How one trophy in 30 years suggests Tottenham’s issues lie much deeper than Ange Postecoglou

After a 4-3 loss to Chelsea on Sunday, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham tenure hangs in the balance.

The club’s regular cycle of appointing new managers every 18 months has failed time and time again, so what is the real problem?

Since ENIC came in and Daniel Levy took over from Alan Sugar as chairman in 2001, the North London ‘franchise’ have won just a single piece of silverware: the League Cup in 2008 – or as it was known then, the Carling Cup.

Spurs have come close, making multiple finals and reaching the endgame in the Champions League, but never getting over the line no matter who has been in charge.

Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, all successful managers in their own right, were unable to squeeze success out of their limited squads.

But in Tottenham’s latest chapter under their current Australian boss, there has been evidence that they can compete.

Full-time. pic.twitter.com/zjV2kNjudI

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 8, 2024

The 4-0 win over Manchester City, the demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford and the thrashing of Aston Villa have served as the highs of Postecoglou’s reign.

However, those highs have been rare to witness and in the middle of December 2024, with the club languishing in 11th, things are looking as bleak as ever.

Fans have pointed the finger at so many different concerns: the owner, the chairman, recruitment and the manager.

The sad reality of the situation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is that football may no longer be the primary concern of those in charge.

The ‘ENIC Out’ movement

‘ENIC Out’ and ‘Profit Before Glory’ are two phrases you will often see across social media when fans are referring to the ownership at Tottenham.

Joe Lewis was the leading figure of the sports entertainment group before passing on his shares to his children in 2022, with The Lewis Family Trust now holding the majority of the club.

But as United fans did with the Glazer family, the Spurs family have been increasingly critical of those at the very top of the tree in the hope of sparking change.

🚨🥇| The #Tottenham dressing room is behind Ange Postecoglou.

The Spurs squad, even including those who have been in and out of the team as of late, enjoy Postecoglou’s style and training methods@TomAllnutt_ pic.twitter.com/yb0vX0Fmyi

— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) December 9, 2024

Protests against the lack of investment, poor managerial choices and skyrocketing ticket prices have been organised in the past, although none have ever gained significant traction.

Only a handful of people have been spotted outside of the stadium holding flags and sporting purple and gold banners but ultimately failing to gather the attention of the mainstream media and more importantly, the Lewis family themselves.

There has been talk of external investment in recent months, raising hope among the fanbase that a new era may be on the horizon.

Amanda Staveley, formerly of Newcastle and with several connections in the Middle East, has been touted to inject significant funds into the club, although there has been no official word on whether talks are progressing despite being spotted in the stands multiple times this season.

The desire from Spurs fans to replace the owners has perhaps stemmed from jealousy having seen the success of other clubs in the Premier League.

Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa all saw their fortunes change for the better following a change in ownership and the common theme was more investment on the pitch.

🚨🚨| Former Newcastle United co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi are in ADVANCED talks to buy a stake in Tottenham. ⚪💰

[@MirrorFootball] pic.twitter.com/OTTVB3UG92

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) September 30, 2024

Despite all of this, the long and short-term running of the club has never really landed on the shoulders of ENIC or Joe Lewis, but on the man they appointed to the board 24 years ago.

Levy’s Empire

Daniel Levy has transformed Tottenham, for better or for worse.

During his everlasting spell, the club have become one of the most recognisable and profitable brands in the world.

He has built one of the best training complexes on the planet, which is often used by national teams and the Three Lions themselves during the international breaks.

And Spurs attract plenty of tourists to the spectacle that is their stadium, whether it be for football or NFL matches, stadium tours, the Skywalk, concerts or Karting.

But the purists will tell you that is the problem.

Are you

— Billie (@Billie_T) December 9, 2024

The evidence suggests that these distractions have taken Levy’s focus away from winning football trophies and there are arguments for and against that.

In the last 18 months, there has been a focus on reducing the wage bill at Tottenham.

Harry Kane, Ivan Perisic, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso are four examples of high earners at the club who have departed and their replacements have been significantly less valuable.

Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Min-hyeok Yang are all 18 years of age and investments for the future.

Dominic Solanke was the only senior starter recruited in the summer and considering Spurs finished fifth last season, it was never going to be enough to catapult them into contention for major honours or even compete on all four fronts.

