Levy speaks out on Ange's sacking | Boulter target of disgusting online abuse | Can Pep take City back to PL summit?
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Teddy Draper and joining me are the Mirror's chief football writer, John Cross, and the Times football reporter, Charlotte Dunker. Welcome to you both.

OK, well, I'll come to you, Charlotte, with John's paper nonetheless. Levy hits the post and sacked because club needs to win league in the back of the mirror. Spurs chief Andrew was sacked because club needs to win league. Europa is not enough. What did you make of Levy's comments, Charlotte? He's come out swinging a bit, hasn't he?

Yeah, I mean, it's very rare that we actually hear from him. So, yeah, he's come out with a point to prove, hasn't he? And if Thomas Frank didn't know what the objective was before that interview came out, he certainly knows now. He came out, didn't he? And he said that winning a European trophy isn't enough, but it's not the European trophy they want, is it? They want the Champions League. So he's come out, he said they want them to win the Premier League and the Champions League. I mean...

He's an ambitious man. He obviously wants the team that he's involved with to win those big trophies. So,

In that respect, it's not surprising to hear him say that, but given the season that Tottenham had last season, you'd think maybe baby steps of even qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in the top four or five places and competing with those at the top of the table would be an improvement to what we saw from them last season when they lost so many domestic games. So, I mean, he's aiming high, very ambitious. It's going to be interesting to see if,

if they can do that while he's there. I know there's talks of him potentially putting the club up for sale as well. So, yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how Spurs plays out next season. It certainly is covered in the sun as well. John, Spurs need to win Prem and want to win Champions League. Levy is aiming high at the back page of the Sun newspaper. Need, he says, about the Premier League. 25 years in, has he suddenly caught the bug? What do you think, John? What do you make of it?

Well, it's certainly an interesting choice of words, Teddy, because, you know, let's not forget here, Tottenham have come off the back of a season where they've just lost 22 games in the Premier League. Yes, they won a European trophy, which has then got them back into the Champions League. But overall, in Premier League terms, you know, they've been miles off it, basically. And I do think the...

person at the club who took more stick than anybody amongst the fan base, more than the manager, Ange Postacoglu last season, more than any player, was Daniel Levy. And so Daniel Levy really does speak very rarely publicly. I think that's an issue which does wind up Spurs fans without a shadow of a doubt. I mean, one of the last times that I can remember was just a few, you know, what, two or three months into Ange Postacoglu's first season when Spurs...

had gone briefly top of the Premier League and all things were growing great. And then he disappears for 18 months. And so, you know, those sort of things don't go unnoticed by the fan base. And so I do think then that it's a bold decision then to kind of go in the background and then come out

sort of on the back of this when it was an emotive decision, as he rightly says, to get rid of Postacoglu and then obviously make the managerial change to bring in Thomas Frank. And I do think it's a bold decision. It's bold words to say that Spurs...

to win the Premier League because that almost puts pressure on his own kind of running of the club, if you like. And so I do feel that that also in turn then puts pressure on Thomas Frank. And I think a lot of Spurs fans will be looking at this and saying, well, okay, part of the reason that we've not been challenging in the last, say, four or five years, they did, of course, famously reach the Champions League final in 2019. So massive credit

credit on that. But, you know, he's Daniel Levy himself. So, Levy, in fairness to him, it's good to hear him talk. He needs to do a bit more because I do think one of the problems is the disconnect between the fans and the sort of kind of the hierarchy of the club. That needs to be addressed.

And so, as Charlotte rightly says, it's baby steps at the moment. But the best thing you can do is win football matches. But I also think a key thing, connecting with fans, is actually liaising, talking to them, connecting with them. And that's something that Spurs have let themselves down on very, very badly in the last few seasons.

Interested that John picks up the Champions League final in 2019 because I know there's a lot of disgruntlement in the Tottenham support base. They didn't invest at that point. The Guardian covering the story as well, leave his comments, we won a European trophy, but it's not enough. I suppose, Charlotte, as journalists, the frustration, this was the in-house...

Media team, sure, a fantastic team, but a little bit softball, as you might expect. He wasn't challenged necessarily from what we've seen in terms of his statements. Do you think Frank's under pressure or is Levy under pressure to deliver if the aim is the title? Because he's had title-winning managers there before, but they haven't done so well at Spurs as they have elsewhere.

