As Ange Postecoglou leaves Tottenham Hotspur, football writer Alex Keble chronicles the Australian's time in charge.
Tottenham Hotspur have sacked Ange Postecoglou two years to the day after he was first appointed, ending one of the most eventful managerial tenures in Premier League history.
From a bold new tactical theory and an early title charge in 2023/24 to the 17th-place finish and the UEFA Europa League triumph in Bilbao in 2024/25, the Postecoglou era was bookended by explosive moments that sum up a wild 24 months at the helm.
This is Postecoglou’s Premier League story.
Unbeaten start, title talk and a new tactical idea
Spurs began the 2023/24 season with eight wins and two draws from their first 10 Premier League matches, sparking talk of a title challenge as Ange-ball caught everyone off guard.
The full-backs inverting like No 8s, the uber-high line and the frenzied attacking football was an instant hit.
Nobody was ready for the tactical and emotional surge, and with the new signings like Micky van de Ven and James Maddison hitting the ground running, the mood was like nothing felt at Spurs since the heyday of Mauricio Pochettino.
Postecoglou became the first coach in Premier League history to win three consecutive Manager of the Month awards for his first three months in charge. All was well in the world.
The Chelsea match, a sudden decline and bad luck in top-four race
Then came the visit of Chelsea in November 2023 and an astonishing peak for Postecoglou’s unwavering belief in his tactics.
Despite being reduced to nine men in the 55th minute after red cards for defenders Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, Spurs refused to drop deep. Instead, Postecoglou placed seven players on the halfway line to produce a second half at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium that was truly unique.
“It's who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here,” Postecoglou said after the match. “If we go down to five men, we will [still] have a go.”
Chelsea won 4-1 - and the honeymoon was over.
Indeed, from this match onwards Postecoglou won just 23 of his 66 Premier League matches, collecting only 78 points - a statistic that Spurs specifically referenced in their statement explaining why they were sacking him.
Notably, of the 17 clubs who played in the Premier League last season and will be there again next campaign, Spurs' points tally over the last 66 matches is the second-worst.
Points over last 66 PL matches
Club W D L GD Pts Liverpool 42 17 7 +76 143 Arsenal 41 16 9 +82 139 Man City 41 15 10 +75 138 Chelsea 35 15 16 +33 120 Aston Villa 32 16 18 +10 112 Newcastle 33 10 23 +29 109 Bournemouth 27 17 22 +12 98 Brighton 23 23 20 -4 92 Nott'm Forest 26 13 27 -1 91 Crystal Palace 23 21 22 +4 90 Fulham 25 14 27 +1 89 Man Utd 24 15 27 -6 87 Everton 21 23 22 -9 86 Brentford 23 13 30 -4 82 West Ham 21 18 27 -29 81 Spurs 23 9 34 -1 78 Wolves 22 10 34 -26 76
Nevertheless, Spurs were unlucky to miss out on Champions League football at the end of the 2023/24 season, finishing fifth with 66 points; the same tally, and position, that Newcastle United have got in 2024/25 - and the Magpies have qualified for Europe's elite club competition.
Strong start to 2024/25 derailed by injury crisis
In September, in the aftermath of a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, Postecoglou made the promise that will live forever in Spurs history.
When asked to clarify a pre-season statement of intent, he doubled down: “I'll correct myself. I don't usually win things. I always win things in my second year.”
Spurs began 2024/25 well, and by the time they beat Manchester City 4-0 on 23 November Postecoglou’s side were on 19 points from 12 matches, just three points short of third place.
But then the injuries struck.
As Postecoglou said of the endless problems, “Every time I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, it's usually been an oncoming train.”
Most injuries for PL clubs 2024/25
Club Injuries leading to 1+ matches missed Days lost Brighton 48 1,944 Spurs 41 1,553 Ipswich 41 1,506 Arsenal 36 1,297 Aston Villa 35 804
A dramatic decline and tactical rethink, and the cupped ear
What followed was a major downturn - and that’s when Ange-ball really came under the spotlight.
“Are you not entertained?” Postecoglou asked after a 4-3 victory over Manchester United in the EFL Cup in December. “I know the studio is probably having a meltdown over my lack of tactics. I really liked how we played tonight.”
After taking a 3-0 lead, Spurs allowed Man Utd back into the match, setting up a tense finish which prompted criticism from pundit Jamie Carragher, who questioned Postecoglou's tactical inflexibility.
Nevertheless, as results soured Postecoglou eventually let go of his tactical ideals and Spurs became more defensive and counter-attacking, particularly in Europe.
But it didn’t help in the league and as Spurs plummeted down the table the atmosphere began to shift, coming to a head when a double substitution at Stamford Bridge in April was met with boos from the away end.
When substitute Pape Sarr scored, justifying his boss's decision, Postecoglou cupped his ear towards the Spurs fans - a gesture that he had to explain after the match.
“It's incredible how things get interpreted,” he said. “We'd just scored. I just wanted to hear them cheer.”
Record-low finish but a Europa League triumph
Things only got worse domestically as focus switched entirely to the Europa League, where Spurs came alive with hugely impressive away wins against Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt.
Spurs ended the season in 17th, their lowest Premier League finish ever, but before that came the crowning glory: the Europa League final triumph, the open-top bus parade and the celebrations that will stay with Spurs fans forever.
"The only thing that was going to change this football club was us winning something,” Postecoglou said after that famous final, responding directly to his famous promise about winning a trophy in his second season.
“That was my ambition. I wanted to state it.”
It was the perfect ending to a colourful two years at the helm.
“I’ll leave you with this,” Postecoglou said to the crowd during the trophy parade. “All the best television series - season three is better than season two.”
But just a few days later, he added prophetically in a press conference: "I should have thought about it a bit more because sometimes they kill off the main character."