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Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is under “serious” pressure as a result of his comments following the 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the North London derby.

Tottenham were the underdogs heading to the Emirates Stadium, and a defeat was always going to be the most likely outcome, but Frank was left unhappy with the overall performance, so much so that he issued an apology to fans after the match.

The Dane said: “Very difficult afternoon. Bad performance. It’s extremely painful to stand here after that game. We can only apologise to the fans for not performing better. I was very confident we could be competitive today. We weren’t.”

The 52-year-old also tried to put things into perspective by reminding fans that Spurs are still a work in progress, having amassed just 38 points in the Premier League during the 2024-25 campaign.

However, it would be fair to say those comments haven’t gone down too well, with an insider now claiming the manager is playing a risky game by speaking out like that in the press…

Frank under serious pressure after post-Arsenal comments

Football Insider’s well-connected Mick Brown told the outlet: “At some stage, he has got to take some accountability and he can’t keep avoiding the issues and pushing the blame on to what happened last season. That’s happened now, it’s done, and the focus should be on what they’re doing now.”

Brown also added: “The thing is, that’s only going to add to the pressure on him, and he won’t want to alienate the fans because when that happens things can only get worse.

“Obviously, after a game like that, serious questions are going to be asked but I still think there’s time for him to turn things around, he just needs to focus on the here and now.”

As Spurs are currently sitting just three points off the top four, Frank should be given more time to put things right, but things undoubtedly have to improve, off the back of what Jamie O’Hara branded a “disgusting” defeat.

It was not the first time the north Londoners have seriously struggled to create chances this season either, recording an xG of just 0.05, the fourth-lowest since records began in the Premier League, against Chelsea earlier this month.

After the trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Tottenham will be looking to pick up just their second home league win of the season against Fulham on Saturday, with Frank hopefully implementing a much more expansive style of play.

Tottenham players disagree with Spurs hierarchy on Thomas Frank's future

Breetzke reiterated that he belongs and Stubbs put a lean patch behind him to show he’s still got it

Firdose Moonda04-Sep-2025Where has Matthew Breetzke been all this time, you may wonder, as you watch him hit his way to half-century after half-century in ODIs? It’s five fifty-plus scores now from as many games, scored in three different countries and three different batting positions and has surely secured his spot as a certain starter from now on?The answer to the first question is, “around”. He was a pupil at Grey High School in Gqeberha (one Graeme Pollock is an alumnus), made his provincial debut as a teenager eight years ago and was the leading run-scorer in the first-class competition three summers ago. He was called up to the T20I side in late 2023, had three average performances and could not claim to have done enough to replace incumbents like Quinton de Kock or Reeza Hendricks. It was only really season 2 of the SA20, where Breetzke finished as the third-highest run-scorer and his team, Durban’s Super Giants, made the final, that showed Breetzke was serious. Very, very seriousAdjectives used to describe him include “fierce” from his DSG captain Keshav Maharaj and “intense,” by South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince. Those words may also provide the answer to the second question.Related

• England blown to bits-and-pieces as part-timers' bowling strategy backfires

• Breetzke takes inspiration from Northants to make ODI record

• Miller 'within the mix' in South Africa's ODI plans despite missing England series

• ODI rankings: Raza new No. 1 allrounder, Maharaj first among bowlers

• De Zorzi out of remaining two ODIs against England with hamstring injury

With de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen both retired, South Africa need a player who can be both unafraid and entirely focused on big-hitting in the way they were. Breetzke, in what we’ve seen of him on the international stage so far, is exactly that.Breetzke is a powerful hitter and backs himself to clear the ropes both square of the wicket and down the ground and both were on display at Lord’s. The first of his first two shots in real anger was when he kneeled into a Jacob Bethell ball and thumped it through square leg for four. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, almost two-thirds of Breetzke’s international runs have come square of the wicket and a shot like that showed why. And after Breetzke had reached his fifty, he sent Will Jacks over his head and out of the ground for six with a shot that combined power, placement and panache.Those qualities also describe the start Breetzke has had to the international game. In eight months, in between missing out on the Champions Trophy and suffering a hamstring tweak, he has also made history. Breetzke holds the highest score by any player on ODI debut, he is the only player to score five consecutive fifty-plus scores after their first five ODIs and the player with the most number of runs at the five-match mark.Matthew Breetzke has crossed fifty in all of his five ODIs so far•AFP/Getty ImagesIn the same eight months, Tristan Stubbs, who Breetzke shared a 147-run fourth-wicket stand with in the second ODI against England, had been in the midst of a massive slump. Across all formats, international and domestic (including the IPL), Stubbs had one score over fifty in 23 innings before Thursday. That came on the back of a poor SA20, where Stubbs scored 232 runs at an average of 29.00, which was a come-down from a summer in which Stubbs raised his bat to his first two Test hundreds.What had happened to the player who struck at close to 200 in IPL 2024? And the “big, strong, strapping” batter Shukri Conrad initially named as his new Test No.3 but then dropped lower down the order in favour of Wiaan Mulder? Stubbs didn’t quite seem to know where he fitted in and, worse, where his off stump was. He was most often dismissed when he stepped outside off, trying to force something early on in his innings.Before this series, Prince explained that Stubbs might be struggling with making the switch from white-ball aggressor to Test-match stabiliser and then back again, which is hardly surprising considering he has been up and down both line-ups.”Sometimes you can get a little bit clouded in terms of your approach and how to go,” Prince said. “When you’re dipping in between formats and you have different approaches, sometimes you’re in a white-ball series where you want to play a more natural game and maybe your mindset is not as free as you would like it to be. I think Tristan is probably in that space at the moment.”Tristan Stubbs activated white-ball mode after getting well set•AFP/Getty ImagesFor their part, the coaching staff were trying to encourage Stubbs to “be more positive”, according to Prince, but it was the opposite that worked for him at Lord’s.Stubbs was at the crease with South Africa 93 for 3 after 18 overs, which was a solid but not spectacular start. Test-match mode activated. He scored two runs off his first seven balls, 22 runs off 34 balls and no boundaries off the first 47 balls he faced. He learnt from Breetzke’s blueprint after he scored four off his first 17 balls, all singles, before he was offered width from Carse and cashed in.Where Breetzke took on Bethell early, Stubbs waited until Jacks was given a second spell. White-ball mode activated. Stubbs brought out his first sweep and nailed it. Then, again, for six. And then again with the reverse. In three balls Stubbs went from 33 to 47 and was on the brink of a half-century. He got there off 55 balls in the 39th over, with enough time to show off his finishing skills until he was run out when Dewald Brevis initially wanted the run and then turned back, leaving Stubbs stranded. His reaction was to repeatedly smash his bat onto the turf in frustration before making a slow walk back.By the time Stubbs was dismissed, Breetzke was already back in the dressing-room, beaten by a Jofra Archer yorker that thudded into his pad. Breetzke reviewed, in hope and was walking before the decision was confirmed to finish with a third score in the 80s and oh-so-close to another century.In the end, neither Breetzke nor Stubbs got exactly what they wanted from this match. However, both may have got what they needed. Breetzke showed he belongs and Stubbs that he still has it. And those are important things as South Africa build to 2027.

