The self-created title of "The Sacked Club" has grown. It's an unrelenting club that has a limitless amount of membership. The only criteria that needs to be met is that you've been sacked from your managerial positions. The latest members to join are Tottenham's Thomas Frank; Marseille's Roberto De Zerbi and Nottingham Forest's Sean Dyche.
Also read: The Sacked Club
Just over eight months after being named as Ange Postecoglou's successor at Tottenham Hotspur, Thomas Frank has now shared his fate.
After the glory of Bilbao and the Europa League final triumph in May, Frank's arrival was met with a mixed response from the Spurs fanbase. After an impressive start to his tenure, a slide down the table prompted by a shocking home record proved too difficult to ignore for the Spurs hierarchy.
Frank's reign has been nothing, if not uneventful. He came within minutes of lifting a trophy in his first match as head coach but on Tuesday night left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to the tune of "you're getting sacked in the morning" after another woeful home defeat to a struggling Newcastle side.
Where has it all gone wrong?
27 September: Tottenham 1-1 Wolves. After an encouraging start to the season highlighted by a win over Manchester City, Frank's wings were clipped by a lacklustre draw with Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs would have gone second with a victory and yet struggled to create chances against a Wolves side that had lost their opening five Premier League matches.
Santiago Bueno's 54th-minute goal had the visitors on the brink of a shock away win that would've relieved some of the pressure on then-head coach, Vitor Pereira but summer recruit, João Palhinha, rescued a point for Spurs in stoppage time.
It was the first sign of two of the most prominent issues plaguing Frank's team: a woeful home record and an inability to implement the attractive style of play with which Spurs have long been associated.
1 November: Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea With fan opinion on Frank starting to sour, Spurs picked the worst time possible to put in one of their worst attacking displays in their modern history. Against a Chelsea team considered to be their second biggest rivals, Spurs managed three shots during the match (one on target); amassing a pitiful xG of 0.1.
Enzo Maresca's Chelsea, meanwhile, posted 3.68 xG with only Guglielmo Vicario's creditable display between the sticks saving Spurs from a thrashing. "That hurts massively," Frank said after the game. "I have never been in charge of a team that has created that little in one game."
23 November: Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham. A positive north London derby result would've made Frank an instant hero in N17, but instead of an inspiring display, Spurs were thrashed 4-1 by their biggest rivals.
Even with numerous key players out injured, Arsenal proved far too strong for Spurs with Richarlison's audacious 40-yeard lob ending up as a footnote on a painful day for the Spurs' faithful. The fact that three of Arsenal's four goals were scored by Eberechi Eze - he had dramatically opted to join the Gunners over Frank's side in the summer - only served to rub more salt into the wound.
Spurs' domestic miseries in recent years have played out in the shadow of Arsenal's return to title-challenging form and the unfavourable comparisons with Arteta's team have not helped a succession of Spurs head coaches.
14 December: Nottingham Forest 3-0 Tottenham. After saving Spurs against Chelsea one month earlier, Vicario had a game to forget as his side were outclassed at the City Ground. Vicario was partly at fault for Callum Hudson-Odoi's opener and was later caught out by an overhit cross from the winger that put the game beyond Spurs' reach.
Ibrahim Sangaré's sumptuous strike later put some gloss on the scoreline for Sean Dyche's men. Spurs' lacklustre performance came after confidence-building wins over Brentford and Slavia Prague but the manner of the defeat brought Frank under fresh scrutiny.
7 January: Bournemouth 3-2 Tottenham. Spurs headed to the Vitality Stadium to Bournemouth with just one win in their last five, including two draws to start the new year against Brentford and Sunderland.
Their hosts, however, hadn't won in the league since the end of October and sat in 15th, having slumped from their highest of second two months prior.
Trailing in the second half, João Palhinha's superb overhead kick seemed to have rescued Frank's side a point. Antoine Semenyo, however, wasn't closed down in the 95th minute and his strike from outside the area condemned Spurs to another defeat.
As if Frank thought his day couldn't have been made any worse, a photo of him mistakenly sipping from an Arsenal-branded cup before kick-off spread like wildfire on social media.
Bournemouth's three points ended an 11-match winless run, adding further proof for the appropriateness of Spurs' 'Dr. Tottenham' moniker, such is their liking for treating their opponents' ailments.
