Sport
Tottenham’s Identity Crisis Continues
Words from former manager Ange Postecoglou have come back to haunt Tottenham Hotspur. As of Wednesday, they are in the process of searching for the successor to his successor, after Thomas Frank was relieved of his duties.
Postecoglou was speaking in 2017 during his time in charge of the Australian national team, six years prior to arriving at Spurs. He was known for his extremely attacking philosophy and steadfast belief in it, even in the face of poor results and growing injury lists often robbing him of the players best suited to implement his ideals on a particular game. In the face of criticism, he never wavered, even if that criticism was always the same.
“Maybe they’ll appoint John the Pragmatist, then you can all be happy and revel in it,” he said. The quote had nothing to do with Spurs, his struggles at the end of his reign or Frank coming in to replace him. But it summed up everything perfectly, almost poetically, especially with how things had transpired.
His last act in charge was to end a 17-year wait for a major trophy by winning the Europa League. But losing 21 Premier League games – a record without being relegated – and finishing 17th, especially with an apparent unwillingness to adapt in order to halt that slide, was deemed too much of a negative, outweighing the positive. He was sacked and Frank came in.
Given his work with Brentford, particularly his ability to change the way the team played to suit whatever the situation required, the Dane appeared the ideal antidote to the issues Postecoglou embodied. He would instil a sense of calm to the choppy waters and rebuild slowly, with a philosophy that could be shaped.
But many Spurs fans will say that all they did was, as Postecoglou prophesied, hire a pragmatist. What many of his loudest critics said was that Spurs swapped what was an – admittedly flawed – identity for no identity at all. The idea that it was Postecoglou’s overconfidence in a style that ceased to be possible which put them on the cusp of a serious relegation threat has been proven incorrect. Frank leaves Spurs 16th, one place above where Postecoglou had them, but just five points above a West Ham side which has picked up form of late.
This isn’t about rewriting Postecoglou’s history, or saying Frank was the wrong appointment. He did not succeed, and his is far from the first coach from a smaller club to fall foul of pressure on a bigger stage. But what this development perhaps will do, or should at least, is expose the bigger problems at Tottenham.
It was never just about the manager and their philosophy and suitability. Since the heady days of Mauricio Pochettino’s 2017 title challengers, Spurs have hired huge names with big CVs like Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, an exponent in beautiful but high-risk football in Postecoglou and supposed safer options with Premier League experience deserving of ‘bigger opportunities’ in Frank and Nuno Esparto Santo. None have worked for different reasons.
But boardroom issues with the now departed Daniel Levy and poor recruitment are just as much to blame. Right now Tottenham are discussing a return to their past, with Harry Redknapp potentially returning as interim before Pochettino takes over in the summer. As romantic as that suggestion is, it does nothing to tackle the same problems.
Spurs need to go back to basics and align on every level. If the Frank era told us anything, it is that being affable, adaptable and capable are not enough alone to tackle the reality of that job.
