Tottenham sack head coach Ange Postecoglou despite Europa League win

Irish Times

17 hours ago

Ange Postecoglou
has been sacked as head coach of
Tottenham Hotspur
despite leading the club to
Europa League
glory.
Postecoglou delivered on his promise of 'always' winning in his second season thanks to the 1-0 victory over
Manchester United
in Bilbao on May 21st.
It etched the former Celtic manager's name into the history books as only the third Spurs boss to taste European success and the first in 17 years to lift silverware – provoking an outpouring of affection from a previously split fan base.
While the Australian divided opinion across two years in England and attracted criticism during a torrid 17th-placed Premier League campaign, his San Mames triumph appeared enough to earn him year three.
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Postecoglou even delivered a mic-drop moment during a euphoric open-top bus parade in front of an estimated 220,000 people when he declared 'season three is better than season two', but chairman Daniel Levy had other ideas.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been installed as the bookmakers' favourite to replace Postecoglou, who departs only 24 months into a long-term deal following a rollercoaster ride in his first Premier League role.
A run of eight wins from his first 10 league fixtures – despite the high-profile departure of Harry Kane – propelled Spurs to the summit but a sign of things to come was a thrilling loss to Chelsea in November, 2023 where several injuries occurred.
Fifth place in Postecoglou's debut campaign still represented an impressive finish but cracks started to emerge during a 2-0 loss at home to Manchester City where some Tottenham fans were conflicted given a positive result would have put rivals Arsenal in the driving seat for the title.
Postecoglou later acknowledged that he misjudged the mood, but further run-ins would follow.
A slow start to the 2024-25 campaign was followed by Postecoglou's second season trophy claim and a strong run of form as Spurs emphatically defeated Manchester United, Aston Villa and Manchester City.
Guglielmo Vicario's fractured ankle in a 4-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium was quickly followed by serious setbacks for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in a 4-3 home loss to Chelsea on December 8th.
Further injuries meant Postecoglou was regularly without 10 players throughout a jam-packed December and January where Tottenham lost eight of their 11 league fixtures.
The Carabao Cup provided solace until a 4-0 loss at Liverpool in the last-four, which meant it was Europa League or bust for Postecoglou.
A last-16 tie with AZ Alkmaar was navigated and, while Postecoglou aimed a cupped ear celebration at his own fans away to Chelsea in April, he managed to get a sinking ship back on track to knock out Eintracht Frankfurt before Bodo/Glimt were thrashed in the semi-finals after supporters' responded positively to the Australian's call-to-arms.
It was then all eyes on San Mames, where Postecoglou's bold second season declaration came to fruition.
Brennan Johnson's first-half goal proved the difference as Spurs clinched a narrative-busting 1-0 win but euphoric celebrations in Spain, at an open-top bus parade and during a carnival final-day atmosphere were played out against a backdrop of uncertainty over the future of Postecoglou.