17 January: Tottenham 1-2 West Ham. Ten days later, booing from the Spurs faithful reached its most deafening and calls for Frank's departure grew impossible to ignore.
This time, they faced 19th-placed West Ham who, similarly to Bournemouth, hadn't won in 10 Premier League matches. Earlier in the day, an open letter from Spurs CEO, Vinai Venkatesham, told fans that the, "men's first team has fallen short of where we want to be so far this season." Their performance did little to disprove that.
Frank first felt the fans' displeasure when the half-time whistle blew. However, a second-half equaliser from Cristian Romero sparked belief that they could grab a winner but instead of a rousing comeback victory, the Spurs fans were treated to the sight of Callum Wilson bundling in from a corner in stoppage time.
If Frank thought he'd been through the worst of it at half-time, the referee's final whistle brought a chorus of boos echoing down from the south stand.
10 February: Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle "You're getting sacked in the morning" was the cry from Thomas Frank's own fans at the end of another home defeat, this time to a Newcastle side who themselves are in the midst of a terrible run of a form.
The next morning, they got their wish. "The club has taken the decision to make a change in the Men's Head Coach position and Thomas Frank will leave today," read a club statement. "Results and performances have led the board to conclude that a change at this point in the season is necessary."
He leaves Spurs just five points clear of the drop after a run of just two wins in their last 17 league matches, taking 11 points in that time.
The mood and atmosphere inside the stadium in Tottenham's defeat to Newcastle left the Spurs chief executive with no choice but to go to the Lewis family and suggest the parting of the ways.
It was a reign that began promisingly but has now ended in all too familiar fashion for many who step into the hot seat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
On Tuesday night, Venkatesham and Johan Lange put forward their opinion to the Lewis family, that they wanted to give Frank time to turn it around but the atmosphere against Newcastle was the straw that broke the camel's back. There were even big concern from the Spurs chiefs at half-time of the game.
Off the back of the Europa League win last season, there was a mixed reaction to Frank's appointment in the summer from supporters. Many said he hadn't won anything and he had very little managerial experience in Europe.
Then came his first press conference. It was fairly underwhelming. Unfortunately, he came out with something which seemed to stick with him and was ridiculed often on social media. "We will lose football matches."
Now, of course, we all know what he was trying to say. All clubs lose football matches. Then he referenced Arsenal as an example of being unbeaten in the Premier League. That didn't go down well.
That negativity was a stark contrast to Ange Postecoglou's: "I always win things in my second season." The season did start pretty well with a win over Burnley and a very comfortable win over Manchester City away. There really wasn't much else to get excited about apart from that.
After that, the cracks started to show. There were public clashes with players and supporters. When one of the leadership group at Spurs, Guglielmo Vicario, was having a very difficult season and drew criticism from Spurs fans, Frank called them 'not true Spurs fans'.
The Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence snub at home to Chelsea was another embarrassing public post-match incident.
At Bournemouth away, when Pedro Porro and Van de Ven had to be pulled away from supporters, there was even an embarrassing pre-match howler: Frank pictured with an Arsenal branded cup. That felt like his Steve McClaren 'wally with a brolly' moment.
There were also the damning derby defeats. Losing to Chelsea at home with a disappointing xG of just 0.05 - their lowest ever in a Premier League game. Then there was the loss to Arsenal. "Who is Eberechi Eze?" Frank joked in his pre-match press conference. Two days later, Eze scores a hat-trick. Senior players started to doubt his methods.
Then, there's defending the indefensible in Cristian Romero and the public criticism of the club on his Instagram account. Frank defended him and then just days later, his red card at Manchester United earned him a four-match ban.
Let's be fair to Frank as well - the injuries were atrocious. Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, two of Tottenham's creative midfielders, have been out for all of the season. Dominic Solanke has only just returned and the forwards have just not been up to standard. Two defenders, Romero and Van de Ven are the club's second highest scorers this season.
The January window was also a disappointing one. Selling Brennan Johnson and not recruiting any forwards has left Spurs desperately short with just a few months of the season remaining. Spurs have now rolled the dice and now they have a huge decision to make.
Speaking to a Tottenham fan, he was of the opinion that the sacking was justified. He pointed to the injuries being a contributing issue but conceded that football is a results driven business. As such, the correct decision was made.
