It all went Pete Tong for Tottenham’s once-beloved Aussie in the 2024/25 season following a promising debut campaign, with their Europa League triumph not even enough to save him from the chop.
Ange Postecoglou’s exit has been coming for an awfully long time. The injury crisis excuse has fallen on deaf ears, and it has not come close to justifying a dismal season with 22 Premier League losses in 38 games.
Spurs’ run in the Europa League has been the only saving grace in an otherwise disastrous campaign that realistically should have involved a relegation battle, but Daniel Levy is wisely opting against copying Man Utd’s Erik ten Hag mistake (following a warning from Jamie Carragher) of giving a manager more time based purely on a one-off performance and cup triumph; a change in the dug-out was the best course for club and head coach.
When Ange-ball has worked, Spurs are tough to match. But that has become increasingly rare and his refusal to adapt undermined Tottenham’s domestic season, with their weak defence constantly exposed.
Postecoglou will inevitably need to take a step down post-Spurs, but his full-throttle approach will appeal to certain Premier League owners if they are left searching for a new manager. With that, here are five potential next moves for the former Tottenham boss…
Leeds UnitedMarcelo Bielsa is still adored by the Leeds United faithful as they yearn for the good ol’ days of having the iconic Argentinian and his bucket in the dugout.
Bielsa’s remarkable success at Elland Road has been to the detriment of his successors at Leeds United as none have connected with the fanbase in the same way.
This is even the case with Daniel Farke, who has overcome a fair few hurdles to secure Leeds United’s return to the Premier League at the second time of asking.
Leeds were deserving of promotion as they had the best squad in the Championship this season, but they still have a mountain to climb next term, so they were right to consider replacing Farke ahead of their Premier League return.
This would be a particularly cut-throat call, but Leeds were wise to at least consider such a drastic decision amid Farke’s dire Premier League record with Norwich City, which admittedly was impacted by a lack of investment in transfers.
With the funding of 49ers Enterprises, Leeds will certainly back Farke more than Norwich City, but they will need to get more decisions right than wrong to buck the trend and stay up. It’s hard to see him lasting long next term if they have a poor start, as the ‘sack manager’ panic button would become more enticing with post-promotion doubts to quickly resurface in the next campaign if they do immediately struggle at the bottom.
Postecoglou will surely get a mention as a Bielsa-esque vibes appointment, which would be supported by the Elland Road faithful.
But they could do with going for a manager who’s a tad more pragmatic than the under-fire Spurs boss to help them achieve their ultimate aim of survival, with Leeds risking a repeat of Bielsa’s second Premier League season if they appoint Postecoglou when in such a precarious position.
READ: How Leeds and Burnley can survive: sack Parker, risk transfer points deduction and sign Eriksen
EvertonDavid Moyes’ feel-good return to Everton has had the desired effect as the first win of his second stint at Goodison Park – 3-2 vs Spurs on January 19 – sparked a huge upturn in results and performances as they have marched to Premier League safety.
Still, Everton’s immediate future is clouded in uncertainty. While the internal noise indicates Moyes is their man beyond this season, this could easily change in a heartbeat.
Moyes bringing the good vibes back to Everton has secured safety, but there are concerns that his pragmatic playing style is too similar to that of Sean Dyche. This may ensure his return is shortlived as their new owners pick a manager to overhaul the playing style and kickstart a new era. Mate.
READ: Who will be the next manager of Tottenham after Ange Postecoglou?
AFC BournemouthAlternatively, there could be a straight swap with Premier League rivals Bournemouth involving Postecoglou and a contender to replace him, Andoni Iraola.
The Spaniard’s reputation has rapidly risen since replacing Gary O’Neil as he’s made those who questioned Bournemouth’s decision to sack the supposed deep-thinking tactical genius look incredibly daft.
Bournemouth slipped out of the Champions League picture during the run-in to come ninth, but a top-half finish still constitutes a great campaign, especially considering Iraola handled his side’s injury woes much better than Postecoglou.
As Spurs have discovered, it’s hard to find a team perfectly tailored to Postecoglou, but the potential switch from Iraola to the Tottenham chief is not too dramatic as Bournemouth’s preferred XI could make his system work.
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SouthamptonPostecoglou was dismissed too late to take over from Ivan Juric, the last Premier League manager to be sacked this season who has fallen on his feet to land the Atalanta job.
The Croatian was on a hiding to nothing at St Mary’s and his inevitable exit was formalised shortly after their relegation. He inherited a squad nowhere near Premier League level; dropping to the Championship with a whimper was certain with him or Russell Martin in the dugout.
While recently promoted Championship sides (barring the odd example) have been hopeless in the Premier League, they will have much more fun after relegation and expose the quality gap between divisions by appearing a level above the rest of their rivals.
Still, Juric’s replacement, Will Still, is set to come under immediate pressure to achieve promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Should he become a victim of Southampton’s post-relegation blues, Postecoglou’s attack-or-bust approach makes him a natural fit for a title contender, so a drop to the Championship with a top-six budget side could be a wise next step for the Aussie if he attempts to replicate what he achieved with Celtic.
CelticInstead of Postecoglou replicating what he did at Celtic with Southampton, he could just return to the Scottish giants for a second spell.
Brendan Rodgers felt he had to take a step back to eventually move forward after his sacking at Leicester ended his hopes of joining Spurs, so he decided to return to Celtic.
Rangers’ woes are making life pretty simple for Rodgers, who may eventually get bored and return to a mid-table Premier League side to maintain the Celtic merry-go-round before Postecoglou follows in his footsteps.
Celtic are far superior to their league rivals and can afford to get away with adopting Postecoglou’s style without being punished as regularly as Tottenham in the Premier League. They would still get found out in the Champions League, mind.