appoint

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis sacked Nuno just three matches into the campaign and replaced him with Postecoglou.

The Australian failed to win a game and his dismissal – 39 days after his appointment on 9 September – meant his stint at Forest is the shortest permanent managerial reign in Premier League history.

Dyche was on the books of Forest as a youth team player in the late 1980s while Brian Clough was manager, but never made a first-team appearance.

He has not had a managerial job since being sacked by Everton in January after just under two years in charge of the Toffees.

Dyche won 21, lost 31 and drew 23 of his 75 Premier League matches as Everton boss, guiding the club to 17th and 15th-place finishes.

Prior to that Dyche spent nearly a decade as Burnley manager between October 2012 and April 2022, twice winning promotion to the top flight and helping the Clarets qualify for Europe for the first time since 1967.

He also had a stint in charge of Watford for the 2011–2012 season, only to lose his job following a change of ownership.

Kettering-born Dyche spent his entire playing career as a defender outside of the top flight, making more than 500 appearances for clubs including Chesterfield, Bristol City, Millwall, Watford and Northampton.

Rowley spent four years in charge of Leigh between 2012 and 2016 before spending two years as head coach of Toronto Wolfpack.

He initially joined Salford as a coaching consultant in 2019 and stepped up to the top job for the 2022 campaign.

His first three seasons in charge brought two play-off finishes but any hopes of building on those in 2025 were scuppered by a litany of off-field issues.

The Red Devils were beset by financial problems, which led to the vast majority of the senior playing squad leaving and Rowley being forced to pull together sides week to week.

Against that chaotic backdrop they managed three Super League wins and ended with two points deducted for failing to fulfil a fixture against Wakefield.

Before their final game of the season last month he admitted that he was “relieved to have reached the end of the year.”

“I’m pretty proud that I managed to get the team to the finish line,” Rowley told BBC Radio Manchester as he reflected on the 2025 season.

“That’s a bit sad really because you should never want the finish line to come in rugby league where the last game is the most important.

“Everybody at the club, certainly the staff, have been immense. I’m surrounded by good people. My staff have become my best friends and I think the moral compass of the staff at this club is unparalleled.”

Eddie Howe was just a couple of days into an end-of-season break when the Newcastle head coach’s phone “exploded” last summer.

Sporting director Paul Mitchell had just announced that he was departing.

While there were initial tensions between the pair, Howe was the first to recognise that such a figure “protects the manager from a lot of things”.

That is why the arrival of Ross Wilson is so significant for Newcastle.

Rather than rushing into the appointment – despite the need for a sporting director during a draining transfer window – Newcastle have been keen to recruit the right person.

In Ross Wilson, who already has a good relationship with Howe, they feel they have that man.

It will fall to Wilson to help plot the medium to long-term strategy of the club.

And, after a period of boardroom upheaval, Newcastle will hope the Scot will stick around long enough to see that vision through.

The announcement came after last-ditch talks by outgoing premier Sebastien Lecornu failed to find a solution to crisis.

French President Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister within the next 48 hours, his office has said, in the latest effort to chart a path out of the worst political crisis of his presidency.

The announcement on Wednesday followed two days of last-ditch talks with party leaders by outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu in a bid to break the country’s political deadlock, after his cabinet lineup, unveiled on Sunday, was rejected by allies and rivals alike.

The Elysee presidential office said in a statement that Lecornu’s discussions with various parties had concluded that a majority of lawmakers were not in favour of parliament being dissolved for early elections, and that there was “a platform for stability” that could make it possible for a budget to be passed by the year’s end.

“On this basis, the President of the Republic will appoint a Prime Minister within the next 48 hours,” said the statement.

Macron thanked Lecornu for his work since Monday to resolve the crisis, the office said.

Ahead of the announcement, it had been unclear whether Macron would opt to reappoint Lecornu or name a replacement, call snap elections or even resign himself.

