Will Postecoglu become the next Tottenham manager to fail?

Tottenham is set to end another manager’s career as Ange Postecoglou comes under pressure to deliver.

The Australian made a fine start to his spell as the team’s manager, and they were so good that we imagined they could be Premier League champions.

Spurs had chosen Postecoglou to replace Antonio Conte, and he deserved the role, having been very successful during a two-year stint at the Scottish giants, Celtic.

His team in Scotland was so good that it stood out even though Celtic has always dominated that division.

He arrived in London in 2023 and nearly won the league if the first half of the season alone counted, but his team would eventually settled for a Europa League spot after losing fourth place to Aston Villa.

Tottenham ticket buyers were unhappy that another season with a new manager had not ended their trophy drought, so Postecoglou promised that the team would win a trophy this term.

The gaffer reiterated that it was a fact that his team always wins a trophy in his second season and backed Spurs to do the same.

Tottenham has reached the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and will face the in-form Liverpool, but their fans are more concerned about their league form.

After 19 matches, Spurs are in the bottom half of the Premier League table, which means they are set to miss out on European football.

For a team that reached the final of the Champions League in 2019, this is unthinkable and why Postecoglou’s future is in doubt.

The Lilywhites are more than happy to change managers who do not fit into what they want to achieve as a team.

Is this another Spursy season?

The word Spursy was created to mock Tottenham for the near successes they have failed to complete since the last time they won a trophy.

Spurs have gone very close to being champions of England and other competitions since 2008 when they last smelt success. However, they always fail in pursuit of success.

They reached the final of the League Cup in 2015 and 2021 but could not win the trophy in either season.

The Lilywhites have become a laughingstock in English football, but we typically expect them to do well and qualify for Europe every year.

When Harry Kane left them before the end of last season, so many people wondered if they could cope.

Spurs did more than good enough without even signing a replacement for their former goal machine, which is why Postecoglou has some credit now.

The Australian has already shown that he can do well in the league, and his CV shows that he is one of the best coaches that Tottenham could have named to their bench.

However, he now realises that Tottenham is in love with the Spursy tag because they always fall back to old habits and struggle.

This term, his team has missed some of its key players because of injuries, but they could have done better than the case has been so far.

It seems like this would be another Spursy season where their fans would finish the campaign wondering if next season is the one that brings another trophy to their cabinet.

Some managers Spurs have wasted

If Postecoglou thinks he is a special manager who is better than some or most of his predecessors, then he is making a huge mistake.

The club’s owner deserves a lot of credit for how he has been improving the squad every year, especially signing some of the best players around.

However, Tottenham fans would probably be more grateful for the efforts the executives put into naming world-class managers on their bench.

Over the years, some of the best coaches have been appointed to their bench and failed to find success. The most prominent are:

Jose Mourinho - 2019 to 2021

Spurs supporters could not believe that the team named Jose Mourinho as its manager, but he was sacked before they played in the 2021 Carabao Cup final, and that was the closest he had come to winning a trophy for them.

Considering his pedigree in the game, it is still baffling that he could not find more success on the Tottenham bench.

Antonio Conte - 2021 to 2023

Conte is another high-profile manager who accepted the Tottenham job and it seemed more than certain that he will lead them to at least one trophy.

The Italian had won league titles at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan, so it was difficult not to think they finally had a good coach.

However, Spurs frustrated the life out of the current Napoli manager, and he left his role after a passionate rant against his own players.

Mauricio Pochettino - 2014-2019

The sacking of Poch some months after he led the team to the final of the Champions League was a surprise.

He had been on their bench for five and half years, and reaching that European final was expected to buy the Argentinian more time.

Poch stabilised the team and made them regulars in European football. They also began to finish above Arsenal on the Premier League table.

He would go on to win a league title at PSG, but the Argentinian failed to win a trophy on the Tottenham bench.

They probably should have given him more time, but after over five years on their bench, he should know he did not deserve to keep the job.

How will Tottenham end the 2024/2025 season?

The 2024/2025 season still has one half to go, so it does not make sense to write off any team, but Tottenham are not showing a good pattern.

The Premier League remains arguably the most competitive league in the world, and Tottenham has to get better soon.

The Lilywhites could become one of the teams that perform well in this second half of the season. That is one way they will get back inside the European places.

However, if they continue to drop points in the next few weeks, it will be all doom for them by the end of the season.

Injuries have played a key role in their struggles as their two main centre-backs continue to miss games through injury.

If they can recover Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in the early weeks of 2025 and both centre-backs remain fit until the end of the term, they will see improved results.

An alternative would be to sign some new players, especially defenders, during this transfer window. Failure to do so and not recovering their main men at the back will result in yet another terrible end to a season.