Amorim 'safe' from Man Utd Axe | Garnacho disappointed with Europa League final involvement | Is there pressure on Levy to stick with Ange?
21:55 Share

Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm David Garrido and joining me are The Guardian sports writer Jonathan Liu and Charlotte Dunker, football reporter for The Times. Welcome along to you both.

Welcome once again to Jonathan and to Charlotte. Good to see you both. OK, well, I mean, last night on the show, we talked all about the Europa League final, but given the two clubs that played it, there is still plenty to go out. Let's start off with Ruben Amrim and in the sports page of the Telegraph newspaper, Amrim safe from United axe.

Charlotte, it's been just fascinating hearing Ruben Amrim from news conference to news conference to news conference. And it seems like he is as inconsistent in his message as United are on the pitch. I mean, sometimes it feels like he sort of doesn't actually want...

THIS JOB. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF IT GIVEN THE FACT THAT EVERYONE IS SAYING, AND IT SEEMS THE WAY THAT HE IS GOING TO CONTINUE DESPITE THE FACT HE IS SAYING, IF YOU WANT ME TO GO, IF THE FANS WANT ME TO GO, IF THE BOARD MEMBERS WANT ME TO GO, I WILL GO AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO PAY ME COMPENSATION.

I think he's saying that, full in the knowledge that he has the backing of the board. I think if there was any doubt in his mind that he thought that they didn't want him to be there, then that would be a very risky statement for him to come out with. I think all the word coming out of the club before the final was that

win or lose they were going to stick with the guy that they brought in only six months ago I think the belief is that they knew it was going to be a big transition period obviously he's come in he's changed the tactics he's changed the formation he's changed everything about the way he wants to play and he's not got the players that he wants so I think the commitment is there from the board in terms of backing him in terms of spending getting him the players that he wants they believe that he is the right man to take them forward but

One of the most interesting things he said in a press conference I was at a couple of weeks ago was that Manchester United will need to be perfect next season going forward. And it's hard to imagine how this group of players, even with a few new additions...

and a pre-season to train under Amarim is going to be perfect because every little mistake is going to be scrutinized more than ever. So the pressure on him is going to increase tenfold to what it is now. But the board believe that he is the right man. They believe he's the right man for the long term. So despite his plea that he would walk away, which...

Does anyone really believe that? Have we ever seen a manager just put their hands up and say, do you know what, I'm all right for those millions of pounds of compensation that I can get for staying in my contract until you sack me? I think everyone expected him to still be in his job come the start of next season.

I just wonder what that squad will look like. OK, we know that he has taken over an Eric Ten Hag-shaped squad, but looking at the inside page of the Telegraph Sports section, the United inquest, what now for Amram and his Bilbao bottlers, as brutal as that sounds, and also just one of the other stories you can see. Yes, it's kind of in the middle at the bottom there. I will go if they want to cash in on me there.

That's football. I mean, this is the club captain saying that. So how much could this squad radically reshape with some quite high profile departures? Well, I do think United need to do some trading. Like you could probably identify at least six or seven areas of the pitch almost where they need to upgrade. I think the most pressing concern is getting a reliable source of goals in up front. That would be the main issue.

What I don't buy is this idea that the whole squad is somehow unsuited, that it needs a radical clear-out. Yes, they do need to do some training. They need to move on some players, some of the higher earners, some of the older players. But if you look at players who United have let go in the last couple of years, guys like Scott McTominay, who's now thriving in Napoli, Aaron Wan-Bissaka at West Ham, Anthony, who's had such a good season at Betis.

and Rashford actually at Aston Villa, the problem is not the players. The problem is the culture that they're steeped in. Something in that club

is making them underperform. And that has to be cultural. And cultures take years to change. It is not simply a case of clearing the decks and bringing in new players. Actually, United have done this before. The amount of player churn at United over the last 10 years has been extraordinary. It completely changed from Mourinho to Solskjaer to Ten Hag to Amarim.

And just having another clear out is not going to solve the issue. Yes, they do need to reinforce in certain areas, but what they need to fix above all is the culture of the club because, you know, a club rots, it's like a fish, it rots from the head. And the culture of that club is causing players to underperform. In the back page of The Sun, Charlotte, the headline is Ruben's excess baggage. He's safe, everyone else can go.

HOW MUCH NEEDS TO CHANGE? JONATHAN IS SUGGESTING IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ALL THAT RADICAL.

