Yahoo News Ange and Rodgers sliding doors moment shows Celtic what they've won as Tottenham fans cry they've had ENOUGH
'Send to Coventry' is an idiom used in England meaning to deliberately ostracise someone. Typically, this is done by not talking to them, avoiding their company, and acting as if they no longer exist.
In other words, it's exactly what Celtic fans would have done to you in May 2023 at the very suggestion of Ange Postecoglou leaving to be replaced by Brendan Rodgers. Now, though? It's not looking like too bad a trade.
The Aussie was literally sent to Coventry after the EFL Cup draw sent Tottenham to the home of the Sky Blues and he was staring into the abyss as they trailed before a late, late show rescued them. But that hasn't been enough to appease seething Spurs fans whose patience is being tested to the limit.
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When the Hoops' triumphant Australian manager left after two seasons for a crack at managing one of the biggest teams in the English Premier League, few thought it would be Celtic winning the breakup. But a year-and-a-bit down the line, there was a sliding doors moment on Wednesday night that would have had the Parkhead faithful convinced they've landed on their feet.
As Rodgers and his team were putting Slovan Bratislava to the sword in the revamped Champions League, Postecoglou was staring down the barrel of his greatest indignity yet since swapping the east of Glasgow for North London. His Tottenham team looked for all the world to be heading out the EFL Cup to Coventry City, a result that would surely have seen legitimate questions asked at boardroom level about his position.
As it happened, the disaster was averted. Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson came to the rescue at the very last minute, and Postecoglou did his trademark, quiet, fist-clenched celebration before shaking hands and heading back down the tunnel. Comeback aside, however, he was scraping the barrel for positives to take from it, fielding questions about fans booing his substitutions and whether or not his uncompromising style of play is really working after their worst start to the season for nine years. There's a growing belief among fans that his time is up and they made that heard both in the terraces and on social media.
Back in Glasgow, Celtic were running back the years to peak Angeball without him, racking up the goals to register their biggest ever Champions League win. While Postecoglou was digging out a reporter for criticising a 'flat' performance, a smiling Rodgers was saluting his five-star Hoops and cracking jokes about facing Bayern Munich in the final.
If there were any remaining doubts about Rodgers' viability as a replacement for Postecoglou then they are now gone. Those holding onto arguably-understandable grudges about the way he left in 2019 have now been bowled over by the prospect of a real run in the Champions League to go alongside their domestic dominance.
As for Postecoglou? Well, Spurs fans want him sent to Coventry, and he has a hell of a task at hand to win them back.
