Tottenham are locked in a ‘win now’ loop with Harry Kane; sell him and put some eggs in Postecoglou’s basket instead…
Spurs find themselves at a crossroads as the new season approaches: out of Europe for the first time since 2009/10, with their lowest league finish (8th) since Harry Redknapp’s debut season, and little sign that they would rebound as swiftly as they did 13 years ago.
Harry Kane appears to be on his way out, with owner Joe Lewis apparently overruling Daniel Levy and insisting on selling his top player if he refuses to sign a new contract. It’s the world’s most ridiculous ultimatum.
Levy has been reminded that he is simply an employee, but he is still in command, much to the chagrin and contempt of the crowd, who blame him for any shortcomings over the last 20 years.
And, oh yes, another new manager is in place with Ange Postecoglou swapping Celtic Park for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Paradise for well, erm.
Thankfully, the big Aussie might just be the perfect man for the task of re-energising a directionless football club and an apathetic fanbase who are crying out for something to dream about.
In truth, Spurs have been meandering since the abrupt sacking of Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019, just five months after he led the club into their first ever Champions League final. And probably even before.
On top of being ex-Chelsea managers (and title-winning Chelsea managers at that), both men are permanently in ‘win now’ mode, which makes long-term building and planning near-impossible, which has been to the detriment of Spurs, who have only gone backwards in the last four years.
Sure, Champions League football was secured under Conte but they exited in the meekest fashion possible against a poor Milan side. So what really was the point?
If you’re not going to win the biggest trophies – and Spurs really shouldn’t, particularly with the state wealth now polluting the Premier League – you may as well play entertaining football and give fans something to get behind. They used to call it ‘the Spurs way’.
If nothing else, it can be guaranteed that Postecoglou will look to do exactly that, with his Celtic side being fast, attacking, exciting and any other adjective which suggests entertainment but not necessarily success.
With players like Son Heung-Min, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison and new recruit James Maddison at the club, it isn’t hard to envisage a positive, front-foot playing style being quickly adopted.
Harry Kane? He is the club’s best player now and probably ever, but it’s now time to let him go. Both for his own career and for a full rebuild to take place at Tottenham.
Through no fault of his own, Kane’s presence again keeps Spurs stuck in that pesky ‘win now’ mode, with Champions League qualification a necessity if they are to have any hope of convincing him to sign a new contract before the end of next season.
This means that Postecoglou may have to sacrifice some of the beliefs and methods which could take time to implement in favour of instant success, which has been Spurs’ ruination in recent years.
A step change is needed. A rebuild and a reboot. Levy needs to swallow his pride and let Kane go, preferably for £100m or more and far away from the Premier League. Give that money, and time, to Ange and see what he can do over the next few years.
The possible departure of Kane comes 10 years on from the sale of Spurs’ last true megastar in Gareth Bale. While lessons should be heeded from who they bought with that cash (apologies to Christian Eriksen but hello to Paulinho and Robert Soldado), it did coincide with the club’s best period of league success since Bill Nicholson’s vintage.
(Just forget the final few months of Andre Villas-Boas (another ex-Blue) and the short stint of Sherwood before Pochettino’s arrival.)
With Pochettino now devastatingly at Chelsea, never have Spurs needed a figurehead who can galvanise the supporters like he did all those years ago; Ange’s motivational and inspiring words will come as a welcome tonic to the dreariness of the last four years on the white side of north London.
