One Club, Two Sackings

When it rains, it pours.

The club was suspiciously quiet to start the off-season, but the past two weeks have seen a cavalcade of news shaking up everything from the coaching staff to the boardroom at Tottenham Hotspur. And there are still transfer decisions to be announced for both senior teams, so we have that to look forward to (I say hopefully, despite knowing we could be in for some real heartbreak).

In this issue: Manager talk | Transfer talk | News from around the Lane | Kit room

I guess I'm finally following through on my resolution to take this newsletter less seriously during the off-season, because this is far from a timely issue. Whatever, it's here now! The 2024/25 season recap is also quite delayed, but will be out eventually.

After touching on the biggest news, which is obviously the sackings of both senior team managers, I'll round up the latest transfer updates and club news, then close things out with a trip to the kit room—or perhaps I should say the training ground.

Manager talk: Sackings edition

It's official now. Both Ange Postecoglou and Robert Vilahamn have been sacked from managing Spurs Men and Spurs Women, respectively. Postecoglou's departure was announced on Friday the 6th, while Vilahamn's exit was confirmed on Sunday the 8th. If we want to get granular, the former was "relieved of his duties" while the latter "has left the club." Another interesting detail from the statements was that Postecoglou's firing was a unanimous decision from the board.

I'll analyze these firings chronologically, so let's start with Ange.

Ange Postecoglou

I actually did want to wait a couple of days before writing about Postecoglou's sacking because I had genuinely conflicting feelings about it, but I think I have settled back on my conviction prior to the emotional complication of seeing Spurs Men win the Europa League; that is to say, we needed to move on from him regardless of the outcome of the final.

Indeed, if we're being totally honest with ourselves, the victory that's going to live long in our memories because of the catharsis that came with it was not the result of a stellar game of football. Sure, there were some stellar moments (Brennan Johnson's determination to score even in the scrappiest manner, Micky van de Ven's heroic goal-line clearance, and Guglielmo Vicario's game-winning save), but there's an easily imaginable universe in which those fine margins didn't go in our favor and we were left with a loss, no trophy, and a wholly an irredeemable season.

In that alternate timeline where we lose the final, the choice would have been very clear, so it wouldn't make sense for the outcome of one game to override the reality that Postecoglou's overall record wasn't good enough for a club of Tottenham Hotspur's stature in the end. That record included 47 total wins and 39 total defeats in 101 matches across all competitions. And therein lies the rub: Ange was not adept at balancing the demands of multiple competitions, a task that was going to become even more difficult next season with the increased caliber of teams we would face in the Champions League versus the Europa League. The injury crises (because it happened in both of his seasons in charge) can excuse some of the results, but not all.

Postecoglou undoubtedly goes down as a cult hero in the history of the club by virtue of leading the team to its first trophy in 17 years. And at least he gets to leave on a high note, while the incoming manager doesn't have to inherit the pressure of the trophy drought. It's a short legacy for Ange, but an important one.

Going forward, one of the most salient concerns is how we regain that momentum from the EL win—if that's even possible. But as Postecoglou noted in his farewell message:

We have also laid foundations that mean this club should not have to wait 17 more years for their next success. I have enormous faith in this group of players and know there is much more potential and growth in them.

For all the angst over the current state of the squad, I tend to agree that we have a real core of talented players who, crucially, are not even at peak playing age yet. And the one upside to the severe injury crisis this past season is that many of those young players got a kickstart to their development because of their unexpectedly heavy game time.

I don't necessarily buy into the idea that we're going to see a mass exodus of players who were loyal to Postecoglou, but it's true that some who were already considering a move may be more incentivized to leave now.

I get the sense that the fanbase isn't particularly excited about any of the rumored manager targets for the Men's team because they're seen as "lateral" moves and not a marked improvement over Postecoglou, but at the same time, it's not a good reason to hold onto a manager whom the club had ultimately decided wasn't a good long-term fit. We would all like to see some longevity in the manager position soon, but it can't be continuity for continuity's sake.

Robert Vilahamn

All right, this one is much more straightforward. Vilahamn had fully lost control of the ship that is Spurs Women. Beyond the tactical and game management concerns (of which I had many), there were some credible rumors that he had lost the dressing room as well as the cooperation of some staff. It was never going to end well if he stuck around for another season.

It's a pity to see his two-year tenure (the same as Ange's) come to such a lackluster conclusion, with the team finishing 11th in the Women's Super League table just a year after reaching its first-ever cup final. Although the degree of squad turnover wasn't anything unusual compared to seasons past, the team just never seemed to find any chemistry with the new additions, and all of the improvements to the playing style from last season fell by the wayside. It was also frustrating to see several players seemingly go backwards in their development, while there wasn't a single returning player that you could reasonably describe as having improved. While it's true that Vilahamn wasn't set up for success with the squad investment (or lack thereof) in the two transfer windows this season, it's fair to say he wasn't getting enough out of the players he did have to work with.

