It’s safe to say this has not been a vintage season for Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United.
In the past 10 days, Spurs have been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, and must now focus on climbing higher in the Premier League from their current position of 15th. United have at least made it through to the FA Cup’s last 16, but they too are languishing in the bottom half of the league table, one place above Spurs in 14th.
The two teams have just three Premier League victories between them over the past two months and view winning the Europa League, where they are both in Friday’s round of 16 draw, as their only chance of returning to the Champions League next season and salvaging any progress on 2023-24.
What has gone wrong this season?
Jack Pitt-Brooke (Tottenham): The injury crisis that has ripped through the Tottenham squad is impossible to ignore. For much of the past few months, head coach Ange Postecoglou has been without at least 10 players, including long-term absentees Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, and Cristian Romero. This has made it impossible for Postecoglou to rotate his team, exhausting the available players and preventing Spurs from playing the style of football he wants. As a result, they have fallen far down the table.
Carl Anka (Manchester United): It’s a long story. Under Erik ten Hag, United lacked a clear “game model,” and successor Ruben Amorim has been frank about the squad’s lack of physicality to compete with the best Premier League teams. United are often slow in possession and second-best in aerial and ground duels, reflecting a poorly constructed and expensive squad lacking key ingredients for modern football success.
How badly does the manager need a positive result right now?
Pitt-Brooke: Spurs’ league record has been worse than anyone expected, with 13 losses in 24 games and only 10 points clear of relegation. Their season now hinges on the Europa League, so a win against United on Sunday would help stop the mood from deteriorating further.
Anka: Amorim needs a positive result and performance against Spurs to reassure fans that improvement is coming, as his 20 matches have yielded just 10 wins so far. United fans hoped for a “new manager bounce” to propel the club back into the Champions League, but Amorim’s talk of players and fans having to “suffer” in the short-term has caused unease.
How close is the team to playing the way the manager wants?
Pitt-Brooke: Spurs have not played “Angeball” for almost two months, as they need a full-strength squad to execute the style, which requires building from the back and high pressing. With their depleted and exhausted squad, they simply cannot play that way at the moment.
Anka: Amorim’s preferred 3-5-2 system is more bespoke, but United lack the necessary ball carriers, progressive passers, and in-form strikers to implement it fully. Amorim’s shopping list to fit his tactics may be too lengthy to solve in one summer window, especially with United’s limited spending power.
How far away are they from being a top-six team?
Pitt-Brooke: Tottenham’s top level is good enough for a top-six finish, but they’ve lacked consistency due to their injury crisis and thin squad. If they want to return to the top six, they’ll need a deeper, more robust player pool to find the consistency they’ve lacked.
Anka: United’s path back to the top six will be difficult and may take longer than the 2025-26 season. With City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, and others all vying for those spots, United will need significant investment, time, and luck to break back into the elite.
What is the lesson each club can learn from the other?
Pitt-Brooke: The lesson Tottenham can learn from United is to avoid constantly changing ideas and managers without a clear strategy, as United have done for the past 12 years. Spurs need to show more consistency if they are to avoid the same mistakes.
Anka: The lesson United can learn from Tottenham is how to best approach moving to a new stadium. Spurs’ new home has been an architectural masterpiece, and United should draw on their experiences to avoid any pitfalls in their own stadium plans.
What are their reasons to be positive for the future?
Pitt-Brooke: Tottenham have a squad with some of Europe’s most exciting young players, including Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mikey Moore, and others. With this talented group, Spurs surely have a bright future ahead.
Anka: United’s promising young talents at the Carrington training ground offer reasons to be optimistic, and the arrival of spring indicates the end of the dark winter weather in Manchester.
While the current situations at Tottenham and Manchester United may seem bleak, both clubs have promising young players and the potential to turn things around. With the right strategies and investments, they can overcome their current challenges and return to the top of the Premier League in the coming seasons.