Yeah, well, I think both of them are. It's going to be a massive summer for them, isn't it, in terms of what they do to invest, what they do to help Frank, what is Tottenham going to look like under Thomas Frank, what sort of players does he want to bring in? We know what he's done at Brentford. We know how capable he is of...

bringing players in and increasing their market value, which is someone like Daniel Levy is music to his ears, given the way that he runs his Tottenham side. But for them to really go and compete at the top of the league, they need to be bringing in these big names. They need to be bringing in these game changers. If that's what he genuinely wants them to do, to come in and win the Premier League and close the gap to take them from 17th to third to second to first, that is a massive gap that they've got to close domestically. So they need some big signings this summer. They need to back Flamengo.

Frank, obviously the pressure's on Frank. He just needs to look at the guy that he's replacing. The guy won them the first trophy in 17 years. Yes, they had a terrible, terrible domestic campaign, but he brought that trophy and the joy to those fans over in Spain in the Europa League final. So,

Even then, winning a trophy isn't enough. So Frank knows going in there what sort of job he's got. He knows how ruthless Levy can be. Look what happened, the manner in which they sacked Jose Mourinho. He knows that even winning a trophy isn't going to make his job safe. So both of them are under pressure. But Daniel Levy, who we all know to be a very shrewd businessman, very shrewd operator, even clubs have come out and even privately said that they hate dealing with him because of the negotiations that go on.

It's going to be a really interesting summer transfer window for Tottenham if they want to turn things around and do, as Levy says, and take this team from the bottom of the Premier League all the way to the top. Interesting summer ahead, John. Quick one, because we do have to move on to Manchester United. But on that note, it's about transfers. It gets our attention, it gets the fans' attention. But this is about salaries, isn't it? They need to pay more. That's basically the bottom line, isn't it?

Yeah, they do. They're by no means the biggest players in the Premier League. They also, you know, Andrew Postacoglu was on record, I think, last season basically saying that...

that he could never see a time when they would spend even over £80 million on a player. It's just not the Tottenham way. What I would say, in fairness to the Tottenham hierarchy, is if you look at their net spend, their net spend is actually really big. You know, I think at the last count, it was up there with sort of the top four of the Premier League clubs.

So I don't think you can accuse the board of not backing the managers in the market. But I do think you could say that they spend big money, but they tend to spend it rather badly. And that's the point. So they've got to be better investors. They've got to be better spenders, recruiters, and they've got to really get behind Thomas Frank now and kind of really make sure they go from strength to strength. So look,

There's loads of positives there. There's loads of things to build on. But I do think that connectivity between the fan base and the hierarchy of the club, it's interesting, you know, Levy did it alongside his new CEO. And I do think, you know, that that's a big role because they will appreciate that they really need to kind of connect again with the fan base and really get the fans back on board. It's a big, big season ahead, I think, for Spurs and they have to get it right this summer.

It's been a day for executive speaking as well, Charlotte. Let's take you to the sun. We'll juxtapose this with the Express. The sun has Ruben Izarpep, United boss, back to follow up his bad first season with title by 2028. And from the same interview with Omar Barada, new by swaggers like Icon Cantona, says United chief Uar Kunya. What do you make of Omar Barada's comments, Charlotte? No pressure then, are you?

Yeah, I get the sentiment in terms of what he's trying to say in comparison to Pep Guardiola. But with all due respect, when Guardiola arrived in England, he'd won two Champions League and he'd won six titles with Barcelona and Bayern Munich. So I don't really think we're comparing like for like. I understand what he was saying in terms of

how long would it take Pep to adjust to English football and were people going to give him time? But Manchester City finished, I think it was third in Guardiola's first season in charge. Yes, they were trophy-less, but I think the job that Amarim has got to do at Manchester United is far bigger than the one that Pep Guardiola had to do at Manchester City. I get the comparisons. He was backed that summer and look what he's gone on to achieve. And Manchester United couldn't dream if Amarim has the same impact at Manchester United as Guardiola.

Pep has had at Manchester City. So, yeah, they mentioned there as well, didn't he, Cunha? And obviously they can only hope that he has the same transformative effects that Eric Cantona had at the club back in the early 90s. They hadn't been winning before then. He came in with his swagger and his attitude and he turned that around and then they went on to dominate for the next...

15 or so years. So, yeah, if Kunya can have the same impact as Cantona and Amram can have the same impact as Guardiola, then, yeah, maybe Manchester United can go back to dominating for the next 10, 15 years. But they're very, very big ifs at the moment. Yeah, the star headline, John, Uar Kunya, star tip to light up Old Trafford like Cantona. He got them over the line, didn't he, in 92-93 after the long wait, did Eric Cantona. What do you make of that likening?

Well, it's a bold one, isn't it? To be honest with you, I don't really see it, to be honest. I kind of see what he's trying to make in the kind of the correlation about he's giving us a lift. But they're such different players in terms of, you know, positionally and kind of what they might bring to the team. I do actually think Kunya is...

