Manager Watch: Ange Postecoglou

[Boots22]

The rush to play youngsters is understandable but I always come back to that striker we had, whose name escapes me.
He was putting up seriously impressive numbers through the youth teams but ended up at somewhere like Stevenage, before disappearing.
I had such high hope for that lad but for me, he was probably the first example of getting carried away by a youngster putting up good numbers but not being able to carry it into the men's game.

Lee Barnard?

 

[chas vs dave]

And he looked quite decent but let's not forget that all players develop at a different pace.
Just because some managers think a youth of theirs is ready to play in a big game, doesn't necessarily mean that Ange is wrong for not throwing Donley in yet.
For every Rooney, there are several Bostocks.

Yep, we had an English striker who was struggling to make his mark in the championship 11 years ago. Look how that turned out.

 

[spurs9]

was he?

Not exactly the same but not far off and 2 years younger.

 

[McFlash]

Terry Dixon?

No, not him.
It's really bugging me now as to what the fuck his name was!

 

[McFlash]

Lee Barnard?

Yes mate, thank you for that.
For some reason, the only name that kept coming up was Jamie Slabber?!!
Fuck, I'm getting old and decrepit.

 

[Westmorlandspur]

We support Spurs because we love the club and it's either a beautiful thing that's been inherited through family or a chosen love either because of proximity to the area or because it's something you found in your life. Or all of the above.

Winning trophies is the dream, it's the journey we go on as fans. It's what we strive for but it should never supersede the most important thing in football which is the connection you feel with your club, with the clubs identity.

We have never been a club who won loads of league titles and trophies every single year but we've always been a club famous for an attacking style of football, for being pioneers, for being the first to do things, for doing things the right way. And along the way we've had our glory moments too with 2 league titles, 8 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 2 UEFA Cups and a Cup WInner's Cup.

By hiring Mourinho, Nuno, Conte etc we abandoned our clubs identity and motto and this is what leads to alienation among the club itself and our fanbase. The last few years have been, quite frankly, shit to watch and most fans felt no connection with the club.

Winning trophies is HARD. If that's all there is to supporting a club, then most of the 92 clubs and fans in the football league should call it a day and stop bothering. It's even harder these days because entire nations own football clubs and dominate.

I truly believe we can things and I badly want to win things but I want to do it the right way without compromising our identity and beliefs as a club. That way, if we do one day win a league title or a CL, or even an FA Cup, that 1 trophy will have more connection and more meaning than any of the trophies won by plastic clubs like City and Chelsea.

Moreover I don't believe we can win trophies playing shit, defensive football. The Spurs way of playing, having the ball, taking risks, attacking opponents, is far more likely to win us things consistently.

We've just lost 3 games in a row and yet I feel more connected to the club than I have since the CL final. That's because we have a manager and a group of players who actually represent our identity and believe in our motto. That makes me proud and gives me infinitely more belief that we can be successful.

So keep going Ange, get through this tough period. Spurs identity and DNA is in you, we can see it. We are behind you! COYS

Just a point regarding winning a trophy. In the last 10 yrs, of the 30 domestic trophies available, all have been won by the usual suspects….the big 5, apart from league and cup by Leicester.
I was quite surprised by that, It was 2013 when Wigan won the FA Cup. What happened to the magic of the cup.
Its time we broke that stranglehold.

 

[Westmorlandspur]

I'm not saying Ange shouldn't. I'm saying that it's not as easy as just throwing them in because we're light in some positions due to injuries.

As I believe you said in an earlier post, Donley is doing everything right at the moment and he should get an opportunity soon but there is a well-documented risk playing youngsters without making sure you are giving them the tools to succeed. If things go tits up and they (or the fans) feel they are responsible they might never recover psychologically or the fans might never get off their back.

Howe played Miley because he had no one else. That happened with Rashford under Van Gaal

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

The vast majority of modern, successful managers all follow an attacking principle. Even if we give Conte and JM the benefit of the doubt and say it can work, those would be the exceptions and no where near the general rule.

Eh, Juventus have won plenty of titles with a defence first mindset.

To flip that question: how many teams have won a major title with a porous defence? (Not saying we have one).

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

It’s funny, this forum is such a tempest in a teapot.

I have read a LOT of threads, and I do not see the fan base turning against Ange in any way, and yet there are posts and posts and posts about how that exact thing is happening, and everyone is lamenting that some of us are losing faith.

No one is losing faith in Ange. Stop saying it. Stop THINKING it. It’s not real.

Football, more than any other sport (in my experience) , is the 'empire of the strawmen'.

There will probably be some bloke in Munich saying: "and people were saying Harry Kane couldn't cut it in the bundesliga".

