NOT A FAN
Everyone thinks Ange Postecoglou is brave – he’s not, he’s naive and lucky says Graeme Souness
The Rangers legend points out a match from last season
GRAEME SOUNESS has branded Ange Postecoglou's 'Angeball' tactical approach "naive" rather than brave.
The former Celtic boss is feeling the heat after his Tottenham Hotspur side threw away a two-goal lead at Brighton last week to sit back in ninth in the table during the international break.
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Where it had once been hoped that Postecoglou front-foot tactics could make Spurs into title contenders, there's little sign of that right now.
And Rangers hero Souness went back to the example of last November and a clash with rivals Chelsea which saw Tottenham still sticking with a high line despite having two men sent off.
Speaking on Three Up Front, ’s podcast which also features Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney, Souness said: “When I think of Ange Postecoglou, I go back to that game against Chelsea where they got two players sent off and he still had them playing right up to the halfway line.
"The only time you can do that is when you’ve got 11 players on the pitch and the ball is constantly under pressure.
“The minute someone can get their head up, you’re in trouble.
"They could have conceded four or five more goals that game – I thought that was naïve.
"It’s naïve to talk like that and say that the more open the game is, the better it is.
"If they’d lost that game seven or eight goals to two, you’ve lost the players as a manager. He wasn’t brave that day, they got lucky.
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“He’s walked into Tottenham without bringing any of his own staff, is he so naïve as to think he can trust any of the coaching staff he’s inherited not to go to the chairman with their tittle-tattle?
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"I would not take a job and think I can just walk into it – it’s madness – you need to go in with people you trust because being a manager is lonely."
Souness reckons Postecoglou also had to hammer home the importance of scoring a killer third goal at Brighton last week.
Instead, they conceded a goal to Brighton just minutes after the re-start, with Danny Welbeck eventually completing a remarkable resurgence.
Souness said: “The Tottenham players should have known better.
"You learn it at school – when you’re 2-0 up the next goal is vital.
"If you concede, the momentum is suddenly with the opposition but if you go to 3-0 up, the game is over.
“I don’t know if Spurs have any leaders.
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"When they go into the dressing room at half-time, the chat should be, ‘we can’t concede the next goal, this game is far from over’ – that’s what Ange Postecoglou should be telling them.
"He needed to remind them that if they were to concede, everyone’s going to be all over you.
“I think the issues at Spurs boil down to the manager and the coaching staff.
"The only message they needed to give the players in that game when the half-time whistle blew was to play more of the same.
"Spurs just ended up capitulating which is why Postecoglou was so deflated after the game, he thought he had some warriors in that team and was proven otherwise.”
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