TORONTO — When it was over, when after 162 regular-season games and another 15 in the playoffs and now two excruciating innings, the Dodgers won Game 7, 5–4, to repeat as World Series champions, the man who won the game raced to the mound to grab the man who saved it. 

It was Will Smith, the catcher, who launched the 11th-inning home run that stunned the sellout crowd of 44,713 at the Rogers Centre and gave the Dodgers their first lead of the night. But it was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Game 6 starter who got eight outs in Game 7 on no days’ rest, who gave him the chance. Twenty-five hours after he threw 96 pitches in Game 6, an outing that followed back-to-back complete games, Yamamoto all but forced his way into the game and threw 34 devastating pitches. 

Manager Dave Roberts had tried not to use him at all, and then he tried to remove him after his second inning on Saturday. “Daijoubu,” Yamamoto said. 

“It’s unheard of,” said Roberts, who struggled to explain how Yamamoto could possibly have done this. “I think that there’s a mind component, there’s a delivery, which is a flawless delivery, and there’s just an unwavering will. I just haven’t seen it [elsewhere]. I really haven’t.”

So the manager let him go back out and close the door for a team that just kept propping it open. The Blue Jays were two outs away from ending a 32-year World Series drought when an unlikely hero emerged. In a game that featured Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it was Dodgers glove-first second baseman Miguel Rojas, playing in his second game in three weeks, who lined a solo home run over the left field wall to tie the game. 

Each team loaded the bases with one out—the Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers in the top of the 10th—and failed to score. Smith, dragging himself around the field after catching all 72 innings of this epic World Series, dragged the Dodgers ahead. 

It almost wasn’t enough. Guerrero, the face of a franchise and the face of a nation, doubled to lead off the bottom of the 11th. Isiah Kiner-Falefa sacrificed him to third. Addison Barger worked a walk. But Yamamoto broke Alejandro Kirk’s bat with one of his signature splitters, and Betts, the shortstop snagged the easy chopper, stepped on second base and fired to first for the double play. The Dodgers, who became the first team since the 2000 Yankees to repeat, were on the field almost before the Blue Jays understood what had just happened to them. 

Smith tackled Yamamoto from behind. Their teammates raced in from the dugout and the bullpen to join them. They jumped up and down on exhausted legs and hugged one another with spent arms and screamed with hoarse throats.

Of course this World Series came down to extra innings in Game 7. It could not be contained by the laws of physics, the columns of scorebooks or even, at times, by the customs of human decency. At one point in Game 7, the only daylight between the teams came when the umpires pushed the players apart. Counting the 18-inning Game 3, this was the first Fall Classic that featured more than eight games’ worth of baseball. Only three of the games were truly close—Games 1, 2, 4 and 5 were decided by an average of five runs—but neither team ever seemed overmatched. 

Still this one was loopier than most. The Dodgers used all four of their World Series starting pitchers, two—Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow—on no days’ rest. The Blue Jays used three of theirs. The fourth, Kevin Gausman, said he would have been available had the game continued.

And for a while it appeared it might go forever. The Blue Jays never seemed to go away. Twice the Dodgers won in what should have been backbreaking fashion—the 18-inning Game 3, and then the wild double play to snuff out a rally in Game 6—but Toronto just kept fighting. It won Game 4, and it nearly won this one. 

Los Angeles’s roster boasts 44 All-Star Game appearances and 22 World Series rings. For the Blue Jays, those figures are 29 and three. The Dodgers’ record $328 million payroll has made some observers question whether they are ruining baseball. The Blue Jays were not interested in narratives, just in wins. 

