Tottenham Hotspur have fired their head coach Ange Postecoglou. The news was first leaked by Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, and was confirmed by Sami Mockbel of the BBC. The club has yet to confirm the sacking, but it will no doubt come momentarily.
Postecoglou’s future was very much in danger and has been for months. He led Tottenham to their worst finish in the table in their Premier League history, but also won the Europa League, delivering the club’s first trophy since 2009 and first European title since 1984.
Postecoglou has been on holiday, along with the playing squad, since the conclusion of the Premier League season. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has been conspicuously quiet over the past two weeks, with briefings in the English press suggesting that the club had yet to make a decision as to whether Ange would earn another year to turn things around. That decision has apparently been made.
While the decision to fire the manager who delivered the club’s first trophy in nearly two decades is brave, the timing of the announcement has been actively damaging, however, with the transfer window now open and the club somewhat paralyzed over the speculation of their manager. Whether you agree with the
It was not yet revealed who, if anyone, the club has appointed as their next head coach. Previous speculation linked managers such as Brentford’s Thomas Frank, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, former Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi (now at al-Hilal), and Fulham’s Marco Silva.
Much more to come.
UPDATE: The club has now confirmed Ange’s departure.
Here is an excerpt from the club’s OFFICIAL COMMUNCIATION:
We are extremely grateful to Ange for his commitment and contribution during his two years at the Club. Ange will always be remembered as only the third manager in our history to deliver a European trophy, alongside legendary figures Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw.
However, the Board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place. Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games. This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season. At times there were extenuating circumstances - injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign. Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.
It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond. This has been one of the toughest decisions we have had to make and is not a decision that we have taken lightly, nor one we have rushed to conclude. We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision.
We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future - he will always be welcome back at our home.
Postecoglou has also released a statement through his agency, CAA Base: