The Sydney Morning Herald

There is a popular meme on the internet - the “never give up” cartoon, it’s called – which shows two men mining underground for diamonds. The first one is eagerly digging away. The second one has made more progress but is exhausted. He’s done. He’s walking away dejected, unaware at how close he had come to breaking through and reaching his goal. The point is about perseverance.

That meme, often used both earnestly and ironically by football fans on social media, sums up Tottenham Hotspur right now. Except, in this case, after all his hard work, the miner actually got to the diamonds, looked at them, thought long and hard about it – and still chose to give up.

Having endured the requisite pain of the Ange Postecoglou experience for two years – the “suffering” that he predicted, in one of his very first press conferences, would eventually lead to joy, like it always does with the teams he coaches – Tottenham Hotspur had finally broken through to the treasure and figured ... nah, not for us.

Sixteen days after Postecoglou delivered Spurs’ first trophy in 17 years in the Europa League, an achievement that could have served as the foundation for even greater glory, chairman Daniel Levy gave him his marching orders.

It is a cold-hearted decision Levy and his board – who were “unanimous”, according to a club statement – will almost certainly live to regret, regardless of whether his replacement is a success or not.

There will now always be an unanswerable “what if” about the possibilities that lay within a third season at Spurs for Postecoglou. And there appears to be no hope that whoever comes in next will get what he needs to satisfy Levy, who seems to be prioritising higher finishes on the Premier League table than the idea of actually winning things, and couldn’t see how doing the latter could help bring the former.

Spurs finished 17th this past season, but it was explainable. And even the club acknowledged that in its statement, fittingly unattributed to a single human entity.

“At times there were extenuating circumstances – injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign,” the statement read. “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.”

If that was so crucial, how to explain the cards that Postecoglou was asked to play? Why was he given such a thin squad to take into the season, its lack of depth brutally exposed by those injuries? Why was it that Spurs did not support him with another centre-back in the January transfer window until after their third-choice option in that position went down with a season-ending ACL injury, adding to a crisis which had already ripped the heart out of their domestic campaign? Why was their policy of pursuing talented young players – which, no doubt, will hold them in good stead for the coming years – not also supported with experience that could have enabled them to compete on multiple fronts, when they absolutely have the financial capacity to do both?

Postecoglou knew it wasn’t possible this season, so after January, as he explained in his post-Europa League final press conference, he selected one front and focused on it. His staff and playing group backed him in. He made the calculation that ending the club’s trophy drought was the only way of breaking their psychological chains. He said that not everybody at the club agreed with that decision; we can now safely assume that Levy was one of those people. Levy now has the nerve to talk about “emotions” when there was clear logic at play.

Tottenham’s motto is Audere est Facere: To Dare is To Do. Postecoglou dared, and he did. “The game is about glory,” the legendary Spurs manager Danny Blanchflower once said. He brought them glory, and his reward was the sack.

He deserved the right to have another crack, but that has been taken away from him.

This is the first time Postecoglou has been fired mid-contract. Sure, he was let go by Football Federation Australia at the end of his six-year tenure as Australia’s national youth coach, but that was a little different – his contract was up, and he probably wasn’t going to seek an extension anyway. He has always tried to be the master of his own destiny, but not this time.

He will land on his feet. Tottenham’s loss will be another club’s gain. Postecoglou’s reputation has only been enhanced by his time there, his triumph in the Europa League and the way he handled himself throughout. Another team will come for him, and he will win with them. Inter Milan, the beaten UEFA Champions League finalists, could do much worse after their manager Simone Inzaghi decided to take the riches in Saudi Arabia. So could other clubs in Italy, Germany, Spain ... anywhere, really, where they like success.

Equally, Postecoglou will feel he has unfinished business in England, and will want to defy the critics who say his brand of football is unsustainable in the Premier League.

As for Spurs? The hot favourite to take over is Thomas Frank, the Danish manager currently in charge of Brentford. He may prove an excellent fit. Postecoglou has left him an excellent platform to build upon.

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But Frank has also never won a major trophy in his career. He has never managed a club which has competed in European competitions, or one as big as Tottenham Hotspur. Last season, his team finished 10th in the Premier League, largely due to injuries. He will also have to deal with a playing group that was utterly in Postecoglou’s thrall and reportedly angry with how the club handled his exit. And a board which has made it clear that winning trophies is not enough for them.

Tasking him with untying the Gordian knot that is Tottenham Hotspur is a bigger risk than sticking with Postecoglou for a little longer – but that is their call.

Good luck with that.

If Levy thinks waving a magic wand with another manager can make them competitive on multiple fronts – rather than spending more on transfers and wages for players – then he will wind up back here in another two years, having sacked the next bloke.

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has decreed soccer needs Ange Postecoglou, and he hopes the Australian coach remains in the English Premier League for a long time to come, even if Tottenham Hotspur end his time as manager.

The former Reds striker played for North Queensland Fury and Perth Glory and coached Brisbane Roar, before COVID-19 disruptions and issues with club ownership resulted in his departure after 22 games.

It was during his Fury season in 2010-2011 that Fowler first encountered Postecoglou, who coached the Roar to both the premiership and championship.

Postecoglou has faced mounting calls to be sacked as Spurs plummeted to 17th place in the Premier League this season, but victory in the Europa League final provided a potential lifeline for the under-siege Australian.

Fowler believes the Europa League triumph should give Spurs a strong reason to keep Postecoglou but even if they axe him, Fowler remains a huge fan.

“You will get people who write him off because a club that size should be getting better results,” Fowler said.

“But I’m not one of those people. I’ve followed his career all the way from Brisbane and he’s an absolute born winner.

“He’s an incredible manager; someone the game needs. You see his expertise in his coaching and in his press conferences. He’s someone I’ve got a lot of time for.

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“The game needs Ange Postecoglou. He’s not only an outstanding manager but an outstanding man, and I hope he’s on top of his game for a long time to come.”

Fowler returned to Australia on Monday as a guest of Carlsberg to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Liverpool’s 2005 UEFA Champions League win, affectionately known as the “Miracle of Istanbul”, and the club’s EPL title this season.

Liverpool fans are still basking after winning this year’s title “in a canter”, and Fowler says the Reds will aim for the Champions League and EPL titles next season.

Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League on Sunday morning, but Fowler was quick to point out that Arne Slot’s team only lost to PSG on penalties when they met in the round of 16.

“For the club to do what they’ve done and start talking about bringing in new players, it’s because they want us to stay on this challenge for the next couple of years,” Fowler said.

“I think it’s genuinely possible, I think with the management and with the players out there already, the expectations are going to be, yes, let’s challenge for everything next season.

“There’s nothing wrong with that mindset. As a professional, that’s what the mindset should be.

“But you look at PSG, and they only beat Liverpool on penalties, so I think Liverpool fans will be buoyed by that – we are not a million miles away from challenging for everything.”

Fowler won a wrongful dismissal case against the Roar via a FIFA dispute resolution in late 2020, but he still has love for the club and the A-League.

The Roar made headlines last month when they were issued with a winding-up order by the Australian Tax Office due to a six-figure debt. Club owners said that debt would soon be paid.

“I would have liked it to have ended better, we were on a real, real upward trajectory in terms of what we were doing at the club, and we were confident of winning the grand final,” Fowler said, reflecting on his time as Roar coach.

“We were the form team at that particular time. I know COVID ruined a lot of people’s lives. It certainly ruined my football experience over in Australia, absolutely.”

London: The crowd sang as if summoning something sacred. “When the Spurs go marching in,” they chanted – an old gospel melody reimagined for a modern football miracle.

Flags whipped in the breeze, faces were painted in navy and white, and the High Road trembled with movement. From the fried chicken shops of Edmonton Green to the sleek facade of the new stadium, Tottenham was a city unto itself for one golden afternoon – a community momentarily suspended in joy.

It wasn’t just noise. It was release. After 17 years of waiting, Spurs had finally won a trophy. And the people who had waited – with crossed fingers, broken hearts, and half-muttered curses – spilled onto the streets to see it raised.

An open-top bus crawled along a route soaked in history and local pride. The players, medals gleaming in the light, waved down to a crowd that surged around them like a tide. They passed betting shops and nail salons, Victorian terraces and housing estates, kebab joints, boarded-up pubs, and ambitious new cafes. Tottenham – gritty, diverse, gentrifying and proud – was on parade alongside its team. This wasn’t just about soccer. It was about place, and pain, and perseverance.

