Matthew Chadder

Wed 7 June 2023 18:27, UK

Ange Postecoglou was announced as the new Tottenham manager on a four-year deal on 6 June, bringing to an end the 72-day hunt for a new permanent boss.

The manager arrives from Celtic with many question marks surrounding him. The Tottenham job is his first managerial position in one of Europe’s big five leagues and without a doubt his biggest challenge to date.

He becomes the first Australian to ever manage in the Premier League and certainly provides a change in direction for the club from the previously appointed Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

While these managers were big household names who arrived with a certain level of expectation, Postecoglou is relatively unknown to many English supporters after his successes in Australia, Japan, and Scotland.

Here, Tottenham News has broken down Postecoglou’s style of play, what a starting line-up could look like under the 57-year-old next season, and attempted to give an understanding to Spurs fans of their new boss.

Ange and his style

At times, Mourinho and Conte displayed an attitude that they were bigger than the club and doing Tottenham a favour by even being there. This certainly won’t be the case with Postecoglou after over 20 years of tireless work to get to this position, and his attacking, progressive style of football will be music to Spurs fans’ ears after a period of dull and at times very negative approaches to the game.

His style of football has seen him claim consecutive A-League championships with Brisbon Roar in Australia, lead his national team out at the 2014 World Cup and lift the AFC Asian trophy in 2015.

After his departure from the national team, legendary Australian star Tim Cahill took to Instagram to thank his former manager (22 November 2017) and mentioned a Postecoglou quote that would always remain with him, “Never take a backward step.”

That attacking philosophy is something that fans should not expect the manager to change now that he has arrived at Tottenham, as he once explained to the Daily Record in a press conference (18 October 2021)

He said: “My view on that is, if you are a strict vegetarian, you don’t drop into Macca’s just because you are hungry mate, you know? This is what I believe in!

Throughout his career, the manager has often preferred a 4-3-3 formation with very wide wingers, something which he predominantly used at Celtic and during his Asian Cup triumph in 2015. The manager has also shown his versatility, operating with a 4-2-3-1 at the 2014 World Cup and a 3-4-2-1 during the 2017 Confederations Cup.

His main and most recent preferred method of playing is a 4-3-3. At Celtic, he would operate with very wide wingers in his front line to create space within the inside channels that his full-backs would then exploit. He would use an attack-minded number eight to also exploit spaces in the inside channels and support the forward line.

This allows his sides to dominate possession as the full-backs’ narrow positions create overloads in central areas of the pitch. As for his defensive style at Celtic, his side would press high and aggressively.

Potential starting line-up at Tottenham

Based on Postecoglou’s style of play and some of Tottenham’s transfer links so far this window, Tottenham News has identified a potential starting line-up that could be seen at the beginning of next season.

Goalkeeper – David Raya

The Brentford number one has been linked with a switch to North London ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Daily Mail has reported (4 June) that Tottenham is looking to make a move for Raya with Hugo Lloris expected to depart this summer after expressing his desire to leave the club.

Centre-backs – Cristian Romero and Harry Maguire

Romero is widely regarded as Spurs’ best centre-back and after the Evening Standard reported that Eric Dier, Ben Davies, and Davinson Sanchez are all on a list of players that could leave this summer, it is hard to see Romero not being a big part of Postecoglou’s Spurs plans next season.

Manchester United’s Maguire has been linked with a move to Tottenham, as reported by The Telegraph (6 June). If the English international is to make the switch, it will most likely be as a first-team addition with the other defenders mentioned above reportedly on the clearout list.

Left-back and right-back – Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro

The two full-backs slot seamlessly into Postecoglou’s system and it is hard to picture the Australian looking past them. The new manager’s full-backs must be able to get forward and support the attack which is something Porro and Udogie are well suited to do.

Last season in the Premier League, Porro was involved in 3.26 shot-creating actions per 90, placing him in the 91st percentile of this particular statistic, while Udogie made 3.63 progressive carries per 90 in the Serie A, placing him in the 93rd percentile, as per stats provided by FBREF.

Midfield – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, and James Maddison

Hojbjerg and Bentancur are two regular starters in Tottenham’s midfield and it is hard to imagine either being displaced next season once Bentancur is fully fit again. Yves Bissouma could also become a regular after a stuttering start to life at Spurs.

As for James Maddison, the Daily Mail has reported (6 June) that Postecoglou has identified the relegated star as a transfer target for his midfield. Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso may also be two players the new manager looks at to fill the attacking midfield role upon their return from loan.

Postecoglou likes his midfield two to push forward and press high and Maddison, Bentancur, Ndombele or Lo Celso may all work as options in that system.

Front Three – Richarlison, Son Heung-Min, and Dejan Kulusevski

With Kulusevski’s loan deal expected to be made permanent, as reported by Football London’s Alasdair Gold (12 May), it is hard to imagine Postecoglou steering away from either Son or Kulusevski as his starting wide wingers.

However, with the future of Harry Kane uncertain, it is very possible Tottenham will be starting with a new striker next season, with Richarlison the obvious candidate after his £60million switch last summer.

While all this could yet change between now and the start of the season, what is certain is Tottenham fans will want to get behind their new man early and give him the best opportunity to succeed at the club.

After all, his career suggests he has earned at least the chance to show what he can do at the top level.

In other Tottenham News, could this out of favour on-loan Spurs midfielder revive his career with the club?