Why Ange Postecoglou deserves the shot Jose Mourinho never got at Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postecoglou’s job at Tottenham hangs by a thread and while his side’s record this season is ‘dismal’, history reveals the case for why he needs more time.
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At the time there were a great many theories over why Daniel Levy sacked Jose Mourinho as Tottenham Hotspur manager, six days before the Carabao Cup final, but the most outlandish was this: he was genuinely scared he might win it.
Crazy, of course. The gun manager, hired to win trophies, standing one game from doing just that and delivering Tottenham’s first major prize since 2008, when the chairman dismisses him. The premise is that, by then, Levy was convinced Mourinho wasn’t right for him or the club, but knew if he claimed Tottenham’s first trophy in 13 years he would have to let him take them into next season. Manchester City were formidable opponents but, even so, he couldn’t take that risk.
It was a strange, Covid-blighted season, 2020-21, with less than 8,000 at Wembley. Tottenham had a walkover in their first round, due to a viral outbreak at Leyton Orient, and had beaten only one Premier League opponent on the way. Little could be predicted. So Levy put Ryan Mason in charge and Tottenham lost 1-0.
Now here Tottenham are, still barren in 2025. They have one competition left to play for, the Europa League, with a difficult tie against Eintracht Frankfurt looming next month. Frankfurt won the competition in 2022 and sit inside the Bundesliga’s top four.
If Tottenham play as they did against Fulham on Sunday, or as they have done on many occasions this season, they have no chance.
Some would favour history repeating. Ange Postecoglou out, a replacement – even a temporary one – appointed.
Tottenham’s numbers this year are dismal. The loss away to Fulham was their 15th in the league – the poorest return since 2008-09, when Juande Ramos was sacked and replaced by Harry Redknapp, with the club bottom of the table in the last week of October.
Postecoglou has often been in conflict with the fans – there was another exchange with a dissenter at Craven Cottage – and some of his excuses do not make sense. Before the Fulham match he called out his critics as “Mr Hindsight”. “He’s the guy who, when the outcome’s there, the results already done, he’s got all the answers,” he said.
Well, yes and no. Obviously, commentary appears once the result is in. Reporters observe rather than engage in clairvoyance. Yet not all the negatives around Tottenham come after the fact. There were plenty who, when Tottenham went down to nine men against Chelsea, said playing a high line was suicidal – as it proved; plenty who, when injuries cursed Postecoglou this season, advocated a more conservative approach to protect young or battlefield promotions. Little then came out of the blue, least of all the results.
Yet Postecoglou has also endured rotten luck in this campaign. Equally, to his credit, he made the loss of Harry Kane last season less painful than was anticipated. He has built the beginnings of an exciting Tottenham side and played some eye-catching football. And if he leaves, another manager is going to reap the benefits of Postecoglou having further developed the likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Dominic Solanke and Djed Spence.
So he deserves his shot. Frankfurt, maybe beyond. Tottenham are five games away from next season’s Champions League. Not even five wins; five games, if all goes well. And one of them could be against Manchester United, who they have beaten three times already this season with a 8-3 aggregate. It’s still a long shot, but Postecoglou deserves to make it. Every manager deserves the opportunity to be a winner once the campaign has reached this stage.
Manchester United made a big mistake keeping Erik ten Hag beyond the end of last season. They didn’t make a mistake letting him take them into the FA Cup final, though, particularly in light of the result. That, if anything, should have been a perfect ending. Sir Jim Ratcliffe suspected Ten Hag wasn’t the man for the job – and he wasn’t – but he should have left with the trophy and his reputation restored. The same chance should be afforded Postecoglou.
Levy may already have decided he wants a change. There is talk of Andoni Iraola, of Bournemouth, or Fulham’s Marco Silva being early frontrunners. Even if that is the case, there is no downside to Postecoglou remaining to the end of the season. Were he to win the Europa League, were he to qualify for the Champions League next season, there could still be change. Many would think it harsh, many would advocate on Postecoglou’s behalf, but Kenny Dalglish won the 2012 Carling Cup for Liverpool – their first trophy in six years – and was dismissed that May. The eighth-place finish was considered reason enough. Tottenham are rank outsiders to finish in the top half. If Iraola, in particular, were amenable, the case against Postecoglou could be made, trophy or not.
Yet he deserves the chance to put forward his strongest case too. And that would involve steering Tottenham through a horrendous spell of bad luck to a trophy and back into the Champions League. If he falls short this is, in all likelihood, his last season there. But he at least deserves the shot Mourinho never got.
Originally published on The Times and republished with permission.
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