British football pundits are backing Ange Postecoglou to lead Tottenham back to the promised land of the Champions League – but not everyone is convinced after his stunning, public swipe at the club’s fans last season sparked fears.
Postecolgou’s second Premier League season begins at newly-promoted Leicester City on Monday (Tuesday morning AEST) and many pundits believe it will be the start of a top-four campaign.
But The Daily Mail’s Nathan Salt believes Postecoglou may come to regret his comments after his side lost 2-0 at home to champions Manchester City in the penultimate game of last season.
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The former Celtic boss is well-acquainted with passionate derbies, but he expressed his disappointment with some Spurs fans who wanted their side to lose to City to prevent rivals Arsenal from dominating the league.
Salt wrote that Postecoglou now has increased pressure on his own shoulders, which could have a major impact on the upcoming campaign.
“Something feels off, seventh,” Salt said.
“Ange Postecoglou publicly called out Tottenham and their supporters for a ‘fragile’ mentality at the end of last season, and the need to win trophies only becomes more important after such a barb from the boss.
The Australian was praised for implementing an attacking style last season, but his side ran out of steam late on to finish fifth and miss out on a Champions League spot by two points.
Postecoglou insisted on signing a proven English Premier League goalscorer and his orders were fulfilled when they signed Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth for £55 million ($106.5 million).
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Solanke scored 21 goals last season, including 19 in the Premier League, and will be joined in attack by Son Heung-min, Richarlison and Timo Werner – all of whom have at times tried to fill the void in front of Harry Kane, but Son in particular is undisputed. more suitable for playing on the wing.
Postecoglou’s attacking style ensures that Spurs create plenty of chances and another successful goal inside the box has filled many pundits with confidence that they will pile on the goals.
Manchester United and England legend Gary Neville is tipping Tottenham to capitalize on a potential Liverpool slide following Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield departure and join Manchester City, Arsenal and his former club in the Champions League places.
“I think Tottenham were badly relegated (last year) but they’ve got something,” Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast. “I think they’ve got something and I’m going to Tottenham (above Liverpool).”
The Guardian’s football writers agree that Tottenham will finish fourth, with associate football editor Sachin Nakrani praising Postecoglou’s tactics as a reason why Spurs can improve.
“Tactically, Tottenham are, to use the most modern football expression, in a good place,” Nakrani said.
“Ange Postecoglou’s bold, positive approach in his debut campaign is a collective buy-in that provides a much-needed contrast to the negative blitz of Mourinho and Conte and is almost enough to secure a top-four finish.”
The focus of Spurs’ off-season team management has been to purge players who don’t fit Postecoglou’s style of play.
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In addition to Solanke, highly touted 18-year-olds Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have been signed, while Werner’s loan deal has been extended for a second season and South Korean winger Yang Min-hyuk will join Tottenham in January after the K League 1 season. .
Midfielders Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Marseille) and Eric Dier (Bayern Munich), along with defender Emerson Royal (AC Milan) and winger Ivan Perisic (Hajduk Split) are among 15 players who have been loaned, sold or released to find new homes. where they fit better.
The formation of the squad in Postecoglou’s mind led to the Telegraph’s Matt Law – two of the Telegraph’s six pundits predicting Tottenham to finish in the top four – to suggest that more players are on the way in the coming weeks.
“More exits are planned before the transfer window closes and only who leaves can dictate the remaining future transactions,” Law said.
However, the addition of European football – the Europa League – to Tottenham’s fixture list this season has raised concerns about the removal of too many players and the depth of their squad.
Spurs struggled to cover their injuries in the second half of last season – particularly in defence, where they were at times without a recognized centre-back – and the Europa League games on Thursday night required greater squad flexibility.
Sachin Nakrani of The Guardian believes that they need to add “especially a high-class winger, with a left-back and a centre-back also needed to bolster resources”.
The added need to defend, coupled with Postecolgou’s aggressive style of play, which at times leaves them exposed at the back, are the main reasons why detractors do not see improvement from Spurs.
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Defending games is still difficult and Bayern Munich showed it again in the pre-season friendlies.
“Spurs conceded 16 times last season, putting them level with Burnley and Aston Villa,” said The Athletic’s Jay Harris.
“Only Luton Town, Sheffield United (both 19) and Nottingham Forest conceded more (23). Bayern exposed that weakness twice on Saturday. It’s a problem that refuses to go away.”
Writers at The Independent were split 50/50 on whether Tottenham will improve this season, with associate sports editor Karl Matchett worried about Spurs’ defense despite predicting them to finish in the top four.
“I’m leaning towards Tottenham because they have really good attacking depth, but Newcastle will also be back in the hunt this year if they get Marc Gueh and another striker,” Matchett said.
“They may not be as good overall as Spurs, but they can be more resolute in defense and most importantly they don’t have European midweek football, which with their injury problems last year will be a huge differentiator for this team.” Spurs are “better” but that doesn’t always mean they finish ahead. Villa are giving up a bit with the Champions League, United and Chelsea are nowhere near that right now.
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