By Glenn Moore
In the Tottenham High Road they were selling outback bush hats before Ange Postecoglou’s first home match as Spurs manager, complete with corks.
After the way Tottenham then went and beat Manchester United 2-0 those traders will soon be ordering inflatable boomerangs, plastic kangaroos and any other Australian cliche they can think of.
Spurs weren’t always dominant on Saturday, nor were they always attacking, but they had attacking intent and at this club, more than most, that’s what’s demanded.
‘To dare is to do’ is the motto here, and the 57-year-old Australian dared. There were full-backs and centre-halves bursting into the opposition penalty area, and even at 1-0 up Spurs went 2 v 2 and 3 v 3 at the back, as they pushed players forward.
At $2.4 billion the Tottenham Stadium is one of the world’s most expensive arenas. It has a huge southern bank of fans and is designed to keep their noise in. The problem is since it opened in April 2019 there’s not been much to shout about.
Ange Postecoglou celebrates after Spurs beat Manchester United.Credit: Getty
Under a trio of negative managers, Nuno Espirito Santo, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, Spurs have been dull to watch, and failed to win, a deadly combination that has left supporters disenchanted.
Desperate for change the fans have quickly taken to Postecoglou. Shutting out questions about his pedigree they have relished his blunt, dry humour, his honesty and, most of all, his commitment to deliver a team to savour.
“Attacking football - the Spurs way is back,” screamed the pre-match announcer.
It didn’t look that way at first as United’s high-class trio of Casemiro, Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes controlled the midfield.
Postecoglou on the sidelines directing traffic, with Man United manager Erik ten Hag.Credit: Reuters
Tottenham may have had attacking intent, but they did not have the ball and the ‘ooh’ moments were coming from the players in red.
A rabona by Fernandes set up Marcus Rashford to head just over. A Rashford nutmeg then launched an attack that might easily have ended in a penalty.
But then a break ended with Heung-min Son crossing for Pedro Porro to rattle a shot against the bar. In the scramble that followed Pape Matar Sarr’s cross was deflected onto the post.
The nerves eased and Spurs took the game to United. Dejan Kulusevski’s cross found its way to Sarr in the 49th minute and he lashed in.
Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison and Son Heung-min celebrate after the match.Credit: Reuters
Spurs rode their luck - Antony hit the post and Guglielmo Vicario made a fine save from Casemiro - but their bravery earned it, for it was a left-back, Ben Davies, who was in the box in the 83rd minute to scuff a cross that deflected in off Lisandro Martinez.
At the end Postecoglou walked out to the centre circle and took a moment to himself.
“You want to feel that moment because I’ve always said that, to me, I love what football does to people, particularly in those moments,” he said. “So, you kind of take a moment to think about the 60,000 here or the ones who were watching at home because they will be smiling for the rest of the week. For me that moment is about appreciating I am pretty blessed to be doing what I am doing.”
Then the first Australian coach to win a Premier League game went and clapped the fans who roared back in support and sung his name.
Danny Blanchflower, one of the club’s greatest players, still revered in London N17, said of football, “the game is about glory. It is about doing things in style, with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.”
Ange gets it.
AAP