In terms of the future, he wouldn't mind a return for former Spurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino. However, he fears the kind of reaction and performances by a former manager who was sacked at the club once before. Either way, he believes a Premier League proven manager is the way to go for Spurs.
An outsider he would find intriguing to see manage Tottenham is former Spurs striker, Robbie Keane.
Another fan finds no pleasure in managers who get sacked. This is especially true if the previous club is doing well. She's got a problem with the constant changes to the side. A lack of cohesion isn't good for team unity and success.
She has no opinion who should be the next manager.
As of this writing, former Juventus manager, Igor Tudor, has been appointed as the interim manager of Tottenham until the end of the season.
I was surprised to see him sacked. I thought he'd still be in a job as long as Tottenham are in the Champions League. I fully understood that he was skating on very thin ice. I'm with both fans, appointing Pochettino would be going backwards. Appointing a former manager isn't a good move and it sends a message that reverting to a former way of life and failures is just fine. Team unity and consistency is essential for success.
Also read: Why Are They Still Here?!
Heading to France and the turmultuous relationship between Marseille and manager, Roberto De Zerbi, has ended. The managerhas left by mutual consent.
The official confirmation of Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille departure arrived at 02:35 on Tuesday morning. In that sense - and that sense alone - the timing of the news was odd. There was nothing else remotely surprising about De Zerbi's exit. It had been coming for some time and Sunday's humiliating 5-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes was obviously the final nail in De Zerbi's coffin.
When the camera cruelly cut to the Italian after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia volleyed home the hosts' fourth goal, it was painfully clear that De Zerbi knew he was done. He was no longer the right man for the job and he probably never had been.
De Zerbi may be widely regarded as one of the most interesting and innovative tacticians in the game today but his predictably turbulent tenure at the Stade Velodrome has only cast further doubt on whether he's really cut out for coaching at the very highest level.
To say that De Zerbi is held in high esteem by his peers would be putting it mildly. He's not so much respected as revered.
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, for example, had been following De Zerbi with interest long before the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk boss arrived in the Premier League and very quickly turned Brighton into one of the best teams to watch in Europe.
"Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years," Guardiola gushed in May 2023. "There is no team playing the way they play, it's unique, like a Michelin-star restaurant.
"I had the feeling when he arrived that the impact he would have in the Premier League would be great but I didn’t expect him to do it in this short space of time. His team creates 20 or 25 chances per game, better by far than most opponents, he monopolises the ball in a way it hasn't been for a long time. Brighton are one of the teams I try to learn a lot from."
Guardiola's great rival, Jurgen Klopp, was just as effusive in his praise of De Zerbi's Brighton, whom he admitted had made his Liverpool side look "silly" during a 3-0 loss at the Amex Stadium. "I am a football lover and if somebody comes in and has the impact Roberto has on football," he said, "it should not be underestimated."
However, while De Zerbi made history at the end of the 2022-23 season by qualifying Brighton for Europe for the first time ever via a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League, he parted company with the club by mutual consent at the end of the following season due to an irreconcilable difference in opinion over player recruitment and a perceived lack of ambition.
"I didn't understand what the next step forward was," De Zerbi later told the Daily Telegraph. "And you can offer to double my salary, but if I can’t see a dream or goal to achieve, I can't give my all as I would like. I would lose motivation and a purpose I always had in football...This is why I decided to go and leave the club, even though unwilling, almost suffering."
On the plus side, De Zerbi was a man in demand. His work at Brighton had attracted the attention of the Premier League's elite and several Serie A sides were also linked with his services. However, while De Zerbi made an unsurprisingly rapid return to management, his decision to do so in Marseille raised eyebrows.
In a way, De Zerbi and Marseille were a good match - at least on an emotional level. The combustible coach and the most chaotic club in France had a shared passion for the game that bordered on the obsessive - which helps explain why De Zerbi felt so at home in the city.
He really did 'get' Marseille and understood what OM meant to the supporters. As former Marseille midfielder, Samir Nasri, told Canal+ Foot, "De Zerbi was like a fan coaching the team. He was extremely affected by defeats."
There's certainly no disputing that claim. After Marseille's painful penalty shootout loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Trophee des Champions on 8 January, he broke down in tears in the dressing room.
