by If Celtic hadn’t hired Ange Postecoglou, his epic spat with Craig Foster from 2006 may not have been seen by a wider audience. Postecoglou, then Australia’s national youth coach, took exception to Foster’s questioning during a live TV debate . “I don’t sit in glass houses, my friends,” was among his remarks. Postecoglou urged the former Australian midfielder to come and watch a training session. “I don’t care what you think about me personally,” he insisted.
It’s YouTube gold, Ali v Frazier in verbal terms. Manna from heaven for Celtic supporters too. Here was a hitherto unknown manager who, it is clear, would not cause any shock when he arrived from Yokohama Marinos in 2021. Fans insisted that a supposedly hostile Scottish media would be reduced to spinning head racks at Postecoglou. The UK version of Cult of Ange started, which continues apace in north London. It really is quite a phenomenon.
We can debate whether managers can learn from his approach to offensive, defensive or transfer business; what cannot be denied is that few people in the modern game have built a brand like the man currently in charge of Tottenham Hotspur. Cosensus isn’t just that Spurs have a manager who can do the impossible by raising standards in the post-Harry Kane era but that he is the direct antithesis of everything that is terrible about the modern game . Gushing’s praise follows his public speeches. It would appear that Postecoglou idolized Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa in his youth. In Glasgow, he referenced the late Tommy Burns during a performance on the pitch with a microphone in hand. No opportunity is knowingly missed.
Related: Trophies are important but Postecoglou is playing the long game at Tottenham
Spurs fans love him because he is – so far anyway – a marked improvement on Antonio Conte, Nuno Espírito Santo and José Mourinho. The Carabao Cup loss to Fulham and the preposterous defensive set-up against Chelsea have been shrugged off as Spurs are having fun again. Celtic fans have forgotten about an overnight flight to the Premier League and a terrible European record on the basis that Postecoglou’s success in England can boost their own club’s morale elsewhere. From Australia, there is pride that a man who spent most of his playing life in South Melbourne can make progress in the biggest league in the world. Criticize Postecoglou even mildly and a barrage of bilingual grenades will fly from Sydney, Springburn and Seven Sisters. Trust me.
The 58-year-old is an excellent football coach. His modern adaptation of 2-3-5, complete with overloads and bald defenders, is the kind of stuff people pay to see. The problem is that putting football celebrities on pedestals leads to disappointment. Recurrent sources of Postecoglou’s irritation cause a scratch beneath the surface. We have reason to consider what it would be like if things got out of hand over a reasonable period of time. We don’t even have to go back to the Foster episode for a picture of alter-Ange.
While in Scotland, he joked about the arrival of VAR as if it was completely irrelevant to him. He was quick to oppose its introduction, saying it was “a bit of a mess” and adding “zero consistency” to “significant” decision-making. “I promise you if that game ended 2-2 and it was Rangers who were denied that decision, the talk would be about how that was a title-defining decision,” he said when a penalty was not awarded in the Old Firm. game. Not that people should refer to the “Old Firm” in Postecoglou’s company; he objected to Celtic and Rangers being brought together in discussions.
For Celtic managers, this sort of thing works. The galleries put it up. Postecoglou won (home) while taking public swipes so the masses were in the palm of his hand. But this doesn’t really make him the different character that so many people want to portray him as. He is unlikely to derail Spurs’ progress but he refused to properly address this long-standing situation before his departure and it was the fans who respected him. Yes, Ange was good for Celtic, but Celtic were very good for Ange, too.
Later, he was snippy with a journalist who wanted to ask if he wanted to take a picture of himself lifting trophies. “I have real pictures,” Postecoglou said. “Enough.” Indeed it is, from the work that was completed long before Celtic. This, however, was a strange thing to interfere with. The questioner further irritated him by saying that he was “very lucky to be able to do that”. Don’t use the “L word” in relation to Postecoglou. Michael Beale, Rangers manager at the time, did this and never heard of it.
Postecoglou wants it to be known that he has tackled everything in his football career. The truth is that fortune has touched him. Celtic spent months chasing Eddie Howe with the aim of making him manager. It was also a gift that the Spurs side finished eighth in the Premier League and do not have the difficulty of European football. The only way was up.
Related: Spurs confirm £25m signing of Dragusin with Dier urging Bayern to move
“Don’t question my integrity,” Postecoglou said, scoffing again when a reporter tried to correlate Eric Dier’s absence with an impending move to Bayern Munich. The line of questioning was perfect. He said Oliver Skipp would provide “probably only the fresh legs” for the match with Bournemouth, where Rodrigo Bentancur reappeared after a month out injured.
Perhaps Bentancur’s situation slipped Postecoglou’s mind. Uruguay may have made an unexpected recovery. Or maybe Postecoglou is following the same path as countless other managers over the years, trying to be deliberately opaque about his selection issues. That would be fine. It only contradicts the widespread belief that Postecoglou operates to a higher standard.
