An entire book could be written about Ange Postecoglu’s first two years at Tottenham, unfortunately for him it doesn’t appear that there will be a third.
Tottenham is sitting in 16th place, facing their worst Premier League season in their history if they fail to win three of their remaining four games. It’s been a whirlwind of a time for Ange at Spurs, with supporters behind him just a few months ago, the entire fanbase is now seemingly waiting for his dismissal. And as Matt Law from The Telegraph has reported, his tenure may be over no matter the outcome of the Europa League.
The 59-year old arrived in London from Celtic in 2023, following stints in his home country of Australia, and Japan. Postecoglou instantly captured the attention of fans and media alike with his ‘brutal honesty’ in press conferences, and his frequent use of the word ‘mate’ addressing journalists. The Australian would continue to garner support for his bold style of play when he would continue to use a high defensive line despite being down to nine-men at home versus Chelsea. Tottenham would go on to lose 4-1 but many fans and media alike praised Postecoglou for sticking to his principles.
Suffering the loss of Harry Kane, fans were willing to accept some poor results if it meant a positive environment around the club. The last two managerial exits of José Mourinho and Antonio Conte were incredibly toxic, and a new, lighthearted coach committed to playing attacking football was exactly the kind of hire Tottenham fans were desperate for.
Tottenham’s form throughout the season would continue to be above average, and with the highest number of individual injuries recorded in the history of the Premier League, fans were more than content with how the team was progressing.
However, at the tail end of the season, eyebrows would begin to raise when he criticized Tottenham fans for wanting to lose a game to Manchester City, in order to stop fierce rivals Arsenal from going on to win the title. Spurs themselves were in the race for Champions League football, so their games still mattered, but they would go on to narrowly lose to Manchester City 1-0 with Ange having this to say, per CBS Sports: “No, I think the last 48 hours has revealed to me that the foundations are fairly fragile mate. Outside, inside, everywhere … It's been an interesting exercise."
“It's just my observations … You can make your own assessment [on what that means].”
Ange Postecoglu and Spurs fans have had a complicated relationship
That was just the first of many hits out at Tottenham supporters from Postecoglou. However, what followed was a transfer window deemed very successful, with the acquisition of promising midfielder Archie Gray reportedly being swayed by Postecoglu himself. With a full new preseason following a fifth place finish, an even more passionate and fiercely loyal support from sections of the Tottenham fan base would hope to inspire a return to the Champions League.
Many comparisons could be drawn between Ange’s Tottenham and the Maurizio Sarri Chelsea team of 2018-19. Both had obscure backgrounds, Sarri famously worked as a banker before working his way up from the sixth division of Italy. Both Sarri and Postecoglu were exceptionally stubborn in their tactics, rightly or wrongly refusing to deviate from their principles no matter if it garnered results or fit their current squad. And both had a cult-like following from sections of the fan base fully behind the idea of ‘Angeball’ and ‘Sarriball’.
The biggest difference between the two, was that the ‘Sarri-in vs Sarri-out’ ers never truly got to witness a conclusion. Sarri left to return home to Italy, taking the vacant Juventus job. And with Tottenham currently closer to relegation than any European places, fans have completely turned on Postecoglou. Any shreds of optimism in any field of Postecoglu’s management of Spurs have been completely torn to shreds, with many Spurs fans have labeled the Australian as their worst ever manager. Ange’s repetitive barbing at Tottenham fans and their history hasn’t helped the dissatisfaction of on-field results either, a breakup seems to be on the cards no matter what the rest of the season entails.
All of the positive attributes towards Postecoglu’s management that were sung just mere months ago, have completely turned around, from loyal support to heavy criticism. The respect for sticking with his attacking tactics no matter what is now viewed as naivety and arrogance. His approach to press conferences has changed from ‘honest’ and ‘fresh’ to now labeled ‘excuse-ridden’ and simply ‘annoying’. And the massive accumulation of injuries is now seen as the fault of Postecoglu's poor rotations, injury management, and in-game intensity, whereas before it was just simply rotten luck.
The dramatic switch from the devoted Ange supporters still keeping the majority voice halfway through the season, to the entire fanbase against him is not just reflective of the tiredness of Tottenham support over the last few years. Rather, it's an indication that the leash of a Premier League manager continues to lessen. Just in October, Chelsea fans were singing ‘We’ve Got Our Chelsea Back’ and chanting the name of new manager Enzo Maresca following big results and their emergence as title contenders. Now just a few months later loud boos ring at Stamford Bridge towards their ‘boring’ style of play.
We’re long past the days where Sir Alex Ferguson can survive multiple trophyless seasons and then go on to build a 20+ year dynasty at Manchester United. It's the era where if a manager fails to appease nearly every single requirement both the fans and ownership demand, their era is over no matter how little time they’ve been given.