The allrounder smashed the second fastest ODI hundred for Australia, off 47 balls, in the final ODI against South Africa

Andrew McGlashan24-Aug-20252:14

Green: ‘I was told I was next one ball before Heady got out’

Ask Cameron Green to do a job over the last couple of months and he’s generally made a success of it. Batting No. 3 in Australia’s Test side had a tricky start but he came good during the West Indies tour; then given the No. 4 role in T20Is he earned Player of the Series honours. It was very much in that T20 style that he surged to a maiden ODI hundred from just 47 balls in the third match against South Africa in Mackay.While his promotion to No. 3 from No. 4 had started to be discussed around the 30-over mark, as Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh forged their double-century opening stand, Green had one ball’s notice that it would actually happen before Head was dismissed for 142. “I think it always happens like that,” he said after the game. “You make a decision that doesn’t effect on-field, but for some reason it does. The next ball I was in, so it took me a while to get ready.”He was off the mark second ball, skipping down the pitch at Keshav Maharaj, Australia’s nemesis from the opening game of the series, and hammering a drive wide of long-off. From then on Green was always above a run-a-ball, and the gap quickly grew wider”I think it is that mindset of when you switch positions, kind of your role does change,” he said. “Instead of maybe nudging it around, maybe getting Bison [Marsh] on strike, I think it was just get out there, get on with it straight away.”Related

• Green set to bowl in Shield cricket

• Green, Head and Marsh flay centuries as Australia put on a show

• Stats – Records tumble in Mackay as Head, Marsh and Green batter South Africa

One of the most eye-catching moments of Green’s innings came when he faced left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy in the 45th over and turned down a single to keep the strike with an eye on the match-up. It was a continuation of the tactic Tim David had used in recent T20Is and Green responded by depositing the next three balls for six.”We were discussing it before Tim David did it in West Indies,” Green said. “If you get a really good match-up I think the bowler likes when a single gets hit, for example. Try and make the most of the short boundary.”Another curiosity in Green’s innings was that one of his eight sixes came courtesy of the amended boundary-fielding laws that prevent a player from “bunny-hopping” outside the playing area to field the ball mid-air. Green had launched Wiaan Mulder to long-on where Dewald Brevis couldn’t keep himself in the field of play and palmed the ball back having leapt in the air outside the boundary. Previously he would have prevented the boundary, but now it was six.Green’s century came in the next over, putting him between two of Glenn Maxwell’s finest hours in the list of fastest hundreds for Australia. Maxwell is one of the lynchpin ODI figures Australia need to replace ahead of the World Cup in 2027, alongside Steven Smith, with the batting performances in the first two games of this series raising a few questions about the health of the one-day side.It would be unwise to draw too many conclusions from the 431 for 2 in a dead rubber against a weakened South Africa attack and where batting first proved a distinct advantage. But it was an emphatic response, with timely runs for Head and Marsh’s continuing increase in output being the other encouraging signs.Cameron Green high-fives Alex Carey as he completes his hundred in Mackay•Getty Images”It’s been a while since we played one-day cricket so it just took a while to find our groove,” Green, who before this series had also not played an ODI since last September, said. “Shame it was a bit late for this series, but good signs moving forward.”I think you can normally work your way back from Test cricket. I think that’s a reasonably easy way [to go] because your technique’s normally in a good place and then you can open up and expand your game. Potentially going the other way is a bit tougher. You’re really looking to attack and then you have to kind of rein it in a little bit, pick and choose your times when to go.”Australia’s next ODIs are in mid-October against India, the No.1-ranked side, but Green could miss that series as he uses the Sheffield Shield to return to bowling ahead of the Ashes. If so, it will be another lengthy gap in the format for him.There remain some interesting questions for the selectors to ponder. Green’s performance in this match raises the possibility as to whether he could be Australia’s long-term ODI No. 3 or if that role stays with Marnus Labuschagne, who didn’t get the chance to bat after two scores of 1 in the first two matches of the series.Matt Short and Mitchell Owen were initially due to be part of this squad before injury and will likely feature against India. Aaron Hardie, a late call-up, struggled in two outings and his stock may have fallen although time remains on his side. Xavier Bartlett, however, will have done his cause no harm with new-ball wickets.Cooper Connolly, someone the selectors have been keen to expose at the top level, ended the series as an unlikely holder of the best ODI figures by an Australia spinner. He had Labuschagne’s brilliant out cricket to thank for a couple of wickets, and a stream of South African batters swinging in a lost cause, but if he grows into a genuine all-round option then he would be a valuable addition to the next generation of Australia’s 50-over cricketers. A team in which Green will be one of the most important figures.

Bruno Fernandes was back to his best to guide Manchester United past a sorry Wolves and into the Premier League's top six. The United captain scored twice and got an assist in a 4-1 win at Molineux although it was not a trouble-free night for the Red Devils, who suffered the embarrassment of being the first team to concede a league goal to Wolves since October.

Wolves went into the game having lost their last eight matches in all competitions and without scoring a league goal in more than two months. They made things easy for United, which was just as well as the Red Devils did not exactly bring their A game. Diogo Dalot should have made more of a piece of quick-thinking by Fernandes which played him through on goal but he couldn't beat Sam Johnstone.

United did take the lead through more awful Wolves defending, as Casemiro capitalised on Andre's dilly-dallying on the ball to rob his countryman and send it to Matheus Cunha. The former Wolves forward bungled his pass to Fernandes, who then fell over but still managed to score past Johnstone.

