Daniel Levy’s Ange Postecoglou dilemma is ultimate head vs heart debate… he simply must think like a Tottenham fan

HE wears a chip on one of his shoulders, his heart on his sleeve and a winner’s medal around his neck.

Ange Postecoglou is one of the most fascinating men in football and his boss, Daniel Levy, faces a fascinating dilemma over whether to keep him.

GettyDaniel Levy (right) has a huge decision to make over Ange Postecoglou’s future[/caption]

AFPThe Aussie ended Spurs’ long wait for silverware despite a dismal domestic campaign[/caption]

While Levy rarely attracts sympathy, how on Earth should he weigh up a first trophy in 17 years against 22 defeats in one Premier League season – a record number for any team which has avoided relegation?

Before last week’s Europa League final victory over Manchester United, most Tottenham fans wanted Big Ange out.

Yet, having celebrated silverware after so long, the majority are now clearly ‘Ange in’.

And that swing in opinion shows that Postecoglou called it right with his bold approach to the second half of the season — to prioritise the Europa League and largely toss off the domestic campaign.

The most joyous moments of this season have arrived when Spurs, Newcastle and Crystal Palace all ended long trophy droughts, as well as Aberdeen, north of the border.

Because actually winning things – as opposed to finishing as high up a league table as possible – is the essence of sport.

The game is about glory, as Danny Blanchflower famously said.

‘To Dare Is To Do’ says Tottenham’s club motto.

BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK

And the charismatic, prickly Aussie manager recognised both.

Big Ange dared to gamble on the singular glory of Bilbao, over the possibility of finishing mid-table rather than 17th. He won.

Even though last Wednesday’s final was a terrible game between two terrible teams, in which Spurs showed the lesser attacking ambition.

And even though winning a knockout competition tends to do little for a manager’s job prospects – just ask Tottenham’s last trophy-winning boss Juande Ramos, or Erik ten Hag and Louis van Gaal at Manchester United.

Arsenal have finished second in the Premier League for three consecutive years – which is harder than winning the Europa League but nowhere near as fun. And sport is supposed to be fun.

This kind of thinking has become increasingly unfashionable among managers and club owners in recent years.

Postecoglou went against the grain and, in doing so, showed himself to be in tune with Tottenham supporters.

Just as he has been with his consistently brilliant take-downs of the lunacy of VAR, as well as modern football’s obsession with largely meaningless stats. In an industry polluted by bulls**t, Big Ange is the fumigator.

For the gaiety of the nation at large, and certainly for us lot in the footballing media, it is sincerely hoped he remains in post.

Postecoglou’s press conference on the eve of the Europa League final was extraordinary theatre.

At various points during that 20-minute session, Postecoglou was chippy, charming, angry, funny, bullish, touching, wise, petty, proud and scathing.

Which basically meant he was extremely, obviously, human. And while a manager’s performance in media interviews shouldn’t really be important, they are.

As Postecoglou pointed out, Spurs have played 60 times this season, which means he conducted 120 rounds of pre-match or post-match interviews.

He is the frontman for the club.

Levy, like most other Premier League club owners, rarely utters a word in public.

Postecoglou can certainly be thin-skinned. When he cupped his ears to fans after Spurs scored a soon-to-be disallowed goal at Chelsea in early April, it was a significant point in turning supporter opinion against him.

During that press conference in Bilbao, Postecoglou sounded like a man who knew he was leaving.

But the response to the Europa League win — including a turnout for the open-top bus parade which was (probably) visible from the Moon — is making Levy think again and has increased Postecoglou’s confidence that he may be afforded a third season.

Would that be the best decision for Spurs’ future?

After Tottenham’s hungover players were battered at home by Brighton on Sunday, it feels a difficult case to argue.

GettyTottenham have a huge decision to make after ending a 17-year wait for silverware[/caption]

Spurs can’t keep finishing 17th and targeting knockout competitions.

Not least because, with such a mindset, they might well end up relegated.

Tottenham’s league campaign was beyond awful — but then their injury crisis earlier in the campaign was also extreme.

Their record when their first-choice keeper and back four — Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie — play together is excellent.

Tottenham win 62 per cent of games with their preferred backline compared to 38 per cent without.

And during his first season, Postecoglou led Spurs to fifth place, despite the loss of their all-time record scorer Harry Kane.

Now, Champions League qualification has boosted Tottenham’s finances and their desirability as a destination among potential summer recruits.

Levy’s decision will not be easy. It is a classic head-versus-heart dilemma. If Levy votes with his heart, and sticks with Big Ange, he will at least prove to Spurs fans that he has a heart.

And that he is a Tottenham fan at heart, before he is a hard-headed businessman.

Which might not be a bad starting point.

REF’S NO VILLAN

ASTON VILLA’S frustration was understandable after referee Thomas Bramall ruled out Morgan Rogers’ ‘goal’ against Manchester United and Unai Emery’s men missed out on Champions League qualification.

But making a formal complaint over the selection of the ‘inexperienced’ Bramall was daft.

Experienced refs make mistakes, too.

And inexperienced refs only become experienced by refereeing big matches.

Also, it was a mistake by the experienced World Cup-winning keeper Emi Martinez, which earned him a red card and played an equally significant role in the Villans’ failure to make the top five.

GettyEmi Martinez saw red as Aston Villa missed out on the Champions League[/caption]

BOXES GENIUS

GOALSCORING and broadcasting are two ­difficult crafts to master.
Before Gary Lineker, only Jimmy Greaves had been seriously good at both.

No ex-footballers were in the running to succeed Lineker as Match of the Day host.

And the fact the BBC are replacing him with a rota of three journalists — Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates — says much about how he made the show his own over the last 25 years.

Whatever your opinions on Lineker’s social-media posts, at least he never stuck to the tiresome belief that those involved in football, should only ever ‘stick to football’.

Gary Lineker has signed off after 26 years fronting Match of the DayPA

AMORIM HAMMERIN

SHORT of sticking them in the stocks and pelting them with rotten fruit, it’s difficult to know how much more public punishment Manchester United’s players can take.

The sight of these humiliated flops staring awkwardly at their feet in the Old Trafford centre circle, while Ruben Amorim issued an apology for the club’s  ‘disastrous’ season, was genuinely cringeworthy.

And this was swiftly followed by a post-season tour of Asia, to recoup a few million in lost revenues, which knackered players need like a hole in the head.

Nobody involved with United really needed Amorim’s David Brent-like apology.

They just require things to get significantly better,  very soon.

Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]