Tottenham Hotspur fans began the weekend in a state of shock after the club decided to sack Ange Postecoglou on Friday evening.
Postecoglou’s time at Tottenham has come to an end despite leading the club to their first trophy in 17 years in the Europa League last month.
Admittedly, Postecoglou did struggle in the Premier League, finishing 17th in the table after 22 defeats in the competition.
Harry Redknapp has now shared why Manchester United – or more specifically, a decision they made last season – may be partly to blame for Daniel Levy’s decision to sack Postecoglou.
Daniel Levy may have been inspired by Manchester United decision to keep Erik ten Hag after FA Cup win
Redknapp spoke to talkSPORT about Postecoglou’s sacking, admitting he saw it coming after Levy didn’t come out in support of his manager post-Europa League.
The former Tottenham boss explained how Levy’s decision could have been inspired by Man United’s continued woes under Erik ten Hag despite their FA Cup win last season.
Man United ended up sacking Ten Hag midway through last season, and Ruben Amorim wasn’t able to save the club from their worst campaign in decades.
“Overall I suppose Daniel has looked at it and is thinking, ‘hang on’,” said Redknapp.
“Man United kept Ten Hag last year after winning a cup and they went out and bought some players under his leadership and then suddenly they sack him.
“Were they going to take that chance with Ange? Bringing four or five new players and suddenly things haven’t improved in the league by Christmas, then they have to sack him and are stuck with the players he brought in.
“He looks a good guy and I’d have liked to have seen him given more of a chance but it was never going to happen once Daniel didn’t come out and support him.”
Other managers who flopped after iconic trophy wins
Redknapp’s theory makes sense, and there’s no denying that Postecoglou’s second season in the Premier League was nothing short of atrocious.
In addition, Ten Hag is not the first manager to do so badly in the league after a trophy win that bought him more time.
Nine years ago, Leicester City won the Premier League title against all odds, but the following season, Claudio Ranieri struggled in the top flight.
Nine months on from their title win, Ranieri was sacked with the club one point above the drop zone with 13 matches left.
Craig Shakespeare’s appointment as caretaker proved a good decision, as he kept the Foxes up.
Meanwhile, Roberto Di Matteo won both the Champions League and the FA Cup as caretaker in 2012, but he couldn’t follow this up the following year.
The Italian was sacked not long before Chelsea became the first reigning Champions League holders to exit the tournament at the group stage.
Caretaker Rafael Benitez rallied the team round and got them into the Champions League, along with winning the Europa League after dropping down into the competition.
If Tottenham end up doing well in the Premier League and Champions League next season, then Levy’s decision will seem justified.