Tottenham in turmoil! Last season in the Premier League, the small North London club struggled to keep pace with its large counterparts (like Arsenal). They lost key players, their manager, their director of football, and in true Tottenham fashion, won no trophies.
But, last July, Tottenham decided to make a change. They introduced a brand new coach with an exciting style of play. He did, however, have large shoes to fill, given that his predecessors were Antonio Conte and The Special One, himself. So, in order to develop an understanding of Postecoglou’s progress, I’ve decided to have a chat with Professor Yohannes.
Some of his credentials include his position as a tenured professor of Hip-Hop history at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, and his PhD in soccer from the University of College at College-land. Additionally, Coach Charlie DeLong, a THSCA Hall of Honor recipient, hailed Professor Yohannes as “one of the greatest young minds in modern football.” Oddly, he continued and revealed that Prof. Yohannes “suffers from delusions of grandeur.”
A quick note: The esteemed “Dr.” Yohannes wanted me to include my biases. In his very artful words, he declared me “a very bias reporter.”
What were your initial thoughts when they announced Postecoglou as the new head coach?
“It was a bad time for Tottenham. We finished eighth or ninth place; we had lost our coach midseason; we lost our director of football midseason. Harry Kane, our top player was rumored to be leaving. This was a bad time. Many analysts were saying that we were probably going to be a mid-table team for a while and go through a rough patch like Liverpool did before Klopp. And then multiple coaches turned us down or weren’t able to finalize with us. So when we finally got Postecoglou, my initial reaction was: ‘let’s see’.”
“However, I became optimistic when I began hearing about him, that he liked to have his players play on the front foot. For the past four years, we’ve had coaches that were all about being defensively sound and just trying to win games rather than playing them. (I’m talking about Mourinho and Conte.) Now, both of them were quintessential winners and they won trophies everywhere they went. But they didn’t win trophies here. Famously Mourinho had a Carabao Cup finals match but they sacked him the week before that game.”
“But I would say that I was excited for a different brand of football. I just wanted to watch exciting football rather than watching your favorite team play the same way, in a very boring way. I was hopeful that maybe this would be a change of spirit, that we can actually play what Tottenham is known for, which is front-footed football and not winning trophies.”
How do you think Postecoglou changed Tottenham’s identity outside of tactics?
“I think that is the most surprising thing that you could see. And it’s surprising even from a business standpoint and a school standpoint? Which is the speed by which he changed the culture at Tottenham.
“I think that’s what makes him a very profound coach and a really great coach. As I said, it was a club that really was down at the time. But overnight, he changes the mood. Literally during preseason, you could see the whole mood change with players being happy. You see the players now playing. And you can see their identity and personality coming out in their style. But that’s part of what he argues for; he allows players to play. And he does that not just for the sake of entertainment. No, he believes this is the best way he believes you can win games.
“It’s the same approach in terms of wanting to win games. But the philosophy is now that you win games by letting people actually play soccer. It reminds me, actually, of Coach DeLong. He has that same argument of ‘let young people play. And by letting them experience the joy of playing football, you are more likely to win games.’
“And that’s what you see with Postecoglou. You see just a lot of joy and he encourages them to play and therefore he has grace for them when they make mistakes. For instance, when you have Bissouma trying to nutmeg Man City players in the 89th minute of a game. It’s not that he wants them to do that, but he recognizes that’s gonna come with telling players to play.”
How would you describe the overall tactical identity of Angeball?
“I would describe it as quick attacking movements and one-touch, two-touch football. You have natural fullbacks playing up and inside (this is called an inverted fullback). He wants confident center-backs that have speed. Postecoglou also plays with two eights and then a six in the middle.
“Another thing you see is that over the summer he’s taken an active role in recruiting the players that he wants and they’re not always big names. And that’s what made him wonderful. When you look at the clubs he’s been at he is always been able to find diamonds in the rough and recognize how they play in his system. Very Moneyball-esque.
“And actually over the summer, part of Tottenham’s identity changes. They want to be more like Brighton who also has that Moneyball-esque approach. For instance, Micky van de Ven, I think he’s probably been a top two, top three center back in the EPL this year. Granted he got injured for a month or so.
“Additionally, you see players that under Conte were not playing well now demonstrating their quality.”