And then, the man at the heart of it stepped up to the microphone.

“We’re here because of this unbelievable group of people; players and staff, absolute heroes,” said the gravel-voiced Ange Postecoglou, who had promised silverware in his second year, and delivered it. “They did it all for you. Because you deserve it. This club deserves it.”

The roar that followed was one of gratitude – and perhaps of knowing that this moment, like all things in Tottenham, might be fleeting. Two nights ago, in Bilbao, this team edged Manchester United 1-0 to lift a long-awaited European trophy, a victory that echoes far beyond the final whistle.

Postecoglou has taken an unlikely path to this point. He now finds himself in the company of a long line of Australians who have crossed oceans to chase success in London – think Kylie Minogue, Barry Humphries, Shane Warne, Clive James, Germaine Greer or Nick Cave. Some arrived with charm, others with bite, most with something to prove. All eventually found themselves, in their own way, loved as much abroad as at home.

Maybe Ange isn’t there yet. Maybe he never gets the chance. Hours earlier, BBC journalist Sami Mokbel reported that despite delivering Tottenham’s first trophy in nearly two decades, the club is already eyeing a replacement. Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, an Austrian, leads the shortlist. In true Spurs fashion, stability remains a rumour, not a fact.

Still, for now, Postecoglou is the man of the moment. The architect of a cup win that didn’t just end a drought; it reset the spirit of a club and a community.

“What the history books say is we’re the Europa Cup winners and it doesn’t say how we did it,” he said.

And he suggested better times lay ahead: “All the best TV series, season three is better than season two,” he said, to cheers of approval.

This corner of working-class north London has long lived in the shadow of inequality. A postcode where housing estates lean against shiny new towers. Where immigrant families have stitched together a cultural tapestry – Jews, Muslims and Christians – from Nigeria, Turkey, Jamaica, Albania, Somalia, and beyond. Where opportunity is too often a fight, and resilience isn’t a virtue – it’s survival.

Supporting Spurs in this landscape has always been an act of defiance. A belief passed from grandparent to grandchild like a family heirloom: chipped, weathered, but never discarded.

People like 78-year-old Kathleen Sleap, who stood near Lansdowne Road with a photograph of her late husband, the man she met in the stands in 1965. “He would’ve loved to see this,” she said. “We won something for the first time in ages.”

This referee is trigger-happy. He’s just given another yellow to Yves Bissoma as he tried to collect the ball after Son gave away a foul, near the centre of the pitch.

From the free kick… oh boy. Van de Ven clears it off the line! Vicario came out for the ball but fumbles it, Hojlund heads it into an empty net and van de Ven flies in the air and throws his foot high to keep it out.

Somehow.

That was absolutely remarkable. You won’t see a better goal line clearance than that. Ever.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United, 68 minutes

Yep, it looks like Son Heung-min is preparing to come on very soon, if not immediately for Richarlison, who is down receiving treatment.

In fact, it’s now - that is the change. Son for Richarlison.

The Spurs fans find their voice again. What can their captain provide?

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United, 66 minutes

Brennan Johnson is furious he hasn’t received a free kick or a corner kick for a little run down the right which relieved pressure for Spurs, momentarily.

Now another brilliant break for Tottenham - it could have been more but Dominic Solanke had a really tired touch to receive that ball from Destiny Udogie.

It might be time for Ange to make a change to dig Spurs out of the trenches. It is time for Son, perhaps?

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United, 62 minutes

This time it’s Richarlison and it’s a ridiculous decision to ping him for barely even brushing past Bruno Fernandes. What an over-the-top call.

Anyway, Fernandes and United get a free kick from it… it’s testing! Vicario gets low to smother it and a defender ends up scrambling it away.

Some warning signs there.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United, 58 minutes

It looks like the instruction for the second half by Ange Postecoglou is for his Spurs side to not do anything stupid. Sit back, soak up pressure, press in the right moments, and attack on the counter. That’s been the formula for them to get this far in the Europa League and it might deliver them the glory they so desperately want, even if it’s not as pretty as regular Angeball.

