Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs itinerary for the Perth tour begins with the ‘greatest hurdle’ of them.

July 15, 2023 admin Tottenham Hotspurs 0

Ange Postecoglou's
Ange Postecoglou's

The Australian head coach’s first official match in charge of Tottenham Hotspur is in Perth, Australia, of all places – and with it, the opportunity to effect long-term change

With each passing week, Ange Postecoglou’s list of “firsts” as Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach becomes longer.


Edmond and Ange
Edmond and Ange


In June, he signed a four-year contract, making him the first Australian manager in the Premier League. Then he spoke to the club media for the first time, followed by his first training session at Hotspur Way on July 1.

Postecoglou’s first news conference occurred after one week of pre-season training, and it was a typically spectacular performance from the charismatic Australian.

On July 18, he will take charge of the Premier League side that finished ninth after a tumultuous 2022-23 season, the club’s worst performance in 14 seasons.


That first game will take place at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia. It’s a friendly versus London rivals West Ham, and Postecoglou will be there to oversee it.

The new manager has promised drastic change at Tottenham throughout his tenure, with his aggressive, attacking, and entertaining brand of football set to break the mould of Tottenham’s previous three leaders: Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo, and Antonio Conte.

As Postecoglou prepares his charges to join him to Australia, a few essential items on his pre-season to-do list have emerged.

Ange Postecoglou's
Ange Postecoglou’s

1. Destroy the tactics book
Tottenham’s club motto is “to dare is to do,” yet tactics have far too often allowed opposition sides to initiate the “doing” under the club’s previous three permanent managers – Mourinho, Espirito Santo, and Conte. Tottenham have been a reactive side for the majority of the time since Mauricio Pochettino’s departure; at their best, their counterattacking abilities were unstoppable, but towards the conclusion of last season, their style had become predictable and uninspired.

Postecoglou will immediately set out to fix that. And the club’s fans will be watching with bated breath as the first opportunity to see it in action comes on Tuesday against West Ham.

“I’ve had a lot of success in my career, but it’s also been done on the back of playing a certain way,” Postecoglou stated during his first press conference as Tottenham manager.

“I daresay one of the most important factors in the club appointing me was that they saw that, and that’s what they want.” So that’s what I’m going to try to do.

“In terms of fan expectations, that appears to be the right fit for the club.” They want to see their teams – what we call ‘entertain’ – win football games, score goals, and be entertaining. They don’t want to see their team relax.

However, it will not be an easy undertaking, and genuine change cannot be implemented immediately. Postecoglou warns that reprogramming a squad that has been conditioned to think reactively rather than proactively for several seasons will be one of the most difficult jobs he faces in the early months of his reign.

2. Either bed in Harry Kane or prepare for his departure.
Spurs fans breathed a sigh of relief as Harry Kane returned to pre-season training on schedule. It was one encouraging indicator in the midst of the uproar over his future and strong ties to Bayern Munich.

Whether he stays or moves in this transfer window is still up in the air; Kane has only one year left on his Tottenham deal, and the club could risk losing their top player for free next season if he runs it down.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, on the other hand, is striving to persuade the England captain to sign a new contract with the club. Postecoglou simply cannot afford to have the circus continue into the pre-season, and will want the matter handled as quickly as possible so that, whether he stays or departs, he has a solid reality to deal with in planning for the seasons ahead.

One aspect of Postecoglou’s arrival that could persuade Kane to stay is that the team is trying something new. The pre-season tour kicks off in Perth, overlapping with Kane’s vital first days back with the team.

When speaking to the press for the first time, Postecoglou was unsurprisingly pressured for many answers about Kane’s future.

“I haven’t had any assurances (about his future) – and I wouldn’t expect any assurances because, again, with these kinds of things, you’re never dealing with definites, or certainties in anything in life,” he said.

“It’s just in my nature to go along and try to concentrate on what I know right now – and what I know right now is that Harry is part of the squad and he’s looking forward to coming back to training, getting amongst the players back here, and we start working together.”

“If I spend too much time worrying about the impact it might have either way, I’ll miss out on trying to build a team, which is ultimately what will make or break us.”

Kane is one of 31 players who have confirmed their participation in Postecoglou’s Perth visit.

3. Free James Maddison

Postecoglou’s arrival means a change in formation and, as a result, a return to a system that requires a player with a skill set that Tottenham hasn’t had since Christian Eriksen left in early 2020.

The appearance of James Maddison through the doors at Hotspur Way was a message of intent. The England international arrives from relegated Leicester City with all the traits of a quality number 10 that the team has missed since Eriksen’s departure. Postecoglou claims his approach is essentially a 4-3-3, however that form will be rarely seen on the field.

But you can bet Maddison will spend the majority of his time in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt lurking in and around the number nine position, attempting to cause danger and score goals. Maddison and Kane are England teammates, and nothing would please the club’s supporters – or perhaps Kane himself – more than seeing the two of them creating havoc on the pitch in pre-season.

“The new players coming in will help, because that’s the part that we, or I, have control of,” Postecoglou said.

“We’re really excited to have (Maddison) on board.”Any manager will tell you that having various attacking threats and a midfielder are important components of striving to be a dominant team.

“I was very pleased that we finished everything on time. He’s had a hiatus, he’s had twins, so I’m not sure what form he’ll be in when he gets here, mate. But once we get him in, he’ll be able to accompany us on the tour, which I know he’s quite pleased about.”

 

 

 

 

 

 




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