To Ange…
I wrote this article a few months ago and did actually publish it, but soon after I chose to delete it because my club decided to sleepwalk to relegation, and as a result he was somehow viewed as the primary reason why? Funnily enough, months on, he has been vindicated in every way possible, which is bittersweet as I was incredibly fond of him and believed truly in his principles. Yet at the same time, my true love is my football club, and no manager nor player shall ever come before that. With this context in mind, enjoy a shorter read than usual.
Almost a year on from that sweet night in Bilbao, many questions remain. One such is was Ange right all along? By this I mean, was the decision to prioritise the Europa League over the Prem the right decision? It’s a question which divides the fanbase of Tottenham Hotspur, and one which led to Ange Postecoglou losing his job, and here we are in the present day. Spurs are deeply ingrained within a relegation dog fight after replacing Ange with Thomas Frank, and at the time of writing have won nine games in the Premier League all season.
Last season, Spurs finished seventeenth in the league, while ending a trophy drought of seventeen years (the number 17 is a recurring theme throughout last season) and securing Champions League qualification in the process. Before I delve into this question, it’s worth noting that Spurs scored 54 goals in the league last year, which was as much as Chelsea who finished fourth. By making this point, I’m suggesting that the underlying factors of last season play a big part in justifying why Ange deserved a third season, as if breaking a 17 year trophy drought wasn’t enough.
Apart from the European triumph, the season did see some high notes such as the 4-0 victory at the Etihad, or the resounding 4-1 victories at home vs Aston Villa and West Ham. Ultimately, this culmination of factors were not enough to save Postecoglou’s job, even though Spurs are now throughly embroidered in a relegation battle, something they weren’t in last season. Spurs finished thirteen points off the drop, which is remarkable considering their last win in the league was on Matchday 31 against Southampton.
The toughest thing for me is trying contextualise to someone who isn’t a fan of Tottenham Hotspur that a 17th place finish means nothing when you are the first manager to deliver silverware in almost two decades. The end goal for any team within the beautiful game is to win silverware, to do so and lose your job whilst being the first to achieve such a feat in 17 years is truly remarkable, and in the worst way possible. This season, Spurs have paid for their actions. Sacking a manager who so clearly had every player on his side by telling him daily that they are winners, to replace him with a manager so inept that he tells the players from day one that they will lose games and that’ll be okay is absolutely astonishing.
Moreover, the fact they kept him on until February is even more astonishing, given absolutely zero progress had been made since the Super Cup final… This leads me to my overall point, was Ange right all along? It’s easy to suggest not when given the context of the ignominy of finishing seventeenth, but let me raise a quote.
“At some point I’ll get replaced by John the Pragmatist and you can all be happy and revel in it.”
The saddest thing is that he was right in everything he’s proclaimed, from “I always win in my second season,” to now this, and yet you still have “fans” of the club discrediting his achievement which is truly beyond me.
Given Spurs are embroidered within a relegation battle as aforementioned, I’d rather not dwell on the past, but focus on the future. The appointment of Roberto De Zerbi was one that did not sit right with me, for numerous reasons which you can research on. But there is no denying that he has this broken squad playing with passion, and the sole reason for this is going back to the very same foundations once laid by Ange Postecoglou. This is evident given the progress in each game, a bruising loss to Sunderland, a valiant effort vs Brighton (falling short to an error), a narrow but incredibly fought win vs Wolves, and finally a dominating victory vs Aston Villa who are now in a European final.
It’s impossible to tell where Spurs will end up, and my firm believe is that they will go down, which was in the back of my mind since pre season but that truly is a conversion for another day. The only way this seemingly doomed team stays up is if they continue to summon upon the foundations laid in the summer of 2023, and that is something all fans should come to accept.
To Ange.