Manager Watch: Ange Postecoglou

[newbie]

But who will be the Tottenham Two?

No idea ask the Ghost

 

[greaves]

No idea ask the Ghost

The Ghost scares me.

 

[easley91]

Its going to be DIY analogies all day isn't it lol

 

[newbie]

The Ghost scares me.

tbh I get a bit intimidated by his knowledge and sex appeal as well

 

[mil1lion]

I would have expected a wrestling one from you

 

[Ghost Hardware]

where do you think we need to strengthen To help Ange?

Radu and Ben have looked ok, we should get CR and mickey back soon.

I agree re Radu and Ben. I do think we need another player that can play CB tho as we are one injury away from Gray at CB at present and both Romero and VDV are partial to an injury but I completely agree Radu and Ben have been very impressive.

In defence the most pressing need is very much LB and from a squad building perspective a LB that can also play LCB would give us extra cover whilst also not taking an extra registration spot. However if the links to Khusanov are accurate then that doesn’t seem to be the avenue we are taking. Or it’s just early succession planning for Romero who will probably be off at the end of the season if he doesn’t renew as Levy won’t want him going for peanuts.

In general I think we desperately need a top quality WF, a replacement CF for Richy (who should go), a back up GK to replace Forster (end of season), a DM to replace Biss (contract running low), a rotation LB and personally I’d like another versatile creative attacker like Beana or Millot who can can play central and wide.

Obviously that is not going to happen in Jan plus in order to bring all those in we would need to move some on. But in general that is roughly what I think we need. Short term you could even make an argument for needing two quality wingers but I doubt that happens with Odebert, Yang and Moore waiting in the wings (sorry not sorry)

In regards to Jan I think realistically getting a technically gifted attacker that can put a defender on the back foot and create an opening plus a LB would help a lot. Not too unrealistic ether I feel. I don’t see us spending large amounts on ether position so we are going to need to be clever here. Dreams of Marmoush or Gittens are just unrealistic unfortunately. Really I’d like two attackers now but that isn’t going to happen (unless Richy leaves which is unlikely given his injury) as they tend to cost a lot so one is probably the best we can hope for.

 

[brendanb50]

I'm sure he would have preferred Neto and Eze for 110m over Yang Gray odobert bergvall for 90m or at the very least a combination of profiles

Again, don’t disagree fully. A better blend would have been nice and most would have said that at the end of summer. Additionally it’s very easy to say would you swap x for y but we’re both those deals 100% doable? Thats without addressing form and fitness issues we seem to be having problems with.

The key point I would argue that those two options, as much as they’d have added more X11 quality are not enough in terms of the numbers we need to grow, with how we play; we needed (and still need) more bodies - capable of adapting to and improving into the system. We don’t have the budget to do that all with £50-60m players and even less so when one of our options is injured (take Richarlison as an example). So long story short, I get your point and I don’t doubt Ange wants more quality but I’d argue we still need a blend and time to do this in a viable way.

 

[easley91]

I would have expected a wrestling one from you

It was there but felt like going a different route. I'll stick to what I know best from now.

 

[Westmorlandspur]

Such a simplistic view. It's just completely unlucky to have missing all of those players at the same time which is the crucial reason.

Judging by Ange quotes and the fact we had basically 0 links with another second choice goalkeeper by 3 transfer windows, that would suggest he's ok with Forster as 2nd choice. With our current squad and HG rules, he would also need to be replaced by another homegrown player, and there isn't a lot of option to choose from that would be willing to sit on the bench and be real upgrade from Forster. Also judging by Ange qoutes about Brennan I doubt that dribbly winger was as big priority as SpursCommunity thinks in reality.

We don't have one left back, that's Ange choice that he doesn't want to use Reguilon there who is good and had successful loan at Brentford and would be one of the backup left back itl.

This isn't FIFA, we have Richarlison who is under contract with us, he didn't want to leave Spurs to play in Saudi Arabia. Should we not register him at all or just release him from contract? Again, it's just completely unlucky to have him, Odobert and Moore injured at the same time while Son and Werner also had some problems before so Ange couldn't rotate that much.

We had only two games when we had Son, Solanke, Brennan, RIcharlison, Werner and Kulusevski in matchday squad, and we won them both 4-1 against Villa and West Ham

Doesn’t need to be replaced by a HG player in the prem lge squad . Would only apply in the Europa.
Plenty of room in the PL squad.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

He’s on track to end up as another fall guy, in this never ending cycle.
Nothings ever going to change, until the people above change.

Save your breath..There ain’t going to be any imminent changes at the top, so we unfortunately have to accept this begrudgingly.

 

[bubble07]

Again, don’t disagree fully. A better blend would have been nice and most would have said that at the end of summer. Additionally it’s very easy to say would you swap x for y but we’re both those deals 100% doable? Thats without addressing form and fitness issues we seem to be having problems with.

The key point I would argue that those two options, as much as they’d have added more X11 quality are not enough in terms of the numbers we need to grow, with how we play; we needed (and still need) more bodies - capable of adapting to and improving into the system. We don’t have the budget to do that all with £50-60m players and even less so when one of our options is injured (take Richarlison as an example). So long story short, I get your point and I don’t doubt Ange wants more quality but I’d argue we still need a blend and time to do this in a viable way.

