Because it is difficult to overstate how powerful and dominant Levy was at the club who got rid of him three weeks ago. There was not a football executive in the Premier League quite like him. Not only for longevity, but also for authority. Levy’s word was gospel at Spurs. He oversaw every detail at the club, from the specific designs of their new stadium to the finer points of transfer negotiations.

Levy’s work ethic and attention to detail meant that he was the ultimate driver of standards across the club. Staff knew that whenever he walked into the restaurant at the training centre — even if he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt rather than a suit — it was time for them to switch on. They also knew that Levy was the ultimate arbiter if they had to come to him with a serious issue. For better or worse, he created a very particular, personal culture at Tottenham, one that is now being replaced with something else.

The challenge at Spurs in the past three weeks has been to find a new way of working, a new way of organising the club, adjusting to this huge change while also keeping the show on the road. The phrase that Venkatesham has used is “business as usual”, which sounds unlikely given the historic nature of the changes, but in a sense, he is right. The relentlessness of the football calendar effectively forces everyone to keep moving forward.

So life at Tottenham has continued; it has just looked very different.

On September 9, there was a long-planned meeting with the club’s Fan Advisory Board. The FAB and senior club figures get together quarterly at Lilywhite House, next to the stadium. Levy attended these sessions in the Septembers of 2023 and 2024, but this month’s edition came just five days after his sacking. It was Venkatesham who was there, alongside Matthew Collecott, the club’s long-standing operations and finance director, and one of the most important figures through the long Levy era. Charrington, Venkatesham said, hoped to attend the next round of FAB talks, which are likely to be in December.

This summer’s events have left Venkatesham as the most important individual in the running of Tottenham. For his first three months at the club, he was working alongside Levy, but since the events of September 4, he has had full control of the steering wheel. He told the FAB that a new Executive Leadership Team (ELT) has been set up, consisting of himself, Collecott and what will eventually be six other senior figures, including the newly appointed chief marketing and chief communications officers. This is the new model, the new corporate structure, with power less centralised at the top.

Venkatesham has also found himself thrust into a different role: the public face of the club. Ever since his arrival, it has been a priority for Spurs to communicate more openly with the public than they used to. After Levy’s sudden departure, fans were waiting for answers, and it was Venkatesham who spoke to them on behalf of the new hierarchy. On September 8, the club released a nine-minute video interview with him, recorded at the training ground, when he paid tribute to Levy and talked up the ambitions of the Lewis family.

When Tottenham played their first home game after Levy’s removal — against Villarreal in their Champions League opener on September 16 — the matchday programme carried ‘A Message from Vinai’ that ran along similar lines to that video. At a Premier League meeting a week later, it was Venkatesham, a veteran of these environments from his time at Arsenal, who represented Spurs.

The ultimate power, of course, still lies with the Lewises. That has been the unambiguous lesson of this historic month at Tottenham. While the family have never courted publicity, the removal of Levy means attention and scrutiny are unavoidable. They are the masters now. So they have a balance to strike, needing to be visible while making clear that the days of top-down control are over.

So Vivienne Lewis has been ever-present at the club’s games this month, usually sitting alongside or close to Venkatesham in the directors’ box.

For the 3-0 away win against local rivals West Ham United on September 13, the first game of the post-Levy era, she sat next to her son-in-law Nick Beucher, a co-CEO of Tavistock Group (the family’s investment company, which is the majority owner of ENIC and by extension Spurs) and a passionate Tottenham fan, who is primarily based in the U.S. state of Florida. When Spurs beat Villarreal 1-0 three days later, Vivienne was one place along from her brother Charles Lewis, who was alongside Venkatesham, with Charrington one seat further over. Vivienne was also at the game in Brighton last weekend and Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win at home to League One side Doncaster Rovers.

In time, she may even effectively replace Levy as the recognisable figure up in the posh seats that TV producers cut to whenever Tottenham score.

But the whole point of the new operation is that neither Vivienne Lewis nor Charrington, nor in fact anyone else, is a direct replacement for Levy. That old model of an all-powerful executive chairman is history. There has been a lot of talk this month about “empowering” the executive team — led by Venkatesham — and allowing them to get on with the job of running the club. The Lewis family do not want to get their hands dirty with the daily operations. Nor, so far, have they wanted to speak publicly and in detail about their plans for Spurs beyond the statement from the board, released late on September 7, clarifying that “Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale”.

The new era will continue today — September 26 — with the first official meeting of the post-Levy board, chaired by Charrington, and made up of Venkatesham, Collecott and independent director Jonathan Turner. Vivienne Lewis and Beucher will meet club staff at a drinks event afterwards. Vivienne Lewis and Beucher will both be in attendance for the Premier League home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers tomorrow.

