As Tottenham prepare to fight for their entire season next week on Wednesday in Bilbao against Manchester United in the Europa League Final, the background thought on everyone's mind around Spurs is the future of manager Ange Postecoglou.
He's been ridiculed and vilified by supporters throughout the campaign, as Tottenham stare down what is officially the worst season in club history. Tottenham's futility is irrefutable, but what is up for debate is whether or not Postecoglou should be able to save his job by securing Champions League football and bringing a major trophy to Spurs if the club beat Manchester Unitd in the final.
In an appearance on the Sky Sports Back Pages podcast, The Athletic's David Ornstein, who is the most respected transfer insider within Premier League circles, dropped the hammer on Ange Postecoglou by stating that it is unlikely the coach saves his behind by winning the Europa League:
David Ornstein draws Tottenham parallel to Manchester United
âI think itâs unlikely. I think the direction of travel is for Spurs to make a change in the summer, irrespective of the outcome of this match. I do take the point on the emotion, and we saw what happened with Manchester United [under Erik ten Hag], although that may serve as a warning why clubs shouldnât repeat what they did."
Manchester United qualified for the Europa League this season by winning the FA Cup Final over crosstown rivals Manchester City. Despite an offseason of heavy investment and a new ownership group, Man United were even worse under Erik ten Hag and ultimately fired him anyway months into the season.
Ten Hag's situation serves as a cautionary tale that it seems like Tottenham are willing to heed. After all, as Ornstein later noted in his podcast appearance, Tottenham invested more in Postecoglou and the squad he had than what they gave bigger name managers like Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte - and across a bigger sample size against better teams, Big Ange has led Spurs to their worst-ever season in league play.
Tottenham have already been working hard looking at coaching alternatives within the Premier League and abroad, mainly focusing on candidates already in the English top flight like Fulham's Marco Silva and Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola. Given these coaches have outperformed Postecoglou with much less financial investment, it is actually less reactionary to fire Big Ange on a poor Premier League season than on beating Bodo Glimt and an Omar Marmoush-less Eintracht Frankfurt.