My thoughts are that the bodies come after we establish the first team players

 

[13VanDerBale13]

Save your breath..There ain’t going to be any imminent changes at the top, so we unfortunately have to accept this begrudgingly.

Oh I know trust me, it’s like watching the same movie over & over again

 

[eddiev14]

Such a simplistic view. It's just completely unlucky to have missing all of those players at the same time which is the crucial reason.

Judging by Ange quotes and the fact we had basically 0 links with another second choice goalkeeper by 3 transfer windows, that would suggest he's ok with Forster as 2nd choice. With our current squad and HG rules, he would also need to be replaced by another homegrown player, and there isn't a lot of option to choose from that would be willing to sit on the bench and be real upgrade from Forster. Also judging by Ange qoutes about Brennan I doubt that dribbly winger was as big priority as SpursCommunity thinks in reality.

We don't have one left back, that's Ange choice that he doesn't want to use Reguilon there who is good and had successful loan at Brentford and would be one of the backup left back itl.

This isn't FIFA, we have Richarlison who is under contract with us, he didn't want to leave Spurs to play in Saudi Arabia. Should we not register him at all or just release him from contract? Again, it's just completely unlucky to have him, Odobert and Moore injured at the same time while Son and Werner also had some problems before so Ange couldn't rotate that much.

We had only two games when we had Son, Solanke, Brennan, RIcharlison, Werner and Kulusevski in matchday squad, and we won them both 4-1 against Villa and West Ham

Entitled to your opinion mate. I stand by my view that the owners are consistent in failing to provide the investment in a squad that will push us to the next level. This has been the case with every manager who has got close to challenging.

You are always going to get injuries and Ange himself admitted that the way we play leaves us open to more risk of them. We’re now in the Europa League and he basically can’t rotate. If Reguillon is a back up LB, why hasn’t he played? He isn’t. We couldn’t shift him, just like we couldn’t shift Richarlison.

I think you’re reaching if you think Ange didn’t want a top class winger. Of course he did, he just wasn’t offered one

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I agree re Radu and Ben. I do think we need another player that can play CB tho as we are one injury away from Gray at CB at present and both Romero and VDV are partial to an injury but I completely agree Radu and Ben have been very impressive.

In defence the most pressing need is very much LB and from a squad building perspective a LB that can also play LCB would give us extra cover whilst also not taking an extra registration spot. However if the links to Khusanov are accurate then that doesn’t seem to be the avenue we are taking. Or it’s just early succession planning for Romero who will probably be off at the end of the season if he doesn’t renew as Levy won’t want him going for peanuts.

In general I think we desperately need a top quality WF, a replacement CF for Richy (who should go), a back up GK to replace Forster (end of season), a DM to replace Biss (contract running low), a rotation LB and personally I’d like another versatile creative attacker like Beana or Millot who can can play central and wide.

Obviously that is not going to happen in Jan plus in order to bring all those in we would need to move some on. But in general that is roughly what I think we need. Short term you could even make an argument for needing two quality wingers but I doubt that happens with Odebert, Yang and Moore waiting in the wings (sorry not sorry)

In regards to Jan I think realistically getting a technically gifted attacker that can put a defender on the back foot and create an opening plus a LB would help a lot. Not too unrealistic ether I feel. I don’t see us spending large amounts on ether position so we are going to need to be clever here. Dreams of Marmoush or Gittens are just unrealistic unfortunately. Really I’d like two attackers now but that isn’t going to happen (unless Richy leaves which is unlikely given his injury) as they tend to cost a lot so one is probably the best we can hope for.

Nailed it.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

The thing is the project is more or less fairly on track, AS LONG AS WE GIVE ANGE 4-5 NEW FIRST TEAM PLAYERS ACROSS THE NEXT 2X WINDOWS.

That I think is where everyone's current fear is, we can accept an up and down 'growth' and 'progress' season this season with some deeper cup runs and another say EL league finish but if Ange gets given another 2-3 youngsters and say just 1 'Solanke' level signing next summer and none in Jan then we will be going nowhere fast, the inconsistency will remain, impatience and frustration will grow, the project will go stale and we all know how the story ends.

If it wasn't for the fact that Levy/ENIC have zero track record of ever giving a manager what he actually fully needs to compete to WIN then most of us would be a lot more relaxed and would be thinking that we just need more time and a few more transfer windows to get to where we need to be.

I said it in summer and saying it again now, Ange and this project will success or fail based on the next 2 transfer windows.

I don't expect too much this January but we could really do with 2 our of 4 of:
-New young back-up GK
-LB
-CM quality reinforcement ideally someone who has an engine and can create a la Kulu, so we don't only rely on him all the time
-New top quality winger option

Then in summer we get the other 2 of the above plus:
-CB
-DM
-ST

Its not a hugely complex plan really and wouldn't require an enormous transfer outlay but it would require us to up our game a tad on wages and to move a few more players on.

