Ange Postecoglou joined Tottenham Hotspur FC from Scotland’s Celtic FC with a very impressive coaching record which has taken him from Australia, Japan, Scotland and England. As he came, Tottenham lost their legendary goal scorer, Harry Kane, at the start of the 2023/24 EPL season but yet they forged ahead. Ange revitalized the team bringing Dutchman Ven de Vaan, from, James Maddison, from Leicester FC, Gugglielmo Vicario from Empoli, Italy and Destiny Udogie. By the beginning of November, they'd won 8 matches and drawn two, leading the English Premier League. Coach Postecoglou also won three Manager of the Month, for three successive months before calamity began! On the 3rd December 2023, they’d lock horns with current champions, Manchester City FC at the Etihad Stadium and considering their depleted squad, a victory or even a draw for them would be a miracle!
THE TOTTENHAM FC COLLAPSE
Against Chelsea FC on 8th November, they started the match perfectly but lost Cristian Romero to a straight red card that got him a 3-match ban, James Maddison to a two month injury and Destiny Udogie to a one match red card ban. Needless to say, they tasted their first EPL loss of the season 1-4. Further heart breaking losses to Wolves FC and Aston Villa FC has come in quick succession. Against the latter, they lost Rodrigo Betancur to an injury that would keep him off for two months, just after recovering from a 9-month lay-off. This has been a summary of their season so far, not forgetting the early loss of Croatian veteran Ivan Perisic to a full season layoff to ACL and Manor Solomon till January 2024.
ANGE POSTECOGLOU’s UNNECESSARY RISKS
What is intriguing to the bystander is the resolve of Coach Ange Postecoglou to continue with his high line ultra attacking style which the team currently lacks the capacity to play. With a more realistic coaching approach, Tottenham could have survived their first loss against Chelsea and conveniently escaped with a draw but not Ange! They continued with their high line, conceded four goals and lost the match. Postecoglou has continued to espouse his ideas, insisting on maintaining his style rather than taking a more cautious approach! Every point gained or lost counts in the competitive English Premier League and it is evident for every coach to setup his team according to their strength, rather than espousing an approach that makes it difficult to get even the worst positive outcomes from their games.
THE ONSLAUGHT FROM MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City FC has remained probably the most formidable team in Europe for the past four seasons. They have consistently dominated the English Premier League and even when they stumble, always recover to maintain their dominance over other EPL Clubs. Pep Guardiola, consolidated his contributions when Manchester City won the UEFA Champions League trophy last season. Their team remains solid always and even when they suffer injuries, like every other club, the impact has remained minimal. They have been without their talismanic captain, Kevin de Bruyne for most parts of the season but his stupendous skills have been compensated for by other replacements. It could be said that both coaches are at different stages of their team evolution with Postecoglou, at its fancy against Guardiola whose project is fully consolidated. Overall, it’s an advantage on paper.
With Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku mesmerizing their opponents with their impressive skills, it would be a surprise if Spurs keeper Gugglielmo Vicario doesn’t pick the ball multiple times from his net on Sunday!
They could only get a draw against Liverpool FC last week and beat R.B Leipzig on Tuesday in their UEFA Champions League match day 5. They’re one point below Arsenal FC on the EPL table and would need a win against Tottenham to maintain their challenge to upstage Arsenal FC.
It’s an important match for both teams and Postecoglou’s capabilities to juggle Tottenham FC out from these troubled waters shall remain a yardstick by which his first season in England would be judged.
Surprisingly, they survived
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