United had a triple chance to double the lead which saw Bryan Mbeumo denied by Sam Johnstone, Cunha's follow-up shot blocked on the line by Toti Gomes and then Amad Diallo whistled the rebound wide. The visitors must have been kicking themselves as Bellegarde scored in the second minute of added time at the end of the half after United had failed to clear their lines. It was Wolves' first league goal since October 26, when they were beaten at home by Burnley.

United, for once, responded well to the setback and came out looking determined to put things right. They got their lead back in the 51st minute thanks to a quick breakaway move which led to Dalot passing for Mbeumo to slot into an unguarded net. They then went for the jugular as they had to and sealed the points. 

Mason Mount produced a smart volley to finish off a Fernandes pass and then the captain rounded off a pleasing evening for him by bagging a penalty after a handball, given by VAR, against Yerson Mosquera. 

GOAL rates Man United's players from Molineux…

• AFP
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Senne Lammens (6/10):

  Transmitted confidence, especially when dealing with crosses. Had few shots to make and blameless for the goal.

  Noussair Mazraoui (6/10):

  Brushed off a bruising challenge by Jhon Arias and delivered a composed display, calmly averting the danger on the rare occasions there was any.

  Ayden Heaven (5/10):

  Surprising to see him start after his poor game against West Ham. Looked very relaxed and nearly ran into trouble in the first half. Made a couple of good interventions, especially against Arias and Fer Lopez, but his lack of authority when Wolves scored showed he is not suitable to lead the three-man defence.

  Luke Shaw (7/10):

  Strong all-round display, even withstanding his casual play against Lopez and needing help from Heaven. His aggressive defending helped United play on the front foot. It was his tackle on Bellegarde which sparked the counter leading to Mbeumo's goal.

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• AFP
  

  Midfield

  Amad Diallo (6/10):

  Didn't really get into the game. Fired wide after Cunha's shot was hacked away while in the second half he made a promising dribble then didn't know what to do next. 

  Casemiro (7/10):

  Put in a combative performance, harrying Andre to help create the opening goal. Protected the defence well around the area.

  Bruno Fernandes (8/10):

  Back to his dominant best after a poor display against West Ham, having his say in all four goals. Managed to score after slipping over; drove the team forward leading to the second goal; put in a peach of a cross for Mount and then calmly slotted in the penalty. 

  Diogo Dalot (7/10):

  An excellent display which showed he can help the team despite playing on his weaker left side. Should have done better with his chance but made amends with good wing play, teeing up a header for Cunha with the outside of his foot and then generously setting up Mbeumo to score.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Attack

  Bryan Mbeumo (7/10):

  Gave a typically energetic performance and took the rough with the smooth. Should have scored when Johnstone denied him but kept his head up and could hardly miss Dalot's gift after bursting forward. Booked for a foul on Arias after trying to compensate for losing the ball to him.

  Matheus Cunha (6/10):

  A rusty display against his old club. Got an assist despite bungling his pass to Bruno and should have done better with his attempt even with Gomes clearing it off the line. Couldn't get the ball out of his feet when it fell to him in the area although to his credit he set Dalot on his way when United restored their lead. 

  Mason Mount (7/10):

  Capped a fine display with a fine finish. Involved in United's best moves, demonstrating his footballing intelligence as well as his technique.

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• AFP
  

  Subs & Manager

  Lisandro Martinez (6/10):

  Got the away crowd going with a couple of meaty challenges.

  Leny Yoro (6/10):

  Gave the team a bit more leadership in defence.

  Kobbie Mainoo (6/10):

  Played it simple to ensure United had no late panic.

  Patrick Dorgu (N/A):

  Replaced Dalot in the 84th minute.

  Joshua Zirkzee (N/A):

  Got six minutes plus added time but looked in no hurry to increase the damage on Wolves.

  Ruben Amorim (7/10):

  Watched his team mostly dominate and recover well from a setback, with the important caveat they were playing a historically awful Wolves side.

Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 94 helped Perth reach their target of 165 with seven wickets to spare

AAP06-Dec-2025Beth Mooney has led Perth Scorchers back into the WBBL finals, executing the perfect chase against Brisbane Heat and ending Melbourne Renegades’ title defence in the process.Needing 165 for victory in a must-win game at the WACA on Saturday, Mooney hit an unbeaten 94 from 61 to help Perth reach the target with seven wickets and four balls to spare. The victory ensured the Scorchers would have a home final, knocked the Renegades out of the top four and handed the Heat the first winless season in WBBL history.With one game to play in the season, Hobart are guaranteed top spot and hosting rights for next Saturday night’s final at Ninja Stadium. Perth and the Melbourne Stars are also locked into finals spots, with the winner of the Sydney Sixers and Adelaide at North Sydney Oval on Sunday morning to join them.The WBBL’s finals system has third and fourth face off in eliminator on Tuesday, before the winner of that plays against second on Thursday for a spot in the final.The Stars could have wrapped up second spot on Saturday morning had they beaten the Sydney Thunder at Junction Oval, only for them to be well beaten. Instead Perth are now in second, and will stay there if the Strikers beat the Sixers on Sunday.Facing a tricky chase after Georgia Redmayne’s 57 helped the Heat to 164 for 7, Mooney took control of the game at the WACA. Australia’s veteran opener regularly picked balls up off her pads and hit them over the legside to the rope, hitting 12 boundaries in a near-flawless knock. The Scorchers’ chase threatened to wobble late when Maddy Darke (24) and Sophie Devine (13) fell, but Mooney held her nerve and Freya Kemp’s late hitting saw Perth home.The leading run-scorer in WBBL history, Mooney now has scores of 105, 75 and 94* for the season and will enter the finals as one of the league’s most dangerous players.

