Ange Postecoglou, the man who has fired Tottenham from no hopers to dreamers.

At the start of this season, Tottenham Hotspur were seen by many as a team who couldn't get it done in the premier league top 6 anymore. Their 8th place finish in the 2022/23 season was their worst premier league finish since the 08/09 season under head coach Harry Redknapp in his first season at the club. This 8th place finish also meant that Tottenham would not be in the running for any European trophy this season, which for the fans of the club was unacceptable. The season was dim, not only for their final league position but also off the pitch, as Tottenham went through three different managers in one season, one of whom, Ryan Mason, being the assistant to the assistant manager Cristian Stellini, who was the interim manager at the time. With Tottenham fans unhappy, Daniel Levy urgently needed a plan to save his club and get the fans back on side, but how would he do it?

Enter a Greek born, Australian manager who no one would ever expect to be at Tottenham.

Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou made his name in Australia with South Melbourne in the 90's which lead him to becoming the manager of the Australian national team 4 seperate times with the under-17s, the under-20s and the Australian national team. After he resigned from the Socceroos due to backroom concerns, he went to Japan to manage J1 league club Yokohama F Marinos and guided them to their first J1 league title in 15 years. In 2021 he would leave for Scottish side Celtic as their replacement to Neil Lennon after he had resigned from the club. After winning two Scottish premier league trophies and also winning Manager of the year after the 2021/22 season, he would then become Tottenham's SOS saviour.

The rebuild

The summer was difficult for Tottenham, their star striker Harry Kane got a move away from London and went to German powerhouse Bayern Munich for £100m and with the likes of midfielder Harry Winks, central defender Davinson Sanchez and attacker Lucas Moura also leaving the club, Tottenham needed to rebuild strong. They already had some quality in the team with South Korean star Heung Min Son and also central defender Cristian Romero playing key roles, but they needed more. When Ange arrived it was clear to see how he wanted his Spurs team to line up, with a more attacking sided team that could score goals and play quick, exciting football. Signings such as Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest, James Maddison from newly relagated Leicester and Dejan Kulusevski on a permanent deal quickly made it clear that Tottenham fans were in a new era where they didn't have to watch a defensive style of football, much like they did under Antonio Conte. Ange also looked to strengthen the defence of the team, with Micky Van De Ven joining from German outfit Wolfsburg and Guglielmo Vicario joining from Fc Empoli in Italy, as well as signing full back Pedro Porro on a permanant deal. Spurs fans were happy with the most of these signings, however fear still crept around as many fans weren't sure if these were going to be good enough to get Spurs back where they wanted to be. A still fairly unknown manager to English football, managing a top 6 team who are coming off of a disappointing season, and also making signings who are relatively unknown in the wider eyes of the game, Spurs fans felt this had all the ingredients for the 23/24 season to go wrong.

Style of Football

Ange is known for his attacking and relentless style of football, suffocating the opposition into conceding the ball and wanting “waves” of attacks in order to keep the opposition penned in and unable to escape the ruthless nature of his press. He is often mocked for “copying Pep” with his inverted fullback system - but Pep doesn’t quite do it the way Postecoglu does. The two fullbacks , when in possession, drift infield alongside a lone 6 in order to create a 2-3 buildup in the first phase. These 5 often outnumber any opposing press that comes their way and Ange wants his teams to “play” no matter what pressure they're under. Ange likes his wingers to be “traditional” wingers. High and wide, attacking the fullbacks and delivering crosses and cutting back into the midfield/striker in the box..

23/24 season so far

Tottenham are yet to lose a league game under Ange Postecoglou this season, their only loss being in the Carabao cup away at Fulham after losing 5-3 in the penalty shootout. After nine games the Aussie man has set the record for the best start to a Premier Lague season by a manager, only drawing twice in the league. Tottenham currently sit top of the Prem on 23 points, above the likes of last season's champions Manchester City, Liverpool, and rivals Arsenal. It has been a long time since things felt this good from a Tottenham perspective, and they are hoping that they can carry this momentum through to the rest of the season. Signings such as James Maddison and Micky Van De Ven have proven vital to Spurs this season, their work under the new style of play means they can control their areas of the pitch confidently and aggresively, leading to more attacks and more goals. The team have been able to prove themselves againts the Premier League's best, with a draw away against Arsenal and beating Liverpool at home in a controversial 2-1 victory, as well as beating Manchester United 2-0 at home. Tottenham's next game is away at Crystal Palace, who currently sit 11th place in the Prem after being beaten 4-0 against Newcastle United. The Lilywhites are wanting to continue this hot form and stay top of the league, which may lead to some fans to see them as title contenders if they continue picking up points. It seems as though Ange not only has a connection with the players, but also with the fans, when asked if fans should temper their expectations after their win against Sheffield United in September, he replied with: "No, no, no, let them go, let them go and enjoy it. My role is not to burst people's bubbles. Let them get excited, let them get ahead of themselves. That's the beauty of being a supporter. They go through enough pain mate, you want to let them enjoy it. If they think we're going to be world beaters then great, that's up to us to match that expectation. Our supporters deserve to have some happiness and enjoy it any way they want to.” So, as things sit right now, Spurs fans have a lot to be excited about and deservedly so, their team is arguably one of the best teams in England right now, and possibly even in Europe. After such an upsetting season for Tottenham fans, they are back fighting amongst the big boys and who knows, maybe they will go on to fight and maybe even win the Premier League.

Many thanks to Josh Rix, who helped me to write the 'style of football' section.