Chapter 1: What are the current standings in the English Premier League?
Plenty of round ball news as well. Let's head to the UK to chat some English Premier League. Well, the English Premier League is reaching a torturous climax for Tottenham with six games to go. Spurs, well, they're outright third last. It's April 15, and their last league win was December 29. Of course, we have a vested interest in Spurs because of Ange Postacoglu's stint there.
But at the top of the table, Arsenal had a slip-up to Bournemouth. They're still six points clear on top, followed by Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa to round out the four with Liverpool in fifth. To bring us up to speed is a very good friend of SCN, BBC broadcaster Chris Coles. Chris, where do we find you this afternoon?
Hello, Tom.
Chapter 2: Why is Tottenham facing a potential relegation battle?
I am right in the middle of the country, just outside Nottingham and looking forward to Well, I'm actually watching Forest quite a bit over the next few days, watching them at Porto in the Europa League. Then I'm watching a big game for them against Burnley. So, yeah, it's going to be a fascinating final few weeks, isn't it?
Well, I say this afternoon, it's actually morning here and it's probably evening for you. So I appreciate you. joining us to have a chat about the round ball game. Can we start with Tottenham? As I said, we've got a vested interest in what's going on there. We know that they're in the drop zone at the moment. We also know that their league form has been horrible for the best part of four months.
What's your prognosis? What's going on?
It has been a staggering story this, Tom, as I'm sure many of you guys have been right across because of Angie's links. And really, you can pinpoint Spurs' downfall to arguably the moment that Ange Postakoglu left because he left Spurs as Europa League winners, as we know.
Now, they didn't finish particularly high in the Premier League last season, but it was thought that with the appointment of Thomas Frank, who at the time seemed a very shrewd appointment, the former Brentford manager, he would guide Spurs to calmer waters. And it just hasn't happened. They've lurched from one disaster to the next. Thomas Frank just didn't work.
I think fans, by the end of his tenure... were a bit frustrated by his negativity. They didn't like the fact that Spurs at home in particular weren't playing on the front foot. They weren't playing the kind of football that Ange had Spurs playing, which was this really entertaining front-footed attacking football.
But then what happened next was just a disaster from a Spurs perspective with the managerial appointments that just weren't working. And most recently, Igor Chudis come in for four or five games
and had an appalling time at Tottenham and now they're in this position where they've got four or five games of the season to go and they've brought in Roberto de Zerbi who on the face of it is a very good appointment but he's got so little time to turn around this juggernaut of a football club who could be facing relegation which would be catastrophic for them financially and
Bear in mind, this is a team that were Europa League winners. They were Champions League finalists not so long ago. Perennial top five, top six challenges in the Premier League. One of the best stadiums in world football. And they could be playing in the second tier. It has just been a disaster. Now, Spurs fans will point to a few things. Injuries have not helped.
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Chapter 3: What factors contributed to Tottenham's recent struggles?
post Ange and post Thomas Frank and post Igor Chu there just haven't worked. then I think you look back and go, maybe they were a bit premature in sacking Ange Postakoglu. But as I say, you speak to Spurs fans and you will get, I think, a pretty 50-50 opinion on whether that was the right thing to do or not.
Which to me is just remarkable, a club that has been crying out for silverware and they finally get it and they sack the manager. But again, put my hand up, I'm biased. We're Australian here and we support our people. Ange is keen to get back into the Premier League. Do you think there's any chance that that happens anytime soon or at all?
Well, I think what probably didn't help was the Nottingham Forest stints that Ange had that I think even he would probably admit was wrong place, wrong time. This was a club that were in desperate need of someone that probably didn't have Ange's vision of football. This was a team that probably needed a bit more of a
of a pragmatic approach to their football because of the perilous situation that Forrest were in. So Ange only lasted, I think, what, eight games. He didn't really have much of a chance. Now that's not obviously much of a barometer to judge Ange when it comes to his second job in the Premier League. My hunch is that he will have to go elsewhere before he gets back into the Premier League.
I just think there's a little bit too much baggage with Ange at the moment because of what happened at Forrest. But if he goes elsewhere and has a really good time, then I suspect that they will be chair chairman that would look at Ange and think, here's someone that has a track record of winning trophies. He's got a track record of attractive football.
He's going to bring some headlines with him. So he's definitely worth a look. But my hunch is that after Forrest, I think it I think he's a little bit damaged at the minute, but that could easily change.
Yeah, particularly because he always said everywhere he goes, he wins. And then Nottingham Forest ended in a blaze of glory. I think it was, what, 38 days or something ridiculous at the time. At the other end of the table, it's just starting to get a little bit tense, isn't it? Arsenal are six points clear of Man City, but Man City have that game in hand and they also play each other.
So the loss, Arsenal's most recent loss is quite significant there.
Massive, Tom. Absolutely huge, this game coming up. Sunday hour time. So what early hours of Monday morning for you? This is it. This is the title decider, which looked unthinkable a few weeks ago with Arsenal serenely progressing and Manchester City wobbling. And it looked like finally Arsenal would win this Premier League first time in over 20 years.
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Chapter 4: How did the sacking of Ange Postakoglou impact Tottenham?
In the championship, Wrexham, a seventh, four points off six. Now, that's a fairy tale. That is a fairy tale waiting to be written. And a bit like what you said about Sunderland, when they're making documentaries, we don't really want mid-table plotters. We want either teams to get relegated and blow up or teams to go up and at least reach the playoff stage.
Talk us through the process there and how Wrexham can get up into the Premier League next season.
Yeah, well, Wrexham are four points outside the championship playoff places. Now, this is a side that has had an absolutely incredible rise up the ranks. And this is mainly down to the influence of the Hollywood A-listers, Ryan Reynolds and Tom McElhenney, who have invested in this club. They wanted a club to invest in. And they had quite a few on their radar, actually.
They had the likes of York, I think, were on there and Wrexham. And they wanted a club who they felt had great potential, but had been completely derelict and run down. And Wrexham, absolutely one of those sides that have been floating around in the lower leagues. They've been non-league for an awfully long time. Once a very good club and a very big club, but have been left to die, sadly, until...
Ryan Reynolds and co breathe new life into it. Huge investments, huge interest in what the Wrexham story is. And they've gone through the leagues, National League to League Two to League One. And now they're on the brink of the championship playoffs to get into the Premier League. If Wrexham get there, Tom, it would be just an unbelievable story.
Now, listen, there will be those that are quite cynical and say, well, yes, you pump any club full of money and they are going to. rise at the leagues very quickly. And there is an argument to say, yes, it's not quite the fairy tale like, for instance, when Luton Town went up a few years ago because they had no real budget.
But still, it'll be an interesting story and it'll be something that the world will be very interested in if Wrexham get into the Premier League. Because as I say, this was a club five, six years ago, we're getting gates of sort of 1,000, 2,000 and we're playing in real low level of football in England. So, If they do get up, it'll be a story one way or other.
And even if they don't do it this year, it won't be long because, as I say, the interest they have and the money there They are primed to get into the Premier League.
What makes me want to go to Wrexham was I think I'd never heard of it before I saw the documentary. To be fair, even after seeing the documentary, I wasn't sure I wanted to go there. But now they're playing so well, it looks like they've jazzed it up a bit. Hey, Chris, really appreciate your time.
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