Ange Postecoglou vindicated as Thomas Frank amazingly leads him in unexpected statistic
Thomas Frank has fewer outfield players available than Ange Postecoglou around the same time in his first season.
Tottenham were criticised when they sacked Postecoglou weeks after he had won the UEFA Europa League with the club.
Postecoglou later moved to Nottingham Forest but was sacked after an abysmal string of performances.
But while he may be looking for his next adventure, Postecoglou is still someone who greatly interests Spurs supporters.
Mostly for winning them silverware for the first time in 17 years, but some fans still lie awake at night mulling over the injury crisis while he was at the helm. However, upon second glance, his injury woes may not have been as bad as initially believed.
Thomas Frank is faring worse than Ange Postecoglou when it comes to injuries
It was widely reported that Tottenham’s Archie Gray will be sidelined for several weeks due to injury.
Meanwhile, Wilson Odobert picked up a knock in Spurs’ goalless draw to Monaco in the UEFA Champions League, which saw him benched against Everton and unavailable to face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup.
As a result, the Lilywhites only have 14 outfield players able to feature in Tottenham’s upcoming game against Chelsea on 1 November.
However, in a surprising turn of events, Spurs had 15 outfield players available around the same time during Postecoglou’s first season.
While it must be remembered that players like Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin were injured before Frank’s arrival, the stat does vindicate Postecoglou to an extent.
Indeed, it all started to go wrong for the Lilywhites in the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 6 November 2023.
Destiny Udogie picked up a muscular issue before receiving a second yellow against the Blues, while Cristian Romero, who was also shown red, and James Maddison both suffered injuries against Chelsea.
Thus, most fans will be hoping that a repeat of this does not happen this time around.
Ange Postecoglou’s injury crisis was not as bad as it seemed
Injuries were the reason, agreed by most Tottenham fans, that their team gave up top spot in the 2023/24 season and the reason they came 17th in the 2024/25 season.
However, this does not seem to be the case, at least where the first season is concerned.
The Lilywhites suffered fewer injuries in Postecoglou’s first season than in the 2022/23 period, according to a report from Howden Group Holdings.
- Spurs suffered 47 separate injuries in 2022/23
- Tottenham suffered 41 injuries in 2023/24
- This was below the league average
This makes the claim that injuries derailed Spurs’ season seem quite far-fetched.
However, injuries definitely played a role in Tottenham’s results in his final season, suffering 41 separate injuries, which was the second highest in the league.
Therefore, while there is some truth to injuries influencing Postecoglou’s time in North London, it’s far from the whole truth.
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