Eventually, the fans will want to hear more specifics about the owners’ intentions. Right now, the focus for many is on the fact that Frank’s team has started the season well, losing just once in seven games since coming close to beating Champions League winners PSG in the UEFA Super Cup on August 13 before defeat on penalties. The summer signings are settling in, and the new-head-coach optimism has not yet dissipated.

But the club’s revised structure will inevitably face tests.

When the next transfer window opens in January, it will be the first in a generation that Tottenham will face without Levy there to negotiate with other clubs and agents. Sources within the football industry have wondered whether it will be Venkatesham or technical director Johan Lange tasked with speaking on Spurs’ behalf. Or whether Fabio Paratici, one of Levy’s trusted allies and the man who bought many of the current squad, will continue his work for the club. He attended the Villarreal match and looked as invested in Tottenham’s success as ever. But there is real confidence inside the club about Johan Lange’s record in the market, and the experience of Director of Football Operations Rebecca Caplehorn to handle the windows ahead.

This, in essence, is the challenge of the new era.

Removing Levy was just one act. Replacing everything that he did, and building what almost feels like a new club, while the football season continues, is another thing entirely.

Additional reporting: Jay Harris

(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic)

The Athletic continues its weekly search for the most exciting prospects coming through club academies with a trip to Leicester City to watch Tottenham Hotspur’s under-21s, who have made a fine start to the season.

In the same way Thomas Frank’s senior side have been prolific scorers in the top flight to date this term, Wayne Burnett’s under-21s are the Premier League 2 top scorers, thanks largely to their 6-3 victory at Leicester’s Seagrave training ground.

There were plenty of impressive displays that night, but one young player stood out with a dazzling first-half showing.

It is not often that a pre-match plan comes together so perfectly, but The Athletic was there mainly to watch one young player who did not fail to deliver — and was rewarded with a senior call-up a few days later.

The player

Player: Luca Williams-Barnett

Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Date of birth: October 1, 2008 (16)

Position: Attacking midfield

The backstory

Williams-Barnett has been in the Tottenham academy since the age of 10 having begun his football education at hometown club Luton Town.

Having long been considered a strong prospect for the first team, his progress through the youth ranks has been accelerated in recent seasons. He was an unused substitute for the Europa League matches against Roma and Galatasaray last autumn and, a few days after the under-21s’ win at Leicester, made his first-team debut as a late substitute in Wednesday’s 3-0 Carabao Cup third round victory over Doncaster Rovers.

Williams-Barnett replaced Mathys Tel in the 87th minute; as a senior player, he was duly assigned the Spurs legacy number 900.

Frank had praised Williams-Barnett’s composure, technique and vision in the build-up to that Doncaster tie with the club’s first-team academy transition coach Stuart Lewis having kept him abreast of the teenager’s progress.

“It’s always a pleasure to be part of a young player’s debut,” said the Tottenham manager post-match. “But it’s one thing to make a debut when you’re 16. The next step, and much more important, is how Luca moves forward. It’s very tough to keep going and then get into the first team as a really regular player. But the first step is very important.”

Last season he had impressed in the under-18s with 20 goals and 12 assists from 23 games and became renowned for his ability to take on defenders and his long-range shooting.

In fact he won the under-18s’ goal of the season when he scored against Leicester from just inside the opposition’s half, and he almost repeated the feat again in the second half last Friday night…

What we saw

It was actually his predatory instincts and ability to be in the right place at the right time that were key to his first-half hat-trick.

Playing in a floating No 10 role behind central striker Rio Kyerematen, Williams-Barnett would often change positions with left-sided forward Oliver Irow and immediately displayed a desire to get on the ball and run at the Leicester defence, giving central defender Kevon Gray a torrid time in particular.

His first goal, scored inside two minutes, may have had an element of good fortune about it as it was Gray, in attempting to clear a dangerous low cross, who inadvertently played his clearance onto Williams-Barnett and the ball looped into the net, but his positioning certainly was not fortuitous. He was in the right place at the right time to restore Tottenham’s lead with his second, slotting home the rebound after Yusuf Akhamrich’s shot was saved by the Leicester keeper, Stevie Bausor.

Williams-Barnett was at the heart of most of Tottenham’s dangerous attacks and took the set pieces as well.

He had another effort cleared off the line and teed up Akmanrich before completing his hat-trick five minutes before the break, showing composure and an impressive first touch before finishing well from just inside the penalty box.

He was quieter in the second period as he tired but still offered moments of quality, teeing up Leo Black for the sixth. Tottenham could have scored more had Williams-Barnett picked out the unmarked Kyerematen having dragged three Leicester defenders towards him with another threatening run.

His team-mates may have been unimpressed with that particular decision but, overall, it was a match-winning performance from Williams-Barnett, who showcased the potential that helped earn that senior bow a few days later.

“Some of his football is very, very good,” Burnett said after the Leicester game. “He’s an intelligent footballer for such a young man. He’s got ability, he’s got talent. You can clearly see that.

