‘The Tottenham way’ – N17 academy graduate gives his Ange Postecoglou review
Tom Carroll has said that Ange Postecoglou is the first manager since Mauricio Pochettino who plays football ‘the Tottenham way’, admitting that he is quite enjoying watching his former side play.
Spurs went away from their traditional attacking identity over the last few years, perhaps in a desperate attempt to end their trophy drought.
However, appointing win-first managers like Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte backfired, with fans turning on those coaches due to their negative approaches when the team stopped picking up results.
Daniel Levy and co decided to course correct last summer and go back to the club’s roots by bringing Postecoglou through the door and the Australian has certainly delivered on his promise of attacking, entertaining football.
Postecoglou and Pochettino have similar styles, says Tom Carroll
Carroll, who played under Mauricio Pochettino, suggested that the 58-year-old is the first manager since the Argentine to adopt a style that is in line with the club’s traditions.
The Tottenham academy graduate said (via Football.London): “I’d say that Ange Postecoglou’s style of play is quite like the Mauricio Pochettino style that I had at Tottenham, compared to the last few managers.
“I’ve been enjoying watching Tottenham this season, with their highline, high press and they’re an exciting team to watch, so I think the fans must be enjoying it, which they’ve not had for the last four years where they’re fully behind the team with what they’re trying to do. I think it’s definitely the way forward for the club as far as it suits them and is the Tottenham way.”
Tottenham have not had any of their academy players become first-team regulars since Oliver Skipp made the jump a few years ago but there is a lot of hope that some of the current generation of Under-21 players could make that transition.
Carroll knows first-hand just how difficult it is to make it as an academy graduate at a club like Spurs, given the pressure there is to pick up results.
When asked about making that step up, the 31-year-old said: “It’s a fine line between championing youth players and bringing in experienced players too.
“At a club like Tottenham, I think the fans would like a bit of both. I think fans always like young talent coming through the academy system, but obviously, you’ve got to be good enough to play for the first team.
“However, for a team like Spurs, they need to be challenging and competing for the top competitions like the Champions League, so they also need players who can play at that level and who you’re going to need to spend money on too. There’s a fine line between the two, but I think you’ve got to have a good balance between both and I think they can work well together.”
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The one thing we know about Ange is that he values players’ attitude and application as much as their talent. If a young player proves in training that he is ready to make the step up, the Australian will likely not hesitate to start him over some bigger names.
He did the same with Pape Sarr this season, with not a lot of Spurs fans expecting the Senegalese youngster to start over the likes of Bentancur, Bissouma and Hojbjerg at the start of the campaign.
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