There's a running theme at Tottenham Hotspur in recent decades that often it's the manager who isn't the first choice among the fans and often the club who turns out to be the person who makes the most impact.
For every Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Juande Ramos, Andre Villas-Boas and Jacques Santini and even the Spurs midfield great Glenn Hoddle there has often been someone who came in under the radar and had a far bigger impact than the chosen ones had. Ramos could of course claim that despite his dreadful time in the Premier League, he did at least bring the club their only trophy in the past 24 years.
However, in terms of the ones who pushed the club forward on and off the pitch it is often those second or third choices asked to help clear up the mess left by others.
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Take Martin Jol in 2004, brought in as an assistant to Santini because his CV was not as glittering as that of the France manager Santini, who chairman Daniel Levy waited almost an entire season to appoint after sacking Hoddle. Jol quickly won over the players and the club and was asked to take over when the defensive-minded Frenchmen walked after just 13 matches and now the Dutchman, who was a couple of months shy of his 50th birthday at the time, is widely credited with creating the foundations that other managers would build upon in this modern era.
Then there was Harry Redknapp. Had the former West Ham boss taken over directly from Jol in 2007 there would have been outrage among the Spurs fans. However, a year later, after the mess of Ramos' second season, the club was desperate for a positive guiding figure and the then 61-year-old led them up the table and the next season to two top four finishes in three years, their first time in the top four in almost 20 years.
Even Mauricio Pochettino was a second choice for the club and a large number of the fans. Tottenham were rejected by Louis van Gaal and then it came down to their second choices, the Argentine and another Dutchman in Frank de Boer. Spurs' sporting director Franco Baldini and many of the supporters wanted De Boer, but Levy went for the then 43-year-old Pochettino and the rest is history.
That's not to excuse the Tottenham chairman though, for the clear pattern of his reign has been lurching from one glamour appointment to the next with little clear connected strategy or vision for the type of football on display. His three real managerial successes out of the 11 he has made have been made to clean up the mess made with the previous decision taken.
Which leads us to 2023 and Ange Postecoglou. The Australian, who will be 58 this summer, would not have been many fans' top pick to take over from Conte this summer.
He is not a glamour appointment and on paper does not meet the levels of ambition some fans are craving to take them back into the top four or win a trophy, particularly with higher profile candidates available such as Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and, up to recently, Pochettino, who never received that phone call from Levy.
The job at Tottenham this summer is a huge one and Levy needs to select someone who is excited about the rebuild, regardless of whether they were second or third choice, rather than be worried about how coming to Spurs and taking on the task would affect their reputation.
In essence, the chairman needs to pick the right person rather than simply the most well-known person, if he cannot convince someone who he feels ticks both boxes.
There are valid concerns among some about Postecoglou, including his previous lack of experience at taking on a job of this scale and perhaps more worryingly his record when Celtic have come up against any sides of note in Europe, although continental football is a luxury Spurs do not have next season. Some will wonder if it is any less of a gamble than putting Ryan Mason in permanent charge as the 31-year-old appears to understand what the club needs to change for the better.
Others may suggest Postecoglou is an equally cheap option with his rolling contract at the Scottish side and some may even point to the coincidence of an Australian arrival on top of a new Aussie chief football officer in Scott Munn and Spurs heading next month on a pre-season tour to - yes you guessed it - Australia.
Yet there is plenty to suggest that Postecoglou fits the job required at Tottenham. He has had to build his career around the world and away from the glare of European football, with many clubs on this continent assuming Australians don't make for top managers. Those who have broken into European jobs have done so currently as assistants or in the women's game.
So Postecoglou has had to make his name across Australia and Asia and he has done so by rebuilding each club and bringing his very clear philosophy of attacking football with his 4-3-3 formation. He shares Pochettino's view that while you must be aware of opposition tactics and strengths, it more important that the opposition worry about you. The end result is fast, aggressive attacking football and often him leading his club to winning their first title in years.
Postecoglou has had to be patient with his career building but in recent years the ever-growing regard for him within the game has seen clubs across Europe and the Premier League finally take notice. Brighton had him among their top names to replace Graham Potter last year and the Australian was then linked with Chelsea constantly as Potter struggled and was then sacked.
