Sports
As new Tottenham and Forest managers get to work, here’s what players really think when a boss arrives
Nedum Onuoha played 14 seasons in the Premier League with Manchester City, Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers before finishing his career with MLS side Real Salt Lake. He joined ESPN in 2020, appearing on ESPN FC, and has since featured as ESPN’s lead studio pundit in England. His columns offer his perspective as a former player on the big issues of the day.
When your team changes a manager in midseason, as a player, it feels like a hostile introduction. You are thrown into what feels like a mini-preseason and must quickly prove yourself in a really uncertain environment. For those Tottenham Hotspur players who have seen Thomas Frank fired and replaced by Igor Tudor, there is the additional issue of knowing virtually nothing about the guy tasked with steadying the ship because he has no Premier League experience either as a player or as a coach.
– Spurs job too big for Frank, but changing manager won’t fix mess at club
– Forest on 4th manager of season. Do multiple hires and fires ever work?
– How Premier League clubs are looking to the U.S. to raise transfers funds
The soccer community in England is big, but it also can feel quite small the longer you’re involved. Players have connections — friends, former teammates and coaches — all over the place. A few Spurs players — Rodrigo Bentancur, Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski — crossed paths with Tudor when he was part of Andrea Pirlo’s coaching staff at Juventus, so other members of the squad will be asking them what he’s like, but also contacting other people they know who have worked with the Croatian to learn more about him.
I can imagine that England under-21 international Lloyd Kelly, who played for AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United before signing for Juventus last year, will have had calls and messages from Spurs players desperate for information on Tudor, his head coach at Juve for seven months last year.
Tudor was a surprise appointment, and many Spurs players will have had zero knowledge of him as a person or as a coach. But before he took his first session, they will have asked enough people about what he’s like in terms of managing players, his training styles and how he wants players to play, to form a basic picture of his approach to the game.
Whether they are happy with the appointment or not, the Spurs players will still want to start off on the right footing under the new coach, even though he will only be in charge for 12 Premier League games and however long Spurs survive in the UEFA Champions League.
The players may quickly make their judgements about the new coach, but they will also want to finish the season in a better shape than they are now — none of them will want to be part of the first Spurs team to be relegated in almost 50 years — because individual pride is important. And, for many of them, there is the issue of ensuring they go to the FIFA World Cup with their respective countries.
Sunday’s game against Arsenal — Tudor’s first in charge — will mean everything to the players because they don’t want to reach breaking point with the fans. That is something that could happen if they were to lose badly against their biggest rivals on home turf.
And if it starts badly, some players will just check out. I’ve seen it first-hand when a player tells a coach that he will outlast him at a club. When that happens, you know things are turning in a negative way.
The Spurs players will have known change was coming, though. Looking back on my experiences, it’s very rare to be surprised by a managerial change. Managers are human beings, after all. It’s very hard for them to keep doing the same job, pretending that nothing is happening when they are facing the sack.
As things get worse, you start to see almost a sense of resentment toward outcomes, players and things they weren’t previously stressed about. You can also tell when they’ve lost a group. Sometimes that could be due not necessarily to results, but a change you can see in their own principles that they once tried to tell you defined who they were.
So, when a new manager comes in, it is a clean slate and they can become whoever they want to be. If they say ‘we train at 3 p.m.’ and that’s the standard, everyone’s like ‘OK, we train at 3 p.m..’ If they set out the standards they expect, that’s fine. But — and maybe it’s human nature — as time passes, you start to see some people start making concessions for certain individuals. But Tudor’s contract is so short, that he may not get to that stage.
In this interim role, Tudor can go in and have a quick impact, get buy-in from the players — be a motivator and organiser — and succeed in his mission of keeping Spurs up. Their potential is clearly there, but being an interim can make it harder to maintain support within the squad. We saw that during Ralf Rangnick’s unsuccessful six-month spell as interim at Manchester United in 2022.
When Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as Manchester City manager in 2009, he didn’t have any gravitas among the City players because of who he was, but he was the first appointment of the new owners, so we knew he had all the power in the world to make whatever changes he wanted. There were no discussions. It was his way, his style and that was that. He is the only coach I have ever worked with who told the players that we weren’t allowed to laugh while we were jogging around the training pitch to warm up.
But we knew Mancini was the future, and that allowed him to be a true authoritarian. The Spurs players know that Tudor most likely isn’t the future, so it feels like a risky move by the club to hire him in the situation they find themselves in.
I experienced a midseason change of manager several times during my playing career, and it rarely had a positive impact. Mancini was perhaps the one coach who made things better for the team. But generally, a new coach will come in and the first thing they will say is that the players aren’t fit enough. That’s just a way to buy time if initial results and performances aren’t good because, if the players aren’t fit, it’s the last guy’s fault, right?
