Tottenham Hotspur haven’t had the best of seasons this term as they risk finishing in the bottom five of the Premier League.
Admittedly, Spurs are still in contention for silverware, with their Europa League semi-final tie against Bodo/Glimt coming up.
However, Tottenham’s domestic woes have led to increasing speculation over Ange Postecoglou’s future at N17.
Les Ferdinand is one of the footballing figures who, by his own admission, has been “shouting from the rooftops” in support of Postecoglou.
However, Ferdinand has suggested that something he’s noticed about Postecoglou is now concerning him, likening it to “Russian roulette”.
Les Ferdinand says managers who don’t tweak things mid-game are effectively playing ‘Russian roulette’
Ferdinand is the latest guest on the Seaman Says podcast as he talked about a number of topics including Tottenham.
The former Spurs striker suggested he was concerned about Postecoglou’s tactical inflexibility, saying the best coaches in the world can “tweak things” mid-game.
Those who are unwilling or unable to do so are effectively playing “Russian roulette”, according to Ferdinand.
“I’ve been shouting from the rooftops for him most of the season in terms of, you’ve got to give him a chance, the injuries we’ve had,” began Ferdinand.
“My biggest concern is when you’ve had those injuries and… I think this is a theme in with a lot of managers coming into the Premier League at the moment, they’re saying, ‘right, I’ll play this way, I’ll play this one way, and that’s the only way I’m going to play.’
“And I think the best coaches in the world are able to see things and tweak it. I’m not saying change your system completely, I’m not saying change the way you do things, but sometimes you need to tweak things.
“And if you’re saying to me well, in game they’ve worked out what we’re doing and this is how they they’re counteracting us, and then we can’t change it in game to suit us, to get us back another advantage, that means you’re just playing Russian roulette.
“It’s ‘they’ll score two, we’ll score three’, and if you don’t score three you’re losing 2-0.”
| Position | Team | Played MP |
Won W |
Drawn D |
Lost L |
For GF |
Against GA |
Diff GD |
Points Pts |
| 14 |  |
34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 39 | 47 | -8 | 39 |
| 15 |  |
34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 34 | 41 | -7 | 38 |
| 16 |  |
34 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 62 | 56 | 6 | 37 |
| 17 |  |
34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 39 | 58 | -19 | 36 |
| 18 |  |
34 | 4 | 9 | 21 | 33 | 74 | -41 | 21 |
Could Tottenham sack Ange Postecoglou this summer?
Ferdinand is not the first person to make a point about Postecoglou’s desire to stick to his guns.
Earlier this season, Jamie Carragher said Postecoglou would not be here next term if he didn’t look to be more tactically flexible.
He said: “You can’t have this idea about ‘we’re going to do this and have our way of playing football’, it won’t work! If it doesn’t change, he won’t be here next season.”
And with how poorly Tottenham have done in the league, it looks as though the Spurs hierarchy’s patience has run out.
| Competition | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points |
| Premier League | 34 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 37 (1.09 per game) |
| Europa League | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | – |
| Carabao Cup | 5 | 4 | – | 1 | – |
| FA Cup | 2 | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Total | 53 | 23 | 7 | 23 | – |
TBR Football sources recently revealed that not even winning the Europa League will not be enough to save Postecoglou’s job at Tottenham.
This is due to Spurs’ dismal league form, which could very well see them set a new record for their most league defeats in a season.
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has been told that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has so far stopped short of telling Postecoglou that he’s leaving.
Instead, Levy has made it known to the current manager that Tottenham are now exploring other options, including former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
