Premier League

TOTTENHAM have been dealt a blow in their managerial search as Arne Slot’s assistant has ruled out joining the club.The North London club are keen on Slot, 44, after he led his Feyenoord side to the Dutch Eredivisie title on Sunday.
John De Wolf (left) celebrates with Feyenoord manager Arne Slot (right) after the club won the Eredivisie on SundayCredit: Rex
But his assistant manager, John De Wolf, has said he has no intention of following Slot to the Premier League should he join Spurs.
De Wolf, 60, told Dutch broadcaster NPO, via Sport Witness, that his loyalty to Feyenoord would make it impossible for him to follow Slot to the Lilywhites.
He said if Slot were to join Spurs: “Then I wish him a good challenge. This is my club, this is where I belong, this is my home. I still get goose bumps every day when I drive over the (Rotterdam) bridge.”
De Wolf made 111 appearances as a player for Feyenoord between 1989 and 1994 before joining Wolves for two seasons between 1994 and 1996.
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He re-joined Feyenoord as an assistant manager in 2019 and served under manager Jaap Stam and Dick Advocaat before Slot joined in 2021.
He told NPO that Slot and his staff are planning a major party to celebrate their league title victory but he has not yet spoken to Slot about the manager’s future.
He said: “We didn’t talk about that at all. I once said in the early stages, don’t listen to any other club in the Netherlands anyway.”
Tottenham are keen on appointing Slot after he impressed in his stint as Feyenoord manager.
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Since joining the Rotterdam club ahead of the 2021-22 season, Slot guided the club to the Europa Conference League final, where they lost to a Roma side managed by former Spurs manager Jose Mourinho.
Slot lost again to Mourinho’s Roma in this year’s Europa League quarter-final as part of a growing rivalry.
Mourinho taunted Slot after the game, berating the Dutchman in the tunnel and demanding he show him “respect”.
But Slot confirmed Feyenoord’s first league title since 2017 with a 3-0 victory over Go Ahead Eagles.
Spurs have been without a permanent manager since sacking Antonio Conte in March. More

ERIK TEN HAG has been SNUBBED from the Premier League Manager of the Season shortlist. And the “insanity” of the decision has left fans raging at the Manchester United manager’s exclusion.
Erik ten Hag has been snubbed for the Manager of the Season shortlistCredit: EPA
The candidates who made the six-man shortlist are Mikel Arteta; Pep Guardiola, Eddie Howe, Roberto De Zerbi, Unai Emery and Marco Silva.
However, the Red Devils are to be on course, barring any further slip-ups, to achieve a top-four finish.
Ten Hag has also guided United to two domestic cup finals – winning the Carabao Cup with the FA Cup final still to come on June 3.
These achievements, along with the added adversity of losing Cristiano Ronaldo mid-season, have left a number of fans bemused by the decision.
One fan raged: “No ETH, trophy, possible top 4 finish. Having to play the entire season without a striker with what was a hectic schedule all season.
“Forget how many predicted United to finish 6 or 7th before a ball was kicked🤣.”
A second said: “And the Season is not over yet…Wtf how is Marco Silva included over Ten Hag that’s insanity, unacceptable and unfair 🤨.”
“Ten Hag should have been nominated. He started badly, was 20th after first two matches. Had a good run of form. Won two manager of the month awards. He deserves to be nominated,” typed a third.
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Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola were both nominated owing to their title fightCredit: Reuters
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was also nominatedCredit: Reuters
A fourth said: “Sneaked in Unai Emery 😤😤😤. Erik ten Hag has suffered 😭😒.”
Other fans were furious at exclusions for Brentford boss Thomas Frank and Bournemouth’s Gary O’Neil.
One fan commented: “Gary O’Neil should be in over Silva,” with another asking: “How [is] the Bournemouth guy not there?”
“This seems kinda pointless when Pep has secured another title but why isn’t Gary O’Neil on this list? Surely he’s as deserving of a nomination as Marco Silva?” suggested a third.
A fourth said: “No surprise that Frank who has the lowest budget for transfers and wages, yet has secured a top 10 finish hasn’t been nominated.”
While a fifth commented: “Reminder Brentford won at the Etihad and Stamford Bridge, battered United and Liverpool, Brentford are 9th in the Prem but Thomas Frank doesn’t even get a manager of the season nomination. It’s embarrassing.”
In terms of the candidates who made the cut, each have their own claim to the throne.
Arteta guided Arsenal to an unexpected title charge before seeing injuries and a lack of experience take its toll on his young squad, though a now-expected runner-up spot is still a commendable achievement.
Guardiola once again proved his managerial clout by making a significant tactical change to improve his team’s fortunes from midseason which has now put them on course for the title.
Howe has also overachieved with the Magpies’ current top-four position considering Newcastle’s relative standing compared to more established rivals.
De Zerbi has received widespread praise for the style he employs at Brighton – particularly from Guardiola – while putting the Seagulls on course for European football for the first time ever.