1:18
Was Nottingham Forest right to sack Sean Dyche?
ESPN’s Nedum Onuoha and Julien Laurens react to Nottingham Forest sacking Sean Dyche after just 114 days in charge.
The situation at Nottingham Forest is on a whole other level. The players are now on their fourth coach of the season after Vítor Pereira was hired to replace Sean Dyche, who succeeded Ange Postecoglou, the early-season replacement for Nuno Espírito Santo.
They have had a ridiculous season, leaping from one playing style to another, but they have probably landed on the most reasonable appointment of all in Pereira. He knows the league, has the credentials of having an instant impact when he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers and is also more personable than the coaches who went before him at Forest.
If I was in the Forest squad, four coaches in a season is the type of energy where you probably start doubting whether you’re at the right soccer club, to be honest. But Forest are maybe just two good weeks away from securing Premier League survival, so they can see a path out of their situation.
Spurs should also have enough about them to survive, but there’s no doubt Tudor is a strange appointment. We will discover soon enough whether he is the right one or reckless gamble by the club.
Nedum Onuoha was speaking to ESPN senior writer Mark Ogden
CHENNAI: Afghanistan concluded their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 journey with a 82-run victory over Canada in their last group match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday.
Set to chase a daunting 201-run target, Canada’s batting unit could yield 118/8 in 20 overs despite a valiant 53-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Harsh Thaker and Saad Bin Zafar.
Thaker remained the top-scorer with a brisk 30 off 24 deliveries, while Saad made an anchoring 28 off 26 deliveries.
Besides them, only openers Yuvraj Samra (17), captain Dilpreet Bajwa (13) and middle-order batter Nicholas Kirton (10) could amass double figures against the disciplined Afghanistan bowling attack, led by experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who bagged four wickets for just seven runs in his four overs.
Nabi was supported by skipper Rashid Khan, who picked up two wickets, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa’s decision to field first backfired as Zadran-led Afghanistan batting unit piled up 200/4 in their 20 overs.
Afghanistan got off to a decent start to their innings, with their opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Zadran putting together 47 runs inside the batting powerplay until Jaskaran Singh got rid of the former on the third delivery of the sixth over.
Jaskaran struck again in the same over, dismissing Gulbadin Naib for one, and reduced Afghanistan further to 49/2 at the powerplay mark.
Following the back-to-back blows, Sediqullah Atal joined Zadran in the middle, and the duo put Afghanistan into a commanding position by knitting a 95-run partnership for the third wicket.
The crucial stand eventually culminated in the 16th over when Atal fell victim to Jaskaran and walked back after scoring 44 off 32 deliveries with the help of two sixes and as many fours.
Zadran was then involved in a brief 32-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Azmatullah Omarzai, who was dismissed by Dilon Heyliger in the penultimate over after making a seven-ball 13.
The right-handed opener then shared a one-sided 25-run partnership with Darwish Rasooli (four not out) and ensured breaching the 200-run barrier for Afghanistan with an unbeaten 95 off just 56 deliveries, studded with seven fours and five sixes.
For his monumental knock, Zadran was adjudged the Player of the Match.
Jaskaran remained the leading wicket-taker for Canada with three scalps, but was expensive as he conceded 52 runs in his four overs, while Heyliger struck once.
Sports
Court storm turns hectic as coach smacks fan’s phone; school apologizes for forcing ‘reactive situation’
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A court storm turned into an extra fiasco after a student appeared to put his phone near Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg‘s face.
Iowa Hawkeyes students and fans rushed the court after their 57-52 victory over the ninth-ranked Cornhuskers, and things took a turn when Hoiberg appeared to smack a phone out of the hand of a student, who appeared to be recording a video.
The student got into the handshake line between players and coaches and was whisked away by another Iowa staffer.
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Forward Cooper Koch of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates with fans after the match-up against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Feb. 17, 2026, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, in Iowa City, Iowa. ( Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
Iowa issued an apology, saying the fan “gained access to the court through a restricted area, directly confronting Coach Hoiberg and putting Nebraska players, coaches, and staff in a reactive situation.”
“We apologize for this incident and will conduct a review of our procedures and security measures to determine what adjustments may be needed to further strengthen our protocols and help prevent similar incidents in the future,” the school added.
Forward Alvaro Folgueiras of the Hawkeyes celebrates with fans after the Nebraska Cornhuskers game on Feb. 17, 2026, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, in Iowa City. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER, 18, DEAD TWO DAYS AFTER COLLAPSING DURING WORKOUT
The Big Ten said it discussed the situation with both schools and would take no disciplinary action against Hoiberg. The conference said it appreciates Iowa’s efforts to address postgame security protocols.
