Tottenham are reportedly lining up several possible replacements for Australian manager Ange Postecoglou as chairman Dan Levy hit back at his club’s own fans.
Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!
With the international break followed by the FA Cup quarter-finals providing a two-week Premier League hiatus, the British press have been highly focused on what is going on off the pitch.
One of the key stories is Postecoglou’s future with it being no secret that the former Celtic boss is under the pump in north London.
Spurs’ league campaign went down the drain before Christmas and they presently sit 14th on the table with 15 losses from 29 games.
The only reason Postecoglou remains in charge is the allure of silverware.
FA Cup and League Cup runs ended within four days of each other in February, but the Europa League persists as the great white hope to end Tottenham’s highly publicised trophy drought which dates back to 2008.
The first leg of their quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, who are third in the Bundesliga, kicks off at 5am AEST on Friday 11 April with the return bout to be played in Germany a week later.
So while Postecoglou and his squad still have ample time to ramp up their preparations, behind the scenes plans are being made for impending doom.
Levy released a statement on Monday on the club financial situation, which included a thinly veiled way of reading the riot act to the manager he hired in 2023, and revealed that Spurs recorded a £26.2 million loss.
A big hit to the coffers has been the absence of Champions League football with UEFA prize money decreasing from £56.2 million to £1.3 million after Spurs’ absence from Europe during the 2023/24 season.
“As we announce our financial results for the year to 30 June 2024, we currently find ourselves in 14th position in the Premier League, navigating what has been a highly challenging season on the pitch,” Levy said.
“We are, however, in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Winning this competition would see welcome silverware and mean qualification for the Champions League. We must do everything we can to support the team in these final key stages.
“I want to thank everyone who supports us through good times and bad. We are resilient and passionate about our club. We shall aim to finish this season as strongly as we can and continue to build for success on the pitch.”
Watching the likes of Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Fulham and even Bournemouth, who were fifth on the Premier League table before only picking up a single point in their last four games, enter the race for a Champions League berth this season must be a bitter pill for Levy to swallow.
It is well-known that Spurs have suffered an injury crisis this campaign, but as the finances tell us, money talks and that is why Tottenham are looking at other options.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and Fulham manager Marco Silva are two names that have come up regularly in reports as potential Postecoglou replacements.
The Tottenham hierarchy reportedly admire Spaniard Iraola’s tactical nous and see similarities in style to former Spurs manager Mauricio Pocchettino, who is now in charge of the US men’s national team, but surprisingly said in a recent interview that he would like to comeback to Spurs.
Iraola appears gettable with a reported release clause of £10-11 million, the same as Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim had at Portuguese outfit Sporting CP.
Meanwhile, Silva has impressed at Craven Cottage with the fourth lowest budget in the league.
A trait that is clearly endearing to Levy given he shut down fans calls to pay up during the upcoming summer transfer window to help rejuvenate the squad.
The Tottenham chair has long been ridiculed for his reluctance to match the spending of many of their rivals, despite earlier this year being reported as the ninth richest club in the world behind only Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in England.
Part of Levy’s statement on the finances was very clear that he will not change his ways in the transfer market.
“Since opening our new stadium in April 2019, we have invested over £700 million net in player acquisitions. Recruitment remains a key focus, and we must ensure that we make smart purchases within our financial means,” Levy said.
“I often read calls for us to spend more, given that we are ranked as the ninth-richest club in the world. However, a closer examination of today’s financial figures reveals that such spending must be sustainable in the long term and within our operating revenues.
“Our capacity to generate recurring revenues determines our spending power.
“We cannot spend what we do not have, and we will not compromise the financial stability of this club – indeed, our off-pitch revenues have significantly supplemented the lower football revenues this year, testament to our diversified income strategy.”
Those other revenue streams include hosting concerts and NFL games at their stadium.
But the financial demand for better results on the pitch place even more weight on Postecoglou’s shoulders in the coming weeks.
If they are bundled out of the Europa League, Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi is another reportedly in Spurs’ sights.
But a possible move would be a step down for the Italian given his side are top of Serie A and play a two-leg Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich this month.
The first step for Tottenham however is at Stamford Bridge against London rivals Chelsea on Friday morning Australian time.
The Blues inflicted Postecoglou his first Premier League loss when they smacked Spurs 4-1 but the Australian was still lauded for his commitment to trying to score goals and obtain a result despite being reduced to nine men,
Times have changed massively from that honeymoon period when Spurs sat top of the league ten games into Postecoglou’s reign.
Defeat in the first game back from the international break and Postecoglou will become the first Spurs manager to lose their first four matches against Chelsea.
It is an unwanted slice of history he will be keen to avoid, but most importantly, he will be eager to find form in his squad in that outing as well as hosting cellar dwellers Southampton on Sunday before taking on Eintracht Frankfurt.
For now, the “I always win things in my second year” proclamation remains alive, but the backing he receives is thinning.
Discussion about this post