Tottenham are no longer ‘Spursy’ under Ange Postecoglou – they are the real deal
This is an ode to Ange. Never before, in the Premier League, has a manager had such a rapidly transformative effect on a squad, on a club, on a fan base.
neither during Carlo Ancelotti’s time at the same club nor during Jose Mourinho’s first tenure at Chelsea. neither at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp nor even at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.
The proof is available. Unambiguous and clear. Ange Postecoglou has collected 23 points for Tottenham Hotspur in his first nine games, which is the most of any rookie Premier League manager. Although it’s still a small sample, Spurs have completely changed from the miserable group he took over.
The Spurs returned to the top of the table with a result that, to be honest, was never in doubt, so the pessimism, the burden, and the sourness are gone.
Spurs are as “non-Spursy” as they can be under Postecoglou. Their win this week over Fulham had a certain air of inevitability. The impressive Guglielmo Vicario had to make two outstanding saves against a Fulham team that consistently carried a threat. He even had the confidence to remove his match-winning axis of James Maddison, Son Heung-min, and Richarlison, who left to standing ovations.
Postecoglou walked carefully as he completed a lap of honor among the other players. He resembled the type of world-weary investigator that the 1970s television series were built on with his raincoat and tie. Because of his gruff personality, the Australian always managed to crack the case.
Postecoglou later added, sounding exactly like the officer cautioning his junior colleagues not to cut shortcuts in a crucial investigation, “We took some liberties with the game which I wasn’t happy with.”
“Really disappointed with the second half,” he continued. “Worst 45 minutes with the ball we’ve ever had. I’m not attempting to prove anything. What I saw was that.
I’ve said every week that we still have a long way to go. There has been no modification. From this vantage point, it would be much easier for me to declare that we get along well. We can, however, do better. Indeed, we can.
And how much the Spurs enjoy it. They are adoring Big Ange since at the final horn, they sang Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton as well as Robbie Williams’ Angels. Nearly as amazing as his tireless effort was seeing man-of-the-match Maddison return to the field to sing along to that country and western song.
