Opinion: Why character is key to Tottenham’s growth under Postecoglou

One name that kept popping up in Tottenham transfer rumours for the last few years was Nicolo Zaniolo. If he had not ended up at Aston Villa, those rumours might still have been floating about. He’s a big lump on a lad, moves well and has the kind of versatility that Ange Postocoglou favours.

However, he’s also very much NOT an Ange Postocoglou-type player.

On multiple occasions against the Spurs, Zaniolo was dispossessed, and rather than harrow back to try to reclaim the ball, he just threw up his arms and watched the play unfold.

There is no doubt that Postocoglou ideally needs quite specific players to play his type of football. Speed, endurance, skill – all the things you look to when you’re picking players to fill out your FIFA teams. However, the factor they don’t bother to rate in video games, which seems to be most important to Postocoglou, is character.

Postocoglou has made no secret of how important it is to him that the players he recruits are high-quality individuals and not just high-quality players. And just as one couldn’t help but notice the petulance of Zaniolo, it was just as tough not to be impressed with everything about Radu Dragusin.

Not only did he come on and give an admirable account of himself on the field, but speaking after the game, he spoke respectfully and thoughtfully. This backed up the accounts we were provided when Dragusin signed with Tottenham – that he was looking to shape his longer-term career and not just take the easiest or richest option. In other words, he had a wise head on him for a young man.

Tottenham value character above all else

I think it’s quickly becoming a point of pride for Tottenham supporters as to just how likable this squad this. This is not to say that there isn’t an array of characters in the team; there absolutely is, but it seems Tottenham have done a very good job of implementing a particular piece of Australian slang – the “no dickhead” policy.

And while it’s all very well that Tottenham seems to have this tight-knit dressing room, more importantly for Spurs supporters is how it translates to what Tottenham does on the park.

Character generally begets maturity, and that, in turn, begets resilience. Many pundits opined that Villa “lost the plot” once they went two goals down, and Tottenham just doesn’t seem to do that anymore.

That’s important for Spurs because one feels that Postocoglou is always going to carry a young side. He needs young legs and boundless energy. The problem with that is those same young players are often rash, make thoughtless mistakes and fail to cope with pressure.

What is impressive about Tottenham right now is just how mature and accomplished our young players are looking – the likes of Van de Ven, Johnson and Sarr don’t look like kids just starting out. Every game they seem to grow in maturity and confidence, and with that, their on-field performances just keep improving.

That doesn’t just happen. Certainly, the personal qualities of our senior players seem to be having the right influence on the fine young men we’ve recruited and subsequently, they’re playing beyond their years.

It’s difficult to fathom how Postocoglou has managed to make such an impact in just three-quarters of a season.

In some ways, the idea of Angeball is a bit of a misnomer because it simply denotes a style of play. What is most impressive about what Ange Postocoglou has delivered to Tottenham is more than that – it’s a broader philosophy that has very quickly aligned all facets of the club, from recruitment to the academy to player behaviour and ultimately all of that is the enabler of the wonderful, attacking football Spurs fans are treated to on the park each week.

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