Ange sets challenge for 'laid back' Djed Spence as deliberate strategy pays off

[mawspurs]

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou believes England hopeful Djed Spence is playing as well as any full-back in the Premier League but has urged the "laid-back" defender not to settle for his current level.

Source: Daily Express

 

[Twizzle]

his current level is pretty fucking good

 

[Jenko]

I'm guessing it's more about psychology with Jed. Trust the people who know him rather than getting into unwinnable debates about blah...

 

[allatsea]

I'm guessing it's more about psychology with Jed. Trust the people who know him rather than getting into unwinnable debates about blah...

Can't have that some on here know far better than Ange how to handle him.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Always bugs me when footballers who are just naturally comfortable on the ball are labelled "laid back". Same was said of Dele. The only thing lazy about them is that assessment.

 

[garyhopkins]

Always bugs me when footballers who are just naturally comfortable on the ball are labelled "laid back". Same was said of Dele. The only thing lazy about them is that assessment.

That is not how 'laid back' is described in the article. He's laid back personality wise and this has contributed to how he is viewed as a footballer (Farke recently stated that at Leeds he was happy with Djed the player but he didn't fit the type of personality he was striving for at the time to build a winning team). The article explains it using Ange's own words:

"He’s got a really laid-back personality...and sometimes that gives a false impression.
"That laid-back nature also means he won’t be fazed by anything that will be thrown at him. It works both ways. What some people see as maybe a weakness in him, that he looks a bit too casual, but...come game-day he’s not fazed by any challenges thrown to him. I think that’s partly why he’s done really well since he’s been thrown in.

And for the many who felt Spence should have been in the team earlier Ange revealed why he wasn't used sooner and that restricting Spence's minutes was a deliberate strategy to see how Spence would react.

"Of course there has [been a method with Spence] and I’m proud of that, not for me but for us as a club and for the coaching group that we thought there was something there," Postecoglou said.
"Because there was plenty of evidence for us not to go down that track. We’re in the Premier League here, we can’t take too many gambles with what we do, so you’ve got to have a clear understanding over what the road ahead was.

"Look, 99.9 per cent of it was Djed. All I can do is open that door and give him the opportunity, so that’s him. But that 0.1 per cent is us getting him to that opportunity where he feels like, ‘OK, I can give the best version of myself and prove that I belong here’. The credit lies with him and the beneficiaries are us, the football club."
Postecoglou continued: "You try different things, you want to try to get the best out of players or at least get them to be the best version of themselves.
"It wasn't just tough love...I never made it purposefully tough for him and the other guys [on the coaching staff] were very encouraging for him.
"But I wasn't going to give him the opportunity to play, that was the bit I was going to hold back for as long as possible to really test out how much he really wanted it and what he was prepared to do to get that opportunity.
"To a certain extent [he has surprised me]. But I've always kept an open mind about these things. There's obviously a player there, there was never any doubt about that.
"I made it difficult for him, to be fair. I didn't make it easy for him, it's not like I said to him, 'Djed, you're here, we love you, stay'. I purposefully made it difficult for him because I thought that was going to be the test. To see, earlier in the year when he wasn't training or part of squads, how he was training, he was reacting to things.
"And he never got disengaged. He was always engaged and that made an impression on everyone. Me, the coaches, his teammates. And from then on, it's just been all about him.
"All I did was say, 'you've earned a shot at it, here it is," and he's been brilliant."

 

[Donki]

Proababky the most improved player I’ve seen in a he’ll of a long time, nearly shown the door then boom.

 

[Japhet]

Proababky the most improved player I’ve seen in a he’ll of a long time, nearly shown the door then boom.

Not sure about that. I've never seen him play badly for us so couldn't really say he's been greatly improved. Got very few chances to start with, but since the day he got into the 1st XI I think he's been our best player overall, and by quite a distance.

 

[Donki]

Not sure about that. I've never seen him play badly for us so couldn't really say he's been greatly improved. Got very few chances to start with, but since the day he got into the 1st XI I think he's been our best player overall, and by quite a distance.

Was there not questions over his mentality?

 

[Japhet]

Was there not questions over his mentality?

Rumours, but I couldn't judge him on that. I do however wonder if he'd still be sat on the sidelines with question marks over his mentality if Udogie hadn't been injured.

 

[newbie]

Rumours, but I couldn't judge him on that. I do however wonder if he'd still be sat on the sidelines with question marks over his mentality if Udogie hadn't been injured.

It helped

but he was def starting to get a chance before clearly, his exceeded expectations, by that I mean his been Unbelievable, can you think of many better full backs in the Premier League?

I think he emreally suits the way we play, and has a strong bond with Archie they link up very well and are both so calm which has helped him

 

[dj_stu]

Enormous credit to both Djed and Ange. Immense

 

[parj]

Was there not questions over his mentality?

There might have been but whenever he played he looked like he should be playing all the time

 

[Bilko]

He has a bit of berbatov about him.

 

[Jamturk]

A lot of Jamaicans are labelled with this trait and it's stereotypical BS!

 

[Ausp]

A lot of Jamaicans are labelled with this trait and it's stereotypical BS!

It doesn't mean we don't get the job done