Speculation over Ange Postecoglou’s future has been rampant all season, and so another log on the fire is nothing particularly noteworthy. But this one feels a little different. Writing for the Daily Telegraph (£), Matt Law reports that Postecoglou is very likely to leave Spurs no matter what happens this summer, and regardless of whether he wins the Europa League or not.
According to the report, which is behind a paywall, if Tottenham Hotspur do not win the Europa League, Postecoglou is likely to be sacked. If they do win, Postecoglou might be able to leave “by mutual agreement,” which would essentially mean a negotiated settlement to buy out the remaining year of his initial three year contract. This isn’t especially well sourced — Law uses words like “there is a growing sense that...” and “would give him the opportunity to leave.” But Law is the most high profile writer yet to suggest that Postecoglou’s time at Spurs is very likely up no matter what, and the only question is how that departure comes about.
Winning the Europa League and then getting dismissed or leaving by mutual consent would draw an eerie parallel between Big Ange’s tenure and that of Juande Ramos, who delivered Spurs last trophy, the League Cup, in 2008 before being dismissed the following season after starting with two points from their first eight matches.
The article doesn’t mention Tottenham’s players at all, and to this point there aren’t any credible reports that suggest that Postecoglou has lost the dressing room. In fact, publicly, Spurs players have vigorously defended their manager even as Spurs are poised to end the season with their worst ever record in the Premier League. That said, while there’s a general sense of sympathy for everything Postecoglou has been thorough, there’s an equal agreement that the league results simply are not acceptable for a club of Tottenham’s stature.
The usual candidates — Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva, Thomas Frank — were all mentioned as potential Postecoglou successors. There was not any mention of, should Spurs crash out of the Europa League in the semi-finals or finals, whether Tottenham would fire Postecoglou before the end of the season, or who would potentially take over as caretaker should it happen.
So should we believe this? I mean, I dunno. Probably? Matt Law has his history with Tottenham and with Spurs fans, but he’s been weirdly good on club-related issues lately, and I don’t doubt that he has uncredited sources that gave him this info. There’s certainly a lot of smoke in the air, but it’s also very obvious that we will not know what will happen until it happens. So it doesn’t really tell us much that’s new or that we didn’t already know. It is, however, another nail in his coffin, and it’s getting harder and harder for the Ange-lophiles to hold that lid open.