BBC to add Giroud to regular panel, including Frank
Postecoglou will join ITV, who show England opener
The former Tottenham managers Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank will go head to head in the TV studio this summer as rival World Cup pundits. The Guardian has learned that Frank has signed a deal with BBC Sport as one of their main analysts, with Postecoglou having agreed to work for ITV.
The BBC is also understood to have added the former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud to their regular punditry panel that includes Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Alan Shearer, with ITV recruiting Andros Townsend to join Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane.
Frank has not spoken publicly since being sacked by Tottenham in February so his first appearance on the BBC should make compelling viewing, particularly for the club’s fans. The 52-year-old won 13 out of 38 games in charge at Spurs after seven successful years at Brentford, with his win ratio of 34.2% the worst of any permanent manager in the club’s history, although the dismal record of his successor, Igor Tudor, who lost five and drew one match in 44 days as interim manager, has put the Dane’s struggles in context. Postecoglou has also kept his silence since a disastrous 39-day spell at Nottingham Forest ended with his dismissal 18 minutes after a home defeat by Chelsea in October.