Of course, they will never be able to actually point at the person who said that.

Now one ITK says that some youth players are disappointed at game time, and people say "and here we go! 3 defeats and FANS WANT ANGE SACKED".

No one is fucking saying that.

 

[McFlash]

Now one ITK says that some youth players are disappointed at game time, and people say "and here we go! 3 defeats and FANS WANT ANGE SACKED".

No one is fucking saying that

Noone is saying that either, to be fair.

 

[Pistols At Dawn]

Football, more than any other sport (in my experience) , is the 'empire of the strawmen'.

There will probably be some bloke in Munich saying: "and people were saying Harry Kane couldn't cut it in the bundesliga".

Of course, they will never be able to actually point at the person who said that.

Now one ITK says that some youth players are disappointed at game time, and people say "and here we go! 3 defeats and FANS WANT ANGE SACKED".

No one is fucking saying that.

and of course, it's all driven by the media, with their "is the honeymoon over?" narratives.

Ange got dealt a f*cking raw deal these past 2 weeks and we were also SUPER unlucky to lose 2 out of the 3 last games.

Also? Let's see about the youth he brings through in the coming weeks. It's still early days.

Enough, I say! ENOUGH!!!!!

 

[Pistols At Dawn]

Noone is saying that either, to be fair.

no one's saying it, but -- and I can hear their thoughts -- they're THINKING it

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

Noone is saying that either, to be fair.

Mine was obviously hyperbole in jest.

The posters saying it is a "slippery slope", are, unfortunately, not jesting.

And I can quote that one.

 

[eddiebailey]

Lee Barnard?

To be fair he had a lot of injuries at a key point in his career’ I always think there’s a big difference between ‘didn’t make it’ and ‘couldn’t have made it’.

 

[fecka]

Howe played Miley because he had no one else. That happened with Rashford under Van Gaal

Two good examples of when it worked out. Plenty of times it’s gone the other way too.
Ansu Fati now has chronic issues with injuries. Bojan Krkic the same. Gavi just suffered an ACL. There was that Man City wizkid 15 years ago too who quit football at 22.

 

[Trix]

Two good examples of when it worked out. Plenty of times it’s gone the other way too.
Ansu Fati now has chronic issues with injuries. Bojan Krkic the same. Gavi just suffered an ACL. There was that Man City wizkid 15 years ago too who quit football at 22.

There are literally hundreds of times it's worked out, and times it hasn't.

I'll ask again because as yet everyone that has disagreed and replied to my take on this have completely avoided (which by the way is because questions are being asked by players, agents and even coaches at the club) why only 8 on the bench that included 2 keepers????

 

[djhotspur]

Eh, Juventus have won plenty of titles with a defence first mindset.

To flip that question: how many teams have won a major title with a porous defence? (Not saying we have one).

Defence wins titles

 

[fecka]

There are literally hundreds of times it's worked out, and times it hasn't.

I'll ask again because as yet everyone that has disagreed and replied to my take on this have completely avoided (which by the way is because questions are being asked by players, agents and even coaches at the club) why only 8 on the bench that included 2 keepers????

Hence the word risk. Not saying it shouldn't be done, just stating that it sometimes isn't as straightforward as just chucking them in.

Regarding your question, it's anyone's guess really. There have been a few suggestions in this thread but without asking Ange it's difficult to know really. There were 3 U21s on the bench if you include Veliz and my personal guess is that those were the only ones who made the cut (and were available). Ange has mentioned a few times that he doesn't do handouts so it could be him just taking a stance and letting the U21s know that if they want that spot they need to work for it. Santiago & Phillips are injured but I'd assume they would have made the bench otherwise. Aside from them, I can think of only Lankshear and Jude as potentials but I don't know if they were available for selection. I can't really think of anyone else in the U21s who's shown enough (at least in the games I've seen).

 

[-Afri-Coy-]

Eh, Juventus have won plenty of titles with a defence first mindset.

To flip that question: how many teams have won a major title with a porous defence? (Not saying we have one).

How many European titles have they won in that time though? They’ve been beaten by more progressive, attacking tactics every single time they’ve stepped into the knockout rounds of the UCL.

As a whole, Italian football follows that defence first mindset but it’s still an exception to the general rule that modern, successful teams all employ some form of an attacking/progressive style of play. Although There will always be one or two exceptions to every rule.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

and of course, it's all driven by the media, with their "is the honeymoon over?" narratives.

Ange got dealt a f*cking raw deal these past 2 weeks and we were also SUPER unlucky to lose 2 out of the 3 last games.

Also? Let's see about the youth he brings through in the coming weeks. It's still early days.

Enough, I say! ENOUGH!!!!!

There always has to be a story…