Escalating crisis

In September, Macron tasked Lecornu – the fifth prime minister he has installed in less than two years – with forming a government after the divided French parliament toppled his predecessor, Francois Bayrou, over a much-maligned austerity budget intended to tackle a debt crisis.

But despite Lecornu’s promises of a departure from Bayrou’s approach, his cabinet, unveiled on Sunday evening, immediately drew fierce criticism from both the right and left for containing many of the same faces from the previous administration.

Lecornu resigned the following day, making his 14-hour administration the shortest in modern French history, but then added to the confusion when he announced he would hold 48 hours of talks at Macron’s request to try to agree on a new cabinet.

The move prompted renewed criticism of the increasingly isolated Macron, including from former premier Edouard Philippe, once a close ally of the president, who was one of many calling for presidential elections to resolve the crisis.

‘I tried everything’

Speaking to French TV earlier Wednesday, Lecornu said he had told Macron that the prospects of snap elections had diminished as there was a majority in the lower house opposed to the dissolution of parliament.

“I tried everything,” he said of his efforts to find a deal to end the crisis. “This evening, my mission is finished.”

He suggested that a more technocratic and less political administration could follow, saying that any new cabinet appointments should not harbour ambitions to stand in the next presidential elections.

He also pushed back against calls for snap presidential polls ahead of the scheduled 2027 elections, saying it was “not the time to change the president”.

“Let’s not make the French believe that it’s the president who votes the budget,” he said.

The French parliament has been sharply divided since Macron, in response to surging gains by the far right, announced snap elections last year, resulting in a hung parliament.

With no governing majority, the parliament has been unable to approve a crucial budget to tackle France’s growing debt crisis. Meanwhile, proposed spending cuts have prompted nationwide protests, while opposition parties – who are calling for early elections and are pledging to block any new cabinet – have seized momentum.

ATLANTA — The head of a nonpartisan agency tasked with finding a prosecutor to take over the Georgia election interference case against President Trump and others is asking for more time after a judge set a two-week deadline for that appointment to be made.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who’s overseeing the case, wrote in an order Friday that if the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council doesn’t appoint a new prosecutor or request a “particularized extension” within 14 days, he would dismiss it. The fate of the case has been in limbo since Fulton County District Atty. Fani Willis was disqualified from continuing the prosecution over an “appearance of impropriety” caused by a romantic relationship she had with the lead prosecutor.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, said in a court filing Monday that his office has yet to receive the physical case file and does not expect to receive it for about four weeks. He asked McAfee to reconsider his order or to give him at least 90 days after he receives the case file to appoint a new prosecutor.

Without the case file, Skandalakis wrote that he “cannot intelligently answer questions of anyone requested to take the appointment or to do his own due diligence in finding a prosecutor who is not encumbered by a significant appearance of impropriety.”

He noted the case is one of 21 waiting to have a prosecutor assigned by his office. So far in 2025, he wrote, 448 criminal matters have been referred to his office because of a conflict of interest or a recusal by the relevant elected prosecutor.

“Each case requires individual review and assignment due to the unique nature of conflicts and the facts and circumstances of the particular case,” he wrote. Because of the complexity of the election case and the extensive resources required to handle it, “it will require time” to find someone to take it on, the filing says.

Even if a new prosecutor is named, it is unlikely that any prosecution against Trump could move forward while he is the sitting president. But there are 14 other people still facing charges in the case, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

If a new prosecutor is named, that person could continue on the track that Willis had charted, decide to pursue only some charges or dismiss the case altogether.

Willis announced the indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023. She used the state’s anti-racketeering law to allege a wide-ranging conspiracy to try to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Defense attorneys sought Willis’ removal after the revelation in January 2024 that she had engaged in a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. The defense attorneys said the relationship created a conflict of interest, alleging that Willis personally profited from the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations the pair took.

McAfee rebuked Willis, saying in an order in March 2024 that her actions showed a “tremendous lapse in judgment.” But he said he did not find a conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis. He ultimately ruled that Willis could remain on the case if Wade resigned, which the special prosecutor did hours later.

