Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the future appointment of Ange Postecoglou as their next manager. The club have appointed 11 permanent managers in chairman Daniel Levy’s tenure and are looking to get back to their ‘DNA’ that they have strayed far from.
Since sacking ex-manager (and now Chelsea boss) Mauricio Pochettino in 2019, the North London club has employed defensive-minded managers, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte – which brought little success.
Levy, whose decision-making has been highly questionable at times, is under immense pressure from supporters and has looked to hire the ‘next’ Pochettino – he might have done just that with Postecoglou.
What will the newly appointed Ange Postecoglou bring to the North London club?
Who is ‘Big Ange?’
The 57-year-old has had a much different managerial journey compared to most in the Premier League. Born in Greece, he grew up in Australia and has become an icon for the nation down under. He has managed sides on three different continents: Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory in Australia, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan and up until recently, Celtic in Scotland. He also becomes the first ever Australian to become a Premier League manager.
Posteglou has touched silverware everywhere he’s been as head coach. Just this past season, he led Celtic to their record eighth treble. Although the Scottish Premier League doesn’t exactly measure up to the English top flight, the reactions from Bhoys fans says everything there is to know about him. Additionally, Brighton were reportedly interested in appointing him after Graham Potter left the club.
In addition to club management, the new Lilywhites boss also has experience on the international stage. He was in charge of the Australia national team and guided them to 2014/15 Asian Cup glory, but was largely unsuccessful at the 2014 World Cup.
What Type of Football Will He Bring?
The Australian strives to deliver entertaining and attacking football for the fans, which will be music to his new fanbase’s ears. In multiple interviews, Postecoglou has said that his football philosophy stems from wanting fans to enjoy his side’s football to escape from their day-to-day problems. Attacking, front-foot football is something that has been missing in N17 since the prime Pochettino days.
In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, Postecoglou remarked: “As I said to the players, we had 60,000 in tonight and I’m sure a lot of them walked in with some problems in their life. For this 95 minutes we made them forget that and feel good and that’s something special.”
His teams historically score goals galore as his most recent Celtic team scored 114 goals in 38 games. This isn’t exclusive to Scotland however; at Yokohama Marinos in the J-league, his side scored 68 goals in 2019 (when they won the league title) and 82 goals in 2021 when they finished second. His teams have also been sound on the back end while scoring plenty of goals. It will be interesting to see whether the Australian can transfer this style of play to the daunting Premier League.
His Tactics
Postecoglou’s preferred formation is the 4-3-3. While Tottenham will look to rebuild their squad this summer, there are certain players already in the squad that could slot right into the 57-year-old’s side. Center-back Cristian Romero, who struggled last season, should benefit from playing in a team that keeps more possession instead of defending for large parts of a match.
The same can be said for Yves Bissouma who struggled to stay fit. Dejan Kulusevski and Hueng-min Son would also benefit from playing on the wings, further up the pitch. If Harry Kane does stay at Spurs this summer, it would be hard to imagine him not fitting into the side. If the Englishman departs, Richarlison would get plenty of opportunities to shine after a season that saw him score just once.
If the squad are to play the attacking football their new coach envisions, major defensive upgrades will be needed at the back. Current captain Hugo Lloris looks likely to leave the club this summer while centre-backs Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies could be up for sale. Tottenham conceded 63 goals in 2022/23, which was the sixth-most in the entire league. If reinforcements are brought in, entertaining football very well could be on its way back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou Might Not Be an Exciting Choice – But Instead the Right One
Before proceeding to appoint Postecoglou, Tottenham were heavily linked with popular managers such as Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and Pochettino. They were also linked with not-as-popular names Arne Slot and Ruben Amorim. Given how the last two popular coaches have fared at Spurs, choosing to go with an under-the-radar manager in Postecoglou could bring the club back to where they need to be.
There has been a lack of culture and identity in the North London team ever since the Argentine was dismissed. Jumping to different managers constantly hasn’t helped and their new hire could be the one to help reset the club for the long term.
However, it would be unreasonable to expect him to succeed straight away. Unlike the short-term plan that was in place with Mourinho and Conte, Tottenham supporters and the club hierarchy must have patience along with better recruitment. While they have spent more in the transfer market than they usually have, many have made the case that they haven’t spent wisely.
Perhaps instead of spending big on a few players, Levy and co. may look to recruit in a way they used to before – signing young, talented players to fit within the club’s identity instead of forcing managers to make do with what’s available.
While Postecoglou may seem like an underwhelming appointment, something that must not go unnoticed is the fact that he will relish the opportunity to manage a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues. He, unlike most managers in Europe or South America, has had to work a little harder to earn the opportunity to become the newest head coach in North London. This comes as a great sign to Spurs supporters as most felt that Mourinho and Conte were looking down on the club and were not all that interested in connecting with the fanbase (to be fair to Mourinho, he didn’t have much time to bond with the fans during lockdown).
A couple of years from now, the Lilywhites choosing to go with Postecoglou may be seen as a masterstroke by Levy if all goes well, or it could be seen as another irrational footballing decision by the Premier League’s longest-serving chairman. Nonetheless, the new coach has earned the opportunity to manage at a club like Tottenham Hotspur and will need patience and time in order to change the club’s trajectory.
Featured Image