Emery has thoroughly impressed on his return to England, seeing Aston Villa shoot up the table and into European contention after a sticky start to the season under ex-boss Steven Gerrard.
Finally, Silva silenced Fulham naysayers following their promotion and currently has the Cottagers sitting in 10th, eight points above local rivals Chelsea.
Many fans fumed at Gary O’Neil’s exclusionCredit: Getty
With fans also declaring Thomas Frank to be a worthy candidate who was snubbedCredit: Getty More

THE FA have asked Fifa for Ivan Toney’s eight-month ban from football to be enforced WORLDWIDE.The Brentford striker, 27, was handed the suspension on Wednesday after breaching gambling regulations.
Ivan Toney has been banned from all English football until January next yearCredit: AP
And now he could be blocked from a move away from England as the FA look to extend his ban outside of the country.
It had been mooted that a possible option for Toney was to go out on loan to a foreign club while he serves his FA suspension.
It would take an extraordinary sequence of events for the striker to play football during his ban.
In theory, if Brentford were to rip up his contract he would be free to immediately sign for a club abroad.
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But Fifa WILL enforce his ban as soon as they respond to the FA.
Similar examples of this have been seen in the past with the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Kieran Trippier.
They were both playing abroad when the FA charged them of breaching betting regulations.
But Fifa’s global suspension saw Sturridge leave Turkish side Trabzonspor, while Trippier served a 10-week suspension at Atletico Madrid.
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More recently, Tottenham sporting director Fabio Paratici was banned by the Italian FA following his role in the alleged financial irregularities scandal at Juventus.
In theory, he could have continued his role at Spurs as the suspension only pertained to Italian football.
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But with the understanding that Fifa would have stepped in had he attempted to continue in North London, Paratici handed in his resignation.
In a statement regarding Toney’s ban, the FA said: “Ivan Toney has been suspended from all football and football-related activity with immediate effect for eight months, which runs up to and including 16 January 2024, fined £50,000 and warned as to his future conduct for breaches of The FA’s Betting Rules.
“The Brentford FC forward was charged with 262 breaches of FA Rule E8 in total between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. 
“The FA subsequently withdrew 30 of these breaches and he admitted to the remaining 232.
“His sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission following a personal hearing. 
“He is permitted to return to training only with his club for the final four months of his suspension starting from 17 September 2023.
“The independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course, and The FA will wait to review them before commenting further.”
The decision wrecks Toney’s year, just two months after he made his England bow as a late replacement for skipper Harry Kane in the Euro 2024 qualifying win over Ukraine.
Toney, 27, the third-highest scorer in the Prem this season, with 20 goals and only below Erling Haaland and Kane in the goal charts, was a certainty to be named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for next month’s qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
Now, though, he is ineligible for selection and will not be allowed to play for his country until March.
Toney’s charges related to a four-year period between February 2017 and January 2021 when the striker was playing for Scunthorpe and Wigan – on loan from Newcastle – and subsequently Peterborough and the Bees.
Toney appeared before an independent FA disciplinary commission yesterday in an attempt to argue down his looming ban – which will surely rule him out of a big-money summer switch.
Chelsea had been linked with a summer swoop for Brentford’s talisman.
He will begin serving his suspension for Saturday’s clash with Tottenham, and will also be absent for the final day match-up with Manchester City.

Toney will continue to serve his ban over the fallow summer months, with a view to returning to action in January.
There was never a suggestion that Toney placed wagers on any matches in which he was involved. More