Heung-min Son touches down in London next week to bid farewell to the Lilywhites fanbase at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Thomas Frank’s side are set to take on Slavia Prague in the Champions League, and what they could do with a prime version of Son and Harry Kane leading the line.

It’s fair to say that the world-class forwards have not been replaced since both departing in recent years, and that has been to the detriment of the new manager’s project.

Creatively, Spurs have not been at the races, but the need for an elite centre-forward has been just as severe. Talismanic figures like Kane are hard to come by, though.

Why Spurs are missing Harry Kane

It is not hard to work out why Tottenham miss their all-time record goalscorer, whose shooting skills are second to none and who, regardless, has so much more to his game than mere finishing.

Now a superstar with Bayern Munich, the Three Lions captain is one of the most prolific forwards in world football, actually described as “the best player in the world” by writer Mitch Fretton.

This might just be the case. Kane has posted 25 goals from 21 matches in all competitions this season. His Bayern side are runaway Bundesliga leaders already.

He is the star of the show, the cream of the crop. Just as he was at Tottenham.

How Frank must wish for such a player leading his line. Although saying that, the Danish coach does has a Kane-esque star in his ranks, even if this player is performing on the other side of the field.

Spurs have a new Kane-like talisman

There isn’t a single forward in Tottenham’s first team who would scratch the same surface as Kane in his north London pomp right now, but Cristian Romero is showing off talismanic properties, albeit in a different way.

The Argentina international has been something of a divisive figure at times down N17, boasting world-class talent but also an erraticness and rash streak that has pulled him away from the action at times.

But he’s still an immense player, evidenced when he came up trumps as Spurs salvaged a draw at St. James’ Park on Tuesday evening, scoring a brace against Newcastle United.

Romero is hardly a similar player to Kane, but they share some similarities that suggest Romero could be the club’s new version.

They are both leaders. Kane was never anointed as Tottenham’s first-choice captain due to Hugo Lloris, but he’s undoubtedly a top leader. In this, Romero and him are alike, with the Argentine both a vocal and lead-by-example skipper, so imposing and aggressive in the heart of the defence.

The 27-year-old is a “monster” of a player, as dubbed by journalist Charlie Eccleshare, with Sofascore recording that he has averaged 2.5 tackles and 5.7 duels in the Premier League this season, winning 64% of the latter.

Micky van de Ven, lauded by some as Tottenham’s best player, has not yet achieved the same kind of defensive mastery, averaging only 1.1 tackles per game and winning just 51% of his duels.

It’s clear in this regard that Romero boasts surpassing quality, more roundedness, more completeness. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 10% of Premier League defenders this year for goals, the top 7% for successful take-ons and the top 5% for tackles per 90.

Let’s hope he remains under Frank’s wing over the coming years. On the basis of the evidence, the head coach is going to need him.

The new Son: Spurs prepared to pay £65m to sign "world-class" talent

Tottenham Hotspur could be about to fork out a hefty sum to land a new attacker for Thomas Frank.

By
Ethan Lamb

Dec 3, 2025

The Angels were considering multiple former franchise stars to become their next skipper, but they reportedly ruled out two big names in their managerial search after Ron Washington and interim Ray Montgomery's departure.

According to a report from 's Bob Nightengale, Los Angeles has informed five-time All-Star Torii Hunter that he is no longer in the running to become their next manager. Earlier Monday, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that Albert Pujols have broken off talks on the role as he receives interest from the Orioles and Padres for their openings.

Neither former franchise star possesses experience as a manager at the MLB level, but Pujols has found quick success as a manager in his native Dominican Republic. He's slated to manage their national team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Hunter joined the Angels as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian last year.

Who are the other candidates for the Angels' managerial vacancy?

Los Angeles could still look to a former player with Kurt Suzuki still in the mix, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Suzuki has served as a special assistant to Minasian as well. Bollinger mentioned Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde as well as former Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli as additional candidates linked to the Angels.

The Angels finished last season 72-90 and missed out on the playoffs for the 11th season in a row.

“I don’t sleep easy with the loss of Rahul Dravid and Sanju Samson, who’ve been personal friends for 15 years,” Manoj Badale says, but explains that all decisions were taken transparently and for the best of the team

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Nov-2025Bringing back Ravindra Jadeja and releasing Sanju Samson – is this what you expected once IPL 2025 got over?Definitely. What was on my mind when the 2025 season finished was that we needed to very quickly do what we do at the end of every year, which is [to conduct] a thorough, independent review of why we performed so badly. To be clear, we do these reviews when we perform well [too]. So there was nothing unusual about the process at the end of 2025 other than the reality that we were reviewing a very poor season. In fact, our poorest season in 18 years. What I had on my list was: understanding why and what were the recommendations and changes that we could make to put us in a better position for 2026.Related

