The Ange Show Is Cancelled

But Tottenham Hotspur were right to make a change.

By Patric Ridge

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"I'll leave you with this: all the best television series, season three is better than season two."

Those were the words of Ange Postecoglou, speaking to the Tottenham Hotspur fans as the team paraded through North London in the wake of their Europa League triumph.

Spurs had beaten a poor Manchester United side 1-0 in the final, and Postecoglou had delivered on his promise of “always” winning a trophy in his second season.

Ange Keeps His Promise, But What Promise Do Man Utd Have?

Yet a couple of days later, Spurs lost 4-1 at home to Brighton in their final match of a dismal Premier League campaign.

That heavy defeat sealed a 17th-place finish. Spurs were never in danger of getting dragged into a relegation scrap, but it’s also fair to at least suggest that it was mainly down to the shockingly bad levels of the three teams that did finish below them, all of whom were relegated well before the end of the season.

Indeed, Spurs’ 22 defeats is the most a team has suffered in a single Premier League season without being relegated.

This excellent article from Opta Analyst details how it was Spurs’ worst finish in the top tier since the 1976-77 season, which is when they last went down.

Had Spurs lost the Europa League final, then in all likelihood, there would be no argument. Postecoglou would have been out of the door and even those who believed his style of play would eventually drag Spurs to the top, would have been hard pushed to argue the Australian’s case.