I think if we're being realistic about it, it's not like they're going to change the full starting XI. There's absolutely not the funds to do that for a start. And if you look at the way that Manchester United have dealt with player sales over the last decade, they've not been very successful in that either. But I think there's quite a few players that either need to up their game or they need to be changed. They need some competition. Would Rasmus Hoyland benefit from having someone like Liam Delac coming in and playing

forcing him to fight for his place. I mean, they bought him for a lot of money. Would they be able to recoup any sort of the money that they bought Rasmus Hoyland for this summer? That seems unlikely given the form that we've seen from him this season. But is it the curse of Manchester United? And is that the reason why he's not been performing to the levels that many expected? So I wouldn't expect there to be wholesale changes, but a lot of that will depend on how successful they are in managing to get players out. They've got this £100 million contract

budget that they can spend which should be able to get them their targets that they want in terms of Kunia who should cost them around 63 million and then Dilap if they could get him as well that he would cost around 30 but then they can bolster that by sales but like I said historically in the last decade they've not been very good at negotiating the best price for them players you've got

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Anthony, all those players who have been out on loan. They need to try and move them on and they need to recoup some of that money. And Garnaccio is obviously a homegrown talent who would help for the PSR figures as well. So maybe he's one that they could look at selling as well. So I think that it could be a summer of change, but I wouldn't expect it to be a summer of drastic change in terms of us seeing a totally different Manchester United next season.

Just you mentioned Alejandro Garnaccia there, Charlotte. It's, yeah, I'd say that this is perhaps one of the most contentious ones in terms of a player who was linked with Napoli, Chelsea. It seems like at that time, during the transfer window, he was sort of playing ball. He was, you know, not necessarily machinating for an exit. But now things seem to have changed. Just reading a bit of Paul Hurst's piece here, Jonathan, Garnaccia's younger brother, Robert, accused Amram of throwing his sibling under the bus.

while the winger himself said he could not understand why he played only 20 minutes of the 1-0 defeat in Bilbao. Overall, Garnaccio described United's season as... Well, we can't say the next bit. ..and performance in Bilbao. He said, "We lacked a lot of things. "When you don't score goals, you always need more. "I played every round. I played 20 minutes today. "I don't know what is going to happen. "I'm going to try and enjoy the summer and see what happens next." How do you feel that Garnaccio and the entourage are handling this situation?

Yeah, I've been very disappointed, obviously, that he didn't get more minutes. I think Mason Mount, who was having a pretty shocking game all round, he could have made way a lot earlier. But, you know, Garnaccio is one of those players who has been squeezed a little bit. I think the...

over the season, over the course of the season, Bruno Fernandes has taken a bigger role in the team. Obviously, Ahmed Diallo had such a great start under the new manager. And Garnaccio has obviously found his minutes and opportunities squeezed as a result of that. But if...

If you can't make a success, we all know that the talent that Garnaccio has, he's displayed that on the pitch. He's displayed that, you know, not consistently, but he's still a young player who is still learning his trade. But if they can't make a success of a player like Garnaccio, then frankly, what are United for? This is a player who has been reading in the paper in January that,

if he's still, if they still read papers, you know, probably reading on the internet, reading on his phone that there are, you know, that United are happy to entertain offers for him, that he'll, he's a lovely fat asset for PSR reasons that, you know, that they might be tempted to get him off the books. This is a player who's not currently not feeling a lot of love. Uh,

if United are not fully committed to him as a player and think they can get a decent fee for him, then fine. But I think if United can't make a success of a player as talented as Garnaccia, if they can't find a place in that squad, find a role in the team and make him feel valued, then I think it's time to actually question what the point of United actually is. I suppose, given the fact that they haven't qualified for the Champions League, so they can't benefit from those riches, Charlotte,

there are certain players you kind of think, right, in terms of satisfying PSR, these are the players that need to move. Gonacar may well fall into that bucket. Maybe Kobi Meynou potentially as well. Who might be those players, do you think?

Yeah, those two that you've just mentioned, they were spoken about in January in terms of it was, it was cashed as like up for sale, but it was sort of like for PSR reasons, if a club was to come and offer Manchester United the money that they want for either of those players and the player wanted to go, then they would consider those offers because like you said, financially, Jim Ratcliffe came out earlier in this year and said financially Manchester United are,

are in a mess. We know he's done a lot of cost-cutting exercises. Getting into the Champions League would have helped solve and alleviate some of those problems. Obviously, they haven't. They're losing 10 million a season with the Adidas deal because there's a clause in it if they didn't get into the Champions League. So there's all these little facets

that they have to take into consideration. So if someone comes in and offers them around 60 million, say, for Garnaccio, then it's going to have to be a serious consideration for Manchester United because they need to balance the books in some way and not getting into Europe at all is going to cost them millions of pounds. So like you said, their homegrown talent like Garnaccio, like Kobi Meynou, maybe more reluctantly, they're going to have to accept or at least look at offers for those sorts of players. I don't think

They're the sort of players that Manchester United are going out and saying, we want these players off our books. But in the financial situation that they find themselves in, there might be a situation where they have to look and listen to offers for those sorts of players. OK, time to focus on Tottenham Hotspur. Still on a high after that...