• Sangakkara confirmed as RR head coach and director of cricket

• IPL 2026: How the squads stack up ahead of the auction

In the media release announcing the exit of Rahul Dravid as head coach, you pointed out that a structural review had been conducted. Who conducted it and who were spoken to?We always try where we can to have some independence in the review. So, for example, we had a tough year in Dubai [IPL 2020, where RR finished last with six wins] and Andrew Strauss led the review and then subsequently joined the RR Board; Strauss sat across the reviews for many years subsequently and he would bring that impartiality, if you like. This year we didn’t have Strauss because by mutual agreement he stepped away to focus on his other business interests.So the review this time was led by Stuart Lancaster [former England men’s rugby coach], which to some of the readers may seem a strange choice given that he’s a rugby coach, but he’s actually passionate and highly interested in cricket as well. And someone that I’d got to know through my work on the FA technical advisory board and someone who has been through his own ups and downs as a head coach. So we had him lead the review, supported by my business partner Charles Mindenhall, who again brings 18 years of Board context, but again, a real independence in terms of his own opinions.All the key members of the support staff and most of the key players [were spoken to in the review].That included the head coach [Dravid], the captain [Samson], the assistant coaches and Kumar Sangakkara [director of cricket]?Of course. In fact, there were multiple meetings with Dravid and Sangakkara.What were the major recommendations after the review?There were basically three themes. One was that the structure was too complex. Two, that we needed a simpler, more aligned structure. And thirdly, that in the IPL, player connectivity is critical. The core issue was we had allowed it to get too complex. And, actually, the person who has to own [up to] that is me.Can you break that down for us?We needed a simpler, more aligned structure. The review suggested there were areas we could improve in our decision-making.Among the big decisions you took post IPL 2024 was to bring in Dravid as head coach. From the outside, it was a surprise considering RR had made two playoffs, including a final, and finished fifth between 2021 and 2024 under Sangakkara at the helm as both team director and head coach. What made the reshuffle necessary?Actually, that wasn’t when the decision was taken [to appoint Dravid]. The conversations had been ongoing for multiple years. He is, and will always be, one of the greatest Indian coaches that’s ever lived. And if you remember, his coaching career started at RR. He’s a good personal friend. He’s been an informal kind of mentor and advisor even when he is not been with RR. So I’d always had an aspiration for him to return, but he was also clear that he wasn’t going to be available until he delivered a trophy for India, which he did [T20 World Cup 2024].How difficult then was it to speak to Dravid on the plans to reshuffle the main coaching positions?The conversations were actually about him taking on a broader role in the franchise, not about him leaving. Actually, my ambition was for him to take a much bigger role in the franchise, but his ambition was to continue being a head coach. It was that divergence that led him to decide to move on.Associated PressHow much of what has happened in the last six months is down to the retentions before the 2025 mega auction?Look, there is no question that with the benefit of hindsight some auction calls did not work as we had hoped, but that’s almost always going to be the conclusion when you’ve had a bad season. That’s not the reason we parted company. It would be a sign of naive management if you connected dots like that so explicitly. And the reality of any sports franchise is you have multiple people contribute to big decisions like that. But ultimately, I have to own the decisions. I can’t pass them on to other people just because they prove to be right or wrong.What you are perhaps suggesting is that because we got that [retention picks] wrong, this event seven months later happened. But I don’t think it’s as simple as that kind of cause and effect. We shouldn’t also forget we had a bad season [IPL 2025] but we lost four games where we had about 95% win prediction going into the last over. The ESPNcricinfo predictor had us at 98% in three of those four games going into that last over – you win those four games, everyone’s looking at the season differently. I like to think, though, that we would have done exactly the same review and we would have made exactly the same conclusions. The bit I am unequivocal about is: we absolutely would have done the review.How difficult was it to know that Samson, a player who has grown with the franchise and become the captain, wanted to be released? When did he tell you about his decision?Look, he sort of made indications towards the end of the [IPL 2025] season that he was emotionally [drained]. A friend of mine always says to me, you’ve got three types of capital in your life: you have physical capital, you have intellectual capital, and you have emotional capital. And the way I describe what Sanju said to me – he didn’t necessarily use these words – is he was drained of the emotional capital that he had put into RR.Now, when you run an IPL franchise, players ask to leave, stay, get retained, put in the auction all the time because ultimately their primary lookout, as it should be, is themselves. And whether it’s their earnings or whether it’s their prospects of making the Indian team, that’s true.
In the case of Sanju, that was never been the case.So when he says, ‘Sir, I want to move on, I’m emotionally drained; I almost care too much and I feel like I need a fresh chapter’, when asks that, you have to listen. I was really clear with him that we would cooperate and try to seek an alternative chapter for him, but we would only do it if it was a player trade and we would only do it if view was that the trade made the franchise stronger. And to be fair to him, he respected that. He agreed with that and he abided by that.

“Sanju Samson is so authentic, we just respected his desire. But we were clear with him that we would only satisfy that desire if it made the franchise as strong or stronger”Manoj Badale

