‘Ruthless’: Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham display says it all

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham team has silenced its critics with a “breath-taking” display that showed the team’s true self.

Ange Postecoglou, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur, embraces Pedro Porro. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham have put Newcastle to the sword to snap a five-match winless run.

Brazilian striker Richarlison’s double inspired a 4-1 rout of a dismal Newcastle on Monday morning at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Since topping the Premier League after beating Crystal Palace on October 27, Tottenham had lost four of their next five games to squander the momentum from their blistering start to the season.

Manager Postecoglou’s attacking tactics were branded as naive during that losing run, but the Australia stuck to his guns and was rewarded with a goal-spree at Newcastle’s expense.

The win pulls fifth-placed Tottenham to within three points of fourth-place Manchester City and seven points behind league leaders Liverpool.

Spurs’ performance has reminded English football about Postecoglou’s wizardry — and he is earning plenty of praise from football commentators.

“I can’t fault the lads,” Postecoglou said on Sky Sports.

“They put in a massive effort today. We were brighter in the front third, I thought Sonny [Son Heung-min] was excellent and that sort of thing feeds off to the other guys.

“You rely on your leaders to take initiative; we could have had more goals but our attacking play was as good as it has been for a while.”

Son made one comment after the game that summed up the aggressive confidence the team has discovered since Postecoglou’s arrival.

“We said we had to be more ruthless. We were ruthless today and were creating chances,” he said.

Ange Postecoglou embraces Pedro Porro after teammate Richarlison (not pictured) scores their team's third goal. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.

Ange Postecoglou had plenty to cheer about. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.

“We did that fantastic job. To beat Newcastle 4-1 is not easy. They are a very strong side, so credit all the players and fans.

“We are playing in the Premier League, we have to demand each other more and more. It’s never enough. Those amazing teams always keep going. It should be a habit for us.

“If we continue to be strong like this, we will be a very good side.”

Liverpool legend Jamie Redknapp was full of admiration for Postecoglou.

“Spurs the past few years have been the most unwatchable team in the Premier League. But he [Ange Postecoglou] has made them the most watchable with his inverted full-backs and his style,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.

“It shows you how quickly things can change if you get in the right manager. It’s an unbelievable change in morale and belief in this football club. I know they’ve had this rotten run of late but I have so much belief in this guy.

“I hope they look after him and give him what he wants as I think Spurs have got someone very special in place.

“I know he wasn’t their first choice, but what an unbelievable job he’s done so far. He’s turned this club around.”

He went on to say: There are so many aspects of their game that I’m loving.

“It’s quite unique. We’ve seen managers before bring a centre-back into midfield, maybe one full-back comes in. The way they play with both of them coming in, it gives the other team so many problems

“You don’t know who you’re marking. There’s so much fluidity about how they play, it’s enjoyable, and it’s almost revolutionary.

“I’m loving seeing it. A lot of grassroots managers and young players are looking at that full-back role and he [Ange Postecoglou] has changed it completely.

Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring their team's second goal. Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images.

“Pep has done it throughout his career and now you can see what Ange Postecoglou’s doing. When he came from Celtic, people did worry if he would be able to replicate his success in Scotland.

“But he’s shown you can change how a team plays within six months.”

Manchester United great Gary Neville was also blown away by Tottenham’s performance.

“Newcastle have been battered. The speed of Spurs’ attacks have been breathtaking,” he said on Sky Sports.

“It’s fun watching this Spurs team. It’s just really good. They’ve been on the wrong end of results in the last month, having played well in games, but today has been emphatic.”

Destiny Udogie put Tottenham ahead in the first half in north London and Richarlison doubled the lead before the break.

Richarlison netted again in the second half and Son Heung-min converted a late penalty as fifth-placed Tottenham moved within three points of fourth-placed Manchester City.

Joelinton’s goal in the final seconds was no consolation for outclassed Newcastle.

Following Thursday’s 3-0 drubbing at Everton, this was another dispiriting result for Newcastle, who sit four points behind Tottenham in seventh.

It was the worst possible preparation for Wednesday’s decisive Champions League group stage clash with AC Milan.

Eddie Howe’s team must beat Milan at St James’ Park and hope Paris Saint-Germain drop points against Borussia Dortmund to qualify for the last 16.

They will need to improve massively on this tame performance, with Richarlison setting the tone when he surged onto Dejan Kulusevski’s pass and fired over in the early minutes.

Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes held his head in frustration after smashing narrowly over from the edge of the area.

Ben Davies kept Tottenham level with a superb last-ditch tackle to deny Alexander Isak as the Newcastle striker prepared to shoot.

Ange Postecoglou applauds fans after the win. Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP.

Those escapes did nothing to quell Tottenham’s commitment to attack and Cristian Romero’s header was cleared off the line by Miguel Almiron moments later.

Throwing players forward with abandon, Tottenham took the lead in the 26th minute with a goal that encapsulated their freedom of movement.

Udogie advanced from left-back into central midfield to take possession and spread the ball out to Son on the left flank.

That would have been enough for most defenders, but Udogie had licence to go even further forward as he raced into the Newcastle area to meet Son’s low cross with a clinical close-range finish.

It was the Italian’s first goal for the club in his 14th appearance since signing from Udinese, maintaining Tottenham’s record of netting in every league game this season.

Tottenham remained wide open at the other end and Almiron should have done better than shoot straight at Guglielmo Vicario.

But Son was proving unplayable for Kieran Trippier and in the 38th minute the South Korean evaded the defender’s weak tackle before whipping over a cross that Richarlison slotted home from four yards.

Brennan Johnson was inches away from making it three with a fierce strike that clipped the post from 20 yards.

With Newcastle in disarray, Richarlison put the result beyond doubt on the hour mark.

Pedro Porro’s long pass caused chaos as Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka and his defenders left it to each other, allowing Richarlison to nip in for a simple finish.

It got even worse for hapless Newcastle in the 85th minute as Son was fouled by Dubravka, earning a penalty that the Spurs captain dispatched with ease.

Joelinton finished off Callum Wilson’s pass in stoppage time, but the damage had already been done.

— with AFP

Originally published as ‘Ruthless’: Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham display says it all