17-year wait for a trophy and 41-year wait for a European trophy was ended with their victory in Bilbao in the Europa League final. And here we are again in the Telegraph, pressure on Levy, Daniel Levy, to stick with winner Poster Coghly. Now, Jonathan, I mean, it seemed like this was the final where both managers' fates were sealed no matter what the outcome of the final was, that Ange was going and that Amarim was staying. But now 24 hours on,

We have a situation where Spurs have that trophy. They really do. It's actual facts. It's not a dream. It's happened. They've got the trophy. It's there. It's there. They've got it. So does that change anything? Does Levy in any way feel that pressure? Well, of course he does. I mean, I've been coming on here every week and saying that it's a totally... I mean, it's not ridiculous, but it is kind of slightly naive to...

assume that a decision on this can be made like two or three months in advance, that he's going whatever happens. Because I've been saying all along, if he does win that trophy...

If Spurs win that Europa League final, it changes everything. It doesn't just change the material circumstances of the club where suddenly Spurs have a lot more money to spend because of the Champions League. It changes the whole dynamic of the club. It changes the whole feel. It changes the sentiment in the fan base. And these things matter. These things certainly matter to a club like Tottenham that has been starved of this kind of success for so long. So obviously, I mean...

The caveat being that you don't want to make a decision based on one game. This is really one for Daniel Levy. Are you actually committing? If you're committing to Andy Postakoglu, are you actually committing to his vision, his style? Are you committing to him because you genuinely think he's the guy to take you forward?

And there are a lot of mitigating factors for why they perform so poorly in the league this season. They've had terrible luck with injuries. It's been a write-off season. But does it make a massive difference if Spurs finish 10th rather than 17th this season? I don't think it does. But is Levy going to be prepared to give him the backing in the transfer market he needs? Is he going to be prepared to ride out a tough period next season if they lose three or four in a row? Because this is the other thing. Postacoglu is not a coach who...

who you could really compromise on as an owner or as a fan base. He divides opinion, but he demands that total commitment. If you're 95% in on Ant, then you're not really in on him at all. So that's the quandary that Levy had to solve. Is he actually committed to Pastor Koglu's vision for the future, or is he just full of good vibes and good feelings?

Yeah, well, this is it. In the sun, you can see it here. Runway winners, Stars J home, but Anja's fate's still up in air. Charlotte, do you feel that...

The Europa League itself, the trophy is enough. Do you feel that there were signs at all, particularly Eintracht Frankfurt away, you know, elements of the Bodo Glimt tie, the defensive robustness against United, that show that he's learnt and that give him an even more compelling case beyond the trophy, beyond the silverware, to say to Daniel Levy, look, look, I can adapt, just trust me on this one?

Yeah, he's very similar to Amarim in that case, wasn't he? Because he had his style, this Ange ball, and he was going to stick with it. There was that famous Highline game against Chelsea when everyone was like, what on earth are you doing? Please adapt your tactics. This is ridiculous. And he came out and said he wasn't going to do it. And then those three games that you've just listed have led to Tottenham winning their first trophy in 17 years. So he's shown that he can adapt.

he's shown he's prepared to do that bear in mind as well they won that game yesterday without three of their best midfield players as well so there are mitigating factors for them winning it and I just think it would be it's the pressure is on Daniel Levy now isn't it to make that decision or not whether he gives him the chance to build on this as Jonathan said it's not just a trophy it changes the the perspective of Spurs they've won something they're winners can they build on that

Can they do it again? Can they push further up the Premier League? Can they have a better season next season? I think what Postacoglu's done this season in terms of winning that trophy, he deserves to be given that chance. He admitted himself after the game yesterday that once the window had finished, they didn't really care about the Premier League. All the focus was on the Europa League. So if you're casting that aside, it's no surprise that the Premier League form has been the way it is and they sit one place above the relegation zone.

They were never really in jeopardy of going down, so they were fine with that. And now look what's happened. They've given a lot of Tottenham fans the best night of their lives and they've won their first trophy for many, many years. So I think he's shown, especially in these last three games in that competition, that he does have the ability to adapt. Maybe that is something that he's learned over the last couple of years because he's gone back on what he initially said in terms of that he wouldn't do that.

and it's brought them success. So yeah, it's a huge decision for Daniel Levy, but I think Pastor Coghlu deserves to be given the chance to build on this legacy that he created last night.