But I’m sure you tried hard to convince him to stay on.Actually, I didn’t. Of course, your heart tells you to get on a plane and fly to India and try and convince him, but I didn’t. No, nor did Sanga. Nor did Rahul. The man Sanju Samson is so authentic, we just respected his desire. But we were clear with him that we would only satisfy that desire if it made the franchise as strong or stronger.If the trade had not gone through, would you have released him or retained him? And what convinced you the CSK offer was a good trade deal?We would retain him. The other two conditions of the process were: one, I would personally lead the process so that we had no leaks. It’s a sensitive thing doing trades, because owners have to declare which players may be available in the knowledge that they may then be playing for them next year. You are also dealing with human beings. You are not dealing with robots. The second condition for the process was I would personally contact every franchise so that no franchise could ever say, ‘oh, he did a deal with him because he’s a friend of his’. So I did call every single franchise quite quickly.It was clear there were sort of five teams, very, very interested. As for why CSK, we went through a five to six week process of negotiation, analysis, review, as well as discussions with Sanju. And that’s how we got to the answer we did.So you involved Samson, too?Hundred per cent. We spoke lots and lots.The media narrative fascinated me because the media narrative was this is a franchise in chaos. Rahul leaves, there’s management changes, Sanju’s asking to leave. There were three or four big figures that left the franchise in quick succession. Actually, that could not be further from how it felt internally. The season finished in June, my message to everyone was, ‘listen, decompress for the end of June’. We started the review, I think, on July 1, and we finished the review exactly when we wanted to, I think at the end of the first week of August, because Stuart was starting a new coaching job and people were going to start disappearing on a holiday. I said I wanted till August to digest the review. I had multiple conversations with Sanga and with Rahul and with Sanju through that period. And September and October have been the implementation months.Kumar Sangakkara has been reappointed head coach while still being the director of cricket•SA20What tempted you to agree on bringing Jadeja in?Personally, any owner would be mad not to be tempted by Jadeja. I don’t need to talk about his cricket credentials: he’s won trophies in the IPL, he’s won trophies on the international stage. He’s arguably one of our best batters, one of our best bowlers, one of our best fielders.Even though he played for us [in 2008-09], I didn’t really know him as a person. And also the person I knew was a 19-year-old. I mean, obviously there’s a nice narrative about returning home and coming back to where he started, but in truth, that’s been a bigger theme for him. He called me when CSK informed him that he was up for trade. He was so happy to be coming back to RR. Actually, that made me smile and laugh. But it wasn’t just about Jadeja – it was about Jadeja and [Sam] Curran.Curran is a key part of this trade because it’s the combination of the two that fill three or four slots that you and your colleagues identified were big weaknesses. And it’s stating the obvious, but when you get players that can bat and bowl, it just allows you to change the balance. I think we spent 68 of our 90 crore last year on batting. And that inevitably kind of drives an imbalance. The exciting part from our perspective is arguably one of India’s greatest superstars and one of England’s all-round superstars added to the team.Jadeja, I believe, is keen on captaincy. Was that part of your conversation with him?Not really. And it’s not part of the conversation right now. We actually have got the player leadership group together twice, once including him, to make it clear that we are going to go through a process over the next couple of months. We’ve got probably six or seven players that could be RR captain. We didn’t want to get into that and embark on that part of the process until we knew the trade was happening. Otherwise, it becomes a futile process. Now that the trade is done, our absolute short-term focus is the auction. Once the auction is done, our next focus then will be the captaincy process.5:40

What will RR’s rejig look like?

Moving away for a bit, what are your thoughts on mega auctions, and whether they should remain?I do. The thing that makes the IPL the tournament that it is, and I personally think it’s the essence of sport, is unpredictable outcomes. So we can go from, in my humble opinion, certainly being one of the best two teams in the last three-year cycle to being one of the worst two teams last year. Now, while that’s frustrating and leads to conversations like this and hours of work, protecting the unpredictability of the outcomes should be the central objective of any of the governors of the IPL.The only way you do that is with really robust salary caps – otherwise it becomes a tournament for the richest owners – and a very transparent procurement process. And whether it’s the NFL Draft or the IPL auction, I can’t think of a more transparent approach. Clearly, the teams with the deepest pockets will always push for more retentions, they will push for abandonment of the auctions, but then you end up with the challenge that you have had in other sporting leagues like soccer, where it’s a league of ten teams on paper, but it’s four teams that are really competing for the final. I don’t think that’s good for the fan. We sometimes forget these tournaments exist for the fans and they are the people that pay for it with their eyeballs. And fans want to watch games where they don’t know who’s going to win, even if their team is playing.Why I asked that was because owners have to bother about retentions and negotiations every three years.It’s part of the strategy. As long as you know the rules and as long as the rules don’t keep changing at the last minute, it’s part of the fun of plotting, which is thinking two years ahead to the players that you are going to retain, thinking one year ahead to what does this mean for that mega auction.

“The conversations with Sangakkara were not about any sort of rebuilding or radical transformation, but how do we sort of return to the things that made us successful from 2022 to 2024”Manoj Badale

With Sangakkara back as head coach, can you talk about the conversations you have had with him to drive the strategy forward?The conversations with him were not about any sort of rebuilding or radical transformation, but how do we sort of return to the things that made us successful from 2022 to 2024. We were the worst fielding side in the IPL last year. We have always believed that culture is incredibly important. So how do we double down on some of those weaknesses and some of those historic strengths? And it was a reasonably quick conclusion that that sort of stability and evolution rather than revolution would be best managed this year if he took the helm.What are the short- and mid-term goals you have set for the team?The media has been always very kind describing us as India’s most important talent factory. And, of course, the stats bear that out pretty unambiguously. But I’ve always had a wry smile when I read those things because we’ve never had any other objective – certainly for the past four years – of doing anything other than winning the IPL. We are not only here to develop young talent. We are here to compete and win.Again, I come back to the unpredictability of the IPL. As stakeholders, as shareholders, as owners, it’s too tough a competition to set goals in terms of outcomes. It’s naive to say we must win the IPL this year because the margins between the teams are so thin and a couple of tosses here or there, a couple of umpiring decisions here or there can take that away from you. So we don’t define our goals in terms of outcomes, we define our goals in terms of inputs. The things that you can control, like squad selection, like behaviours, like culture, like leadership, structure, those are the things you have to focus on, not the outcomes.Another key parameter is winning at home. There’s always this question about whether RR will play in Jaipur or whether they will go to Guwahati. What will be the home base in IPL 2026?Our home is, has been, and will always be Rajasthan. Whether it’s this season, next season, the season after, we are the Rajasthan Royals. Our heart is in Rajasthan. The only reason we will ever not play in Rajasthan is because of stadium security, stadium infrastructure, fan protection, fan safety. If we cannot guarantee those things, then we’ll play wherever we need to. That’s what makes the decisions. It’s not about the location. It’s about making sure we can play in high-quality stadiums, making sure we can ensure great fan experiences. And that’s going to be a challenge this year as it has been for the last 15 years.11:36

Samson-Jadeja trade – shocking, or not?