"I've never cried after a defeat but today I did because this defeat hurts," he confessed. "We wanted to leave our mark on this club's history and win a trophy, but we didn't manage it. We had prepared especially well against the best team in Europe that had won everything in 2025, and this time we deserved to win. But we must demand of ourselves to always play like this with character, technique, and defence."
However, Marseille's lack of consistency drove De Zerbi demented and ultimately cost him his job.
Roberto De Zerbi's turbulent Marseille spell included a dressing-room flashpoint involving defender Amir Murillo, who was told he had no future at the club during a heated video review that went viral online. The confrontation reflected growing internal tensions between the former Brighton boss and his players, which ultimately contributed to the Italian's acrimonious exit.
Roberto De Zerbi's turbulent Marseille spell included a dressing-room flashpoint involving defender, Amir Murillo, who was told he'd no future at the club during a heated video review that went viral online. The confrontation reflected growing internal tensions between the former Brighton boss and his players, which ultimately contributed to the Italian's acrimonious exit.
De Zerbi's time at Marseille didn't unravel quietly and one moment in particular involving Murillo has come to symbolise how relations behind the scenes deteriorated.
During a post-match video analysis session, the Italian coach singled out the Panama international in front of the squad and directly questioned both his performances and mentality. According to accounts from within the dressing room, De Zerbi bluntly informed the defender he wasn't part of his plans moving forward.
Murillo was reportedly stunned by the exchange, which occurred in front of team-mates rather than privately. The incident created an immediate ripple inside the squad and quickly became a talking point among players already struggling to adapt to the coach's extremely demanding approach.
De Zerbi's coaching style has always been intense, but at Marseille it increasingly turned confrontational as results fluctuated. Training sessions were described as relentless and video meetings particularly forensic; with individuals frequently called out for positional mistakes or lapses in concentration.
For Murillo, the public nature of the criticism was the key issue. The defender had been a regular part of the rotation and believed he was fulfilling his boss' tactical instructions, making the declaration about his future all the more jarring. From that point onward, relations between coach and squad began to visibly fracture.
Murillo's situation exposed a broader problem at the club. De Zerbi had grown frustrated with what he felt was a lack of tactical discipline and competitive edge across the group.
The coach repeatedly emphasised that his teams require absolute concentration in build-up play and defensive positioning. Any deviation from structure, particularly from defenders, undermined the entire system. Murillo, an aggressive and athletic defender by profile, sometimes prioritised duels over positional structure - something De Zerbi considered unacceptable.
Players began to feel the demands were crossing from exacting into personal. Marseille's uneven results heightened the pressure and several squad members reportedly felt confidence was being eroded rather than built.
Rather than softening his stance, De Zerbi maintained that his standards had to remain uncompromising. The former Brighton coach has long defended his methods as necessary for elite football.
He previously explained his philosophy by saying: "I want players with hunger. Talent is not enough. If you lose concentration for one second, the whole structure collapses." In internal discussions, he is said to have reiterated that reputation or status would not protect anyone from criticism."
However, the squad's response was mixed. Some players appreciated the clarity but others felt exposed and demoralised. The repeated public critiques created an uneasy environment, especially during a run of heavy defeats that amplified scrutiny from supporters and media.
While Mason Greenwood has lost one of his mentors, the club appear to be closing in on a replacement, per Le Parisien. Beye played for Marseille between 2003 and 2007 and is currently managing Rennes. Last week, his side lost 3-0 to De Zerbi's side but he could well return to the Velodrome soon. Marseille aren't said to have numerous options, meaning that an appointment could be sorted relatively quickly.
A statement read upon sacking De Zerbi: "Olympique Marseille and Roberto De Zerbi, coach of the first team, have announced the end of their collaboration by mutual agreement. Following discussions between all stakeholders in the club's management - the owner, president, director of football, and coach - it was decided to make a change at the helm of the first team."
"This was a difficult collective decision, taken after careful consideration in the best interests of the club, in order to respond to the sporting challenges of the end of the season. Olympique Marseille would like to thank Roberto De Zerbi for his dedication, commitment, professionalism, and seriousness, which were particularly evident in the team's second-place finish in the 2024/25 season. The club wishes him all the best for the rest of his career."
