I think this is what Arsenal fans would call a generational hate watch.
At approximately 10pm, 10.30pm or 11pm on Wednesday evening, either the 16th or 17th-placed Premier League team will nab one of the final seats at the Champions League table, while also proudly showing off their shiny Europa League winners’ medals.
While Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur‘s domestic campaigns have been pathetic – a strong word yes, but let us not pretend otherwise – both Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim‘s sides have rightfully earned their spot in Bilbao; taking down the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Athletic Bilbao is no mean feat.
Tottenham and Man United both need to win the Europa League. Tottenham fans and Man United fans both need their team to win the Europa League to spare themselves a world of embarrassment and ridicule at work and school.
But who needs it more?
Why Tottenham need Europa League win more than Man United
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Trophy drought, trophy drought, trophy drought.
When Tottenham last lifted a piece of silverware that was not the Audi Cup, Mercy by Duffy was the UK number one, Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov were working in tandem up front, and Jonathan Woodgate banished his infamously horrendous Real Madrid debut to the back pages of history with the decisive goal in the 2007-08 EFL Cup final.
Oh, and Mikey Moore, Ethan Nwaneri and Lamine Yamal had not even celebrated their first birthdays.
Seventeen years down the line, Spurs have had to witness bitter rivals Arsenal collect a host of FA Cups and five different teams conquer the Premier League, not to mention a couple of close shaves in Champions League and EFL Cup finals.
However, the second-season aficionado Postecoglou is so far showing that he could back up his incredibly bold trophy claim, and to render Giorgio Chiellini‘s comical ‘it’s the history of Tottenham’ line invalid, for a couple of months at least.
In all honesty, failure to win the Europa League and clinch the Champions League place that comes with it may not make a huge difference to Spurs’ squad, many of whom seem loyally invested to the cause and to Postecoglou, so Daniel Levy ought not to fear a mass exodus even if the worst does occur.
The manager’s future may already be set in stone regardless of what happens in Bilbao, but even if his tenure ends incredibly prematurely, he will go down in Lilywhites folklore as the man who finally made Tottenham winners again.
Why Man United need Europa League win more than Tottenham
© Imago
Money, money, money.
The Old Trafford faithful need only go back two years for the last time their side passed a cup around, but if Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s extreme cost-cutting measures are any indication, they were plummeting into financial oblivion at that exact moment.
News of the Glazers either opening the door to a full sale or assuming less control of the club would have been music to the ears of most – if not all – Red Devils supporters, but many are already becoming disillusioned with the current regime.
While hundreds are losing jobs, Man United are still losing matches, so many in fact that Amorim’s Premier League win rate is currently lower than Paul Jewell, who oversaw the worst-ever season in the tournament’s history with Derby County in 2007-08.
Should Man United conquer Europe’s second-tier tournament, they could apparently boost their coffers by an astounding £54.4m overall – according to BBC Sport – and the prospect of a deep run in the Champions League, which may seem fanciful now, will only increase the warchest further.
Defeat in Europe, a bottom-half Premier League finish and no sign of an on-field identity is the perfect recipe for disaster for Man United, who simply cannot afford another early managerial termination after coughing up tens of millions to fire Erik ten Hag and his staff.
Some will argue that Man United’s reserves are not in such dire straits if they can afford to splash out over £60m on Matheus Cunha, and their pull is evidently still working if they can attract a player of that calibre to the club, but winning the Europa League would likely finance a big chunk of that deal.
On a side note, failure to prevail would also see Man United go winless in seven straight games against Tottenham for the first time in their history, but in all honesty, their finances will recover regardless.
A few high-earning veterans will go this summer or the next, and you will never get Ratcliffe giving the green light to extortionate deals a la Antony or Paul Pogba; Cunha is at least a decent bit cheaper and Premier League-proven.
However, for the simple fact that Spurs have been starved of success for so long, and they may never get a better opportunity to conquer the continent – at least in the secondary term – Europa League stardom will mean more to the men in white.
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