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One title-winning manager is reportedly in love with the prospect of a potential move to Tottenham Hotspur, something which chairman Daniel Levy realises, as the under-pressure Ange Postecoglou faces a very uncertain future at the club.

Managers linked with potential vacant Tottenham job

Regardless of Spurs’ campaign in the Europa League, it is reliably believed that Levy could still part company with Postecoglou at the end of the season (Matt Law).

Tottenham eyeing another "top" manager who Guardiola called "innovative"

The Spaniard heaped praise on his work back in 2021.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 24, 2025

Tottenham are just one game away from equalling their highest number of defeats in a single Premier League season, and with a tough trip to Anfield on the horizon, Postecoglou is staring down the barrel of that unwanted record on his resume.

Liverpool could finally be crowned champions by defeating Spurs on Merseyside this weekend, so odds are that Arne Slot’s men will throw the kitchen sink at a vulnerable Lilywhites side who’ve also lost four out of their last five top flight matches.

Liverpool (away)

April 27th

West Ham (away)

May 3rd

Crystal Palace (home)

May 10th

Aston Villa (away)

May 18th

Brighton (home)

May 25th

Postecoglou’s saving grace after a dismal domestic campaign lies in Europe, where the Australian has a chance to make history by guiding Spurs to their first piece of major silverware since their League Cup triumph in 2008, under Juande Ramos.

However, with victory in the competition not even a guarantee that Postecoglou keeps his job for next season, attention is beginning to turn to who could replace the former Celtic boss in N17.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, Fulham’s Marco Silva, Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and Brentford’s Thomas Frank have all been linked in the last few weeks, while Fabrizio Romano has reported Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi is liked by Tottenham.

The Mail also claimed earlier this week that Burnley boss Scott Parker has some fans inside Spurs as well, but perhaps the most exciting appointment would be a return for ex-fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentine enjoyed a successful spell at the Tottenham helm from 2014-2019, which included an unprecedented run to the Champions League final in 2019, and you can argue the north Londoners haven’t enjoyed consistency akin to Pochettino’s tenure since he departed.

Mauricio Pochettino would "love" to return to Tottenham

Now manager of the USA national team, as they prepare to co-host the 2026 World Cup, journalist Graeme Bailey has reported for The Boot Room that Pochettino hasn’t quite settled into his first international role.

Alternatively, if he were to leave the States, Pochettino would “love” to re-join Tottenham, and Levy is said to be “aware” of this. The 53-year-old would also be Levy’s first choice to replace Postecoglou, given their already-close relationship and communication.

After a string of lacklustre results with the USA, Pochettino is also said to be under pressure, and he is very much in Levy’s thought process as a potential replacement for Postecoglou.

The former Southampton, Chelsea and PSG boss won a Ligue 1 title with the latter, and he appears to currently be one of three trophy-winning managers under consideration by Spurs – the other two being Glasner and Inzaghi.

Returning quicks close out soggy win after Markram, Brevis and Ferreira cameos

Firdose Moonda10-Sep-2025

Kagiso Rabada struck first-ball•Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Don’t read too much into it, but South Africa took the lead in the three-match T20I series against England after winning a game initially reduced to nine overs a side by batting for 7.5 and then defending an adjusted five-over target.Wet conditions in Cardiff stalked the match throughout as play began two hours and 20 minutes after the scheduled 6.30pm start, and was then interrupted with seven balls remaining in South Africa’s innings.South Africa were on track for a total over 100 thanks to a top-score of 28 from captain Aiden Markram, who sold for R14 million (US$800,000 approx.) at Tuesday’s SA20 auction and hit two fours and two sixes in the 14 balls he faced. Markam shared in a 32-run second-wicket stand with Lhuan-dre Pretorius before Dewald Brevis and Donovan Ferreira put on 36 off 15 balls to form the spine of a competitive total.A heavy burst of rain ended South Africa’s innings prematurely and England were set a reduced target of 69 of 30 balls. With a required run rate of 13.8 an over, their task was always going to be tough but losing Phil Salt and Harry Brook for ducks made it even more difficult. Jos Buttler returned to the top of the order and scored 25 off 11 but needed support against South Africa’s top seamers to challenge for the result to go England’s way.Wood proves his worthEngland made a late change to include left-arm seamer Luke Wood in their XI in place of Jofra Archer, who was wrapped in cotton wool in wet conditions. Wood seized his opportunity: his second ball, and first to the left-handed Ryan Rickelton, swung away, Rickelton drove with no footwork and edged to Buttler for a golden duck.Luke Wood claimed Ryan Rickelton for a first-ball duck•AFP/Getty Images