Nobody at this point will care for aesthetics.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United, 55 minutes

...for taking out Rasmus Hojlund in an aerial challenge. A bit silly, there. So he’s the first Spurs player in the book and they have a set piece to defend.

From the right flank, Bruno Fernandes, good position... it’s cleared. United win it back, but Spurs will have possession now after an offside call.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United, 50 minutes

That goal has seriously lifted the mood at the Surry Hills Hotel, after a sometimes scrappy first half.

But the consensus, unsurprisingly, is that Tottenham were the better team.

Bruno Fernandes might be the least popular man in this room. His 32nd minute challenge on Bissouma drew a lot of frustration and some unrepeatable chanting, and there’s the sense there’ll be more bad blood if the United captain produces his usual heroics.

I also have the benefit of the international Buckley family Spurs network, who are watching from London, New York and - er - Melbourne.

“Thankfully, Fernandes has had a quiet game so far,” my mum writes from London. “Johnson is the best on the pitch this half”.

At that, I’ll leave the analysis to Vince Rugari.

No subs by either side. The onus is on United to take the risks and get back into this. Let’s see what happens.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United, 45 minutes

Right now, it feels like no one really understands me, except Natalie Imbruglia.

Tomorrow morning, Manchester United, a team I have followed since birth, will play Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final. Manchester United, a team that has given me so many historical highs (and a few more recent lows), have a shot at European glory. Manchester United, the team that binds together me, my father, my brother, and my son, are just one game away from delivering us collective ecstasy.

And yet, I’m torn. More than torn, I’m all out of faith. Admittedly, I am not lying naked on the floor, but honestly, I’m not far off because the naked truth is this: I love Manchester United, but I don’t want them to win.

Before you throw up your hands in outrage, please know that whatever names you’re calling me, my brother has already beaten you to it. Traitor! Sure. Shit bloke! OK, fine. Fair-weather fan! Well, hold on a minute.

The reasons for my alleged betrayal are twofold: practical and emotional. Let’s unpack.

It is precisely because of my long-running love for Manchester United that I can look beyond the short-term sugar hit that comes with winning the Europa League and appreciate that it is not in our best interests. A win tomorrow night guarantees Champions League football next season and will result in a $208 million cash injection.

For a team currently sitting 16th, with 18 league defeats, enduring their worst top-flight campaign in half a century (since their 1974 relegation), money is a band-aid for a bullet wound.

Any true fan knows that Manchester United have no business competing in the Champions League right now, and should we luck our way into the competition, it will be much like my 2012 Contiki trip: stumbling around Europe getting belted.

Instead, the one thing we really need is the one thing money can’t buy: time. Time for manager Ruben Amorim to focus solely on the domestic league, time for the squad to figure out how to play football again, and time for fans to fall back in love with the club.

Conversely, time is exactly what Ange Postecoglou is short on at Spurs. Depending on what you believe, Ange is either about to be fired or about to walk, regardless of what happens in Bilbao.

It’s no exaggeration to say that his stint at Spurs has been befitting of a Greek tragedy: dramatic, chaotic, beautiful, ugly and momentous, mate. But one thing it has never been is boring.

In an increasingly predictable league, with little room for romance, Ange has given us all a storyline to get behind. Critics may say it’s been tumultuous, inconsistent and messy, and perhaps they’re right, but he’s our mess.

In a country where following football is a constant battle against the bigger codes, we finally have one of our own doing it on the world stage. And now he’s on the precipice of making history.

Speaking of history, I was 10 years old when I experienced my most memorable moment as a Manchester United fan: the fairytale last-gasp come-from-behind win in the 1999 Champions League final.

In the minutes following the final whistle, United’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was asked for his thoughts on the match. Such an occasion felt worthy of an inspirational speech, the kind of spur-of-the-moment soundbite destined to become part of football lore.

Eyeballing the camera, Ferguson shook his head in disbelief and offered three simple words: Football, bloody hell.

Brief as it was, “football, bloody hell” would go down in history as an iconic one-liner, probably because it captures perfectly how the best stories in football are those you simply couldn’t script.

To love the game is to appreciate the extremes it can make you feel, even if that means seeing your beloved team going down for the greater good.

