Bilbao was a glorious blip for Spurs – and that’s why Levy had to sack Postecoglou | Jonathan Wilson

Tottenham chair was not blinded by silverware and decided finishing fourth-bottom of the Premier League was not enough

I

n football, there is always a lot of light and noise. There is always a lot of emotion. That is both its appeal and why it is so difficult for those in the game to make decisions. Ange Postecoglou gave Tottenham one of the great nights in the club’s history when they won the Europa League in Bilbao.

A first trophy in 17 years. A first European trophy in 41. It’s easy to understand why the instinct is gratitude, to hope that somehow victory can be self-replicating, that silverware begets silverware and something fundamental in Tottenham’s being was transformed at San Mamés.

But the question really shouldn’t be how you felt about Postecoglou at 11pm CET on 21 May, but how you felt at 9pm. It makes no sense for anybody to have changed their mind on whether Postecoglou should stay on the basis of a dreadful performance from Manchester United and a goal scrambled in off Luke Shaw’s arm.