Journalist Ian Ladyman believes that a decision made by Ange Postecoglou at the start of his Spurs career is coming back to haunt him, implying that the Tottenham head coach is now looking lonely on the sidelines.
Ange Postecoglou handles things his way at Tottenham.
Postecoglou is clearly a renegade among managers who does not feel compelled to follow established conventions.
That applies not only to his tactics, messages to the Spurs players, and media interviews, but also to other aspects of his management.
One of the numerous differences is that the Australian does not have a set backroom crew that he moves from club to club, instead recruiting a new set of personnel at each club.
That is also the case at Tottenham, where Postecoglou has never worked with Matt Wells, Ryan Mason, Mile Jedinak, Nick Montgomery, or Sergio Raimundo before.
Journalist thinks Postecoglou doesn’t have a reliable ally.
According to Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail, while Postecoglou’s techniques of dealing with new players may have succeeded at other clubs, they have exposed him in the Premier League.
He argued that Tottenham’s head coach would have benefited from having a trustworthy voice beside him who understands his style of work.
According to the journalist, Postecoglou never travels with his staff from one team to another. He never did. For example, he won five trophies in two seasons with Celtic in Scotland before abandoning his winning formula when he moved to England.
“Few would question Postecoglou’s boldness or originality. Both are admirable. But this isn’t a social experiment platform; it’s the Premier League. The more you see the Tottenham manager looking stressed, agitated, and a little lonely on the touchline and in post-match interviews, the more you wonder if he would benefit from having someone standing next to him who knows him well, can judge his moods, and choose which of his buttons to press when.
“None of this is to disparage Tottenham’s coaching staff, a group of young guys from various backgrounds. Postecoglou chose them when he arrived at the club, and he may argue that we wouldn’t be having this argument if his team was winning. But Spurs aren’t winning enough games, so it’s understandable that everything he does being scrutinized.
“Great managerial partnerships have existed in football throughout history, and we are all aware of who they were. And, while much has changed since the days of the Liverpool boot room, many values have remained. Postecoglou’s decision to stand almost alone distinguishes him from others.
“His is a model that has proven effective wherever he has gone. He is a consistent winner. But the Premier League is a uniquely challenging environment, and it’s difficult not to look at him and wonder whether he wouldn’t benefit from having a tested and true buddy right behind him.”
Postecoglou is correct to stay with his methods.
Every leader has a unique style that works for them, and Postecoglou has benefited from working with new faces and ideas throughout his career.
It would be inappropriate for the 59-year-old to abruptly forsake that strategy at Spurs, given that those approaches were what brought him here.
