Glory's Empty Echo Rings Hollow for Spurs

The renowned saying "the game is about glory" resonates throughout the impressive Tottenham Hotspur Stadium prior to each match, serving both as a rallying cry and the team's guiding principle.
These words came from the legendary Danny Blanchflower, who led Tottenham Hotspur to both the league title and the FA Cup double in 1961. He was a magnetic personality who embodied the sophisticated aura the club aimed to project.
Ange Postecoglou, the Australian manager who guided Tottenham Hotspur to their first success in 17 years by claiming the Europa League, learned firsthand from chairman Daniel Levy just how empty those promises can be through the harshest of experiences.
Following the long-standing Spurs tradition, Postecoglou kept his word by aiming to clinch a title in his second year. However, his success in achieving this goal led to him being let go.
In the statement confirming Postecoglou's dismissal after two seasons, Spurs revealed the new reality by saying: "Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the club's greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph."
To put it differently, success isn’t driven by passion alone. While honor and feelings hold value, they aren’t the primary measures of worth at Tottenham Hotspur nowadays.
Under Levy, glory and emotion alone are no longer sufficient for Spurs, despite the fact that the chairman's sole prior achievement during his tenure was securing the League Cup with Juande Ramos as manager back in 2008.
Postecoglou, justifiably, reflected on his work with "pride".
In a statement he said: "The opportunity to lead one of England's historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime."
When historians recount Postecoglou's tenure with Tottenham Hotspur, they will recall the unforgettable evening in Bilbao during which Manchester United was defeated in a way his detractors insisted he could not achieve—organized, disciplined, strategically adept, and triumphant.
It will also recall a dreadful Premier League season and a 17th-place finish, with 22 defeats and only 11 victories, but Postecoglou's legacy will see him remembered as only the third Spurs manager to win a European trophy after the great Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw.

And this is why there was a strong case for Postecoglou keeping his job, with even the confirmation of his dismissal acknowledging he had established "a great platform to build upon".
Of course Postecoglou had flaws, such as his stubborn refusal to change his high-line, high-risk strategy, even when it was being exposed in his first season, but the Europa League showed he could do it differently, especially when a crippling injury list thinned out.
Many Spurs fans will feel it is right to sack Postecoglou, but others will believe his success earned him the right to a third season, an opportunity to build on the emotional scenes witnessed in Bilbao, then on the streets around Tottenham at the Europa League homecoming.
The team's standing in the Premier League will serve as ' Exhibit A' in the case against Postecoglou, yet it underscores the harsh reality of today’s football landscape where achieving a club's first trophy in 17 years isn’t enough to save your position.
Comparisons will be made with Manchester United's ill-fated and expensive decision to keep Erik ten Hag last summer after they won the FA Cup, only to sack him in October, but they had also won silverware under his predecessors Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.
Spurs, in contrast, were starved of trophies until Postecoglou changed all that. They had no recent history of winning until the Australian arrived following a brilliant spell at Celtic.
Postecoglou achieved something that was beyond those who went before him, illustrious names like Mauricio Pochettino, Mourinho and Antonio Conte, by providing Spurs with the glory they once regarded as their hallmark.
Former England striker and pundit Alan Shearer made his feelings clear on X when he posted: "What a stupid game football is!"
And ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton told Sport: "I would love to know the thought process behind the decision to get rid of him. Is it saying the finance of the Premier League is the be-all and end-all? So finishing fourth or fifth in the Premier League and not winning a trophy is what matters.
"It is like they are morphing into Arsenal under Arsene Wenger at the end, if that's what is important.
"But money over glory sums up the owner, Daniel Levy, doesn't it?
"Nothing surprises me in football any more, so Postecoglou is better off out of it really - and maybe they can go back to being mediocre old Tottenham again now."
Sutton commented, "To bring in a player who delivers trophies for your team only to dismiss him immediately—this encapsulates modern football, doesn’t it? It’s completely crazy."
Levy was the one who seized the microphone at the post-match celebration in Bilbao and proclaimed, "We are champions."
It's been an incredibly long wait since our last European Cup victory in 1984. Today, we've etched ourselves into the annals of history, and I owe my gratitude to Ange and every member of the coaching team, as well as all the players. Together, you’ve become legends.
This is a splendid accomplishment for the club and hopefully sets us on the path we truly merit – which is right at the pinnacle.
If they achieve, or get anywhere near, to that target remains to be seen, but it will be done without Postecoglou, who clearly wanted to carry on in charge.
Levy enjoyed the acclaim Postecoglou bestowed upon him, yet this didn’t prevent him from making a choice he maintained couldn't be influenced by sentiment.
The focus and criticism will now shift back to Levy, who has maintained his consistent pattern of dismissing managers unable to secure trophies by letting go of the very person who succeeded in doing so.
Postecoglou delivered success but discovered that it wasn’t sufficient for Daniel Levy.
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