High-risk football won't change
High-risk football won't change
It is the same power that Ange Postecoglou has used to make an immediate impact at Hotspur Way over his opening time in charge.
When Postecoglou moved to Japan he couldn't speak Japanese but still had to communicate and get his message across, which he did very successfully. That experience will help him get his messages across to the Spurs players quickly.
“It is probably my best and (most) effective weapon.”
What Postecoglou says in press conferences is very deliberate. He even informed them when he told them he had to establish structures and how we talk.
That had far more meaning than the journalists in the room imagined and probably still unaware of.
Thus far in his career, he has demonstrated tactical acumen, an extraordinary attention to detail, astuteness in the transfer market and man-management skills.
The next few weeks will see who has bought in and who will be moving on.
What happens next was revealed when he spoke in an interview in 2011 about his time a Brisbane Roar.
“At the end of the day I believed in it, and it was a matter of setting the environment and seeing which players and staff fitted in that environment and then try and find people that would take us to the next level,“I had a really clear idea about what I was going to do and I explained it to the players.”
Postecoglou will invest emotionally in Spurs, where he will play swashbuckling, high-risk, high-reward football. It is something fans, journalists, TV pundits and myself, will have to adjust to, but I doubt all will.
The example I'd use is Japhet Tanganga in the first-half against West Ham. He played the ball twice out of defence to a man who was double marked, clearly a plan when I think about it.
If this pivot can play the ball quickly it takes two opposition players out of the game. Lose the ball, as we dud, and we are in danger. It encourages a high press that he'll train our players to play through, something of a weakness of ours for several years now.
This approach isn't going to change, as his time in Japan revealed. In a friendly, in 2019, his Yokohama F.Marinos side had more possession than their opponents, a certain Manchester City!
“The teams I coach believe that if you play this way, you don’t adjust it and you don’t have any fear or hesitation because of the opposition.“I certainly believe there is an avenue to at least challenge not just City, but teams that want to dominate; to take the game to them.”
The sign of a quality sportsman is when the doubters shout, they produce the goods, Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow in this current test match for instance.
Winning mentality comes to the fore then. Postecoglou has demonstrated throughout his career, that hit rock bottom once when he couldn't even get a coaching job.
Everywhere he has changed the game, got people talking about it and moved on. He expects the same at Spurs.
“I’ll continue to try and do things that keep people talking,” that's what he informed the press during his first season in Japan.
He has never compromised on his style, his management or his tactics. Tottenham have needed a manager who can spread their self-belief, which has only happened temporarily with Mourinho and Conte, it needs to extend beyond their timescales.
Postecoglou takes jobs where he feels a club can thrive on his passion and Tottenham looks ripe for his administrations.
It is going to be an exciting time with a Chelsea fan as our boss.
COYS
Below is a series of Ange Postecoglou articles:
- Ange Postecoglou's TV interview with Network 10
- Postecoglou vs Fans
- Postecoglou urges fans to rally behind Spurs
- The Postecoglou message Spurs fans haven't heard
- Postecoglou System + Skill Set
- Ange Postecoglou: Unveiling Tottenham Hotspur's Coaching Vision
Below, a selection of other articles:
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