Forget the Europa League final, Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou simply had to go

Liam Williams Updated: 07 Jun 25 07:52

Daniel Levy owes Ange Postecoglou a huge debt of gratitude.

The Australian, against the odds, delivered UEFA Champions League football to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – all with the smallest wage bill of the ‘big six’, even smaller than Aston Villa – likely bringing with it £100m in additional revenue.

It’s a king’s ransom that further secures Tottenham’s long-term future, yet that debt of gratitude will not be paid in the way of a third season in North London.

Nor should it be.

It’s easy to get caught up in the emotion of a cup final. Manchester United fell into the trap with Erik ten Hag after a dismal season ended in the shock FA Cup win over Manchester City and it’s a decision that cost them millions of pounds, and that’s a club well used to silverware, who should be less prone to fall for the romanticism of a trophy lift.

Since Juande Ramos won the EFL Cup 17 years ago, Tottenham have had Harry Redknapp, Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherweood, Mauricio Pochettion, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte all try and fail to deliver silverware to the club.

But Levy can’t afford to make this decision based on one glorious night in Bilbao; the Europa League is not a fair reflection of Tottenham’s season, nor Postecoglou’s tenure.

The Australian started like a house on fire, topping the Premier League after his first 10 games in charge before injuries struck, and to his credit, Postecoglou did well to get Spurs two points within the top four. But for English clubs’ collective poor performance in Europe, Tottenham would have been in the UEFA Champions League.

But the second season was inexcusably bad. The injuries they did have do not justify Tottenham being the last side out of the relegation zone, and don’t kid yourself into thinking this was Postecoglou throwing all his eggs into the European basket.

By the end of January, Tottenham were 15th in the table having picked up one point in seven on the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Leicester. Their only win in 11 at that point was against Russell Martin’s Southampton. Frankly, Postecoglou was lucky to get as long as he did, and seeing everything he’s seen over the last two years, it would be kamikaze stuff from Levy to allow Postecoglou to lead Spurs into the UEFA Champions League.

Yes, Postecoglou did have to deal without the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie for large parts of the season, all spending time out with muscle injuries, while James Maddison, Dejan Kulusvski, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke all spent time on the physio table, but there are no guarantees Spurs wouldn’t have similar fitness worries next term.

Maybe it’s a coincidence Postecoglou’s time in North London was beset by injury woes; maybe it’s a direct result of Postecoglou’s high-intensity style of football, and upgrading from the Europa League to the UEFA Champions League wouldn’t make that any better.

If there’s one thing Postecoglou deserves credit for, it’s the Europa League final win. While the run to the final itself wasn’t overly taxing – Eintracht Frankfurt was by far their toughest knockout tie, sandwiched between AZ Alkmaar and Bodo/Glimt – Postecoglou deserves all the plaudits for how he oversaw the final.

Packing the midfield with Yves Bissouma, Pape Sarr and Rodrigo Bentacur denied Manchester United space, before a grand show of pragmatism as Spurs sat deeper and deeper to defend their lead, not attempting a single shot after the first-half opener. There was no you-score-three-we’ll-score-four approach this time.

Postecoglou won plenty of admirers for his post-match interview following the 4-1 loss to Chelsea having set his side up to defend on the halfway line despite being down to nine men. “It’s just who we are, mate. If we go down to five men, we will have a go,” declared Postecoglou.

But there’s a point where attacking intent crosses the line into recklessness, and maybe such stubbornness shouldn’t be who Tottenham are, mate. And maybe the fact it took 100 games for Postecoglou to realise that there’s a time and a place for everything actually counts against him.

Some Tottenham fans will understandably be disappointed with the decision to sack the man who brought them a first European trophy since 1984; others will be sceptical that a new manager will even by the catalyst for bigger and better things, but Spurs have to take that gamble.

One of the biggest criticisms Tottenham fans have had with Levy in recent years is his managerial appointments; none of the three managers after Pochettino – Mourinho, Santo, Conte – worked out, while Postecoglou also proved to be the wrong man for the job.

To his credit, Levy has made a good decision in parting ways with Postecoglou.

Now he needs to get his successor right.