Sack speculation around Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu continues to mount, after Spurs lost at home to newly promoted, but once again relegation threatened Leicester City. Postecoglu is safe, at least for now, despite the fact that Spurs already have 13 league losses, a mark surpassed by only Wolves, Southampton FC and the side that just beat the North-Londoners on the weekend, the Foxes themselves.
While the position of Postecoglu is reportedly safe for now, his seat remains scorching hot.
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Spurs have six losses and one draw in their last seven league games, so the Aussie doesn’t turn things around soon, the board will have no choice but to let him go.
In terms of the player injury situation, James Maddison is the newest concern, as he’s battling a knock of some sort. “He was still a bit sore from the other night [vs Hoffenheim]; it took a fair bit out of the group,” Postecoglu said on Sunday, in regards to the midfielder’s absence.
“He wasn’t 100 percent, so yeah, he misses out today. Hopefully, he should be alright for next week.”
Consider him a doubt for the visit from IF Elfsborg. The same holds true for Brazilian forward Richarlison. “He’s actually feeling his groin,” Postecoglu said of Spurs’ lone goal scorer on Sunday.
“He probably should have come off at half-time, but he wanted to stay out there and do another ten minutes. I could see he wasn’t moving very well, so we had to take him off.”
Finally, central defender Cristian Romero could be in the mix here, but he’ll have to pass a late fitness test in order to do so.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.