Ange Postecoglou may be preparing his Celtic team for a Glasgow Derby Viaplay League Cup Final this weekend, but down under they just can’t stop linking their most famous export with a job away from Celtic.
In recent weeks the Celtic boss has been touted for a move south to the EPL with Wolves, Everton, Southampton (twice now) and Leeds United, yet no move has materialised.
However, on Australia’s Sports Entertainment Network (SEN), – formerly known as Crocmedia (well it’s certainly a crock of something) – The Run Home show’s Andy Maher reckons he’s put two and two together, with the help of a well-placed ‘snout’, and claims Postecoglou will pack his bags at the end of the season to join Leeds United. This despite the Yorkshire club currently courting the likes of former Watford and Valencia coach Javi Gracia and Rafa Benitez for the current Elland Road vacancy.
Ange Postecoglou EPL bound?@AndyMaherDFA has mail suggesting 2 current EPL clubs are chasing his signaturehttps://t.co/ndpkIue1jv
— Andy & Gazey (@TheRunHomeSEN) February 21, 2023
“I’ve got a snout who’s quite hooked into Australian soccer. He’s given me a steer here and there and on enough occasions he’s been right…Gives me a call this morning adamant that this will be Ange Postecoglou’s last year at Celtic, and he will be leaving at the end of the year. And that he will be, it depends on survival in the Premier League, he will be taking one of two positions. But predominantly and most likely it will be the position at Leeds.
“Peter Lowy, son of Frank, bought into Leeds (in late 2021). One of his assistant coaches at Celtic is Harry Kewell, of course a celebrated Leeds player.
“Huge club, massive upside, struggling to hold onto their position in the Premier League. The temptation of being the manager to restore Leeds to Champions League-type contention and top-four, top-six status in the Premier League would be appealing to anyone.
“This snout is telling me, watch this space, at the end of the season – it’s going to happen.”
Listen we all know Ange Postecoglou will head for pastures new at some stage, but it is hard to believe when he does it won’t be to a top six club in one of the top four leagues rather than a club that scraps for relegation survival habitually.
And for Leeds United, even if they hoped to attract Postecoglou to the job, it would require them to at least be in the top flight, a job that requires the current vacancy to be filled if they have any chance of surviving.
And it is unlikely Leeds would be courting Benitez and Gracia if they viewed the role as a placeholder only position until Ange Postecoglou finished the season in Scotland. After all, neither of those bosses strikes me as having an ego that would allow them to take on a short-term role to keep the seat warm for another manager.
In Australia they are rightly proud of Ange Postecoglou and they no doubt want him to manage at the highest possible level. However, on that point the highest level for any manager is Champions League football, and Ange Postecoglou is all but guaranteed the opportunity to pit his wits against the best of European football with Celtic, should he once again lift the Scottish Premiership title this season.
I’ve no idea if Andy Maher has the inside track on the thoughts of Ange Postecoglou, however his ‘snout’s’ tenuous link via Harry Kewell seems something of a stretch of the imagination. Much like Leeds United’s hope of attracting Ange Postecoglou to Yorkshire any time soon.
Niall J
Snout = mole
Andy Maher is NOT a football commentator, he has zero knowledge of football, and is in no way connected to the sport. He is an AFL journalist/commentator. I don’t know why people would take his comments on football seriously…… I laugh very hard everytime I see him talk about football!! If Andy Harper, Mark Bosnich or another Australian football expert had said it I might take some notice.