Defense attorneys appealed that ruling, and the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case in December, citing an “appearance of impropriety.” The high court last month declined to hear Willis’ appeal, putting the case in the lap of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council.

Brumback writes for the Associated Press.

West Ham have appointed former Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo as head coach after sacking Graham Potter.

Nuno, 51, has signed a three-year contract with the Hammers and will take charge of his first match on Monday away at Everton in the Premier League.

Potter was dismissed on Saturday morning after only eight months in charge, with the club 19th in the table.

Nuno joins West Ham after being sacked on 9 September by Forest, who he guided to seventh in the Premier League last season – their highest finish since 1994-95.

“I am very pleased to be here and very proud to be representing West Ham United,” he said.

“My objective is to work hard to get the very best from the team and ensure that we are as competitive as we possibly can be. The work has already started and I am looking forward to the challenge that is ahead.”

Nuno joins West Ham shortly after a 21-month stint at the City Ground, where he was sacked only three games into this season.

He took his first training session in east London on Saturday afternoon before the club’s match at Everton on Monday.

West Ham said Nuno will be assisted in the interim by academy coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine, with a further announcement on his coaching and backroom staff to be made in due course.

The Hammers took only three points from their opening five league games this season under Potter.

After dismissing the 50-year-old, West Ham said they believed “a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible”.

They added: “Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025-26 season have not matched expectations.”

In a statement via the League Managers Association, Potter said: “I am incredibly disappointed to be leaving West Ham, particularly without being able to achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of our journey in east London.

“I do, however, fully acknowledge that the results have just not been good enough up to now.”

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Palace was West Ham’s fifth in six league and cup games this season.

Potter replaced Spaniard Julen Lopetegui, who was sacked in January after six months in charge, with the Hammers 14th in the table.

“It’s a proud day to be head coach of this amazing club – big tradition, big history, big expectations, big challenge,” Potter said when he was appointed on 9 January.

But the former Chelsea and Brighton boss found wins difficult to come by.

West Ham, who sold Ghana forward Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham for £55m in July, spent £126m on eight new arrivals in the summer, including the £38m purchase of Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes from Southampton in August.

But losses to Sunderland, Chelsea, Tottenham and Palace have left the club in the bottom three. They also went out of the Carabao Cup in the second round with a 3-2 defeat by fellow strugglers Wolves.

That led to West Ham issuing a statement acknowledging “results and performances on the pitch over the past two seasons have not met the standards we set for ourselves”.

Disgruntled fans staged a demonstration against the club’s board before the Palace match, and the owners have reacted by dismissing Potter.

Poor results on the pitch led to Potter becoming a viral trend on social media, with people using AI technology to swap his face on to other celebrities, including Barbie, US President Donald Trump and the Chuckle Brothers.

Speaking on Friday, Potter said he had not been taking it too seriously.

“It made my 15-year-old son laugh a lot so you have to accept what comes with it [the job],” he said.

“At times [that is] ridicule but that is just the environment we are in and it is what it is.”

Castleford Tigers have appointed Ryan Carr as their new head coach on a three year-deal.

The 37-year-old Australian, currently an assistant to Shane Flanagan at National Rugby League (NRL) side St George Illawarra Dragons, will take over the Super League club from the start of the 2026 season.

Cas sacked Danny McGuire as head coach in July after he won just four of his 18 games in charge.

“I feel a lot of excitement on the direction that the club is heading in the near future,” Carr told the club website., external

“It deserves to be better than where it is, and that’s where we need to take it. I feel the room for growth is really fast at the club – I’m excited to get started.”

Tigers are 10th in the Super League table after losing 17 of their 22 games this year.

Carr has previously coached in England with Featherstone Rovers and Leeds Rhinos.

He has also worked under Rhinos coach Brad Arthur during his time in charge of Parramatta Eels and had a spell as interim head coach of the Illawarra Dragons in 2023.

