Ange Postecoglou said after Tottenham’s humiliating 6-3 defeat to Liverpool that he will not change his style of play despite chairman Daniel Levy losing patience which makes the coach’s position difficult. Tottenham are often in trouble and the four screens which hang from the corners of their state-of-the-art luxury stadium, possibly the best in the world, showed a video of Postecoglou delivering his Christmas message. The Australian said this is “a time for reflection.” However, when he called his players into their training ground on Monday—which should have been a day off—his message to the players was that there would be no reflection but the same tactics and the same plan would continue. He will not be changing Tottenham’s fast paced, sometimes uncoordinated, approach. Liverpool’s Luiz Dias scored the opening goal and Spurs fans raised hundreds of black balloons which said ‘Levy Out’ and an attack on the owners ‘ENIC Out’. In the 24th minute all the balloons were popped to signify the number of years ENIC have been in charge of the club. The fans are angry because the level of investment needed by the club to compete at the top has not been provided. Their main rivals enjoy much bigger budgets. Postecoglou might not be the best coach in the business but he does need backing in the transfer market because his current squad of players are just not good enough.
Saka could be out for six weeks
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is hoping his star winger Bukayo Saka does not face a long lay-off at this crucial part of the season. The 23-year-old sustained a hamstring injury in the Gunner’s 5-1 win at Crystal Palace. Saka was having scans this week to pinpoint the damage which first flared up whilst on England international duty. Arteta admitted he is worried about the injury after the winger had to be helped off the field in the first half and left the stadium on crutches. Despite Saka’s record of recovering quickly from injury, the medical team confirmed with me that even the smallest tear in the hamstring could result in a six-week layoff. The Gunners face Brentford on New Year’s Day and they also have a Carabao Cup semi-final match in January plus meeting Manchester United in an FA Cup match and two other PL games. Saka is vital to Arsenal’s mid-season run having scored five goals and 10 assists so far this season. My contacts have promised to keep me informed on his situation for you.
Mo out on his own for excellence
Mo Salah has broken more goal scoring records having notched up two more in the demolition of Tottenham last Sunday. Salah is now the first Premier League player to score 10 goals and provide 10 assists before Christmas and that has never been done before since the league started. He is also in fourth position in Liverpool’s all-time record goal scorers. I am also grateful to Mo as he is my Fantasy Football captain and took me into second place in the table ahead of some of my most competitive footballing colleagues…it is great fun!
Can Wolves improve enough to evade the drop?
Wolves new coach Vitor Pereira believe Wolves can carry out the great escape and moved above Ipswich to third from bottom of the league after beating Leicester City away. The Portugese has coached 11 clubs and won his first match at 9 of them which is remarkable. Pereira helped Wolves end a run of four straight defeats with their win over Leicester.
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Everything going well at Forest
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo says the “bad times” have made everyone at the club stronger. The Portugese coach has been at Forest for one year and has turned this mediocre club into a force to be reckoned with and they sit fourth in the table. Last season after being hit with a points deduction for breaking the FA financial rules, they survived after winning their stay of execution with only 24 hours of the season remaining. Nuno said, “Things have changed and we had to face many situations—points deductions and players going to the African Cup of Nations. We had long-term injuries and some players are still not back but there is a bond between us at this club and we feel like we are at home when we are at work.”
Deli Ali watching Serie A
Deli Ali is a talented player and I seem to be writing updates on his turbulent career all the time. I thought he had a chance of resurrecting his career at Everton where he has been training with the first team squad this season but the fact is, he hasn’t played a competitive Premier League match since February 2023.
Deli made public his battle with childhood traumas, sleeping pill addiction and spending time in a rehab clinic.
Deli expressed his thanks to the Everton staff and fans for supporting him but he said, “2025 may set me on a new path with some exciting opportunities…it’s been an incredibly tough journey trying to put the final pieces together to regain match fitness and I cannot thank the Everton staff enough for the hard work they have put into this process. Unfortunately things haven’t turned out the way we all would have hoped and I think it’s the right time for me to turn a new page.”
Deli was in the stands at the Stadio G. Sinigaglia as Serie A side Como beat Roma last weekend and I am told he will began training with them on December 26th. Their manager is ex-Arsenal and Barcelona star Cesc Fabregas but he emphasised that Deli’s training was only a first step and how things go very much depends on the player himself.
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