Ange Postecoglou is in danger of becoming the laughing stock of English football.
And the one person to blame for this is himself. No-one likes losing, but with the exception of Mikel Arteta, is there a more sore loser in the Premier League than Postecoglou?
You’d have thought someone like him would be used to dealing with the fall-out from defeats with a bit more grace and maturity by now. After all, his Tottenham side have lost three of their last four games, and won just twice in the last 11 in all competitions.
But his post-match interviews have now become a toxic mixture of disdain and lack of respect towards the person asking the questions. The person doing their job right.
It looks like ‘Big Ange’ has little time for those who question his blinkered tactics, poor record and team selection. Which is odd, considering the Aussie has experience of managing in Glasgow with Celtic, where the media scrutiny is relentless.
(Image: PA)
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Before Christmas, and after Tottenham last won a game, Postecoglou could be found quoting a famous line from Russell Crowe’s Maximus in the famous film Gladiator .
“Are you not entertained?” he asked, having seen Tottenham almost snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a 4-3 home win over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.
“Top film, top actor and a fellow Aussie,” he continued, “I genuinely believe that a big part of our game is, you go to the game to feel emotions that in your day-to-day existence you don’t get the opportunity to.
“There’s a lot of suffering in there, but if you come out on the right side it’s an exhilarating feeling.” Three days later, Tottenham supporters were ‘entertained’ again, but came out on the wrong side following Liverpool’s 6-3 thrashing of Postecoglou’s side.
Maximus, let’s not forget, might have liberated Rome, but he ended up succumbing to his own mortal wounds. And the damage Postecoglou’s stubborn and one-dimensional approach is now doing to Tottenham is in danger of leaving him in a fatal situation himself.
Not least because his boss is Daniel Levy. Postecoglou has become blinded by his own vision. Welded to his own ideas of how football should be played.
(Image: Getty Images)
But the best coaches evolve with time. They change the approaches and beliefs they think are most relevant to their team at any given moment. Yet Postecoglou remains shortsighted at best – and naively defiant at worst.
And it has all left those long-suffering Tottenham fans with that familiar feeling of being left stuck on a tragic roundabout. Almost 17 long years have now passed since Tottenham last won a trophy. And this long and miserable run looks no closer to coming to an end under Postecoglou.
Tottenham find themselves within touching distance of Wembley, it has to be said. But must overcome league leaders Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi final, starting with tomorrow’s first leg, if they are to keep alive hopes of silverware.
Good luck with that, Ange. Who knows what words might come out of his mouth, should Tottenham get another mauling from Liverpool?
There’s a reason he gets the same questions each week. It’s because Tottenham lose or draw most weeks. So try and help yourself out, mate, by getting a positive result for a change.