“He has to keep working. He has to keep developing, but he can be very, very exciting at times and we’re pleased to have him.”

It was difficult to tell that Williams-Barnett is several years younger than many of the other players on show, although he did fade physically in the second half.

That strength and stamina will come as he grows over the next few years, but it was clear he possesses are the raw ingredients — and natural talent — to succeed.

(Top image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The only thing missing from Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night was a goal for Mathys Tel.

The France Under-21 international finds himself in a strange situation in north London. He was convinced to leave Bayern Munich and join Spurs, initially on loan for the second half of last season, by former head coach Ange Postecoglou. The deal contained an option to buy for €55million but he struggled to impress and only scored three goals in 20 appearances. Spurs renegotiated with Bayern and by the time they signed Tel permanently, on a six-year contract for €35m, Thomas Frank had replaced Postecoglou.

As part of the hiring process, Frank and other candidates were asked to assess the squad’s strengths and weaknesses. Maybe it is just a coincidence that Tel joined Spurs permanently three days after Frank was appointed, or maybe the 51-year-old had to grant his blessing first.

Due to a lack of locally-trained players, Spurs had to name a reduced squad for the league phase of the Champions League. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin were left out while they recover from long-term knee injuries. The surprising exclusion was Tel, who scored twice in 16 appearances for Bayern in the competition.

Wednesday’s cup tie against Doncaster was the 20-year-old’s second start of the season, after playing centrally in the 3-0 win against West Ham United, and another opportunity to impress with loan signing Randal Kolo Muani unavailable due to a dead leg.

When Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke return to full fitness, it is difficult to see Tel receiving a lot of game time. On the left wing, he faces competition from his international team-mate Wilson Odobert, €60m summer signing Xavi Simons, and last season’s top goalscorer Brennan Johnson.

Tel started positively against Doncaster. In the second minute, Simons drove forward with the ball to the edge of the box and he laid it off to Odobert. Tel ghosted in front of his marker but it was an awkward angle and his first-time flick from Odobert’s cross went over the bar.

Less than sixty seconds later, he held off a defender and played a great pass around the corner for Archie Gray. Tel darted forward as Johnson aimed a cross towards the penalty spot. Tel stepped back and somehow failed to cleanly strike the ball instead of drilling it past Doncaster’s goalkeeper Ian Lawlor. A similar situation happened in the second half and he mishit the ball again.

Those moments summed up his night and, if we are being honest, his entire time with Spurs. There have been flashes of promise but no end product.

It is not all Tel’s fault. He was unfairly paraded as a statement signing in February. Spurs were in the middle of an injury crisis and what they desperately needed was an experienced striker. They tried to sign Kolo Muani, who moved to Juventus from Paris Saint-Germain for six months instead, and enquired about Yoane Wissa, but Brentford did not want to sell in the middle of the season.

Tel made his debut for Spurs in a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in the second leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final. He left Bayern, who went on to win the Bundesliga and scored 99 times in 34 games, for an underperforming side with barely any fit players. He is still figuring out what his best position is. This season should be considered a fresh start for him.

Frank said it was an “extremely difficult decision” to leave Tel out of the Champions League squad and that he handled it “maturely”. Tel might not have scored against Doncaster but he was probably guilty of trying too hard to make things happen against the League One side, and was brimming with energy. He made a couple of clearances from set pieces and was applauded by Rodrigo Bentancur for not backing out of an aerial challenge in the middle of the pitch. Tel finished the game with grass stains smeared across the back of his shirt.

Tel, and frustrated supporters, should be encouraged by Frank’s track record of developing talent. He converted Wissa, Ollie Watkins and Kevin Schade into No 9s during his time with Brentford. Frank also helped Ivan Toney to break the Championship goalscoring record and thrive in the Premier League by telling him to focus on attacking the six-yard box — he has given the same advice to Tel.

“You can see his ability in this game to arrive in the box and the pace he (has) got running behind, and getting into the right areas,” Frank said. “It’s good. His pressing ability is very good. I like the way he works in that situation and then, his link-up play is something that is a good level, but he can be even better.

“He really wanted to score and do well. Unfortunately, as a striker, that (is what) you get measured on. Exactly the same as a goalkeeper: you need to get measured. You can’t throw it into your own goal but I think, as I said before, the overall performance was really a step forward. I really wanted him to score as well because that would make it an even better story.”

The problem for Tel is that his game time, which is already low, could drop. Solanke has returned to full training as he continues his recovery from a persistent ankle injury. Richarlison has scored three times in five league appearances. Tottenham’s opponents in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup are the holders Newcastle United. Tel might not be the best option up front at a raucous St James’ Park.

Whenever he starts again, he cannot afford to waste the opportunity like he did on Wednesday.

(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)