Time is running out for Ange Postecoglou. If his Tottenham side fail to reach the Europa League semi-finals with victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, he will almost certainly not be in charge for the 2025-26 season. He may be lucky to even reach the end of this current campaign.
No party wanted it to end this way. After Postecoglou's first few months in the job, it seemed inconceivable we would reach this place. There was a time when 'Ange-mania' ruled the country and his Spurs side briefly resembled football's Harlem Globetrotters. Alas, that feels like a generation ago now.
Postecoglou previously outlined his confidence in bucking the trend of Tottenham's recent failures by declaring he always wins trophies in his second season. Yet he now stares down the same barrel that took out the likes of Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Mauricio Pochettino. Three of those names were carted out the back door and supporters were glad to see them go, but one stands out still to this day as the outlier.
Pochettino's sacking in November 2019, less than half a year after he guided Tottenham to their first-ever and only Champions League final - a phrase still mental to see, write, hear or say - is still contentious among fans and critics alike. There's no doubt the Argentine's message in the dressing room wasn't being received the same way and he appeared burnt out on some level, admitting before that defeat to Liverpool in Madrid that he would stand down from the job if Spurs were crowned champions of Europe, but it was the first sign of trouble the club had really run in to during the majority of his five-year stay.
What's more, Pochettino was open to returning in 2023 when they instead changed path and picked Postecoglou, while he has spoken lately of his desire to come back to Tottenham. Spurs thought they had closure of this chapter with the early success of the Australian, only to now find themselves in a more visceral crisis than ever. It feels as if the last two years have been wasted.
