Alasdair Gold explains why rather than considering replacing Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham need to double down on the Australian and back him to the hilt following Spurs’ defeat against Ipswich.
Is the tide starting to turn against Ange Postecoglou?
To some Spurs fans, Tottenham‘s 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town was the final straw for Postecoglou, with a number of supporters losing faith that Spurs will even be able to find consistency under the Australian.
While there is no doubt that this is still a minority view, it is undoubtedly a growing minority and an increasingly vocal one.
With the international break now upon us, Spurs now have two weeks to lick their wounds, and the Tottenham boss will be aware that he needs to turn things around fast.
Alasdair Gold calls for club to back Postecoglou
Gold admitted that the frustrations of some supporters are understandable, given Tottenham‘s habit of taking one step forward and then two back under Postecoglou.
The journalist wrote in his latest column on Football.London: “The frustrations are enough that some on social media are calling for Postecoglou’s head, even if Spurs have won nine of their past 13 matches, including those recent wins against Villa, City and United.
“The frustration at results is understandable. There has been far too much inconsistency in the performances with too many games marked by excellent periods rather than complete displays. Then there are the win-lose nature of the Premier League results, with only one set of back-to-back wins, and the problems in getting positive away results regardless of how the team plays.
“That’s all something Postecoglou must fix and the Australian’s way has plenty still to tweak within it until it is anywhere near what he wants it to be, not least the attitude of the players going into games they should be winning.”
However, Gold pointed out that most successful clubs in the Premier League have had stability at the managerial level, insisting that it is time for Spurs to do the same and back their head coach.
He added: “It needs something new and better on the pitch than what the decades have brought under Levy’s watch as he’s switched between managers and their philosophies like someone surfing TV channels and never really stopping and paying attention to anything.
“The top clubs in the Premier League have been built on stability, whether that’s Guardiola’s years of success or even Arne Slot currently building on top of what Jurgen Klopp constructed.
“Spurs seem allergic to stability beneath boardroom level, a trait all too common across modern football. It’s time to let Postecoglou work and construct something different to what’s come before in N17 otherwise that dreadful feeling of déjà vu is never going to go away.”
Bumps along the road are expected
As difficult as it is to see the bigger picture at a time like this, the reality is that there were always going to be major bumps along the road of this project.
The Tottenham hierarchy will be aware of that, and they certainly would not be thinking about replacing Postecoglou at this time.
Both Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp had long periods of struggle at Arsenal and Liverpool respectively before things clicked for them.
Postecoglou deserves at least the rest of the season to show that he is the right man for the job, and he will likely get that as long as Spurs are in and around the top six.