Markram hit Wood over mid-off for the innings’ first boundary later in that over, then back over his head for six and over mid-on for four at the start of his second over but Wood came back well. Pretorius tried to hit over the leg side but miscued towards mid-off where Brook dived forward to take a stunning catch and Wood ended with 2 for 22.Brevis justifies the big bucksAfter breaking the SA20 pay record and selling for R16.5 million (approx US$944,000) a little over 24 hours ago, Brevis is expected to produce big things and he delivered. When Liam Dawson was brought on in the fifth over, Brevis played the no-look six first up and then smashed a low full toss into the sightscreen for six more. He is a strong player of spin and dispatched Adil Rashid too, over midwicket for his third six.But when Sam Curran was brought on, to bowl his first international spell of the year, he foxed Brevis with an ultra-slow slower ball that Brevis played too early and edged to third. Still, his cameo in partnership with Ferreira showed off his quality – and the reason Pretoria Capitals were willing to splash the cash.Dewald Brevis drills a six down the ground•AFP/Getty Images

Welcome back, South Africa’s strike bowlersThe wisdom of picking Kagiso Rabada, who sat out the ODIs in both England and Australia with ankle inflammation and will have a big role to play in upcoming tours to Pakistan and India, and Marco Jansen, who has not played for almost three months, could have been questioned but both seemed keen to be back.Rabada’s first ball back was full to Phil Salt, who picked out Kwena Maphaka at deep backward square with precision. Rabada barely had time to celebrate his early strike before Buttler hit his fourth and fifth balls, both pace-off, for four and then six to close out the over strongly.Jansen beat Jacob Bethell to start but was then dispatched over midwicket for six before he had him caught at cover. After Brook missed a coupe, Jansen then found extra bounce to beat his uppercut and ended with a slower ball. He bowled a second over, mixed up his pace well and ended with the wicket of Buttler, caught off the inside edge, to end the game as a contest.South Africa were without Lungi Ngidi, ruled out of the series with a hamstring strain sustained at training on Tuesday, and Keshav Maharaj, who tweaked his groin during the warm-ups. Nandre Burger will replace Ngidi – who is due to fly home on Thursday – and will join up with the squad ahead of Friday’s second T20I in Manchester.

The Premier League has had some of the greatest managers football has ever seen since it’s creation in 1992. From Sir Alex Ferguson to Arsene Wenger and now Pep Guardiola, the best coaches regularly end up in England’s top flight.

Nowadays, managers don’t have as much time to make an impact, making it more important than ever that they get results quickly, regardless of the style.

All 20 Premier League managers' salaries

But who is the best and worst manager in the Premier League this season? Here is a ranked list of all 20 managers in the division right now.

Rank

Manager

Club

1

Pep Guardiola

Man City

2

Mikel Arteta

Arsenal

3

Enzo Maresca

Chelsea

4

Unai Emery

Aston Villa

5

Oliver Glasner

Crystal Palace

6

Andoni Iraola

Bournemouth

7

Eddie Howe

Newcastle

8

Regis Le Bris

Sunderland

9

Ruben Amorim

Man United

10

Arne Slot

Liverpool

11

David Moyes

Everton

12

Fabian Hurzeler

Brighton

13

Thomas Frank

Tottenham

14

Marco Silva

Fulham

15

Sean Dyche

Nottingham Forest

16

Nuno Espirito Santo

West Ham

17

Keith Andrews

Brentford

18

Daniel Farke

Leeds

19

Scott Parker

Burnley

20

Rob Edwards

Wolves

21 Rob Edwards Wolves

New Wolves manager Rob Edwards faces a tough task to keep the Old Gold in the Premier League, and his only prior experience of managing in the top flight came with Luton Town.

Edwards failed to keep the Hatters in the division in 2024, losing 24 of his 38 games in charge that season.

20 Scott Parker Burnley

Scott Parker will be looking to buck the trend and keep his newly-promoted Burnley side in the Premier League.

The Clarets boss previously suffered two relegations when in charge of Fulham and averages less than a point per game in the top flight.

19 Daniel Farke Leeds

Another manager who has been relegated from the Premier League on two occasions is Leeds boss Daniel Farke.

He couldn’t keep Norwich City in the top flight, and like Parker, averages less than one point per game in the division.

18 Keith Andrews Brentford

Keith Andrews is in the early stages of his senior managerial career after taking over from Thomas Frank at Brentford.

