Ange Postecoglou will always be a beloved figure around Tottenham Hotspur for his candor, charisma, willingness to play exciting attacking football, and, most importantly, a Europa League title triumph that was their first European trophy in more than 40 years.
But whlie there were a lot of positives, Big Ange was also a tactically weak manager who failed miserably at Nottingham Forest immediately after his dismissal as Spurs manager, and his ideas on the pitch were quickly exposed and outmaneuvered by superior coaches in the Premier League. His tenure is perhaps made more sweet in hindsight by the sheer futility of his successor, Thomas Frank.
There was a common refrain during Postecoglou's Tottenham tenure that Spurs were 17th in the Premier League and performed worse than they would have because they were so focused on giving their all in the Europa League.
Tottenham should not have to settle
Well, this season, a far superior manager, someone closer to the level of coach Spurs should be aspiring to hire, has rubbished that point. Unai Emery, the master of the Europa League, has conquered the title once more for himself as the manager of Aston Villa, and his Lions finished fourth in the Premier League, ahead of such clubs as Chelsea and Liverpool even - and far ahead of where Spurs are in this bizarrely entertaining season of the English top flight.
Emery's Aston Villa and Postecoglou's Spurs were in similar positions just a couple of years ago, competing with each other for Champions League spots. Now, they are in vastly divergent situations, with Ange Postecoglou now in punditry while Unai Emery is still competing for - and winning - silverware with Villa a solidly top four club in the Premier League.
This idea that Tottenham Hotspur could only settle for one major competition or could only perform in either the league or in Europe was such an utterly ridiculous notion that only a few almost cult like supporters of an individual were perpetuating, and Emery's success at Aston Villa is a sobering reminder that Tottenham can - and should - be demanding to achieve more.
There is no reason why one of the 10 richest clubs in the world with a supporter base as ardent as Spurs, with their stadium and history, cannot be contending for one of the top spots in the Premier League while competing further ahead for European trophies. Now, Spurs are a moot point since they won't even be in Europe next season, but for future reference, Villa are a reminder to this club that settling for less is never the right answer.
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