Eur-hope-a League.

Fans of Glasgow Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United will excitedly look towards this week’s Europa League quarter-final second leg ties given that all three of their ties remain evenly poised after 0-0, 1-1, and 2-2 draws in their respective first legs. Rangers and Spurs arguably have the trickier assignments with away trips to Athletic Bilbao and Eintracht Frankfurt. Manchester United will line up at Old Trafford hoping to seal a semi-final berth. The simple narrative points to big games with tantalising reward on offer. The complex narrative depicts all three clubs with agitated fanbases and deep-seated frustrations. This week’s pivot will either keep a Champions League dream alive … or unleash further fury amongst disaffected fans. High stakes indeed! Let’s delve a little deeper into their chaotic seasons so far.

Rangers lie 15 points behind Celtic with 15 points left to play for. The title ribbons are to remain green and white, barring five consecutive defeats for Celtic married to five consecutive Rangers victories with a goal difference swing of +33. Given that Rangers currently like to give the majority of Scottish Premier League sides a two-goal start, it ain’t happening! Rangers calamitous Scottish Cup defeat at home to Queens Park, following an early Scottish League Cup final defeat to Celtic, made for a trophy-less domestic season. Incredibly, that 1-0 defeat to Queens Park did not immediately cost Philippe Clement his job but the inevitable came a few weeks later. Former player Barry Ferguson has stepped in as interim manager and presided over an array of, ahem, ‘interesting’ results!

Meanwhile, down in London, former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has endured no end of trials and tribulations in his second season at the helm of perennial under-achievers Spurs. An injury-hit campaign has been one of the many factors to bring Spurs’ seemingly hard-wired dysfunction roaring back to the surface. They currently lie 15th in the Premier League and have clocked up 17 defeats from their 32 league games so far. They made hard work of getting past National League Tamworth in the FA Cup before exiting to Aston Villa and, despite a first leg semi-final victory over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, were also left watching on as Newcastle United enjoyed Wembley glory last month.

Heading back up north to Manchester delivers a similar season of woe for another Premier League side. Accustomed, in the modern era, to being at the business end of the table in April, the last two seasons have been laced with trauma for Manchester United fans. An eighth place finish in 2023/24 looks positively joyful compared to the 14th place they presently occupy. Fresh off the back of a 4-1 hammering by Newcastle at the weekend, the Europa League offers the only glimmer of potential salvation for a calamitous season.

There has been a significant hiatus for the blog as my energies have been elsewhere so this is my attempt to kick back into gear. Of course, being the blog that it is, it would not be complete without reference to some late last minute drama. Will we get some in tonight’s quarter-finals? Rangers, Spurs, and Man Utd certainly have some priors this season - including against each other!

Back on 23rd January, Rangers grabbed a late-ish equaliser at Old Trafford in the group stage only to be undone by a goal in our iconic minute of 90+2. Bruno Fernandes broke their hearts to give the home side a 2-1 victory. Just last week, Man Utd were on the receiving end when they thought Joshua Zirkzee’s 88th minute goal had given them a priceless 2-1 advantage against Lyon only for Ryan Cherki’s 90+5 equaliser to leave the tie finely poised going into tonight’s game. As for Spurs, well they will hope to avoid the type of 90+1 equaliser that Roma grabbed back in November 2024 to snatch a 2-2 draw. Should that transpire tonight in Frankfurt, that would mean extra-time … and potentially the last 30 minutes of Ange Postecoglou’s time in North London?

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