Ange Postecoglou has swapped Celtic for Tottenham as the north London club’s permanent successor to former head coach Antonio Conte.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the most recent managers to move from the Scottish to the English top flight, and how they fared.
Steven Gerrard
The former Liverpool and England captain took over at Rangers in 2018, finishing second behind Celtic in his first two seasons – and also losing the 2020 League Cup final to them – before breaking through to win the 2020-21 Premiership in an unbeaten season to deny Celtic a 10th title in a row.
He was appointed at Aston Villa early the following season, with a reported £4million compensation payment to Rangers, but was unable to improve Villa’s results.
They finished 14th that season and he was sacked after a poor start to 2022-23, with Unai Emery taking over and leading Villa into Europe. Meanwhile, north of the border, Postecoglou had taken over Celtic and re-established their dominance.
Gerrard managed 13 wins in 40 games as Villa boss, a 32.5 per cent win rate.
Paul Heckingbottom
Heckingbottom left Hibernian in November 2019 and, having been out of work for much of the season, became Sheffield United Under-23 coach in July 2020.
He took over as interim manager after Chris Wilder was sacked in March 2021 but won only three of 11 games as the club’s relegation was confirmed.
Having lost out on the permanent job to Slavisa Jokanovic, he took over six months later after the Serbian’s dismissal and has led the Blades back to the top flight for the new season, winning 48 of 83 games in his current reign.
Brendan Rodgers
Rodgers was already an established name in England after spells at Reading and Liverpool, but it was at Celtic where he built his medal collection with back-to-back domestic trebles – adding the League Cup leg of a third before departing for Leicester in February 2019 and leaving Neil Lennon to finish the job.
With the Foxes he won the FA Cup in 2020-21 and reached the Europa League semi-final the following season, with league finishes of ninth, fifth, fifth and eighth as they twice missed out on the Champions League on the final day.
He was sacked in April with the club 19th in the league, with successor Dean Smith unable to save them from relegation. Rodgers won 92 of 204 Leicester games in all competitions, 45.1 per cent.
Alex McLeish
McLeish’s spell with Rangers brought him two league titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups, including a treble in 2002-03, following a second-placed finish with Motherwell and a promotion with Hibernian.
That earned him the Scotland job but he led them for only 12 games before returning to club management south of the border with Birmingham.
Blues were relegated in his first season in charge but bounced straight back, finished ninth in 2009-10 and won the 2011 League Cup after Obafemi Martins’ late winner against Arsenal.
That same season brought a second relegation, though, and McLeish resigned after 168 games in charge with a 36.9 per cent win rate.
VAR officials involved in Spurs-Liverpool ‘error’ not selected for this weekend
The two match officials stood down from duty following Saturday’s incident that saw Liverpool wrongly denied a goal will not be involved in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
Darren England and Dan Cook were VAR and assistant VAR respectively when a “significant human error” resulted in Luis Diaz’s effort incorrectly being disallowed for offside in the Reds’ 2-1 loss at Tottenham.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) on Sunday announced the pair had been replaced for their next matches – England was due to be fourth official that day at Nottingham Forest v Brentford, with Cook to be assistant referee for Monday’s Fulham-Chelsea clash, but Craig Pawson and Eddie Smart stepped in.
And on Tuesday, England and Cook did not feature as the Premier League released its list of officials for matchweek eight this Saturday and Sunday.
Simon Hooper, the on-field referee for the Tottenham-Liverpool contest and fourth official for the subsequent Fulham game, is to be VAR when Everton host Bournemouth on Saturday.
After Diaz’s 34th-minute effort at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the score was 0-0, was disallowed PGMOL put out a statement saying “a significant human error occurred” and that a goal should have been given but “the VAR failed to intervene”.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool have formally requested the audio from PGMOL of the conversation between Hooper and England related to the incident.
Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday night saying they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.
Officials involved in Spurs-Liverpool VAR ‘error’ not selected for this weekend
The two match officials stood down from duty following Saturday’s incident that saw Liverpool wrongly denied a goal will not be involved in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
Darren England and Dan Cook were VAR and assistant VAR respectively when a “significant human error” resulted in Luis Diaz’s effort incorrectly being disallowed for offside in the Reds’ 2-1 loss at Tottenham.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) on Sunday announced the pair had been replaced for their next matches – England was due to be fourth official that day at Nottingham Forest v Brentford, with Cook to be assistant referee for Monday’s Fulham-Chelsea clash, but Craig Pawson and Eddie Smart stepped in.
And on Tuesday, England and Cook did not feature as the Premier League released its list of officials for matchweek eight this Saturday and Sunday.
Simon Hooper, the on-field referee for the Tottenham-Liverpool contest and fourth official for the subsequent Fulham game, is to be VAR when Everton host Bournemouth on Saturday.
After Diaz’s 34th-minute effort at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the score was 0-0, was disallowed PGMOL put out a statement saying “a significant human error occurred” and that a goal should have been given but “the VAR failed to intervene”.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool have formally requested the audio from PGMOL of the conversation between Hooper and England related to the incident.
Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday night saying they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.
Football rumours: Arsenal among several clubs interested in Wolves’ Pedro Neto
Arsenal are reportedly lining up Wolves winger Pedro Neto for a summer transfer. According to the Daily Mirror, the Gunners considered launching a bid for the 23-year-old in 2022 but nothing materialised. The club are believed to have maintained their interest however, and join Liverpool, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid in keeping tabs on the Portugal international.
Staying with Arsenal, the Daily Mail says negotiations have begun over a new contract for defender Ben White. The development comes despite the 25-year-old England international having three years left on his £120,000-a-week deal.
And The Sun says Manchester United have sent a scout to monitor 22-year-old Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio, with a view to a potential January deal.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchBryan Cristante: Calciomercato reports Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr are set to make a move for the Roma midfielder.
Lucas Beraldo: Liverpool are keen on the 19-year-old Sao Paulo centre-back, according to website 90mins.
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