Tottenham's dismissal of Ange Postecoglou brings identity crisis to the fore once again

Independent

4 hours ago

Daniel Levy is talked about more than he talks; in public, anyway. The Spurs chairman's quotes can be used against him and, a few weeks into Ange Postecoglou 's reign, he said: 'We've got our Tottenham back'.
Now, with another manager sacked after a reign of 18 months to two years, some would say the comment has a different pertinence. Postecoglou lasted longer than Antonio Conte, Andre Villas-Boas and Jose Mourinho; his eventual tally of 101 games fell just short of Glenn Hoddle (104) and George Graham (108).
Like Juande Ramos, he was dismissed in the same year he won a trophy. But then Tottenham's major honours can come to a backdrop of indifferent league form. They finished 11th in both 2008 and 1999, 10th in 1991 and 1981. They twice won the Uefa Cup in years when they ended up eighth in the old Division 1. Postecoglou took that trend to extremes. His second season at Spurs brought 11 league wins, 10 in the Europa League, continental glory and domestic ignominy.
In their statement announcing his departure, Tottenham said the Australian returned 'us to the attacking brand of football that has traditionally been associated with the club'. He may have both resolved Tottenham's identity crisis and compounded it.
The last few years have brought it into sharp focus; sometimes because of forces beyond Tottenham's control and a fast-changing environment, sometimes by their own choices. Who are or what is Tottenham Hotspur?
In 2021, an answer was that they were founder members – for a few days, anyway – of the European Super League. They were one of 12 supposedly permanent members of the continental elite; although, as some noted, the other 11 had won rather more. Yet it came a mere two years after Spurs were Champions League finalists.
If it scarcely felt realistic then that they would finish 23 points behind Brighton or 27 adrift of Nottingham Forest, it was an attempt to pull the drawbridge up, to keep others with ambitions out of their private members' club. In the competition of the Premier League, Tottenham have had no such protection.
Levy himself has offered up different answers. When appointing managers such as Mourinho and Conte who arrived with histories as proven winners and largely pragmatic styles of play, he was trying to position Tottenham as a power in their own right. Their Amazon All or Nothing documentary felt part of a global quest for eyeballs.
But then Tottenham were the club of Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris. They had huge-name players. They also had a chairman, in Levy, whose reputation as a tough negotiator and reluctance to sell meant players stayed; perhaps that attitude backfired as, Kane apart, Spurs failed to cash in on too many of the side Mauricio Pochettino built when their market value was near its peak.
But for some, Tottenham are the role model for a footballing business. Certainly, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is cited by other clubs as they look to monetise their ground. Levy is castigated in some quarters and admired in others for Spurs' wage bill: 42 percent of turnover in the last accounts, even if those who simplistically repeat the figure overlook the reality that ignores the cost of repaying the debt incurred to build a state-of-the-art stadium or a transfer outlay approaching £400m in Postecoglou's two years.
Because part of the answer is that it is a club forever trying to find its place. There has been a reboot in recent years: that wage bill has been lower with an influx of young players but that transfer expenditure. Brennan Johnson, scorer of the scrappy but celebrated Europa League final goal, may be a symbolic figure in other respects, costing £47.5m but almost certainly with a lower salary than many a more established figure elsewhere.
For a chairman whose managers, Pochettino, Harry Redknapp and Martin Jol apart, rarely last long, Levy can indulge in long-term planning. Johnson, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Antonin Kinsky, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Pape Matar Sarr, Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski and the loanee Mathys Tel all joined at 22 or under, Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero at 23. It does not guarantee a glorious future but it shows an attempt to construct one.
Dominic Solanke, a £65m buy at 26, represents the exception and scored in three of Spurs' last four Europa League games. Romero's seeming willingness to leave now, at 27, could indicate that the best of the youthful recruits will tire of waiting for a future that may not come.
Over the course of his time in England, Tottenham have been overtaken. They may have been the smallest of the big six but they had 11 successive top-six finishes. Now the last five include eighth, seventh and, ridiculously, 17th. The big six expanded to a big eight with the addition of Aston Villa and Newcastle.
Then Tottenham were reeled in by a host of clubs more accustomed to bottom-half finishes. They appear to have responded by compiling a shortlist of their managers. For now, while back in the Champions League, they may look for a less risky way of European qualification than needing to win continental silverware. Simply restoring the big eight to a position of primacy may be a start in the post-Postecoglou world.
Because the question of who Tottenham are has invariably brought the replies that lend themselves to banter – 'Lads, it's Tottenham', 'Spursy' – whereas the reality is more complex. But Levy could do with getting some elements of the old Tottenham back. Because right now, Spurs are Europa League winners and the team who finished 17th. And for different reasons, they can't be either of those in a year's time.