Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has induced many eye rolls around the grounds during the 2024/25 season, because he has an awful lot to say for a manager who is currently commanding Spurs to a historically poor 17th-placed finish in the Premier League - a feat so pathetic that it seemed impossible even during the darkest ages of Spurs sides past.
Postecoglou is hanging his hat on a Europa League Final appearance against Manchester United, which, while a big deal, is not yet a trophy won. Nor have Tottenham been truly tested in the tournament, beating an Omar Marmoush-deprived Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarterfinals and minnows Bodo Glimt in the semis.
Yet as David Ornstein and other top English transfer journalists weigh in with consistently pessimistic updates regarding Postecoglou's future, likening him to Erik ten Hag for Manchester United last season, Big Ange can't help but be his biggest fan and bang his own drum, portraying the false calmness that only a man more obsessed with the word "mate" than tactics can.
Ange Postecoglou has a point behind the madness
In his latest media faux pas, Postecoglou, as relayed by journalist Chris Wheatley, is claiming that his "future is assured", "My future is assured, mate. I wouldn't be the first person who changes jobs. I've got a beautiful family, a great life. I'll keep on winning trophies until I finish - wherever that is. Don't worry about my future."
Although Postecoglou obviously has a point about living a good life with his family and still competing for trophies even without Spurs, the point is so obvious that it's almost nauseating. Of course a millionaire is going to enjoy his life. And of course, Postecoglou should. But to say his future is "assured" in the wider context that everyone is discussing his future as it pretains to the Tottenham job is quite absurd.
Postecoglou's job is far from assured, and his ability to compete for trophies higher than the level of the Europa League is even less assured. At the same time, Postecoglou's bizarre claim to job security has two kernels of truth in it.
The first is, again, the obvious one, and that is that Postecoglou can be personally and professionally successful without Tottenham Hotspur, with the professional success necessitating perhaps a less ambitious definition of what success in football means.
But the second is more concrete, and that is that Postecoglou can be the manager who delivers a major trophy to Tottenham by winning the Europa League on Wednesday. For all the inane press conferences, horrible losses, atrocious tactics, misuse of young talents, and general quackery that has gone on at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this past 12 months or so, Postecoglou can lay claim to an honor above what his peers achieved with Spurs. And that, along with his success in his personal life, has to be respected, even by the staunchest of his critics.