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| A powerful reflection on Tottenham’s decision to sack Ange Postecoglou after European success — are we undoing what we’ve built? |
You only know if a decision is right when you see the outcome
If we stop winning… this was the wrong decision.
Simple as that.
Yesterday, I published Reddit Experiment #4: The Missing Factor — a piece exposing how little our fans truly understand the mindset needed to win.
The Posrecoglou being sacked news makes that experiment even more relevant.
Tottenham Hotspur have just sacked a manager who won a major European trophy three weeks ago.
Let that sink in.
Ange Postecoglou — only the third man in this club’s history to bring home a European title — has been relieved of his duties.
The man who reignited belief, restored our identity, and delivered one of the greatest nights in Spurs history in Bilbao is now gone.
And yet…
You cannot say whether this was the right or wrong call.
Not yet.
Because in football, the only thing that validates a decision like this is what comes next.
We Can’t Say Yet — Only the Future Can
Right now, fans are split.
Some are heartbroken.
Some are relieved.
Some are confused.
But none of that matters really.
Because the only way to judge this decision is by results — not emotions, not statistics, and certainly not PR statements.
If the next manager comes in and wins trophies — regularly, not once in ten years — then the board’s gamble has paid off.
But if we go backwards…
If we get knocked out of Europe early…
If the league form doesn’t improve significantly…
If we don’t compete seriously for silverware…
Then this wasn’t a brave decision.
It was a catastrophic one.
Sacking the man who delivered glory, for no reward, is the kind of choice that defines an era.
It either becomes a masterstroke…
Or a moment we look back on and say, “That’s where it all collapsed again.”
The Board’s Logic — And Its Flaws
The club’s statement is polished.
It’s respectful.
It’s emotionally intelligent — on the surface.
But read it again… and what you really see is numbers dressed up as justification.
“78 points from the last 66 Premier League games.”
Sounds damning — until you remember that for much of that time, Spurs were barely able to field a back four.
Let’s be honest:
This was the worst injury crisis since the Munich Air Disaster in 1958.
Players were being shifted into unfamiliar positions.
We had a Championship teenager playing centre-back for the first time in his life.
Our midfield was held together by tape and adrenaline.
And yet… we still found a way to win in Europe.
That’s a manager who made the most of what he had and still delivered a major European trophy — something no Spurs fan under 40 has seen before.
The board say they need to “compete on multiple fronts.”
But this season, we chose one front — Europe — and Ange delivered.
We competed in the League Cup, only losing the second leg of the semi-final at Anfield.
So why now pretend that wasn’t the right choice?
You can’t talk about winning mentality and then punish a manager for prioritising the one competition we ended up winning.
The logic doesn’t add up.
Unless this was never about logic at all.
What This Teaches the Players
This is where the damage starts to show — not in the press release, but inside the dressing room.
What lesson does this send to the squad?
“Deliver a major European trophy… and you still might get sacked.”
Where’s the reward for belief?
Where’s the reinforcement of the culture they were asked to buy into?
Because make no mistake — the players bought in.
They played Ange-ball.
They backed his vision.
They suffered, adapted, and still delivered glory.
Now they’re left looking at each other thinking, “If even that wasn’t enough, what is?”
This sacking has told the players one thing loud and clear:
Winning trophies is not important.
This is how you start to erode belief.
This is how players stop fully committing.
This is how short-term thinking begins to creep into long-term projects.
When trust gets broken at the top… it doesn’t take long to trickle down.
And if the next manager demands loyalty and sacrifice?
He might find out the hard way that you can’t demand belief — you have to earn it.
What This Teaches the Fans
James Maddison said it best at his golf day:
“If you offered me 5th and no trophy, I’d laugh at you.”
That’s not a pundit talking.
That’s not a fan shouting on X.
That’s a player, standing in front of the media, telling you what matters:
Trophies.
So how are fans supposed to make sense of this?
We finally win something again — something major, something European — and the manager gets shown the door?
If that’s not good enough… what is?
This club has spent years trying to recover its identity.
Ange gave us that.
He gave us belief, purpose, and a reason to feel connected again.
And now we’re told: “Forget all that — we need to compete on multiple fronts.”
No fan with a brain believes you can build a squad from scratch, compete on four fronts, survive an injury disaster, and win big within two years.
But apparently, the board expects that.
And that’s where fans are left in the cold.
We’re not stupid.
We know when something is building.
And we know when the board is panicking.
Right now, it feels like they’ve just hit the reset button — again — and we’re the ones being asked to pretend this all makes sense.
The Risk Tottenham Hotspur Are Now Taking
This isn’t just a change of manager.
This is a change of direction.
And that’s a risk — a big one.
Postecoglou wasn’t just building a team.
He was building a culture.
A belief system.
A way of thinking.
A way of playing.
A way of carrying ourselves that aligned with how fans want the club to be — front-foot, fearless, and proud.
That doesn’t get replaced with a new face in the dugout.
It takes time.
And the next manager, whoever he is, won’t be picking up a ready-made machine.
He’ll be stepping into a dressing room that’s just seen their leader — the man who got them through the storm and into European history — removed.
What if results don’t come quickly?
What if we start slowly again?
What if players like Maddison, Romero, or Kulusevski begin to question the project?
We’ve seen this film before.
Managers come in with promises.
Then two years later, another reset.
The players get confused. The fans get fractured. The progress disappears.
This is not just a footballing decision.
It’s a philosophical gamble.
You don’t sack a culture-builder unless you’re 100% certain the next man will deliver more — not just different.
More.
Because if he doesn’t…
This club doesn’t just stall.
It slides.
The next manager now must win a trophy or they have failed.
Right or Wrong? That’s Not Emotion. That’s Results.
Forget the spin.
Forget the statement.
Forget the polite applause for a departing manager.
This decision will be judged on one thing alone:
What happens next.
Not vibes.
Not possession stats.
Not how good we look in August.
Trophies.
If the next manager wins one — and wins it quickly — the board will say they were right.
And fair enough… maybe they will be.
But if we fall short again, if we finish 5th or 6th, if we exit Europe early, if all we get is more “transition” talk…
Then this wasn’t a bold decision.
It was a fearful one.
A club once again blinking when it should have doubled down.
A board once again failing to understand what it takes to build something lasting on the field.
Because make no mistake — Ange Postecoglou delivered.
He gave us a trophy.
He gave us identity.
He gave us belief.
And if Tottenham Hotspur can’t turn that platform into something greater…
Then this wasn’t just the wrong decision.
It was a betrayal of everything we said we wanted to become.
Is finishing 4th now more important?
We have achieved success.
And we have panicked.
Are we now trying to avoid success?
COYS
