Tottenham’s dismissal of Ange Postecoglou brings identification disaster to the fore as soon as once more

[ad_1] Your help helps us to inform the story From reproductive rights to local weather change to Large Tech, The Unbiased is on the bottom when the story is creating. Whether or not it is investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our newest documentary, 'The A Phrase', which shines a light-weight on the American ladies preventing for reproductive rights, we all know how necessary it's to parse out the information from the messaging.

At such a important second in US historical past, we'd like reporters on the bottom. Your donation permits us to maintain sending journalists to talk to either side of the story.

The Unbiased is trusted by People throughout the complete political spectrum. And in contrast to many different high quality information shops, we select to not lock People out of our reporting and evaluation with paywalls. We consider high quality journalism needs to be obtainable to everybody, paid for by those that can afford it.

Your help makes all of the distinction. Learn extra Daniel Levy is talked about greater than he talks; in public, anyway. The Spurs chairman’s quotes can be utilized in opposition to him and, a number of weeks into Ange Postecoglou’s reign, he stated: “We’ve obtained our Tottenham again.”

Now, with one other supervisor sacked after a reign of 18 months to 2 years, some would say the remark has a unique pertinence. Postecoglou lasted longer than Antonio Conte, Andre Villas-Boas and Jose Mourinho; his eventual tally of 101 video games fell simply in need of Glenn Hoddle (104) and George Graham (108).

Like Juande Ramos, he was dismissed in the identical 12 months he received a trophy. However then Tottenham’s main honours can come to a backdrop of detached league kind. They completed eleventh in each 2008 and 1999, and tenth in 1991 and 1981. They twice received the Uefa Cup in years after they ended up eighth within the previous Division 1. Postecoglou took that development to extremes. His second season at Spurs introduced 11 league wins, 10 within the Europa League, continental glory and home ignominy.

Of their assertion saying his departure, Tottenham stated the Australian returned “us to the attacking model of soccer that has historically been related to the membership”. He might have each resolved Tottenham’s identification disaster and compounded it.

The previous couple of years have introduced it into sharp focus; typically due to forces past Tottenham’s management and a fast-changing atmosphere, typically by their very own selections. Who're or what's Tottenham Hotspur?

In 2021, a solution was that they have been founder members – for a number of days, anyway – of the European Tremendous League. They have been one among 12 supposedly everlasting members of the continental elite; though, as some famous, the opposite 11 had received relatively extra. But it got here a mere two years after Spurs have been Champions League finalists.

If it scarcely felt life like then that they'd end 23 factors behind Brighton or 27 adrift of Nottingham Forest, it was an try to drag the drawbridge up, to maintain others with ambitions out of their personal members’ membership. Within the competitors of the Premier League, Tottenham have had no such safety.

Levy himself has supplied up completely different solutions. When appointing managers reminiscent of Mourinho and Conte who arrived with histories as confirmed winners and largely pragmatic types of play, he was attempting to place Tottenham as an influence in their very own proper. Their Amazon All or Nothing documentary felt a part of a world quest for eyeballs.

However then Tottenham have been the membership of Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris. They'd huge-name gamers. Additionally they had a md, in Levy, whose popularity as a tricky negotiator and reluctance to promote meant gamers stayed; maybe that angle backfired as, Kane aside, Spurs didn't money in on too most of the aspect Mauricio Pochettino constructed when their market worth was close to its peak.

Get 4 months free with ExpressVPN

Servers in 105 CountriesSuperior SpeedsWorks on all of your gadgets

Attempt without cost ADVERTISEMENT. If you happen to signal as much as this service we are going to earn fee. This income helps to fund journalism throughout The Unbiased.

Get 4 months free with ExpressVPN

Servers in 105 CountriesSuperior SpeedsWorks on all of your gadgets

Attempt without cost ADVERTISEMENT. If you happen to signal as much as this service we are going to earn fee. This income helps to fund journalism throughout The Unbiased.

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/06/07/19/33/GettyImages-2216339199.jpeg" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/06/07/19/33/GettyImages-2216339199.jpeg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/06/07/19/33/GettyImages-2216339199.jpeg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" loading="lazy" alt="Postecoglou reverted to a more pragmatic brand of football in Spurs' Europa League triumph, rather than his attacking style" class="sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn"/> open picture in gallery

Postecoglou reverted to a extra pragmatic model of soccer in Spurs' Europa League triumph, relatively than his attacking model (Getty Pictures) However for some, Tottenham are the position mannequin for a footballing enterprise. Definitely, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is cited by different golf equipment as they give the impression of being to monetise their floor. Levy is castigated in some quarters and admired in others for Spurs’ wage invoice: 42 per cent of turnover within the final accounts, even when those that simplistically repeat the determine overlook the fact that ignores the price of repaying the debt incurred to construct a state-of-the-art stadium or a switch outlay approaching £400m in Postecoglou’s two years.

As a result of a part of the reply is that it's a membership eternally looking for its place. There was a reboot lately: that wage invoice has been decrease with an inflow of younger gamers regardless of that switch expenditure. Brennan Johnson, scorer of the scrappy however celebrated Europa League last aim, could also be a symbolic determine in different respects, costing £47.5m however nearly actually with a decrease wage than many a extra established determine elsewhere.

For a md whose managers, Pochettino, Harry Redknapp and Martin Jol aside, not often final lengthy, Levy can bask in long-term planning. Johnson, Archie Grey, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Antonin Kinsky, Future Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Pape Matar Sarr, Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski and the loanee Mathys Tel all joined at 22 or beneath, Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero at 23. It doesn't assure an excellent future but it surely reveals an try and assemble one.

Dominic Solanke, a £65m purchase at 26, represents the exception and scored in three of Spurs’ final 4 Europa League video games. Romero’s seeming willingness to go away now, at 27, may point out that the very best of the youthful recruits will tire of ready for a future that won't come.

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/06/07/19/40/GettyImages-2216707353.jpeg" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/06/07/19/40/GettyImages-2216707353.jpeg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/06/07/19/40/GettyImages-2216707353.jpeg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" loading="lazy" alt="Spurs have looked to plan ahead with an extremely youthful squad" class="sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn"/> open picture in gallery

Spurs have seemed to plan forward with an especially youthful squad (Getty Pictures) Over the course of his time in England, Tottenham have been overtaken. They could have been the smallest of the large six however that they had 11 successive top-six finishes. Now the final 5 embrace eighth, seventh and, ridiculously, seventeenth. The massive six expanded to a giant eight with the addition of Aston Villa and Newcastle.

Then Tottenham have been reeled in by a number of golf equipment extra accustomed to bottom-half finishes. They seem to have responded by compiling a shortlist of their managers. For now, whereas again within the Champions League, they might search for a much less dangerous means of European qualification than needing to win continental silverware. Merely restoring the large eight to a place of primacy could also be a begin within the post-Postecoglou world.

As a result of the query of who Tottenham are has invariably introduced the replies that lend themselves to banter – “Lads, it’s Tottenham”, “Spursy” – whereas the fact is extra complicated. However Levy may do with getting some components of the previous Tottenham again. As a result of proper now, Spurs are Europa League winners and the workforce who completed seventeenth. And for various causes, they will’t be both of these in a 12 months’s time.