Nebraska did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Despite Iowa being unranked, the Hawkeyes actually were 1.5-point favorites in the contest.
Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg reacts to an official’s foul call during the Hawkeyes game, on Feb. 17, 2026, in Iowa City. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Big Ten does not issue fines for a court storm but could fine schools if proper actions are not taken to provide safety.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Spring training camps are underway, which means it is time to look at the state of baseball. As part of our 2026 MLB season preview, ESPN’s Buster Olney surveyed those around the industry to help him rank the top 10 players at every position as part of his annual positional ranking series.
Today, we rank the best of the best relievers.
The objective of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2026 season, not who might be best in five years or over their career. We will roll out a position per day over the next two weeks. Here’s the rest of the schedule: starting pitchers (Monday), relief pitchers (Tuesday), catchers (Wednesday), second basemen (Friday), third basemen (Feb. 23), shortstops (Feb. 24), corner outfielders (Feb. 25), center fielders (Feb. 26), designated hitters (Feb. 27).
Typically, there is a distinct learning curve for even the best college hitters as they adapt to the challenge of facing professional pitchers, sometimes requiring significant adjustments, swing concessions and years of repetitions. That’s why the rookie season of A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz was so shocking.
After being drafted fourth overall in 2024 and starting the ’25 season in the minor leagues, Kurtz wrecked major league pitching for 36 homers and an OPS+ of 173 in his first 117 games. He effectively spotted the rest of the league a month — making his debut on April 23 — and only Matt Olson accumulated more fWAR than Kurtz among first basemen in 2025.
David Forst, the A’s head of baseball operations, was asked the other day about the alterations that Kurtz made after being drafted to propel him to such a fast start in the big leagues.
“He hasn’t had the time [in pro ball] to make adjustments yet,” Forst said. “He’s done the exact same thing in the major leagues as he did in college.”
This is not an exaggeration. In Kurtz’s last season at Wake Forest in 2024, he posted a slash line of .306/.531/.763. His first season in the big leagues: .290/.383/.619.
Kurtz turns 23 next month. Given the damage he did last year, and the promise for more of the same to come, where should he land among the accomplished list of first basemen that includes future Hall of Famers in Freddie Freeman and Bryce Harper, star hitters such as Rafael Devers and Josh Naylor, and sluggers such as Pete Alonso and Olson?
Evaluators love what they see in Kurtz.
Top 10 first basemen
1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Last October, Guerrero ascended from mere stardom to being in the conversation for the best and most dangerous hitter in the game with how he dominated postseason pitching. Vlad Jr. decided to focus less on mechanics and more on the pitcher and wow, did that approach work for him in the playoffs: He hit eight home runs in 18 games, going 29-for-73 (.397) with 14 walks and seven strikeouts. This season’s MVP race among Vladdy, Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Kurtz, Bobby Witt Jr., Jose Ramirez and Julio Rodriguez could be a monster.
2. Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
Olson’s consistent production is vaulting him into Hall of Fame territory. He needs just 12 more homers for 300 in his career and has at least 29 in seven of his 10 seasons. New Atlanta manager Walt Weiss is more inclined to rest players than Brian Snitker was, and Olson might be his most challenging conversation — he has played every game over the past three seasons. There is so much to playing first base that no statistic fully captures the skills required, but Olson led all first basemen in defensive runs saved by far (17), and he was second in outs above average (nine).
3. Nick Kurtz, Athletics
Kurtz’s greatest adjustment might need to be made against left-handed pitchers because he is going to see a ton of them this year when opposing managers are trying to figure out a way to mitigate his power. Last season, his OPS versus right-handed pitchers was 468 points higher than versus lefties — 1.153 to .685. But given his immediate impact and steady improvement over last season, he figures to get better over time against lefties. His impressive history also suggests he’ll turn around last year’s walk/strikeout numbers of 63/151 — through his college years and first season of pro ball, he had 201 walks and 120 strikeouts. Kurtz has a special set of skills.
4. Pete Alonso, Baltimore Orioles
All of the conversation about Alonso’s defense and baserunning — overstated criticism — have overshadowed his remarkable consistency with the Mets. “You just pencil him in for 35 homers and 110 RBIs, and you know he’ll give you 155 to 160 games,” one evaluator said. None of that is an overstatement — Alonso has hit at least 34 home runs in every year of his career other than the COVID-shortened season of 2020, and he’s driven in 463 runs over the last four years, or about 116 per season. And he’s missed a total of 24 games in his first seven seasons. Time will tell whether the Mets’ decision to not pay him was the right one, but undoubtedly, there will be a lot of moments in 2026 when they will miss him.
5. Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
If you polled opposing managers about who they would least like to see in the batter’s box with the game on the line, Freeman would probably be among the first hitters named, even at age 36. He continues to excel, with a .295/.367/.502 slash line last season, and at this point, there’s every reason to believe he’ll have a shot at being the next — and maybe last? — hitter to reach 3,000 hits. He’s got 569 to go, and given his understanding of opposing pitchers and his ability to hit to all fields, Freeman should continue to age well. He’s got two years left on his Dodgers contract, and with Shohei Ohtani entrenched as L.A.’s designated hitter indefinitely, questions might emerge next season about where Freeman will finish his career.
6. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
David Dombrowski, the head of Philadelphia’s baseball operations, kicked off a lot of conversation about what kind of player Harper is with the way he answered a question about Harper’s production at the end of last season. Where does Harper actually stand? Well, his OPS+ last year was 129, meaning he was well above average, and in this era of dominant pitching, his on-base percentage of .357 ranked 26th among the 154 hitters who qualified for the batting title. Harper scored 72 runs in 132 games and accumulated 27 homers. He’ll play this season at age 33, with Dombrowski’s assessment providing the foundation for whatever narrative develops.
7. Josh Naylor, Seattle Mariners
Naylor thrived after his trade to Seattle, posting an .831 OPS and going 19-for-19 in stolen bases over the last 54 games of the regular season — and carrying that over into the postseason, when he hit .417/.481/.792 in the AL Championship Series. Early in free agency, the Mariners retained him on a five-year, $92.5 million deal.
8. Rafael Devers, San Francisco Giants
Members of San Francisco’s front office say they believe Devers will become a solid first baseman as he works with new infield instructor Ron Washington, and there has never been any doubt about whether he can hit. Even through his tumultuous 2025 season, Devers still finished with an OPS of 140, right in line with his career numbers, and he hit 35 homers. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts in his first full season in Oracle Park, where he had an uncharacteristic 59 strikeouts in 48 games and batted .234 — numbers that suggest he might have been trying to muscle up in a pitchers’ park.
9. Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs
With the confines of Wrigley Field more friendly to pitchers and right-handed hitters most days, Busch hit 21 of his 34 homers on the road. But he was still really good at home, with a .356 OBP and a .500 slugging percentage. With the Cubs’ best hitters mostly right-handed, the team will need the left-handed Busch to thrive and balance out the lineup, especially if Pete Crow-Armstrong has another season of streaks.
10. Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals
After a string of injuries, Pasquantino stayed on the field in 2025 and finished with 66 extra-base hits, 113 RBIs and a career-high 120 OPS+. He played 126 of his 160 games at first base last season but could have more time at DH in ’26, as the Royals rely more on Carter Jensen behind home plate and Salvador Perez plays more games at first.
Honorable mentions
Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays: Aranda would be in the top 10 if not for an injury that cost him August and almost all of September last year. He finished about 80 plate appearances short of qualifying for a batting title, but the only hitter with at least 400 plate appearances who had a higher average than Aranda’s .316 was Judge. Aranda had a wRC+ of 153, and among first basemen, only Kurtz was better.
Ben Rice, New York Yankees: Part of the reason Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks about the improvement in his team’s roster over the last year is Rice’s development, which has the team believing he’s going to be an impact hitter in the seasons ahead. In his first full season, Rice generated a slugging percentage of .499, with an OBP of .337. His second-half slash line was .281/.352/.542, and lest you assume he’s just another left-hander hitter exploiting the Yankee Stadium dimensions, his home/road splits were pretty even (.250/.336/.518 at home, .259/.338/.481 on the road).
Willson Contreras, Boston Red Sox: A tough hitter who has adapted well in his position shift to first base. His strikeouts spiked last year to a career-high 142, and his walk rate of 7.8 in ’25 was a career low.
Jorge Polanco, New York Mets: In the end, manager Carlos Mendoza could deploy Brett Baty — or Mark Vientos — at first, and Polanco could get a lot of run at DH. No matter where he plays, he should help the Mets’ offense, coming off a season in which he had an .821 OPS.
Spencer Torkelson, Detroit Tigers: Torkelson made a lot of offseason changes that paid off in the first half of last season, when he hit 21 of his 31 homers and had an OPS of .826.
Andrew Vaughn, Milwaukee Brewers: Vaughn had a .308/.375/.493 slash line in 64 games for Milwaukee, and his walk-strikeout ratio shifted dramatically — from seven walks and 43 strikeouts in his last 48 games with Chicago to 24 walks and 37 strikeouts with the Brewers.
Christian Walker, Houston Astros: His offensive struggles were real (a 99 wRC+), but he continued to play well defensively and he hit 27 homers.
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