Manager Watch: Ange Postecoglou

[Trix]

I'll bet you my framed Kelly Brook pube against a fiver that he is. Not conveyor belt style, but the odd one here and there.

I wouldn't say he's identifying them, but I'd bet a bollock he's listening to others he shouldn't and then pushing that opinion onto the recruitment team. Especially when he see's value in it.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

It's funny how all through the Summer every signing we brought in Ange was out the in press conferences telling us how long he'd wanted them, and as such posters on here were happy with them "because they were the ones Ange wanted". Now apparently he was not getting what he wanted and that's why we are struggling.

My concern with Ange when it comes to recruitment is more that he does want certain players but those players don't actually suit the role he wants them in or the system in general.

 

[carpediem991]

I wouldn't say he's identifying them, but I'd bet a bollock he's listening to others he shouldn't and then pushing that opinion onto the recruitment team. Especially when he see's value in it.

Yes I imagine that too. I can imagine his opinion on some deals is driven purely out of a financial point of view and that is likely an issue sometimes. Still I refuse to believe he comes up to Lange, Paratici and Ange and says, whatever you work on, I just ordered a brand new Timo Werner.

 

[Trix]

My concern with Ange when it comes to recruitment is more that he does want certain plays but those players don't actually suit the role he wants them in or the system in general.

I've said it all the way through, I'm not so sure just how much he wanted Solankie, despite saying he'd wanted him for months. I just don't believe he was his number one choice for CF same as Odebert.

 

[Yantino]

I've been fully behind Ange throughout and I want to back him and see through a rebuild with time to allow that to happen. But after last night's team selection, the way we played, the subs etc even I'm now beginning to question him.

That was poor and concerning on numerous levels. To go to Coventry, a team that SHOULD have beaten Utd last season, after what happened in the corresponding fixture last season and make that many changes with a back 5 that's never played together before just doesn't sit right with me. The manager has talked in the early days about the players finding a level that they always perform at. It was about as far from that as you could get last night.

I'm concerned.

 

[Cambridge Spur]

At the end of the day scoring seems a real struggle and look at the quality of chances we',re giving up most games.

Thats not sustainable and its Ange's job to find the solutions even if he has to compromise his tactical set up.

Unfortunately this has been true of all of our managers year after year.

We will not buy players who fit a system absolutely perfectly. Obviously I want us to but we need to come to terms with how Levy operates and so does the manager.

I’ve constantly backed Ange and want him to succeed but unfortunately it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out, mainly because of his inflexibility, just like the others.

I’m all for a system and identity but his stubbornness will ultimately be his downfall.

This is on Levy though, surely this discussion is had at an early stage? We continue to employ managers who are very single minded in their approach.

 

[Trix]

Yes I imagine that too. I can imagine his opinion on some deals is driven purely out of a financial point of view and that is likely an issue sometimes. Still I refuse to believe he comes up to Lange, Paratici and Ange and says, whatever you work on, I just ordered a brand new Timo Werner.

All I'll say is we have 15+ players and staff members(including Ange) on the books all repped by CAA Base, and I refuse to believe it's because they are all the best options we could get for the role they have.............

 

[Styopa]

Yes I imagine that too. I can imagine his opinion on some deals is driven purely out of a financial point of view and that is likely an issue sometimes. Still I refuse to believe he comes up to Lange, Paratici and Ange and says, whatever you work on, I just ordered a brand new Timo Werner.

I can't remember exactly but didn't Poch imply in his book that Sissoko was Levy's signing, and Poch had little or nothing to do with it? Conte certainly implied the same about Spence.

Sissoko in particular was an expensive buy at that time.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

we have 15+ players and staff members(including Ange) on the books all repped by CAA Base

That's a farce. Let's face it.

In anything statistical, whenever you see anything that indicates a clear over representation, it's a fairly clear indicator of intervention.

It doesn't automatically mean it's negative, but very clearly something is going on there.

 

[coy-spurs1882]

I can't remember exactly but didn't Poch imply in his book that Sissoko was Levy's signing, and Poch had little or nothing to do with it? Conte certainly implied the same about Spence.

Sissoko in particular was an expensive buy at that time.

iirc Poch wanted Wjinaldum instead and Sissoko was a panic buy by Levy

 

[Rout-Ledge]

Or they just had no intention of competing this season.

It’s this. Club will only think about competing again if we somehow get lucky and a couple of our prospects become world class and we sneak back into CL. Even then, it will be conservative windows that don’t allow us to become truly competitive.

We had a brief but real opportunity to step up into the elite under Poch (and arguably again under Conte in 2022) but we needed to be bold. It didn’t happen then, it won’t happen in the future under this ownership.

