3 weeks ago
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Former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has delivered a damning verdict on his old club following their decision to sack Thomas Frank
Ange Postecoglou says "curious" Tottenham are "not a big club" following their dismissal of Thomas Frank.
Frank took over from Postecoglou last summer but failed to turn around their fortunes in the Premier League and was relieved of his duties on Wednesday with Spurs 16th in the table.
Speaking on The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast, Postecoglou said: "Having been in that position now twice in the last six months, it's tough.
"You know that he can't be the only issue at the club. It's a curious club, Tottenham. It's made a major pivot at the end of last year, not just with me but with (executive chairman) Daniel (Levy) leaving as well, and you've created this whole sort of environment of uncertainty.
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"There's no guarantee whichever manager you bring in – they've had world-class managers there and they haven't had success. And for what reason? Thomas is walking in and what's his objective, what's the club's objective?".
"If you're going to do such a major pivot, you've got to understand there's going to be some instability there. Did Thomas know he was walking into that? I don't know."
Postecoglou was dismissed despite securing the Europa League, and he maintains that a mismatch between Tottenham's declared ambitions and their readiness to back managers in the transfer market lies at the core of their continuing difficulties. "They've built an unbelievable stadium, unbelievable training facilities but, when you look at their expenditure and particularly their wages structure, they're not a big club," he stated.
"I saw that because, when we were trying to sign players, we weren't in the market for those players.
"When you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is 'To Dare Is To Do' (the club motto), and yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that. I think they didn't realise that, to actually win, you've got to take some risks.
"I felt like Tottenham as a club were saying, 'we're one of the big boys', and the reality is I don't think they are."
The Australian, who was also dismissed by Nottingham Forest this season after a particularly short tenure, acknowledged the club's 'Spursy' reputation and confirmed there is indeed a deficiency of winning conviction.
"One hundred per cent there is, and that was the thing I was trying to break," he remarked.
"And then you break that by winning something and what do you do? You tear it all up and you go again. And it's not because it's me, but what are you trying to achieve?".
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