Jamie Carragher says Ange Postecoglou has one major black mark in his book, and it a concern for Tottenham Hotspur.
Postecoglou has changed Spurs’ ethos
There is no doubt that Postecoglou has made sweeping changes since he took over as Tottenham’s head coach, turning the side from a counter-attacking one to a front-foot, possession-based team.
The Spurs squad is now also much younger than the one he inherited and it is clear that the players have all fully brought into the Australian’s methods.
However, the jury is still out on whether his style can yield success at the highest level and his critics have grown louder in light of Spurs’ sub-par start to the campaign.
Carragher identifies key area to improve
Carragher has now pointed out that Postecoglou’s record against the teams that finished in the top half of the table last season is extremely poor.
He insisted that the 59-year-old’s honeymoon period is over and that unless he starts picking up wins over Tottenham’s direct rivals, his style will not be accepted by the fans.
The former Liverpool man wrote in his column for The Telegraph: “Over Postecoglou’s 18 games against the clubs which finished in the top nine last season, Spurs have won four. They are in danger of being seen as flat-track bullies. That must change.
“As is often the case with managers when the questions get tougher, the demeanour and remarks which were greeted with excitement during a honeymoon period can start to wear thin and become a stick with which to beat a coach when the mood changes.
“Saying your beliefs were honed by mentor Ferenc Puskas’ idea that “we will win 5-4 every week and I’ll enjoy it” plays well to the gallery when winning eight of your first 10 games, but not so much when your side has three clean sheets in the past 26 Premier League games.”
Big opportunity coming up
Tottenham now have a big opportunity to lay down the marker against Manchester United on Sunday and show that they can beat top teams playing the way they currently do.
United look like a disjointed side at the moment but they have dangerous players who can hurt Spurs on the counter-attack.
The trip to Old Trafford could thus be an acid test for Tottenham to find out if they have improved from last season.