Tigers director of rugby Chris Chester, who is leading the team until the end of this season, added: “He’s a highly thought about coach who has a great knowledge of the game and a great work ethic.”

Liverpool have named former Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor as their new head coach.

The Reds have been without a permanent manager since sacking Matt Beard in February, with Amber Whiteley taking charge on an interim basis for the remainder of 2024-25.

Taylor was sacked by City in March just five days before the Women’s League Cup final.

“Everyone in football knows about the history, size and potential of this club, and I am really looking forward to the task ahead,” Taylor said.

“Our aim is to create a team that supporters can be proud of, which plays good football and which will hopefully bring success along the way.”

The Welshman began working with City’s academy in 2011 and was appointed head coach in 2020.

He won the FA Cup during his first season and led the club to League Cup glory in 2022, while his side missed out on the Women’s Super League (WSL) title on goal difference in 2023-24.

Liverpool finished seventh last season, 35 points adrift of champions Chelsea.

Middlesbrough have appointed ex-Luton Town manager Rob Edwards as their new head coach.

Edwards, 42, moves to the Riverside Stadium on a three-year deal as the replacement for Michael Carrick, who was dismissed earlier this month.

He led Luton to the Premier League in 2023 but could not avoid relegation from the top flight 12 months later and was then dismissed by the Hatters in January when they were 20th in the Championship.

His job is now to improve a Boro team who ended last season in 10th place, four points outside the play-off spots.

“It’s a real privilege to be given the opportunity to be head coach of this great football club,” Edwards told the club website., external

“It’s something that’s not lost on me, how big this is, how important this is, and what it means to people. There is an amazing fanbase.”

Postecoglou’s style of play at Spurs proved divisive, with a notoriously high line featuring prominently before being ditched for the crucial Europa League run-in.

Frank is known for his use of data in the game, previously stating he is not a lover of shots from outside the box.

Last season, 23% of Brentford’s efforts came from outside the area – the lowest in the league – compared to 28% for Spurs.

Last season Brentford attempted 675 crosses, while Spurs delivered 752. Frank may bring with him the need to be more picky in wide areas.

A statistic that stands out is his side’s willingness to compete in the air, with last season’s 1,210 aerial duels the highest figure in the league and dwarfing Tottenham’s 872.

Expect Tottenham to contest things that bit more but, as with shots from range or crosses, Frank seems to want to be smart when it comes to competing.

Brentford fouled far less than Spurs across the past two seasons – indeed, only Manchester City committed fewer fouls than Brentford last season.

Frank took charge at Brentford in 2018, after his initial spell as assistant boss, and guided them into the Premier League, winning the Championship play-off final at Wembley in 2021 and establishing them as a top-flight club on a small budget.

Brentford finished 10th in the 2024-25 Premier League season, seven places and 18 points above Tottenham, who ended in 17th spot and won just 11 of their 38 games in the competition.

Australian Postecoglou was sacked 16 days after leading Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, their first major trophy for 17 years.

One of the first issues facing Frank, if appointed in north London, would be the future of captain Son Heung-min.

“I still have one more year left on the contract,” Son said on Tuesday to Korean agency Yonhap.

“Rather than saying anything at this moment, I think we should all wait and see what happens.”

Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart, who led the head coach search along with Thelwell, said Martin was the “standout candidate”.

The Ibrox club spoke to former Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti and former Feyenoord manager Brian Priske, while former manager Gerrard and ex-Ajax head coach Francesco Farioli were among those also linked with the post.

“Our criteria were clear: we wanted a coach who will excel in terms of how we want to play, improve our culture, develop our squad, and ultimately win matches,” Stewart said.

“This appointment is about building a winning team and a strong culture. He is no stranger to our club, we expect success and Russell knows that. We are excited for his leadership.”

Thelwell suggested Martin’s time in the Premier League “has sharpened his approach, both tactically and personally”.

