Find a Football Team

Enzo Maresca got the sack because of his actions. That does not mean the club’s structure needs a complete overhaul

Some clubs build around their manager. Eddie Howe is hugely influential at Newcastle and Aston Villa are pretty much Unai Emery FC these days. Chelsea, though, have adopted an alternative model. They have a team of five sporting directors, led by Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and do not want one person to hold all the power.

Yet the question many are asking in the wake of Enzo Maresca’s demise is whether the template will yield success at the very highest level. It is never quiet at Chelsea. They are often busy in the transfer market, meaning there is an element of players coming and going, and they are now looking for their fifth permanent head coach since a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm run by Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, bought the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022.

• Frank likens challenges at Spurs to running a marathon

• Tottenham booed off after goalless draw at Brentford

Thomas Frank has admitted he is not enjoying his job at Tottenham. The head coach is dealing with numerous problems as he navigates what always stood to be a transitional season, the most insistent being his team’s lack of creativity.

Spurs were booed off after Thursday’s 0-0 draw at Brentford by the travelling support, who also chanted “boring, boring Tottenham”. But Frank is confident he will come to look back on the first half of his debut campaign more fondly once – and not if – his squad emerges on the other side, stronger and wiser for the suffering. Tottenham are 12th in the Premier League – their next game is at home to Sunderland on Sunday and Frank leant into a marathon-running analogy when he was asked whether he was enjoying the challenge to which he has signed up.

• Celtic manager has lost five of seven games in charge

• Job under threat if he loses to Rangers on Saturday

Wilfried Nancy has launched an impassioned defence of his credentials to manage Celtic, asking his critics to apply context and claiming the media have tried to “kill” him during his troubled early weeks at the club. The reality is that his job will come under serious threat should Celtic lose Saturday’s Old Firm fixture.

The 2-0 loss to Motherwell on Tuesday was the fifth reverse of his seven games in charge. The performance at Fir Park was especially dismal, which raised the latest set of questions about the former Columbus Crew coach’s suitability for his role. If Rangers win at Celtic Park they would draw level with their oldest foes despite their own unconvincing start to the campaign. Both trail Hearts in the Premiership.

After a group stage that delivered an average of 3.6 goals a game we look at the match-ups in Morocco that start on Saturday

Senegal, winners of the Afcon in 2022, have arguably the best collection of players, including the experience of Sadio Mané and the explosive talent of Nicolas Jackson, and are superior to their east African opponents. But Sudan, who qualified for the tournament despite the tragedy of a horrendous war in their country, certainly match the Lions of Teranga in fortitude. Sudan, coached by the Ghanaian Kwesi Appiah, who led his home country at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, played all their qualifiers away from home, with the war, which began in April 2023, shutting down a thriving domestic league. The Sudan striker John Mano told the BBC of people back home: “Some of them cannot watch the matches … They can’t even listen on the radio … We are trying to free our country, through the football way.” A win for Sudan would be one of the fairytales of the tournament.

• Manager Glasner pleased club got deal done swiftly

• Johnson says he is ‘super excited’ to make move

Oliver Glasner credited Crystal Palace’s hierarchy for completing the signing of Brennan Johnson from Tottenham for a club record £35m on the second day of the transfer window.

The Wales forward has a four-and-a-half-year deal and is expected to be part of Palace’s squad that will face Newcastle on Sunday. Glasner has made no secret of his desire to bolster the FA Cup winners after a demanding debut campaign in Europe and has criticised Palace’s lack of preparedness in previous transfer windows. However, the Austrian manager said he was delighted with the signing of the 24-year-old after Palace saw off competition from Bournemouth.

• Both transfers being driven by Nuno Espírito Santo

• Sterling rejects West Ham, with Fulham favourites

West Ham have boosted their attacking options by signing Gil Vicente’s Pablo Felipe and are poised to add Lazio’s Taty Castellanos to their squad as well, at a combined cost of up to £47m.

Both deals have been driven by Nuno Espírito Santo, who is looking to help his struggling side’s fight to stay in the Premier League by adding more firepower. West Ham considered a move for the Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen but decided against making a bid after concluding that his £40m valuation was too high.

Manchester United coach prepares trio for Elland Road. Plus: Semenyo set to play for Bournemouth despite transfer talk, and Toone extends deal

Minutes obtained under freedom of information laws show West Midlands police flagged concerns over decision ahead of Aston Villa match

Jewish communities warned West Midlands police that a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a match against Aston Villa “could be perceived as antisemitic”, documents show.

Supporters of the Israeli team were banned from attending the Europa League fixture at Villa Park in Birmingham on 6 November, causing outrage, with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, condemning it as “wrong” and suggesting it amounted to antisemitism.