Ange Postecoglou’s mad tactics have put the fun back into Spurs
Postecoglou’s decisions, both on the pitch and off it, are an example to every other Premier League manager – particularly Mikel Arteta
November 7, 2023 4:06 pm(Updated 4:07 pm)
Perhaps Ange Postecoglou is a Monty Python devotee. Nine-man Spurs evoked against Chelsea the best of the limbless combatant of Black Knights renown, who, having lost both arms and legs in a sword fight, screamed at his triumphant assailant: “Come back here you yellow bastard…take what’s coming to you. I’ll bite your legs off.”
Who would not want Postecoglou managing their team? “If we go down to five men, we’ll have a crack,” he said in response to the insane high-line against Chelsea’s rampant attackers presented by his reduced team. Some interpret his commitment to an unapologetically expansive vision as a reason why Spurs won’t win the Premier League. The fans who applauded the players off the pitch following a 4-1 defeat appear happy to take the risk.
Having suffered the stifling visions of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is feasting on a wild meld of Pep and Klopp. Ultimately fans want to see their team gear up and have a go. Postecoglou’s mad ambition feeds the delicious anticipation of supporters who go to games not to watch their teams nick a win but to be lifted from their seats by goals going in. And it’s working.
The defeat to Chelsea was the first of the season and not without its mitigating factors. Even so Spurs sit second with 11 matches gone, a point shy of Manchester City. There are a few million fans of Manchester United around the globe who would take that over a circumspect team in the grip of inertia.
City, under Pep Guardiola, have changed the way we see the game. Attractive, possession-based attack not only hits the spot aesthetically, it has proven the most effective way to win, overwhelming the counter-attack practiced by prior generations.
Postecoglou’s template is a Klopp-Pep blend, eschewing possession for its own sake by advancing at pace in a more direct formation. It is exhilarating to watch and until the red card oblivion against Chelsea had been unbeatable.
The loss to injury of James Maddison, arguably the buy of the summer alongside City’s steal, Jeremy Doku, and Micky van de Ven is a test of Postecoglou’s seemingly limitless positivity, but a part of the reality with which all teams must contend. Postecoglou has, after all, been dealing with the departure of Harry Kane all season without a diminution in output.
The Australian has imbued his players with a confidence that has them believing all matches are winnable, and backed this up with attacking selections, reclaiming Yves Bissouma from the bench in tandem with Pape Matar Sarr over the more prosaic charms of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp.
The deployment of Italian power unit Destiny, or should that be Intensity Udogie as an attacking left-back compliments the equally committed Dejan Kulusevski on the right.
This has radically changed the mood around Spurs and might yet prove more resistant than the reluctant pundit class are prepared to allow. Spurs were a Son Heung-min shoelace the wrong side of the VAR line from taking a 2-0 lead before the game blew up. These fractions won’t always be against them, and even if they do come in a rush, Postecoglou’s relentless zeal protects Spurs from the defeatism and negativity that might otherwise catch fire.
The maturity of his post-match observations about the impact of VAR and the erosion of referees’ authority were even more significant, notwithstanding his own booking for dissent during the Chelsea defeat, a contradiction some jumped all over in their rush to score a point.
Postecoglou’s argument about the damage done to the game by the refusal of participants to accept the judgment of officials rises above his own shortcomings.
There is no equivalence between Postecoglou’s touchline reaction with that of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s adolescent refusal to accept via VAR Newcastle’s questionable winner at St James’ Park, a fit of pique compounded by Arsenal’s written submissions to the refereeing body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), demanding urgent action of refereeing standards.
Pin this to the white board in every dressing room in the Premier League and let it be the basis of the review for which Arteta has called.
“You have to accept the referee’s decision, that is how I grew up,” Postecoglou said. “This constant erosion of the referee’s authority is where the game is going to get – they are not going to have any authority. We are going to be under the control of someone with a TV screen a few miles away. The decision is the decision. In 26 years I have had plenty of bad decisions, I have had plenty fall in my favour. It is what it is.”
And this after shipping four at home against a fierce local rival. Give the man a standing ovation and referees the respect they deserve.
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