Mason Greenwood has scored 22 goals this season and De Zerbi claims the player has become "more human" in Ligue 1.
He said: "We always need a Greenwood like the one we've seen in the last few matches. He's a world-class Greenwood. Because in addition to what his mother and father taught him, he's becoming a complete player. He too has gone through difficult times, he didn't leave, and he stayed here. He understood that we were telling him things for his own good and for the good of OM."
De Zerbi added: "I hope he continues like this. I'm constantly reminding him that he has to keep going like this and that it's primarily for his own good. Because I also see him as a bit more human. He smiles sometimes, he talks a bit more. He's less withdrawn than before. And that's a positive thing. Now everyone can really appreciate Greenwood even more than before."
I kind of saw this coming. Although I don't actively watch Ligue 1, I follow the news stories and most of them seemed to revolve around De Zerbi. His appointment was a ticking time bomb; ready to explode at any time. It seems like all parties are satisfied with the decision.
The good news for De Zerbi is that he isn't short of managing options. He's already talked about becoming either the Manchester United or Tottenham manager.
Also read: A Brewing Storm In Marseille
Heading back to England and it was shortly after Nottingham Forest were knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties by Wrexham that key figures in the squad started to lose patience with Sean Dyche.
Last season, Forest had reached the semi-finals under Nuno Espirito Santo and this time around, they fell at the first hurdle against a Championship club. Grumpy at the outcome and at their own performances, several members of the squad were then stunned to hear Dyche pin the blame for the result entirely on them.
When Sean Dyche was nominated for the January manager of the month award just seven days ago, he presumably did not expect to be out of a job two games later.
Defeat by Leeds United and a goalless draw in Wednesday's meeting with bottom side Wolves has prompted Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, to call time on Dyche's four-month tenure as head coach but the former Burnley and Everton boss could argue he has been hard done by.
That nomination came on the back of league wins over Brentford and struggling West Ham United, defeat by third-placed Aston Villa and a point at home to leaders Arsenal.
Throw in an FA Cup exit on penalties at the hands of Championship side Wrexham, a Europa League defeat by Sporting Braga, followed by a thumping win over Hungarian side, Ferencvaros, to secure a knockout phase play-off, and Forest's form since the turn of the year has been the definition of a mixed bag.
In fact, in a league table based on the 18 matches since Dyche took charge on 21 October, they sit 12th. The Englishman departs the City Ground having won six of those games, collecting more league points - 22 - in the same number of games than Forest's two previous managers combined.
Dyche leaves the club in 17th, one place higher than he found them, but just three league wins at home, the last of which was on 14 December, had led to frustration among the Forest faithful. Their displeasure was audible in that defeat in Braga, where the travelling support booed their team off the pitch.
The ongoing problem this term is a lack of goals. The club's all-time Premier League top scorer, Chris Wood, didn't play a single minute under Dyche because of a knee injury picked up in his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou's final game.
Only Wolves have scored fewer than Forest's 25 goals in the league and particularly glaring is how profligate their forward line has been in Wood's absence.
The win rate of 33.3% is the best of Dyche's top-flight managerial career, surpassing the 27.9% he recorded at Burnley and the 28% achieved at Everton. By the same measure, Dyche sits a respectable third out of Forest's eight permanent Premier League managers.
Nottingham Forest have sacked Sean Dyche after just 114 days in charge, with the club progressing talks to appoint former Wolves boss, Vitor Pereira. Pereira was previously employed by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis at Olympiakos, winning the league and cup double with the Greek side in 2015.
Pereira kept Wolves up last season after being appointed in December 2024 but was sacked following a poor start to this campaign.
News of Dyche's exit came through at 00.30 on Thursday morning - around three hours after Forest's goalless draw with Premier League bottom club Wolves.
Dyche is the third manager Forest have sacked this season after Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou - the latter only lasting 39 days in charge at the City Ground.
Forest have decided to let Dyche go after a three-game winless run in the Premier League - which included draws against Crystal Palace and Wolves, as well as a damaging 3-1 loss to relegation rivals Leeds last Friday.
Dyche leaves with Forest three points above the relegation zone with 12 games of the season remaining.
I don't really have an opinion on this sacking. To me, Forest aren't doing too well this season. I wouldn't be surprised if they get relegated (no offence to Nottingham Forest fans reading this).