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During the first week of January, Chelsea and Manchester United announced the departures of their respective Head Coaches and that was some of the biggest news reports to kick off 2026. It is now the second week of February 2026 and in a span of 2 days, 2 more Head Coaches have been announced as departing their top clubs. The first of the departures is former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi, who had come to a mutual agreement with Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille on parting ways following the club’s recent bad run of form. The second was the departure of former Brentford manager Thomas Frank, who for a long time now had been on verge of being sacked following Tottenham Hotspurs’ overall poor season with the club now being 16th in the league and joining the relegation battle.

Marseille and De Zerbi Parting Ways

Roberto De Zerbi became head coach of Olympique de Marseille in July 2024 after a very memorial run as Brighton & Hove Albion manager in the English Premier League dating all the way in September 2022. The Italian Head Coach arrived in Marseille and completely transformed the team from a side that finished in 8th position during the 2023/2024 season to a team that finished 2nd as well as qualified for the UEFA Champions League in his first run as Head Coach.

  • Games – 34
  • Wins – 20
  • Draws – 5
  • Defeats – 9
  • Goals Scored – 74
  • Goals Conceded – 47
  • Win Percentage – 66,18%

Roberto De Zerbi had a fantastic first season in charge and things looked like they were only going to get better for the Italian however during this current 2025/2026 season, things have been a little rocky for the French side. In Ligue 1 Olympique Marseille already have 6 defeats in 21 games which, as seen above, means that Marseille are already 3 defeats away from matching the same number of defeats they had all of last season with 13 games left to play. Marseille’s run in the Champions League this season was one to forget as well because the French side finished the League Phase of the competition in 25th place which is at the very top of the Elimination Places with the club’s negative goal difference playing a huge factor in Marseille not finishing in a Knockout Play-Off phase position.

Roberto De Zerbi’s final game as Marseille Head Coach was the game that helped pushed the Italian’s decision to parts ways with Olympique Marseille as De Zerbi saw his team get humiliated by the current Ligue 1 Champions Paris Saint-Germain in a 5-0 thrashing. The decision for De Zerbi to leave the club was a mutual one as both the Head Coach and the club have looked back at this current season and came to the conclusion that parting ways would be for the best for everyone involved.

Thomas Frank Finally Sacked

Thomas Frank was appointed as Tottenham Hotspurs Head Coach ahead of the 2025/2026 after his incredible work of getting Brentford promoted to the Premier League as well as challenging for European competition positions with the London club. Going from a team with low expectations to one of the Premier League’s Big 6 clubs and competing in the Champions League for the first time ever was a big step up for the Danish Head Coach. The season did not start off too well for the new Head Coach as Tottenham legend Son Heung-min made a surprise transfer to the MLS to play for Los Angeles FC as well as Thomas Frank’s well documented issues with Yves Bissouma, life in North London was not off to a dream start for the new boss. Tottenham’s first official competitive game of the season was the UEFA Super Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain where Thomas Frank’s team surprisingly took the lead in the game by being 1-0 up by Half Time and then being 2-0 in the early stages of the second half however unfortunately for Thomas Frank and his team, they conceded 2 late goals which sent the game into penalties where PSG won 4-3. Since then, Tottenham’s season has been a mixed one with many frustrations in the Premier League, EFL and FA Cups however in the UEFA Champions League is where Tottenham have been at their best. To the surprise of many Tottenham finished the League Phase of the competition in 4th place with 5 wins, 2 draws and only suffered 1 defeat in their 8 league phase matches which is incredible considering their position in the Premier League near the relegation battle which is the reason why the Tottenham board made the decision to move on from the former Brentford manager.

Tottenham are currently 16th in the Premier League with 29 points which puts them right in the relegation battle with 18th place West Ham United being 5 points behind them.

  • Games – 26
  • Wins – 7
  • Draws – 8
  • Defeats – 11
  • Goals Scored – 36
  • Goals conceded – 37
  • Win Percentage – 42,31%

After Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United, Thomas Frank was asked about his position as Head Coach being potentially under threat to which the Danish Head Coach gave the impression that his job was safe by stating: “I spoke to the owners on Monday… so, no” he told TNT Sports. This led many to be shocked by the sudden announcement around 12 hours later that Tottenham Hotspurs had let go of Thomas Frank with immediate effect and a statement was released to confirm that Tottenham were adamant on giving Thomas Frank enough time and backing for the future however results and performances had forced their hand to make what they deemed a necessary change.

What is next for both clubs?

With regards to Olympique de Marseille, recent reports claim that Senegalese Head Coach Habib Beye is seen as a top target for the French Side with negotiations and discussions between Marseille and Beye reportedly progressing well. Habib Beye is currently the Head Coach at Stade Rennais F.C. who are currently 6th in Ligue 1 so it might take some compensation from Olympique Marseille for Rennes to let go of their Head Coach.

With regards to Tottenham Hotspurs, the club have a list of potential candidates to be permanent Head Coach in June 2026 which includes names such as former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and the now former Marseille Head Coach Roberto De Zerbi. For now, Tottenham are looking for an Interim Head Coach to see out the rest of the season for the club while they decide who will be the permanent Head Coach for the future with recent reports claiming that Igor Tudor looks set to take the job as Interim Head Coach until the end of the season.