 

[coy-spurs1882]

It’s this. Club will only think about competing again if we somehow get lucky and a couple of our prospects become world class and we sneak back into CL. Even then, it will be conservative windows that don’t allow us to become truly competitive.

even with CL money the top management still didn't think about competing

 

[Mr Pink]

Previously, I dont think Ange has come up against enough teams who have counterted his tactical set up as effectively as we"re seeing now.

He's not just up against better teams now, but also better managers.

The fact we dont appear to have the answers at the momemt is inevitably affecting our confidence compounding the problem further.

 

[ethanedwards]

I disagree, thought our business was decent. Not perfect but decent. We certainly shouldn’t be putting in performances like that after 50 games or whatever it is.

Spot on, it wasnt a Saha Nelsen window for sure.

 

[carpediem991]

I can't remember exactly but didn't Poch imply in his book that Sissoko was Levy's signing, and Poch had little or nothing to do with it? Conte certainly implied the same about Spence.

Sissoko in particular was an expensive buy at that time.

Sissoko I don't know, but I would not trust a word said by Conte. With Spence there was also the fact we needed HG players, it can not always what the coach wants or does not. But a manager always need to approve signings and IF this has not happened with a signing that would be a major major issue.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

even with CL money the top management still didn't think about competing

Correct. They won’t take the opportunities when they arise, sadly. And the opportunities to truly make the step up don’t come around very often. They need to be taken with both hands when they come around. We are currently nowhere near competing, and when Levy realises that we are in danger of becoming truly irrelevant he might actually spend some proper money to get us back in the conversation (but crucially not truly competitive).

 

[thekneaf]

It’s mental to compare how good we looked so shortly into his tenure, and 12 months later it all looks so fucking bleak.

Yet its this season we progress in the cup

 

[IfiHadTheWings]

Oh it's all on Levy no doubt. He keeps hiring managers in the same mould without a thought of what they will need or how we will get those tools for them.

I questioned the appointment right at the start because again we've gone for a manger that has very strict beliefs in how his teams have to play. Ange is no different to Conte in that he needs the right tools to make his tactics work and is uncompromising in his way of playing. I keep saying it but I don't think we are too far away from being a really good side, but not by playing this exact way. I'll go back to our great start last season and I likened it to Conte's great run that got us CL. Many fans then were saying how despite the form Conte's football was not sustainable long term and I said the same about Ange's despite us being top of the table. We were ultra clinical, whilst also being very lucky as far as our opponents missing guilt edge chances was concerned.

Every game we play right now looks almost like a carbon copy of the last. The opposition set up the same way because it's easy. As long as you stay disciplined it's a pretty straight forward blueprint to reap success against us, because we are so predictable.

I said when Conte left I wanted an Edie Howe type. In fact I've been championing Eddie Howe since his early Bournemouth days, but that's another story. He's exactly the type we need though. Flexible and able to get the best out of what he has(Spurs fan as well by the way I believe). That's the key here. I don't believe any manager is going to get every player he wants whilst at Levy's Tottenham, so it's about adapting and making what he does have work. He will get quality just not necessarily where he wants it.

All that said I'll reiterate again. I 100% don't want him sacked, I just want him to be a bit more flexible and at times take a more pragmatic approach when it's called for.



As would I, and I' know it's not far from everyone that were happy with the window. I liked what we did personally although of course we could have done more.

I watched him on the high performance podcast a while back and i must say i was very impressed by him.

after Bournemouth he went all around to different clubs and watched training sessions on how other managers set up/train etc and you can tell by his game to game management he is very flexible in his approach and i think in the era of constant tactical adaptations a current manager needs to have this about him to get to the very top.

 

[felmani26]

I've said it all the way through, I'm not so sure just how much he wanted Solankie, despite saying he'd wanted him for months. I just don't believe he was his number one choice for CF same as Odebert.

I don't see how it can possibly be construed that signing one first team upgrade constituted a satisfactory window from Ange's point of view.

His comments from even early on last season when we were riding high in the league he was adamant this was far from what he has envisaged his squad resembling.

Seems to me there's crossed purposes with Ange wanting to build a squad ready to compete now whereas the board are looking at maximising the share price and bring the turnover:wages ratio down to make it more attractive for outside investment.

 

[Cambridge Spur]

To be honest, with how Levy runs the club we’d be better off just bringing managers through the ranks like players.

Any manager that he brings in has his own philosophy which Levy never completely buys into.

I’ll get pelters for this but if Ange goes, I’d genuinely give the job to Mason or the youth team coach.

Edit - Let me be clear, I don’t want Ange gone but with how Levy runs the club, the way in which we appoint managers is doomed to fail.