He's a bit of a gamble, but I like it. I just think he's a little bit different. He's also got a bit of temperamental behaviour in him, a bit of devilment, and maybe that is the other point that Berardo is making it really and kind of just...

something different to the table, a little bit imaginative and innovative and something unpredictable and sort of kind of really impetuous about him, I think, Kunya. Listen, if they end up the summer and actually being able to recruit a number nine, that's a big if, by the way, but also Kunya on the left and Bruno on the right, I tell you what, Man United...

I think we'll start the season with a lot of optimism. That's a big, if a lot of big, big gifts in there to, to be honest. But again, going back to what we touched on before with the Tottenham kind of conversation, it's good to see that Brada actually, you know, putting his head above the parapet is, I think this was from the originally from a man United fan team, wasn't it? United. We stand with the interview. So I,

I actually kind of applaud that, that basically he's engaging with fans and kind of actually having a say. And, you know, United have really taken a lot of stick for various reasons on and off the pitch. And frankly, quite rightly so on various issues. So the fact is that Berard is putting himself in front of, you know, a fan outlet there and indeed a fan and basically, you know, trying to sort of kind of talk up the positives, right?

I'm not quite sure I'm sold really on Kunya and Cantona, but I tell you what, some of the other stuff I think he sort of says actually I'm on board with. I think it's quite positive and it's quite a bit of a lift really and I think the fans will quite like it. Yeah, absolutely. Let's hope he's there. Anything like Eric Cantona will be amazing to see for Man Utd fans and neutrals. Let's look at another aspect of that interview, an ambition similar maybe to Lee v Charlotte in the Telegraph. James Ducker reporting that Amarim can win Premier League by 2028.

says Baradar. I don't know, is this wildly optimistic or what Manchester United fans would expect? Charlotte, you cover the club a lot. What's your take on that?

Yeah, I think this is just following on from something that was said to staff when Barada came in. I think it was at the start of the season, actually, they set out this project that they want to win the 21st title by the 150th anniversary, which is in 2028. So it's just following that thread on it. I think it is something that they genuinely believe can happen. I think...

They believe that they've gone through the hard yards now with Amorim by bringing in mid-season. The acceptance was that everything was going to be really difficult. He was going to stick to this structure of 3-4-2-1. It was going to be really hard to bring that mid-season, but then they were going to reap the rewards of it next season because they struggled through for the second half of the campaign. He'd get a full pre-season. He'd be fully backed in terms of transfers. And then in theory, they believe he is the right man to take them on.

to winning a Premier League title again. So there is that genuine belief there that if he gets the right players in this summer and the players that are there have adapted to his training methods, to his tactics, to the system that he wants them to play, that next season will be much, much better. But all these comments and all these statements, all it really does as well is

It piles the pressure on Amarim. Amarim speaks so well in press conferences. He knows the pressure that's on himself. He even said before the Europa League final, if we lose this, I'm going to be under even more pressure next season. He knows he has to deliver. The teething problems, the injuries, all the excuses that he could hide behind in those first six to eight months, they've disappeared. So especially if they back him this summer,

with all these targets that are on top of his head as well, he knows that they're going to have to have a great start to the next campaign because as much as he is there, Matt, and how long can he last if

if they start next season as badly as they ended last season. Charlotte, I'll come to you with the back page of your paper, The Times. Your colleagues John Westerby and Stuart Fraser reporting on the story about Katie Bolter. My online abuse is disgusting. Britain told get cancer and receives death threats. Raducanu, meanwhile, stalker, tried to buy Wimbledon tickets. We'll touch on that in a second. But first, Bolter, Charlotte, how shocking were her revelations?

Yeah, she's described it perfectly there. It is disgusting, I think.

We all know that there's depths of the internet where people feel like they can say what they want to people. It doesn't matter what people do as jobs. It doesn't matter if she's a successful tennis star or not. People just shouldn't be saying these sorts of things to anyone. And I think we've spoken time and time before about what social media companies can try and do to try and eradicate this. I know that the WTA have looked at ways as well to try and block out this sort of hate and block out this sort of abuse. And I

I think absolutely fair play for her to come out and talk about it because she said now she's passed, not that she's passed caring about it. I don't think she said that, but I think she's so used to it now that she can sort of brush it off. But she's saying for the younger generation coming through, it's not getting any better. It's getting worse. And can they sort of educate these young girls? And there'll be young men that get this sort of abuse as well.

into not letting it impact them. A lot of these people have given up their whole entire lives to dedicate themselves to a sport and they're getting threatened by these anonymous trolls who are saying vile things to them online. So it's about...