“It’s a great example that, sometimes, when a player isn’t performing, they lack the confidence of the manager. But when you give them opportunity, they rise to the occasion.” – Proff. Yohannes
What are some of your favorite aspects about Postecoglou?
“One thing I like about him is that he’s realistic. He says ‘This is just the start.’ You shouldn’t expect us to win trophies right now. People will troll us and say ‘where’s the silverware?” But we finished eighth place last year. We lost our coach and our director of football. Our best player: gone. You wouldn’t predict them to be the best team in the league. Basically, allow a coach time to develop in the same way.”
“I think that’s a big problem in today’s game. Beyond Tottenham, clubs don’t really give coaches much time to actually try to try to develop a squad. Granted, it’s a big money league and people are paying a lot of money for a lot of stuff, so that kind of comes to the territory. But I hope Tottenham fans demonstrate patience. I think a big difference you also see is how pundits talk about Tottenham has changed.”
“Under Mourinho and Conte, pundits used to just thrash us. They just hated us. They would cover us because it was Mourinho and Conte. But it was always in a negative sense. Now when you listen to pundits, they all applaud Postecoglou. In fact, now that Klopp has stated that he’s going to be leaving Liverpool, the short list of names is Xabi Alonso, Nagelsmann, or Roberto de Zerbi. But it’s also Postecoglou because that’s how highly people have rated him. He’s changed our culture and his tactics have been effective within the EPL.”
You mentioned his departure over the summer. How has Kane’s departure impacted the team? Has it had an overall net positive or net negative impact?
“Look, we’ve improved as a team, but I think we would be even better with Kane. I think that some people would say: ‘Well, Kane left and we’re flying right now, ergo that must mean that we’re better off without Kane.’ No, I think we got a new coach and new tactics.
“Even in the preseason, we were flying with Kane (he didn’t get sold until after the preseason). We were flying with Kane. But I do think if we had him, though, right now, we would be competing for trophies.” (A quick note from the reporter: notice the diction of “compete” and how that differs from the word “win.” I believe Dr. Yohannes is hinting at some natural law or law of physics that prevents the second largest North London club from winning trophies (Just a Theory).”
“If you take our current form, then add Kane, I think we’d be competing for the top of the league. Even though, I know that’s a tough claim to make.” – Mr. Yohannes
“But, I think what’s been beautiful is that we have improved despite not having him. People have stepped up and found themselves and have played beyond themselves. Son has improved from his form from last year. He’s developed into a true leader. I think one of the questions that could come about is, ‘Could you have had the cultural change with Kane there?’ Because people are creatures of habit. What if it had just been de facto, they’re used to Kane as a leader, and we defer to him. We don’t really look to ourselves. Whereas now with Kane gone, I think everyone realized we have to play. We have to be our best selves and it provided space for people to do that. But I will still argue that with Kane, we would be a better team.
“But I think what makes it impressive is that Ange did it despite losing his best player. This is why I think the EPL Coach of the Year should be between him and Unai Emery.”
Silverware has long been elusive to Tottenham. “Yeah.” Will having Postecoglou be the difference in finally winning a title?
“What I love is this: we are in the midst of a project. And people have to know what a project is. A project is not immediate. It takes time to develop. Even when you get to school, they don’t give a project and say ‘We’re doing it today and turning it in today’. If it’s a true project, usually it’s a multiple-day or week kind of thing.
“In the same sense, this is a project, and, I think that, yes if we could stay the course, if we can keep him, and if the club invests in his vision we can start to compete for trophies. I think he’s our most important person at Tottenham.
“I think he’s more important than any given player. He sets a tone for things. If we stay the course, then yes, I think we can compete for trophies with him. I think it’s coming, but when I say that, I’m not saying this year. Obviously, we’re out of the FA Cup and I don’t think we’re going to win the league this year. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I think Liverpool, right now, is flying. Man City is Man City though; they’ve bought their trophies. But I think we can, we have the possibility of finishing in the top four.
“We still have a lot of football to be played, so who knows what’s gonna happen. But in three years he can build a formidable club in Tottenham. I think people need that same mindset when it comes to Tottenham. You have a coach who’s just come in, and we need to give him that space and time to develop and grow.”
Stay tuned to the Jesuit Roundup for additional sports opinion pieces!