Giving an insight into what a Rangers team under Martin will be like, he added: “His teams play dominant football, they control the ball, dictate the tempo and impose themselves physically. They press aggressively and work relentlessly off the ball.

“These are all characteristics that we believe are required to be successful at home, away and abroad.”

West Brom have appointed Ryan Mason as their head coach.

The Championship side, who dismissed Tony Mowbray on 21 April, opened talks with Mason, 33, last week and he arrives at the Hawthorns on a three-year deal.

It brings a seven-year coaching career at Tottenham to an end for Mason, who progressed through the club’s academy to also play 70 times for his boyhood team.

“This is a huge club with a fantastic infrastructure and an incredible fanbase, and I am excited about what we can achieve together,” said Mason.

“Having spoken at length to the board and those at the club I am convinced that Albion is the perfect place for me to be and I can’t wait to get started.

“I will bring with me a huge amount of enthusiasm, dedication and ambition, and look forward to a positive future together at such a fantastic club.”

Professional Game Match Officials Limited made a “poor management decision” in appointing Thomas Bramall to officiate Aston Villa’s defeat by Manchester United, says former referees’ boss Keith Hackett.

Villa have complained to referees’ body PGMOL about Bramall after he made a “big mistake” in their 2-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday that contributed to them missing out on the Champions League.

Bramall blew for a foul when Morgan Rogers nudged the ball away from United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir before the Villa midfielder put the ball in the net.

Bramall thought Bayindir had two hands on the ball, though television footage suggested otherwise, and because he stopped play before the ball crossed the line, the video assistant referee (VAR) could not intervene.

Villa’s complaint is that “one of the most inexperienced referees in the Premier League” was appointed to such an important match.

Bramall, 35, first refereed in the Premier League in August 2022 and his games this season have largely been in either the top flight or the second tier, with 11 in the Premier League and 12 in the Championship.

Of the 10 referees appointed for Sunday’s final round of the Premier League, Bramall has officiated the second-fewest top-flight matches this season, above Lewis Smith, who took charge of his seventh game in Bournemouth’s win over Leicester.

In a response to a Talksport video on X of former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor criticising Bramall’s performance, Hackett said PGMOL “do not learn”.

The former Premier League referee added: “Our top referee Michael Oliver was operating VAR on a game. What a poor management decision.”

Hackett, who was chief of PGMOL under its former name Professional Game Match Officials Board, also told Football Insider he “would have expected one of our top officials to have been appointed” to the Manchester United-Aston Villa match.

He added he was “surprised and disappointed” that Oliver was appointed VAR for Tottenham’s defeat by Brighton and it was “difficult to understand” why he was not picked to referee “a big game” in Sunday’s final round.

Oliver has refereed 26 Premier League matches this season, behind only Anthony Taylor – who was in charge of Chelsea’s win at Nottingham Forest – on 31.

Erik ten Hag is on the brink of agreeing a deal to replace Xabi Alonso as manager of Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

Ten Hag has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United in October.

The Dutchman has received a number of offers but opted to stay out of the game until this summer.

Earlier this month sources close to Ten Hag told BBC Sport the former Ajax boss was preparing to return at the beginning of July and was willing to assess any suitable offer.

Alonso, who is expected to replace the outgoing Carlo Ancelotti as Real Madrid manager, has quit Leverkusen after leading the club to their first Bundesliga title in 2024 in an unbeaten league campaign.

Leverkusen also completed a domestic double last season, beating Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final.

Although the club has not been able to maintain the same high standards this season, they still managed to finish second to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Ten Hag has experience of German football after spending two years in charge of Bayern Munich’s second team from 2013.

The 55-year-old won the FA Cup and League Cup in his two full seasons as United boss, finishing third in the Premier League in 2022-23.

However, although United kept faith with him after extended deliberation in the wake of last season’s surprise FA Cup final victory against Manchester City, he was sacked on 28 October following a 2-1 defeat at West Ham.