educating people one not to do it and two how people can deal with that so it doesn't affect them so yeah fair play for her to coming out and saying it and she said one of the reasons why she wanted to speak out is to help other people that might be suffering with with the same abuse as well so yeah disgusting is probably one of the most accurate words that she could have used to describe the sort of abuse that's been leveled at her

Feels like a very fair word indeed, doesn't it, John? I think in a way, in a broader context, feels like we're struggling to deal with the internet in sport and society, isn't it? Because Radhika... Sorry, Bolton made some very interesting comments about a lot of the comments being related to gambling and people saying they'd lost money on betting on her matches. He said, I do find a lot of it's based on that. It's a new area that we're trying to improve. And how big a concern is sports gambling as well? And it's embroiled in the abuse story, seemingly.

Yeah, I must say that was a really interesting... Listen, I'm sure that the sports stars themselves are aware of it, but I have to say that was something that really caught my eye, simply because it's just something perhaps that we haven't thought about enough yet,

Maybe the sort of kind of, you know, the social media companies need to think about that more and really sort of the knock-on effect. And that really is a sort of almost a shocking sort of sideline to it, really. Listen, in a way, it was interesting that you were sort of kind of talking about, you know, are we shocked by this? I don't think we are necessarily shocked by this. I think we are, as the headline there says, disgusted by it.

But the fact is that are they are, you know, social media companies are online companies doing enough to tackle it? That that's the problem elsewhere. We are you know, we are reading about sort of the Emma Raducanu story. Then sort of one particular individual who has stalked her across four different countries. The Telegraph sort of splashing on that has been blocked.

from buying tickets online at Wimbledon. So those kind of processes, and this is really interesting to my mind, can work. So basically, yes, there is technology in there that can break down and identify a person of interest there and stop them buying tickets.

So, you know, bearing in mind how, you know, they could have almost masked their sort of kind of disguise their steps in many ways, but they can't buy tickets, but they, you know, any idiot can post something online, which I have to say just underlines to me that one organisation, i.e. Wimbledon, is determined to take action.

Another aspect of the sport set up, if you like, social media and online is not prepared to do anything at all. And basically, I think that just about sums it up, really. No wonder sports stars like Raducanu and Bolto are disgusted and very upset by it, rightly so, because they deserve more protection. They deserve more respect. It's absolutely appalling.

OK, well said. John, let's talk about your piece on, I suppose, a lighter note, on a football note in your paper, The Mirror. Land of the 3.0. You are in Philadelphia, as the banner behind you suggests. Pep ready to unleash his third city side in America after a £300m rebuild. We're not sure the Americans are excited, but are you excited to see the team?

Yeah, I am. I really am. I was at the Chelsea game last night, actually. So in Atlanta, when not many people were in the stadium with me. And so, but actually the locals, I mean, blimey, it was a Monday afternoon. So let's not forget that. But basically, I don't think it's caught light in America. FIFA's sort of kind of, you know, new baby. But there are certain aspects.

to this Club World Cup, which really captured the imagination. Man City being one of them. They've spent an awful lot of money. They're hurtling towards £300 million in the calendar year. Bearing in mind, City tend not to buy the mega big stars, if you like. They spread their cash everywhere.

And actually, it had been quiet for a little while. They are doing, they're almost catching up. And I think this is fascinating. Regular viewers will know just how much I admire and respect Guardiola. I think he's such an innovative, different coach. And I just think this one is really fascinating because he does have a complete rebuild on his hands. This is Pep 3.0. You know, he's been through two glorious teams, successful teams so far. He's building a third one.

And I do think that it will be fascinating. I think we'll get the first glimpses out in the States here. And that's why this summer, albeit it's still the end of last season, if you can get your head around it, I think it will be fascinating for a team like Man City and the Man City fans out here. In about 30 seconds, Charlotte, give us your thoughts on City. A change of personnel, whispers of a change of style. Are you looking forward to this? Do you expect to see changes?

Yeah, there's been changes in the coaching staff as well. So it just shows you how determined that Guardiola is to make things different next season. So as John said, there'll be three big signings this summer. Add that to the money they spent in January. It's going to be really interesting to see how they look next season, how they line up and

how they no doubt get themselves back on track, because that's what we used to see in Pep Guardiola's teams do. Maybe he'll go direct. Who knows? We'll wait and see how he approaches this one. John, quickly in 10 seconds, give us your thoughts on this bolt from the blue. Southgate's applied to be next Poland manager in the back page of the Metro. Well, I can tell you that's absolute nonsense. It won't be happening. The notion that Southgate has reached out to Poland, forget it. Sorry, that's not happening. You heard it here first.