I could understand the delay in making a decision on Postecoglou, but it shouldn't have taken this long to let Vilahamn go. I personally would have made the change midway through the second half of the season when it became clear we weren't seeing any growth, especially since Vicky Jepson had previously proven to be a capable interim manager. We're fortunate that relegation was never a real threat and that indecision didn't cost us.

While it's impossible to avoid making comparisons between the two sackings because of their similar timing, it really was a distinct situation that Vilahamn faced this season. Although there were a few significant injuries throughout the season, he had a much healthier squad to draw from for his team selections and still managed to make some baffling choices, not to mention those frustrating in-game substitutions. The only game I can think of where he made a truly game-changing substitution was when he brought on Olivia Holdt for her club debut; she won the game for Spurs with a brilliant free kick goal. Otherwise, it was difficult to say that any of his changes made a measurable impact on the match outcomes. More often, the games had already been lost based on the initial lineup and tactics.

Much like with the Men's team, there doesn't seem to be a clear-cut replacement for Vilahamn. But the club could not afford to persist with him and risk the performances and results continuing to stagnate. The rest of the WSL is not standing still.

That doesn't mean the Vilahamn era was without its achievements, albeit not of the trophy kind. They were more so achievements of firsts: the first NLD win, the first cup final, and the first Lionesses call-up for Jess Naz. These were victories of morale for a team that is still in up-and-coming status, much as we would like to be further along the journey to challenging the top teams by now. But it's true that, for a time, Robert helped us believe that better days were coming for Spurs Women. Now he must pass the baton.

I don't have any more information than any of y'all on who the next manager might be, which is to say, zero information. As much as I get exasperated with the constant rumor mill churn in men's football, it would be nice to at least have an idea of who some of the candidates are. You may recall that Vilahamn's own hiring came as a complete surprise. Whoever it ends up being, they have a tall task ahead of them.

Transfer talk

Just two items to note this week:

• The club took up the one-year contract option for Ben Davies, extending his deal until 2026. There is still some transfer interest around Davies, so this doesn't mean he is for sure staying at Spurs next season, but it does guarantee that if he leaves the club, it will be for a fee. If he sticks around for another campaign, he'll be a valuable source of experience and mentorship for the young squad.

• On the opposite end of the experience spectrum, Reiss Elliott-Parris has signed his first professional contract with the club. The forward has primarily featured at U18 level but has a few appearances with the U21s.

News from around the Lane

• Donna-Maria Cullen is stepping down from the Tottenham Hotspur board, having served for nearly 20 years.

• Ryan Mason has been appointed Head Coach of West Bromwich Albion. This departure is definitely softened by the fact that he was involved in the coaching staff that helped win the Europa League title, a reward for his many years of service as both player and coach.

Best of luck to Ryan at West Brom, and hopefully he can facilitate a loan or two for one of our promising Academy players!

• Spurs Women alumna (and Northern Ireland legend) Rachel Furness has retired from football. She scored our first-ever goal in the WSL. Enjoy retirement, Rachel!

• I'm not going to cover the international breaks in any great detail (there is, somehow, still too much football despite it being the off-season), but there were two new call-ups that should at least be noted.

• Archie Gray was called up to England for the Men's U21 Euros.
• Araya Dennis joins the England squad for the Women's U19 Euros.

And one fun fact from the men's international break: Ben Davies has now earned the third-most international caps for a Spurs player during their time at the club, surpassing Harry Kane. He trails only Son Heung-min and Hugo Lloris.

I witnessed the Mauricio Pochettino USMNT era live and up close last night in Nashville, and the less said about how that's going, the better. And no, we do not want Johnny Cardoso to join Spurs.

Kit room

I know these designs are finalized ages in advance of the teams actually wearing them, but man, do I wish Nike had a little more faith in our ability to win the Europa League and had cooked up something befitting of European title winners. Instead, we have...

2025/26 Home

... a glorified training shirt.

This is a warmup top. At best, it's worthy of a rare "fourth kit" distinction, to be rarely worn, if ever, by the actual players—more marketing ploy than official team gear. It is not the kind of shirt we should be wearing to compete in the Champions League.

Sigh.

This is, frankly, what I get for being so bored by last season's home kit—which is still not an inspired design, but at least now has the distinction of having been worn in a victorious final. It's grown on me a little in that sense. This season's kit is going to take something very special to achieve a similar, begrudging respect.

On the positive side, it's not ugly! The central badge placement is tastefully done, thanks to the Nike swoosh also moving into the center. And it's easily recognizable as a Spurs kit, although it's hard to mess that requirement up with the standard white home shirt.

Every year, I yearn for some fun design details to spice up the inherent subtlety of our lilywhite and navy primary colors, and every year, I am disappointed by Nike's lack of creativity. It is what it is.

My grade: C

As a side note, I know some fans were a little disgruntled with the launch video in light of Ange Postecoglou's subsequent sacking, but I thought the "you may now kiss the badge" bit at the end was cute and cleverly done. Football support truly is a "for better or worse" situation, let's be real.

We are getting Change for Tottenham, one way or another (this is just a joke, not an endorsement).

I don't want to end the issue on that sassy note, however, so check out this beautiful fan art of Sonny:

COYS

Thank you for reading!

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