Ange Postecoglou was right man to lead Tottenham forward
The temptation is to say that now Levy will be under pressure. That this time he has raised the stakes. Except that was said every time he pushed a manager out the door. Whether it was Pochettino after his transformational effect on the club, or Mourinho six days before a Carabao Cup final. In that respect nothing ever changes – Levy just sails onwards. He makes what he will describe in a statement as a hard but necessary decision and then a few years later he says the same.
Postecoglou gambled everything on winning the Europa League – not just his reputation but the league season too. He did that as injuries engulfed him and also amid the strong sense that alternative coaches were being sounded out. Indeed, there was not a significant word of support from Levy in the crucial final weeks, and that too has an effect on a manager and the relationship with his players and the club's support. Yet Postecoglou pulled it off. Imagine what might be possible with some solidarity.
Levy hedged his bets, even dragging out his decision until 16 days after the final in Bilbao and was generally expected to go into next week until Telegraph Sport broke the news of Postecoglou's departure on Friday. By then, with not a word from the club, it had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The manager had been damaged by the club's failure to back him, and therefore the manager had to go.
There feels like change coming at Spurs, with the departure of Donna Cullen – the director who was Levy's closest aide at the club. Vinai Venkatesham has been dropped in as the new chief executive. Yet while Levy is in place one can only assume that the same man is running the club. That is, unless those who control Joe Lewis's majority stake feel differently about it.
For Postecoglou, there is a lot to be said for going out this way – with the Europa League in his grasp, and the gratitude of the supporters. He will find himself considerably wealthier on Saturday morning and also with a reputation enhanced. He answered a lot of the questions about his tactical flexibility in the last rounds of the competition and especially the final when United failed to hide their weaknesses as well as Spurs did theirs.
Whatever the next Spurs manager achieves, he cannot win the club's first trophy in 17 years. Postecoglou will be due a slice of any future success – having broken the streak and changed the sense of what is possible. His successor will also know that the key to longevity at the club can be confusing. Is it finishing in the Premier League top five places to qualify for the Champions League? Is it winning knockout competitions? Or is it winning knockout competitions that earn qualification for the Champions League?
Postecoglou saw Spurs' first trophy in 17 years as the most effective agent for change and went all out to win it. For Levy, one suspects league position is everything. Now he has the benefit of Uefa's Champions League funds he certainly has a better hand to deal to Postecoglou's successor. Although the next man will know that, when things start to go badly, he will be on his own.
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