Have the past few months been the most challenging during your time in the IPL? And are you convinced what you have chosen is the right path to go forward?This has been the toughest pretty much since RR started. This has been a really tough period.
All you can ever be confident of is: have you made the decisions with the best available information? You can’t be confident of outcomes in sports. There are too many variables that you can’t control. Injuries, weather, tournament location, pitch location. So after doing this for 18 years, again, it’s naive to say I’m confident that these will be proven to be the right decisions. You cannot be. What you can be is be true to yourself is that you have made decisions with care, courage and based on the right information. And I sort of sleep easy with that. I don’t sleep easy with the loss of two people – Rahul and Sanju – who’ve been personal friends for 15 years. And I still get emotional thinking about the fact that they won’t be there in 2026; in the same way, by the way, I felt very emotional last year about not having Jos Buttler in then squad, but you’ve got to keep looking forward.Since you mentioned Buttler, given another chance would you revisit the 2025 retentions and releases?It’s a surefire way of going mad if you spend your life revisiting decisions that perhaps weren’t the right ones. I mean, it’s like you have got to keep looking forward. I’m hugely excited about this squad. I hope our fans are excited and I hope they just appreciate the amount of work, care and thought that goes into these decisions. And now I think on paper we’ve got a team that can absolutely compete.

Adam Wharton's agent has admitted the Crystal Palace star wants to play in the Champions League one day amid links with a big-money move. Manchester United are among the teams who have been credited with interest in the 21-year-old but for now, he remains an Eagles player. But his representative, James Featherstone, has hinted the midfielder's future lies away from Selhurst Park.

• Palace to 'dig heels in' over Wharton

  After an impressive 18 months or so at Palace, Wharton has been linked with eye-catching transfer moves in 2026. The former Blackburn Rovers star is very highly rated at the Croydon outfit and if they are to part company with a player who has three-and-a-half years left on his contract, it will be for a huge fee. Palace co-owner Steve Parish is well aware that his club, who are playing in the Conference League this term, have an in-demand player but they will do all they can to keep him. 

  He said in October: "Look, I think Adam at some point will want to play, either in the Champions League with us, if we could make that happen, or probably with another club. He’s an extraordinary talent. I think right now, and I can’t speak for Adam, but I think he’s focused on his time at Crystal Palace. He had a broken season last season with the groin issues that he had, which a lot of young players get. This season he’s completely focused on putting the games in, getting in the England squad, being a regular for us. I think he’s very committed to the club. I mean, if Manchester United want Adam Wharton, that’s nothing surprising really. The fact of the matter is he’s got a long contract to run. There’s no pressure on us to do it and I don’t think there’s any real pressure from the player either."

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  Wharton downplays Man Utd links

  Although United, one of the world's biggest clubs, are said to be keen on Wharton, he himself does not seem to be too enamoured with Ruben Amorim's team – who are not in Europe this season and are below Palace in the Premier League table. 

  Indeed, he said last month: "I don't really look into it or think too much about it. There are always rumours floating about on social media. Is it true? Is it not? You tell me. My friends, my family, my brothers, everyone will message me and be like, 'Is it true this club's interested?' I'm like, 'Thanks for telling me because I didn't know.' I don't know who's spreading it or who at United is looking at it. I see it and I'm like, 'OK', and then I carry on with my day. United, the big teams, they're all linked to 10, 20 different players. If I'm one of 20, then it's nothing special, so it doesn't really mean too much. I speak with my agent about planning ahead and possibilities. But at the end of the day, it is who's interested and who's willing to try and get you and if that becomes the case? You can speak about it, but you've got to represent that on the pitch and prove that you deserve it."

• Wharton on the move?

  After achieving his goals of playing in the Premier League and becoming an England international, Wharton has his sights set on his next goal – the Champions League. According to his agent Featherstone, the midfielder is craving Europe's elite competition next. 

  "When he was at Blackburn we sat down and spoke about shooting for the stars and playing for England," his agent told . "So how do you get there? Personally I think to play for England you have to play Champions League, to play in the Champions League you have got to play for one of the top teams in one of the top leagues. That jump to a Champions League team, I think you can get lost. The plan below that was to play for a Premier League team. We have got a plan. He is 21. I have to check myself to remember that every now and then. It doesn’t have to be achieved yesterday, today or this moment. He has got his in-game, in-season targets and goals. He has got to do his bit and the rest will look after itself in a very structured, calm way to ultimately add value and maximise his ability."

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  What comes next for Wharton?

  The England ace will hope to help his Palace side, who sit sixth in the Premier League, to all three points when they visit London neighbours Fulham in the English top-flight on Sunday afternoon. If results go their way, they could rise to fourth in the table, whereas the Cottagers could jump two places to 13th with a win.