On the latest episode of The View from The Lane podcast for the Athletic, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Maw and Charlie Eccleshare have been discussing the latest goings-on at Tottenham Hotspur. The trio focused on Spurs’ transfer business in the recent summer window, as well as the Lilywhites’ impressive 6-1 win against Manchester United last weekend.
One topic of discussion on the recent episode, which was titled: ‘6-1 Reaction & Deadline Day Discussion‘, was Spurs’ Europa League group for the season. Following a 7-2 win against Maccabi Haifa which secured Spurs’ progression to the group stages, they were drawn against LASK, Royal Antwerp and Ludogorets in Group J (per UEFA). The north London club’s opponents play in Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria respectively.
Here’s what Maw had to say about the Europa League draw and Spurs’ chances of progression during the podcast:
“I would definitely like to revise my prediction that Spurs will go out of the Europa League early. If they don’t get out of that group, I don’t care what they do in the league, [Jose] Mourinho needs to be sacked. Even purely on the geography, I think they’ve got pretty much what they would have wanted.”
TIF Thoughts…
Maw certainly seems confident that Spurs will progress, to the extent that he suggests that Mourinho should be sacked if they don’t manage to get through the group. He also feels that the group is a nice one for Spurs in terms of travel, as they face relatively short trips to Austria and Belgium, whilst Bulgaria is a slightly longer flight.
Should Mourinho be sacked if Spurs fail to get out of this group?
Yes
No
Mourinho certainly has history in this competition, as he helped Manchester United win it in 2017, so we’re sure that he is eyeing this as the potential trophy to end Spurs’ barren run, with their last trophy coming in the form of a League Cup win in 2008 (per Tottenham Hotspur).