Since Levy took up the role of chairman, the Lilywhites have spent £1.5billion on transfers. For some added context, Todd Boehly has forked out £1bn since buying Chelsea in 2022.

Along the way, Levy has raised just under £1bn in player sales by selling some of the club’s greatest players including Kane, Gareth Bale, Kyle Walker, Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric.

Whenever the club have been on the verge of success, they have taken two steps backwards.

The aftermath of the Champions League final saw little to no investment in the squad. Jose Mourinho was sacked days before a cup final.

Antonio Conte was very vocal about the broken promises made during his time as manager and left in a flame of glory – we all remember his explosive interview after drawing to Southampton.

So it is very easy to see why a large majority of Tottenham fans have such a big problem with their chairman.

“Someone else needs to be in charge of this football club” 😳@Carra23 reckons it might be time for Daniel Levy and Tottenham Hotspur to part ways 👀⚪ pic.twitter.com/VXzmiiwv85

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 8, 2024

Now pundits are cottoning on, with Jamie Carragher suggesting Levy’s methods are not paving a path to success when it comes to football.

He said: “They’ve changed so many managers…

“We talk about Daniel Levy a lot. What Daniel Levy’s done here in terms of the training ground and and this for me, this is the best stadium in the world.

Lack of leaders

Away from the politics off the pitch, there are and have always been problems on it.

There is a weak mentality embedded into the core of Tottenham Hotspur football club and that is evident to this day.

Being 2-0 up at home to one of your biggest rivals in Chelsea and then allowing them to score four and win the game is an unforgivable crime in the eyes of Spurs fans.

But the truth is – they are all used to it.

Of their last five cup finals, only one has ended in them lifting the trophy.

“There are no leaders in this Tottenham side!” 😬

The defeat against Chelsea was the 11th time Spurs have lost in the Premier League after being 2+ goals ahead… 😳

… four more times than any other team! 🫣@DFletcherSport #BBCFootball #TOTCHE #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/11C74HghUp

— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) December 8, 2024

Former captain Hugo Lloris recently spoke of the strange moment Levy handed them all engraved watches in the aftermath of the Champions League final and had the words ‘Finalists’ etched onto the back.

And current defender Cristian Romero has now questioned the club’s will to win in a recent interview.

He said: “The truth is, I would say no comment, but… Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn’t do well, strengthens again, and now they’re seeing results.

“Those are the things to imitate. You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it.

“The last few years, it’s always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it’s always the same people responsible.

“Hopefully, they realise who the true responsible ones are, and we move forward because it’s a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year.”

Cristian Romero picks out the real problem at Tottenham. 👀 pic.twitter.com/8qt4cMYl7S

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) December 10, 2024

Since Lloris and Kane’s departure, Heung-Min Son has taken the armband, with Romero and James Maddison as his vice-captains.

But once again there is a significant lack of fight in games. Instead of having a warrior and winner in every position, there are only one or two real leaders at Tottenham.

If they want to win silverware, that must change.

Is Angeball the answer?

Things have been far from perfect for Postecoglou and he is not immune from blame as well.

The facts are that Spurs have lost six of their 15 top-flight games this season, handed Ipswich and Crystal Palace their first wins of the campaign and lost to their two biggest rivals at home.

But the injury plague that has spread through the white half of North London is limiting the potential of this side.

Inconsistency is the word being thrown around by the Australian head coach and he has proved that he can coach his team to a very high level, just not as often as fans would like.

“Ange Postecoglou is currently under no pressure” 🗣️

Reporter Michael Bridge discusses Ange Postecoglou’s future with Tottenham in 11th after seven league defeats ⚪ pic.twitter.com/PkKwXDtUIm

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 10, 2024

There are issues with his management. Substitutions and stubbornness when it comes to adapting his tactics during games to close out a win are two issues that have been highlighted but many fans will also tell you they have not enjoyed watching Spurs (at their best) this much in years.

Considering his attacking philosophy and the way he handles himself in the media, Postecoglou has laid the foundations of success during his short spell in charge so far.

But he needs backing, and not just with youth prospects.

The January transfer window may be make or break for the former Celtic boss.

If he can attract some top talent to Tottenham and help turn their season around in 2025, there are bound to be more impressive results like against City on the horizon.

But whether he can translate the odd big win into consistent success and ultimately silverware, is still very much unknown.