As a lifelong Tottenham Hotspur fan, I’ve seen a fair few managers come and go from the North London club.
Despite my British heritage, I have lived in Western Australia for the last 15 years, meaning early mornings and late nights watching Spurs on television for more than a decade.
Football is not the main sport in Australia and as such you miss the incessant buzz the Premier League has back at home – most people aren’t fans of the game.
[
Click to subscribe to the podcast ](https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondTheBackFour?sub_confirmation=1)
But, this all changed on June 6, 2023, when Ange Postecoglou became the first manager to be hired by a Premier League club, my club, Tottenham.
Daniel Levy and Ange Postecoglou at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Inset of Tottenham badge.
Credit: Richard Heathcote/Visionhaus via Getty Images
Postecoglou engages Australian public
After Postecoglou’s appointment, English football became unavoidable in Australia, with intense interest in how the former Celtic manager would fare in the Premier League.
The blissful start of 10 games without defeat had Tottenham fans the world over convinced Postecoglou could bring success to the club – and people Down Under intrigued.
However, once things start to head sideways, and then firmly downhill last season, plenty of Spurs fans started to abandon their support for the Australian – but I stood by him for as long as I could.
This was partly due to my affinity for my new ‘home’ in Australia and also because I believed Postecoglou, given time and more funds to recruit new players, could change the DNA of the football club and have Tottenham competing for major honours season-on-season.
Last season’s Premier League campaign was tough viewing as Spurs lurched from defeat to defeat, but I continued to place my faith in the Australian.
However, it was 45 minutes at Goodison Park earlier this year on January 19 that changed my mind and forced me to jump to the ‘Ange Out’ camp.
Woeful performance at Goodison
Tottenham turned up at Goodison Park to face Everton in January after a North London derby defeat and low on confidence.
I wasn’t confident of a win but was mortified by a first half in which a modest Everton side made Spurs look like a Sunday League team.
The hosts were 3-0 up at half-time and it really could and should have been a bigger margin, as Tottenham were woeful and completely outplayed.
Goal for Everton.
🔵 3-0 ⚪️
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 19, 2025
View Tweet
Two late Spurs goals may have put gloss on the scoreline but wasn’t enough for me to continue to back Postecoglou – I’d seen enough.
With Tottenham returning to Merseyside on Sunday afternoon to face Everton again, it will be a yardstick to see how far things have improved under Thomas Frank.
Frank needs a win
Frank has made Tottenham harder to beat, more compact, more solid defensively and a more pragmatic side since taking over in the summer.
He clearly is an astute manager and most Spurs fans will surely see he will be a success if given time.
Thomas Frank during Tottenham Hotspur v Wolves in the Premier League.
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
However, under the Dane, Tottenham have lacked penetration in the final third, looked laborious in possession at times this season and have not played the type of attacking football the supporters want to see.
Frank’s team face an Everton side better than the one that comfortably beat Spurs in January and the visiting manager will be desperate for a win to keep early season momentum going.
It will have to be a very bad day at the office for Tottenham to be as poor this time round as they were in January and hopefully a positive performance – and a victory – will act as a marker of improvement since Postecoglou’s nightmare at the start of the year.