Twelve months ago, Ange Postecoglou was leading Tottenham Hotspur to their finest moment in a generation. Spurs had been 17 years without a major trophy, and you had to go all the way back to 1984 for the last time they claimed a continental prize. The maverick Aussie manager was about to bring those years of hurt to an end.
With Spurs languishing down in 17th in the Premier League table, Big Ange had the English football media scoffing when he proudly proclaimed that he “always wins things in his second season.” Those members of the press wouldn’t be scoffing come the end of the season.
Ange Axed Despite Europa League Glory
Despite their domestic woes, Ange led Spurs to the Europa League final, where they would meet compatriots Manchester United in Bilbao. And despite being huge underdogs on the night, it was the North London outfit that managed to leave the Basque Country with the giant trophy in tow, courtesy of Brennan Johnson’s scrappy first-half winner. How did Daniel Levy and the powers that be within the Tottenham boardroom react to that success? By sacking their most successful manager in nearly two decades.
Postecoglou has said numerous times since the sacking that the writing was on the wall before that night in Bilbao. He knew the 17th-place finish in the Premier League was too much to ignore. The English top flight is the money maker, and while Spurs have enjoyed minimal success on the pitch over the last two decades, their financial success has been second to none. But their poor performance last season was explainable.
Spurs endured a miserable time with injuries last season, with a double-digit figure of first-teamers consigned to the treatment room for the vast majority of the campaign. With his squad bare and numbers dwindling, Big Ange prioritized the Europa League over the Premier League, resting his key players at the weekend, so they were fit and firing on a Thursday night. The reasoning was clear.
Despite sitting in 17th, Spurs were in precisely zero danger of suffering relegation as the bottom three finished some 13 points behind. Plus, winning the Europa League would have brought Champions League qualification, something that the club would never have achieved through their league performances. Regardless, Levy and Spurs pulled the trigger, axing the big Aussie boss. And now they may pay the ultimate price.
Are Spurs About to Fall Through the Trap Door?
Fast forward 12 months, and Spurs are teetering on the brink. The recent 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest was the club’s sixth defeat in seven games. They haven’t won in the league since the turn of the year, and their current 13-game winless streak is their worst run since 1935, a year in which the club suffered relegation. Online betting sites feel like that is a possibility this season as well.
The popular Lucky Rebel sportsbook currently lists Spurs as an 8/5 shot to fall through the trap door this term. And here’s why.
Once again, Spurs are down in 17th place in the table, just as they were a year ago. Only this time, there is no hope for any European respite after being dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid. And, even more worryingly, the bottom three aren’t lagging a million miles behind as they were 12 months ago.
Spurs are currently just one point clear of 18th-placed West Ham, the team that currently occupies the third and final spot in the relegation zone. And considering the run of fixtures Tottenham have between now and the end of the campaign, it’s hard to see where their next win is going to come from.
After the international break, they head to Sunderland to face the high-flying Black Cats before welcoming a Brighton team with European ambitions to North London a week later. They will have to visit both Aston Villa and Chelsea before the campaign is over, two teams currently chasing Champions League qualification. They will also have to face Wolves and Leeds, a pair of teams currently fighting for their lives in a bid to avoid the drop.
The Managerial Merry-Go-Round
Former Brentford manager Thomas Frank was appointed as Ange’s successor in the summer, but he lasted just eight months in charge before being sacked. Former Juventus manager Igor Tudor has since taken over, but the Croatian has already seemingly lost the dressing room. He has lost four of his five Premier League games in charge, with the recent 3-0 defeat against Forest the most worrying of the lot.
Spurs are regressing under Tudor, not progressing. They’re falling closer and closer to the trap door, and they may very well fall through it for the first time in half a century. With the international break now here, will the club swing the axe once again and dispose of Tudor? And if they do, who would be his replacement? Come to think of it, there may be only one man for the job.