The Irishman has made a relatively positive start, beating both Liverpool and Man Utd at the Gtech Community Stadium.

17 Nuno Espirito Santo West Ham

Nuno Espirito Santo has had some brilliant moments in the Premier League, taking both Wolves and Nottingham Forest into the Europa League.

However, the Portuguese boss has also had a failed stint at Tottenham and is now struggling to get the best out of his West Ham squad.

16 Sean Dyche Nottingham Forest

Back in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest, Sean Dyche has plenty of experience in the top flight following previous stints with Burnley and Everton.

He did a solid job at both, even taking the Clarets into the Europa League back in 2018. His football may not be the most attractive, but Dyche gets the job done more often than not and will be looking to do just that with Nottingham Forest.

15 Marco Silva Fulham

An experienced Premier League manager after stints with Hull City, Watford and Everton, Marco Silva has enjoyed the majority of his success in England with Fulham.

He’s managed more games at Craven Cottage than what he did with the three aforementioned clubs combined, helping make Fulham an established top flight side.

14 Thomas Frank Tottenham

After doing a brilliant job at Brentford where he took the Bees to the Premier League and comfortably kept them in the top flight, Thomas Frank took the leap to join Tottenham in 2025.

Results early on were positive for the Dane, who has continued his flexible and adaptable approach in north London, but the Lilywhites’ home form is major cause for concern.

13 Fabian Hurzeler Brighton

The youngest ever permanent manager in Premier League history, Brighton’s move for Fabian Hurzeler has paid off so far.

The German’s possession-based style and attacking philosophy has seen the Seagulls record some impressive wins at the Amex Stadium, and he could be the one to take the club back into European competition.

12

نجح فيران توريس في قلب تأخر برشلونة أمام ريال بيتيس، خلال اللقاء الذي يجمع بين الفريقين ضمن منافسات الجولة السادسة عشر من الدوري الاسباني لكرة القدم.

ويجرى اللقاء بين الفريقين على ملعب لاكارتوخا، ويحتل برشلونة صدارة ترتيب الدوري الاسباني ب37 نقطة، ويحتل ريال بيتيس المركز الخامس بـ24 نقطة.

وافتتح ريال بيتيس التسجيل عن طريق أنتوني بعد ان أستغل خطأ من دفاع برشلونة في الدقيقة السادسة، ولم يكن في وضعية تسلل.

اقرأ أيضاً.. مارك جويهي يحسم رغبته بشأن وجهته القادمة بين بايرن ميونخ وقطبي إسبانيا

وبعد مرور خمس دقائق فقط، تعادل فيران توريس لصالح برشلونة في الدقيقة 11 من صناعة كوندي.

وأضاف فيران توريس الهدف الثاني له وللبلوجرانا في الدقيقة الثالثة عشر، ليتقدم برشلونة بهدفين لهدف، في ثنائية خلال 112 ثانية هي الأسرع لأي لاعب من برشلونة في مباراة بالدوري الإسباني منذ ثنائية أنسو فاتي خلال 103 ثوان ضد ليفانتي في فبراير 2020.

وكان هانز فليك مدرب برشلونة قد دخل اللقاء بتشكيل مكون من: جارسيا، بالدي، جيرارد مارتن، كوبارسي، كوندي، بيدري، جارسيا، يامال، باردجي، راشفورد، فيران توريس.

Cal Raleigh is re-writing the record books once again—this time for the Mariners.

Raleigh hit his 57th home run of the season off Astros pitcher Framber Valdez on Saturday, and now passes Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise's single-season home run record.

Griffey Jr., a Hall of Famer and 13-time All-Star that played for Seattle from 1989-99 and 2009-10, hit 56 home runs in a season for the Mariners in both 1997 and 1998. Now, Raleigh has passed that mark and his 57 long balls are tied for the 17th-most in a single season by any player in MLB history.

Earlier this week, Raleigh tied Griffey Jr.'s record and also broke Mickey Mantle's record for the most home runs in a single season by a switch-hitter. Mantle hit 54 home runs in 1961 to set the record, and over 60 years later, Raleigh has broken that mark and become the second switch-hitter to surpass 50 home runs in a season.

Along with these records, Raleigh previously broke Salvador Perez's record for most home runs in a season by a catcher. Perez hit 48 home runs in 2021, and Raleigh surpassed that nearly a month ago.