The above plus more time to further develop the likes of the below and we should then find much more consistency in performance and have enough quality and depth to compete to win on all fronts, lets see if it happens or not:
-Vicario
-Porro
-VDV
-Gray
-Udogie
-Bergvall
-Moore
-Yang
-Odobert
-Lankshear

Fingers and toes crossed Ange gets the backing he needs over the next 2 windows but buckle in for the next few weeks maybe even the next 2 months as our squad is being stretched to the limit right now so results will be up and down.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

A huge problem for us and Ange was Richy not wanting to take the Saudi offer, that has left us with a £60mil asset who is seriously injury prone which we couldn't sell this summer to free up budget and a squad space to bring in a better suited and much more reliable and available striker/attacking player.

Add to that injuries to Odobert and illness to Moore plus Bentancur's league ban meaning Kulu is having to play even more than intended and we have a limited set of very tired attacking options which effects our press and effects the consistency of our attacking play which means we get draws and losses in games we should and probably would be winning with a fully fit squad.

 

[parj]

I really don’t get this rationale, Kulu needed a rest or he’s going to get injured, so you wanted Ange to risk injuring arguably our best and most effective player this season, that doesn’t seem sensible at all.

As for Lankshear he’d barely make a difference.

I think at time Ange could tweak the tactics which tbh he seems to have done so more often this season, however in terms of squad management and rotation I’d say he’s been doing his absolute best with that in what is a very different balancing act, especially now in this period with no:
Vicario
Romero
VDV
Bentancur (Europa only)
Odobert
Richarlison
Moore (not that we should be relying on him anyway but Ange was giving him very solid minutes for his age)

The only one I’ve found strange is his reluctance to rest Porto and give Spence a go, perhaps he will do that midweek so Porto is fresh for Chelsea.

The only way to know if Lankshear could make a difference is to give him a run of meaningless minutes. Otherwise, why bother with the youth team? No point in thinking players are good enough if they don't get a chance

 

[Crowedem]

which

This

 

[spurs9]

My feeling is Radu will be the Romero replacement and Khusanov (or another), Davies and Vušković will be the back up's next season. If Radu wasn't given Romero's spot, if he does leave which I think is probably likely if he doesn't extend, then he will also want to leave which is fair enough. He is most certainly good enough to be a regular starter just a question of his suitability for our system.

Re Khusanov, very very briefly as this isn't the scouting thread nor the transfer forum, he is right footed but a complete natural at ether LCB or RCB. He is having a very strong start to season, he is fast, reads the game incredibly well (well beyond his years in this regard) hence his high interception stats and is a poised tackler although he does go to ground a little often in the games i've watched of Lens. He also has good passing range, his long ball in particular is strong and his technique here is on point. He is the defensive rock at the heart of a very good Lens back line that has only let in 12 goals so far this season which is one more the PSG (who have let in the least) and the same as Monaco. The caveat with him is his close control and ball playing ability needs work plus this is his first real season as a starter for Lens, he only came in to the team towards then end 23/24 and before that he played in Belarus.

He looks a very exciting prospect but is still a prospect with limited high level experience and one that still needs time to develop especially regarding his possession game. As our 3rd/4th choice CB he'd be fine especially if we are retaining Davies for another season. There is also the point that although Khusanov can comfortably play LCB and RCB he cant play LB. He is a pure centre back, not a hybrid. The reality is tho that he will probably be cheaper then someone like Hato who would likely be a better all round fit for us (especially in possession) BUT i do think defensively especially Khusanov is an exciting talent and most importantly he is a very intelligent, hard working and focused player. And Hato isn't without his question marks as well, he is younger then Khusanov and although very comfortable in possession isn't the fastest.

There is no doubt Khusanov's limited ball playing ability make him less then a perfect fit for us regarding possession and build up but defensively he could be extremely helpful. Anyway, sorry for derailing the thread but just wanted to give some context as you mentioned him and he has been linked by reliable sources so there is probably some truth to our interest.

I think the real question re defence will be can Radu take over from Romero full time and if we feel he can't then will we replace him adequately. We don't need the rotation LCB/RCB to be a top level addition but Radu (or an other) needs to be at the level to be a starter for us IF Romero goes.

The overall point you make regarding the how/who we replace our most influential players is a very relevant and important one. We have an abysmal track record in this regard and I am still yet to be convinced that Lange is the right man for the job. It isn't helped that i also have my doubts about Ange's talent ID. At least with Paratici here, even if he didn't get everything right, had a very good track record and the connections to make things happen. I haven't seen anything from Lange in the past or present to make me think he is the right man to help us achieve our goals especially if we have to work on a budget.

I know it is unlikely we do much business in a Jan but I must say, I do think the success of that window could have a significant effect on Ange's future here. So far we are just about muddling through but given the intensity of how we play injuries could well start getting worse in the second half of the season. I'd be rather surprised if the likes of Kulu, Porro and Udogie didn't burn out at some point for example.

I'd be surprised if Davies/we extended his contract.

 

[GioW]

I'd be surprised if Davies/we extended his contract.

Jack Pitt Brooke broke the story last week that the plan is to extend Davies' contract