When the players walk out onto the pitch tomorrow, almost everyone, including a large swathe of Spurs fans, expects Manchester United to win the Europa League final. Because Manchester United know how to win the big games and, more importantly, Spurs know how to lose them.

But this bad fan (with the best intentions) will hope Spurs and Ange can get the job done. So, I’ll be watching in my Manchester United jersey, cheering for Tottenham. It’s confusing, I know. But then again, isn’t that what being torn is all about? Nothing’s fine, I’m ... supporting both.

A corner kick from Pedro Porro… and a header from Cristian Romero, a free header! It’s just wide.

Wow. What a chance. That would have been enormous.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 (1-2) Tottenham Hotspur, 61 minutes

...for taking down Destiny Udogie as he dashed down the left flank. Correct call. Cynical challenge to disrupt Tottenham’s rhythm.

This match is so finely poised.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 (1-2) Tottenham Hotspur, 57 minutes

After a few minutes of building pressure by the hosts, Brennan Johnson concedes a corner kick… it’s taken short, and then eventually the ball is crossed in, but Spurs clear the danger. Not for long, though - as they look to spring forward on the counter-attack, Kulusevski gives away a free kick in a dangerous position, about 10–15 metres out from the edge of the penalty box...

Chaibi takes it… and it whistles just wide of the left post!

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 (1-2) Tottenham Hotspur, 51 minutes

...here we go.

Massive half to come.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 (1-2) Tottenham Hotspur, 45 minutes

Manchester United are 2-0 up against Olympique Lyonnais, with a 4-2 lead on aggregate...

Athletic Bilbao are 1-0 in front against Rangers, the first leg there was a 0-0 draw...

And Lazio needs one more goal to draw level in their tie with Bodo/Glimt after last week’s 2-0 defeat. It’s currently 1-0 to the home side in Rome. The winner of that tie will face the winner out of Spurs and Frankfurt.

Frankfurt is pushing for an equaliser and they’ve got a chance here after Bergvall gives away a corner… but Rodrigo Bentancur heads it away to safety. Only one more minute of added time for Tottenham to see out.

Brennan Johnson now sees a yellow card after a challenge on Brown, and the home side got really agitated about that… the referee also pulls out a red card for one of Frankfurt’s coaches, too! What about this?!

Anyway, there’s the whistle… Spurs are halfway there, thanks to Dominic Solanke’s penalty goal.

HALF-TIME: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 (1-2) Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in a lively first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, with Pedro Porro cancelling out the visitors’ early opener by Hugo Ekitike.

Eintracht took a sixth-minute lead through striker Ekitike, who slotted home from outside the box into the bottom right corner, before Porro levelled for Tottenham 20 minutes later, flicking the ball in with a smooth finish from close range.

For Tottenham, who are 14th in the Premier League with seven rounds to go in a largely disappointing domestic season, winning the competition is their only remaining pathway to European action next season.

Eintracht, the 2022 winners, are still well-placed to earn Champions League qualification via the Bundesliga standings where they are currently third, two points above fourth-placed Mainz.

The German side, playing in their first European quarter-final since lifting the trophy, took a quick lead after Ellyes Skhiri won a duel with James Maddison and immediately sent the ball out to the left flank.

From there, the well-positioned Ekitike dribbled his way up to the edge of the area before scoring low past Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham, aiming to reach the last four of a European competition for the first time since their run to the 2019 Champions League final, equalised in the 26th minute through defender Porro.

Dominic Solanke played Maddison into the box from the left and the midfielder set up Porro for a first-time finish.

Ekitike should have restored the lead for the visitors just before the interval when he struck low from the edge of the box but Vicario easily saved his weak shot.

Tottenham, who finished fourth in the league phase one point above Eintracht, continued to have more possession after the break and Lucas Bergvall came close to putting Tottenham in front with a stunning shot from a distance.

However, the Swedish midfielder hit the woodwork. Rodrigo Bentancur did the same two minutes later and Eintracht goalkeeper Kaua Santos denied Maddison from close range just before the hour mark.

Brennan Johnson misfired a great chance from near the penalty spot in the dying minutes.

The second leg will be played on April 17 and the winners will face either Lazio or Norway’s Bodo/Glimt for a spot in the final in Bilbao. Bodo won the first leg 2-0 earlier on Thursday.