The ICC has taken exception to the PCB having recorded on video the meeting between match referee Andy Pycroft and the Pakistan team management ahead of their Asia Cup game against UAE on September 17 in Dubai.In a strongly-worded email sent on Thursday, according to PTI, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta informed the PCB that the use of a mobile phone to film the conversation was a breach of protocol in the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA), where the meeting took place. Apart from Pycroft, the meeting was attended by Pakistan captain Salman Agha, head coach Mike Hesson, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema and media manager Naeem Gillani. The ICC general manager of cricket Wasim Khan was also present.When Gillani attempted to film the meeting, he was told that according to the anti-corruption code mobile phones were not allowed inside the PMOA. The PCB was insistent on filming the meeting, though, saying Pakistan would not play the match against UAE otherwise. A compromise was reached and Gillani was allowed to record the meeting without audio.Related

• Pakistan cancel pre-match press conference before India game

• Pycroft given just a few minutes' notice ahead of India-Pakistan handshake-gate

• PCB clears Pakistan to play UAE; says Pycroft apologised

In his email, Gupta called out such action as misconduct and said the PCB had committed “multiple violations” of the PMOA protocol. At the meeting, Pycroft told the Pakistan management that he was merely the messenger of the instruction that India captain Suryakumar Yadav would not shake hands with Agha, and not the issuer of the directive. While he expressed “regret over the miscommunication and misunderstanding” around the situation, shortly after the meeting the PCB issued a statement claiming Pycroft had “apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team”.The ICC disagreed with this version and Gupta reiterated in his email to the PCB that Pycroft had expressed regret for the miscommunication.The match between Pakistan and UAE on Wednesday eventually began after an hour’s delay, and only after the PCB agreed to a meeting between Pycroft and the team management ahead of the game to try and resolve issues around the handshake-gate incident that had occurred at the toss of the India-Pakistan game on Sunday. Until then, there had been a stalemate between the PCB, who wanted Pycroft removed from the remainder of the Asia Cup, and the ICC, who refused such a demand.The PCB’s claim was that Pycroft had violated the code of conduct and the MCC’s spirit of cricket in telling Agha not to shake hands with Suryakumar, an instruction he only received from the venue manager in Dubai minutes before the toss. The ICC said it had conducted an inquiry into the incident and cleared Pycroft’s handling of the situation.The PCB even threatened to pull the Pakistan team out of the Asia Cup, and for some time it looked like that could turn into reality when, on the day of their clash against UAE, the board told the players team to stay at the hotel beyond their scheduled departure time after learning that Pycroft was going to officiate the match. During calls between the ICC and PCB at this time, the meeting between Pycroft and the Pakistan team management was suggested, which eventually paved the way for the match to proceed.

West Indies are “not in the same level-playing field as other playing countries”, and an emergency meeting of Cricket West Indies (CWI), which included Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and current head coach Daren Sammy, among others, has ended with a roadmap of sorts in place for a revival, but “it’s a long road, it’s not going to happen tomorrow”. One of the immediate decisions is, as Lloyd said, to ask the ICC for a “special dispensation” – extra money keeping in mind West Indies’ glorious past.While those in attendance at a press briefing at the end of the two-day meeting in Trinidad – CWI bigwigs as well as Lloyd and Lara – said that a lot of ideas were thrown about, it was not yet time to announce them since they had to go through an internal process before being put into action. There was trepidation too, since the downward spiral of West Indies cricket has been quick and seemingly without end: “Hope to see them come to fruition,” Lloyd said. “Sincerely hope this doesn’t come to some damp squib.””We have identified a list of about a hundred things that we have to improve, but probably among the top five: facilities at every level for our cricketers; practice pitches across the region; the quality of our domestic tournaments, there’s definitely a skills deficiency at various levels that don’t get highlighted till they reach international levels and then you see the glaring deficiencies vis-a-vis our international counterparts, which again is systemic,” Chris Dehring, the CWI chief executive said.Related

• West Indies 'hedging our bets' as fear over two-tier WTC grows

• Sammy on Pooran's retirement: 'More players will follow'

• Holder: 'I have a burning desire to make a change'

• Russell to retire from international cricket after Jamaica T20Is

“As the batting coach [Jimmy Adams] pointed out, it’s very difficult to change habits when you are getting somebody who has made so many runs at regional level but clearly has deficiencies when it comes to international level. It’s very difficult to change in a couple of weeks. There are issues concerning strength and conditioning, which again points back to facilities which are available to youngsters and emerging players and ‘A’ teams, etc.”Dehring said that, among other things, CWI planned to have “a proper high-performance centre established in the region, a prototype that will then be modelled and imitated across the region, in other countries, [and] academy systems to ensure that the West Indies way of playing cricket is both documented and taught from very early”.

Twenty-seven all out and the aftermath

The last time West Indies played Test cricket, at Sabina Park in Kingston against Australia, they were bowled out for 27, the second-lowest innings score in Test history and the lowest since 1955. The meeting was announced soon after that. Since then, West Indies have played ten white-ball games, winning two and losing eight.”It’s been that case for years, where we are not in the same level-playing field as other playing countries,” Lara said. “Back in the days when skill was the prominent factor, we excelled, we were the best team in the world. But the game has evolved, and technology and analytics, and we now have to see a new way of finding ourselves back to being very competitive.”I said not a level-playing field because a lot of the countries are far ahead in these sorts of areas. The skill factor of the game is still there, but not as prominent as it was in the past.”It’s a long road; it’s not going to happen tomorrow. It was not about the 27 runs. If it was 57 or 107, will we be feeling any better? I don’t think so. It was the fact that we’ve got something to address, and for us to get back on top, or to be a competitive nation in world cricket, we’ve got to address these situations and address them shortly, quickly, and hopefully we can reap the benefits in the years to come.”The challenges are “systemic”, director of cricket Miles Bascombe said, and that they were “across our cricket system”. The goal now, he said, was “identifying the challenges at every level of our production pipeline […] and how to put all of that together. To have a holistic solution and then we will engage all of the stakeholders necessary to help us along the way.”

Club vs country, the losing battle

It’s not new, the notion that modern-day West Indian cricketers, called mercenaries in the past, have prioritised franchise T20 leagues around the world, where they are in big demand, and the West Indies team has suffered as a result.If that is the case, what is the way forward?”West Indies cricket is still very important in the minds of all youngsters, male and female, and when looking at cricket as a career,” Lara said in response to a question. “I think you have to understand that in different eras and decades, there are different motivational factors. In the ’50s and early part of the ’60s, we were thinking about the independence – we can show our colonisers that we can play cricket, we can govern ourselves. In the ’70s and ’80s, I believe that under Sir Clive, it was all about trying to be the best in the world. After learning from previous decades.Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have primarily been in action in T20 leagues over the past many years•BCCI

“Presently, if I can fast forward, the game has now very much commercialised. The franchise system is definitely in the mind of every young person, and every parent as well. When you see what’s happening around the world with the IPL, the American cricket league [MLC] and much else. The motivational factors we have to tap into: what motivates youngsters today? It might not be just representing West Indies 365 days of the year. It might be playing in an IPL or a BBL or something else. We have to find out those interests and see where West Indies cricket can still benefit from the youngsters.”It’s unfortunate [that] a young man at the age of 29, like Nicholas Pooran, will call an end to his international career. Find out why these things are happening and how we can stem that sort of situation and we get the best players to play for West Indies. Australia, India and England and these countries benefit from wholeheartedness from their players, the passion that they have playing for their country. We have to get that to return to West Indies cricket.”The solution, Bascombe said, was that, “We will never be able to compete with franchise money, everybody acknowledges that. So it has to be pride. Pride in the performance and pride in representing the West Indies.”That, looking at the past many years, might be easier said that done.”People must realise that T20 is an exhibition and Test cricket is an examination. When you are getting offered the type of money that these guys are being offered, there’s only one way they’ll go. It’s a lot of money,” Lloyd said. “The point is we have to try and keep the guys that we have, teach them the right things, and hope that our cricket will still be in shape.”

Perth Scorchers 159 for 4 (Devine 49*, Scholfield 46*) beat Adelaide Strikers 158 (Edgar 4-25, Ainsworth 3-22) by one runAs if there hadn’t been enough drama in Perth on Saturday, Scorchers clung on for a thrilling one-run victory against Adelaide Strikers to secure their third win of the season.Strikers began the final over needing 13 runs, and with one wicket in hand, but fell an agonising two runs short of victory when Darcie Brown top-edged a sweep off the penultimate ball.Scorchers wicketkeeper Beth Mooney and non-striker Megan Schutt almost collided but Mooney was able to take evasive action and pouch the catch to clinch victory.Earlier, Sophie Devine joined Mooney and Ellyse Perry as the only players with 4000 runs in the WBBL as she top-scored for Scorchers. Brown was the pick of the bowlers for Strikers.When Strikers batted, Scorchers took 4 for 6 in the two-over power surge, including a team hat-trick in an Amy Edgar over (the second a run out) with Strikers on 121. Edgar finished with 4 for 25.Opener Laura Wolvaardt made a rapid 41 off 36 balls, and Madeline Penna chipped in with 36.