Tottenham Hotspur are stuck in a state of paralysis… and it is entirely their own fault.
While their rivals have acted swiftly in the early days of the summer transfer market, Tottenham have still not even decided who will be their head coach/manager next season. Two weeks after they lifted their first trophy in 17 years after beating Manchester United in the Europa League final, Ange Postecoglou has no idea if he will be around for a third campaign in charge.
The Athletic reported in March that there were serious doubts about Postecoglou’s long-term future and that Spurs had identified Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank and Fulham’s Marco Silva as potential replacements. Tottenham lost 22 of ther 38 Premier League games last season and finished 17th, above only the three relegated sides, as they struggled to cope with a crippling injury crisis.
Victory in that Europa League final changed everything, though, and united the fanbase. All of the players have spoken warmly about their bond with Postecoglou and how he kept them motivated last season when everybody else doubted their ability to win. For many people associated with Spurs, their domestic form during that campaign is completely irrelevant now.
When visitors Brighton & Hove Albion scored their final goal in a 4-1 win on the last weekend of the top-flight season, four days after that triumph in Bilbao, the entire crowd stood and started singing When The Spurs Go Marching In. That powerful emotional connection will be damaged if the club now cut ties with Postecoglou.
The Australian, 59, is currently on holiday with his family in Greece, hoping to be allowed to continue the four-year contract he signed when appointed in summer 2023. For all of Postecoglou’s flaws, he inherited a declining Son Heung-min, revolutionised Spurs’ playing style, lowered the squad’s age, coped without the recently-sold Harry Kane and has returned the club to the Champions League.
The problem is Tottenham’s form since the infamous 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November 2023 has been awful. They have lost 34 out of 66 matches and earned 78 points. If you exclude the six relegated teams across the past two seasons, that is the third-worst record in the division during that time, ahead of only Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
This situation has dragged on for too long.
Chairman Daniel Levy was on holiday too last week, and while it is understandable that Tottenham’s senior figures wanted to process their emotions following their Europa League success, they should have come to a much quicker conclusion.
Maybe Spurs are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened when they sacked Jose Mourinho in the April of the 2020-21 campaign. Mourinho left a couple of days before the Carabao Cup final, which they lost to Manchester City under interim replacement Ryan Mason.
The club then spent the next 10 weeks assessing different candidates, including Erik ten Hag, Paulo Fonseca, Hansi Flick, their former manager Mauricio Pochettino and future head coach Antonio Conte, before they appointed Nuno Espirito Santo on June 30. Nuno lasted only four months before he was replaced with Conte. In March 2023, Conte was out the door. Arne Slot, then at Dutch club Feyenoord and now a debut-season title winner with Liverpool, turned them down before they eventually appointed Scottish champions Celtic’s manager Postecoglou.
Could it be that Spurs want to have the next man lined up before they put Postecoglou out of his misery? Or are they assessing their head coach’s qualities and determining whether it would actually be better to keep him around?
If Postecoglou does stay, the torrent of speculation over the past couple of weeks could undermine his position. Ten Hag found himself in a similar situation last summer after winning the FA Cup with Manchester United. Ahead of that final, the Dutchman had seemed destined to leave. United’s senior figures then apparently changed their minds, only to sack him in October. The worst thing Spurs could do is make this decision based on their current feelings, then regret it in a few months.
This delay will be negatively impacting their transfer business, too. United have signed Matheus Cunha, Chelsea agreed a deal with Ipswich Town for Liam Delap and Liverpool brought in Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen. Spurs were interested in Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo but he prefers a move to Old Trafford despite United’s own dismal season.
Why would anybody move to Tottenham right now when there is so much uncertainty? If Postecoglou is eventually retained, they have wasted valuable time in terms of identifying and working on potential signings who can improve the squad. If a new head coach takes over, he might like and need completely different players.
Spurs signed Mathys Tel on loan with an option to buy from Bayern Munich in the winter window. The young striker struggled to impress in his first few months but showed flashes of his potential. Why would Tel commit his future to Tottenham when he has no idea if Postecoglou, the man who convinced him to join, will be there next season?
The same applies to other members of the squad. Son, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur will all be in the final 12 months of their contracts within weeks. Cristian Romero has two years left on his but has publicly talked about the possibility of moving to Spain’s La Liga. These players need to know what direction the club are heading in and who will be leading the way.
It is the opposite approach to Real Madrid. The Spanish giants made it clear to targets Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen during negotiations that Xabi Alonso would be replacing the departing Carlo Ancelotti.
The longer Spurs take to come to a conclusion on this, the more damage they could inflict on their 2025-26 season.
Their pre-season schedule has them facing Arsenal in Hong Kong on July 31, then Newcastle United in South Korea before travelling to Germany for a friendly with Bayern. They then have the small matter of the UEFA Super Cup against Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in Udine, Italy on August 13. These games might seem far off today, but Postecoglou, or his replacement, will need as much time as possible to prepare for them and implement his vision for a challenging campaign ahead.
Postecoglou changes his backroom staff at every job to keep things fresh, but most managers and head coaches are the complete opposite. Any potential replacement would probably want at least one of his assistants to join him in north London, which might drag out the situation for a little bit longer.
Whether you believe in Postecoglou’s philosophy or not, everybody can agree that he has been placed in an unfair situation.
As he tries to relax with his family in the Greek sunshine, he is still patiently waiting for the phone call which will reveal his fate.
(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)