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The business of football often works in strange ways, and a recent example of that can be seen in what’s happened to Ange Postecoglou.
Leading Tottenham to their first major cup success in 17 years – the 2024/25 Europa League – wasn’t enough to stop Daniel Levy from sacking him shortly after that triumph back in May. And here we are just a few months later, and Levy has left the North London outfit whilst the Australian has been announced as the new man in the Nottingham Forest dugout.
Had things been different, Ange would have been leading Spurs into the Champions League, though he will oversee a European campaign at his new club (albeit in the Europa League), giving him a chance to win back-to-back titles with different clubs.
Forest fans will certainly have to brace themselves for a much more attacking team this season. Where Nuno Espirito Santo got the best out of his squad by playing a counter-attacking game brilliantly, Postecoglou’s modus operandi has always been about taking the game to the opposition, come what may… except in the Europa League final, as it were. Football is all about results, however, and whilst injuries obviously played a part in Tottenham’s poor Premier League campaign in 24/25, the refusal to play a way that was more in-keeping with grinding out a win is ultimately what undid all of the good work that underscored Ange’s beginnings in North London.
Though the 60-year-old has extensive managerial experience, it’s more pertinent to highlight his time in England. For a start, Postecoglou won 47 of his 101 games in charge domestically and in Europe. 29 of those were at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where his name was sung heartily week in and week out, at least until Spurs started slipping down the English top-flight last season.
184 goals scored would generally be seen as a positive in terms of attacking intent; however, when coupled with the 157 conceded, it doesn’t make for great reading.
A win percentage of 51.2% in his first season dropped significantly to 41.5% in 24/25, though this was against the backdrop of that Europa League success – granted, a success that came despite Postecoglou being without a number of starters and experienced heads for long periods of the campaign.