I wonder also how much the voice of a senior player, and indeed in this case the club captain, makes a difference, Jonathan. When you look at the back page of the Star, first-class post, Son backs Ange after Europa League triumph. And going into the piece itself by Jeremy Cross, he said he won the trophy, nobody else did it. Look, it's not up to me or the players, we just have to look at the facts.

add the fact that we hadn't won in 17 years, this is the day we finally won it. Yeah, you cannot take that away from Ange Postakoglu. He is the manager who's given them this kind of, I suppose, semi-historic moment. OK, it's not Newcastle or Palace length of trophy drought, but it is 17 years and 41 in Europe. How much does Heung-Min Son's opinion matter?

I think it does. But I think it's more that it's representative of the sentiment in the dressing room. Like, you go through December, January, February at Spurs. They are horrible, horrible months to be a fan, to be a player, to be in the dugout. And...

As hard as things get, the dressing room don't turn on him. You're not getting negative briefings against him. You're not getting stories of dressing room revolt. The body language on the pitch is still good. They're knackered, but they're still running. And I think that does speak volumes. It says a lot about...

how he's managed to keep and possibly even use that adversity to bond that squad closer together. Now, it shouldn't be the be-all or end-all. I don't think you appoint or sack a manager based on whether the players think he's a great guy or not. But I think that opinion does carry some weight, especially when it comes from someone like Son, who's been through lots and lots of Tottenham dressing room, who's seen the good, the bad and the toxic and clearly wants to carry on with this guy.

Just trying to be devil's advocate on this, Charlotte. I mean, Daniel leaving, the way that he's run this club, especially as far as the financial, the commercial side of it, you know, it's lots of focus on financial sustainability right now. And he will point to, you know, facts like, for example, you know, how much he pays in wages compared to revenue.

in relation to revenue compared to other clubs and say, you know, we're very well run in that respect. I know what I'm doing. And if it means that I have to change the manager because it doesn't fit right now and I'll go for someone else, well, you know what? It's still complying with those things and driving us in the right direction. Do you feel he's got a strong position there to be able to hold that opinion?

I mean, he can have it. He's the one that's got the cast in the boat. So he's the one that if that's what he believes and he believes that Ange Postakoglu isn't right for this club going forward, then he's the one that's going to make the decision to sack him. He could point to the fact that they've lost 21 games in the Premier League and he doesn't think it's good enough.

So there are mitigating factors for him, which is why all the noise that was coming out of there before the cup final was that he was going to be sacked, whatever happens. So in terms of it being a business, that is how these owners all view these football clubs in terms of revenue. But look what getting back into the Champions League has done for the business, the money that that's going to bring in, the players that it's going to help them to bring. Hopefully in turn that will bring them more success. So I don't think...

he can just turn away and say it's going to be a shrewd business decision to get rid of Postacoglu because then you've got to go through the whole hiring process again. Are the players going to buy into it? Like Jonathan was just touching on, he's had the backing of all the players all the time. So that is one of the biggest things when the manager's jobs are under threat and there's been no suggestion that they've turned against him. So yeah, it's a huge decision for him to make and whatever he makes, I'm sure we'll hear about it sooner rather than later. Yeah.

Just briefly, Charlotte, if you can, where do you think Spurs absolutely need to strengthen with the new money they're going to be able to enjoy through qualifying for the Champions League?

That's a really good question. I mean, if you look at the way that they've played this season, then you'd argue all over the pitch. But I think defensively, they are pretty strong. So maybe more in the forward areas that they could do with investing that money. But it all depends, doesn't it? I think they need more strength and depth. We've seen when they got injuries this season that obviously they didn't have the strength and depth to get through those injury crisis. So I think that's going to what they'll have to focus on in the summer.

OK, let's switch focus for the last minute or so. Front page of the Telegraph Sports section looks at the cricket. England in this well-off test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. 4-9-8 for three at Stumps. Oli Pope getting some vital runs. He's still there, by the way. 1-6-9 not out. Jonathan, I mean, how much of a reasonable test measure is this? How useful is this, given what follows for England? Five tests against India at home and an Ashes series away.

Yeah, I think it's a good thing that this test is happening. It's a English cricket owes Zimbabwe big time. It's been 22 years since the last series. You know, the relations between the two countries have not been great. So I think it's great for the world game that this is happening. And

In terms of what you can learn from it, not a huge amount. They've got Jasper and Brunner coming in a couple of months and that is just going to be a completely different test. That's just the nature of a deeply unequal world game. So I think it's a great day for England in terms of form and confidence. It's going to help out Crawley and Oli Pope a lot. But in terms of reading into how it's going to play out later in the summer, I don't think a huge amount, to be honest. Super. We'll leave it there. Jonathan, Charlotte, thank you very much indeed for your company, your insights this evening.