‘May well be doomed to failure’: Grim ‘echoes’ spark big Ange fear as ‘jarring’ home truth sinks in

When Ange Postecoglou was hired as the new Spurs coach, it marked the beginning of a new chapter and the end of an old one. But is Tottenham being haunted by a ghost of its past?

Ange Postecoglou reveals ‘home truths’. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

When Ange Postecoglou was hired as the new Spurs coach, it marked the beginning of a new chapter at Tottenham and the end of an old one, which closed with an explosive parting press conference.

In it, Antonio Conte described his players as “selfish” and declared the club could “change the manager but the situation cannot change”.

Tottenham did exactly that, although it took some time, eventually appointing Postecoglou as its new head coach after a 72-day search for Conte’s replacement.

Things were supposed to be different, and they still can be.

But there are concerns out of the UK press in the wake of Tottenham’s loss to Manchester City on Wednesday that Postecoglou’s animated post-game press conference had, as The Times’ Tom Allnutt put it, “echoes of Conte”.

In case you missed it, Postecoglou was given an opportunity to praise his team after the 2-0 loss to City where they had made the likely champions work to earn the victory.

But, when asked if Wednesday’s result could help set up the foundations for next season, Postecoglou’s press conference took an unexpected turn.

“I think the last 48 hours have revealed the foundations are fairly fragile,” he said.

Where exactly?

“Outside the club, inside the club, everywhere.”

Tensions had clearly reached boiling point at during the game when Postecoglou was captured on camera yelling at a fan, who one witness told The Athletic had asked Postecoglou “why he had not shown the same animation earlier in the season rather than just against City”.

This, of course, happened in the backdrop of Postecoglou expressing his frustration earlier in the week with some Spurs fans who wanted Tottenham to lose just so arch rivals Arsenal could not win the title.

“I understand the rivalry, but I’ve never and will never understand if someone wants their own team to lose,” he said.

“That’s not what sport is about. It’s not what I love about the game.”

Ange Postecoglou delivered a home truth. Picture: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

It wasn’t just the fans either. According to The Athletic, “most aggravating of all to Postecoglou was the sense that a few club staff — many of whom are Spurs fans — had been relaxed about losing because of the title context”.

“While the majority of club staff had been focusing on their work as normal, the prospect of losing to City had been a theme of jokes among a minority of staff for the last week,” the report added.

It also went on to claim that one member of support staff “joked” to Postecoglou that he should play a youth team against City, which made the Australian “furious”.

It is a claim that Tottenham denies, according to the report.

All of this is to say that, regardless of what played out on the field or how many chances Tottenham created, the simple reality was that they did not win and Postecoglou was not happy with that. Some people, however, were — and that rubbed him the wrong way.

The question now is what happens next.

Well, even if there were similarities to Conte’s outburst according to some UK journalists, don’t expect Postecoglou to be following him out the door anytime soon.

“There were echoes of Antonio Conte’s rant in March last year, even if Conte slamming the players was designed as an end while Postecoglou sees this as the beginning,”

Allnutt of The Times wrote.

“Nobody expects Postecoglou to be fired nine days later like Conte — the board are ready to back him again this summer, with a transfer plan agreed months ago — but these laments are not without risk, a line being nudged if not yet crossed.

“By refusing to elaborate or specify what he meant, Postecoglou damned everyone by speculation, from the supporters, to the players, to the board. He opened a wound that will fester, at least until his next press conference on Friday and, if he so chooses, beyond into the summer.”

The summer will be a key period for Tottenham and Postecoglou, who is after a striker, midfielder and defender with a report from The Telegraph earlier in the month claiming Richarlison could be one of the biggest names moved on as part of a roster overhaul.

Tottenham and sources close to Postecoglou told The Telegraph’s Matt Law that Postecoglou’s outburst was not a sign of deeper cracks between himself and the club but “simply aimed” at the debate earlier in the week on whether the fans would prefer to win or see Arsenal miss out on the title.

They “stress his frustration at the build-up and the reaction of some fans who cheered City’s goals simply boiled over”.

Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic, however, wrote that the vague nature of Postecoglou’s comments, refusing to specify who exactly he was speaking about, instead left things open to interpretation.

He wrote that it was “the most explosive press conference” by a Spurs manager since, you guessed it, Conte’s final one in charge.

“Postecoglou was brought in two months later to be the anti-Conte, and while he was not quite as wilfully destructive as the Italian, you could almost hear the ghost of Conte in Postecoglou’s words,” he wrote.

“It was the most surprising and jarring thing Postecoglou has said during his time in north London.”

Ange Postecoglou didn’t hold back in his assessment. Picture: Darren Staples/AFP

So, what are the different ways Postecoglou’s comments could be interpreted?

“The generous interpretation of Postecoglou’s comments is that this is all part of trying to ensure the football club — board, staff, players, fans — makes that mental leap into competitiveness and ambition,” Pitt-Brooke wrote.

“But many people will read this and fear this is a repeat of ‘the history of Tottenham’. So many Spurs managers have started well and seen their tenures descend into acrimony and frustration, exasperated by their inability to steer this ship where they want it to go. “Postecoglou was meant to be different, replacing the friction of the Jose Mourinho and Conte eras with unity, togetherness and optimism.

“But less than one year in, he is already making similar noises, criticising the mentality of those around him, as if he hopes to shame them into becoming more like him. It is a risky move and no one who has tried it before has come out on top.

“The question is whether this is a new phase or just a brief moment after a strange few days at the end of a tiring first season.”

Even if it is the latter, Law of The Telegraph wrote that Postecoglou’s scathing assessment was a reminder that either he needs to change or Tottenham does.

“In many respects Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham Hotspur are a match made in heaven. But if the marriage is not to ultimately end in another messy divorce, then something will have to give,” he wrote.

“Put simply, either Tottenham have to change or Postecoglou does because the last three months have demonstrated that stubbornness from both sides will grow into something much more damaging.

“The Australian has claimed he is willing to live or die by his ‘Angeball’ principles and yet without Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy changing course and giving Postecoglou exactly what he needs, then he may well be doomed to failure.”

It didn’t take even two months for Tottenham fans to warm to Postecoglou and his vision, winning them over with his fearless style of play and willingness to speak his mind.

Fast-forward to Wednesday morning and even if it rubbed some of those same supporters the wrong way, Postecoglou only stuck true to those same values that appealed to them in the first place.

And according to the BBC, there are still plenty of supporters who are still on board with Postecoglou’s plan.

The BBC put a call-out to Spurs fans to see how they reacted to Postecoglou’s comments, with one supporter called Jonathan declaring the Australian was “wrong to question the fans”.

“It was he who downplayed Champions League qualification all season,” Jonathan continued.

“It was he who said set pieces weren’t important, it was he who refused to adapt tactically throughout the season, as it “isn’t who we are, mate”! Yet last night, he suddenly changes all of that and questions the ambition of the fans.”

But Postecoglou also had his fair share of admirers, with Nick writing that his comments were “spot on”.

“He’s managed Celtic and the Old Firm games … he understands rivalry but also what the fans have been asking for years, to win something,” Nick added.

“This team is fragile, with some of them going to move on and Ange needs the finances and the support of the fans to make this a success.”

“I have supported Spurs for over 50 years and as much as I would hate Arsenal to win the league, I would always want us to win games, especially if it means us getting a top-four spot,” agreed Linda.

“Yes Ange is absolutely spot on, there are elements of our club that are flaky and I am hoping that he is the man to sort it all out – we need that winning mentality.”

Raj, meanwhile, again pointed towards those comments by Conte, writing that while they weren’t “quite as bad”, it did “have a similar feel of a broken manager who is frustrated and angry”.

“I just hope it doesn’t end up going down the same route. Ange has achieved something small but significant in his first season – give him the time, resources and freedom to continue.”

The big question is whether Tottenham is willing to do that.

Originally published as ‘May well be doomed to failure’: Grim ‘echoes’ spark big Ange fear as ‘jarring’ home truth sinks in