Now Tottenham have him among their leading candidates and Marseille are also said to be interested in taking him to Ligue 1.
Those Spurs fans worried about getting another Nuno Espirito Santo should not be. Postecoglou's teams play the football they crave. It's something he demands of them, he wants the crowd to be entertained and get their value for money because he would expect the same. He also plays up to those supporters, gets them on board with his views about the game and their rivals.
When Pep Guardiola took his Manchester City team to Japan to take on Postecoglou's Yokohama Marinos in a friendly in 2019 he said: "Having watched Yokohama videos this could be the best game we play because of the way they play. Both City and Yokohama have same philosophies. It’s a pleasure to be in Japan again and hopefully the fans enjoy the football."
City won the pre-season runout 3-1 although the Japanese side had 58% of the possession and the City boss was only more convinced about Postecoglou's coaching: "Yokohama played some incredible football and they were an incredible test for us. I knew how good they were and it was tough for us."
The then City player Raheem Sterling added: "They’re probably one of the best teams I’ve seen play out from the back and they played some great football so it was a great test for us."
When Carlo Ancelotti prepared his Real Madrid side to take on Postecoglou's Celtic last year he said: "They play very intense. They have had a great start to the season, there will be a great atmosphere in their stadium. We've got the most difficult game of this first half of the season. We're going to be up against a team playing great football and we have to be ready."
At a time when Tottenham are in upheaval and without a director of football, Postecoglou is unlikely to be concerned. He is a man used to ploughing a lone furrow without depending on others, arriving at Celtic without any coaches and instead instilling his philosophy into those he began to work with.
One of his greatest strengths is his communication and his ability to get others to buy into his vision of how the game should be played.
Postecoglou is not someone who will integrate himself as one of the squad or paint himself as a friend to the players, instead he chooses his moments to provide a real boost of motivation and encouragement or sometimes criticism to them. You know exactly where you stand with him and exactly what he wants you to do and not to do. He never lets them rest on their laurels.
He convinced his compatriot Harry Kewell to join his coaching staff in Glasgow and within 48 hours the young coach knew exactly what was ahead.
"I think personally, there’s two sides to him. One is the manager; he's very strict, likes the way things are run and is very intense. I like that," he said in Graham Hunter's Big Interview podcast this year. "I felt coming in, it would take me a couple of weeks to learn his ideas and all that stuff. Within two days, I understood it because that’s how clear his messages are. There’s no grey, it’s just black.
"That’s how we’re playing, this is what I want and that’s the way it is, but then there’s the other side to him. He’s like a father. That personality to joke around - very rarely - but when you do catch him at those times, he’s just generally a nice person to talk to and you want to work for.
"As much as he’s intense as a manager, he’s a good human being and they’re the ones you want to work for. He’s confident enough in his ability to know that he can help. It’s when people are confident enough that they want to try and protect this and protect that."
Tottenham need a strong personality to bring the club and fans back together again and those who have worked with Postecoglou leave no doubt that the Australian is someone who sweeps like an irresistible force through a football club.
He is demanding and intimidating yet understanding and he rarely dishes out praise to his players but when he does it means so much more. It's difficult to disagree with his methods as a player when you are enjoying playing the football as much as the fans are watching it.
Former Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart asked to first speak to Postecoglou when Celtic showed an interest in signing him because he did not know much about the coach's background. It did not take long for him to show exactly what he was about.
"I didn't know he was a total football manager, I didn't know he'd turned up to Celtic and hadn't brought any staff with him. Just walked in and he is an awesome force, an unbelievable coach, a really strong presence. He asks a lot of people but because he believes they can do it," said the experienced stopper.
“He is top, he is really, really good. He is really clear in what he wants and the biggest buzz for me is I am playing for someone who is pushing me and I am learning new things every single day."
He added: "I have played in different teams that have been successful. Identity in football has always been there, but in terms of having a real way of playing, this is the first time I have been part of a team with a real way of playing.
"We live and die by it. I love that opportunity. There’s been many coaches and managers I’m sure out there who say, ‘Look, this is how I want you to play and, if it doesn’t [work], it’s on me’. I have heard that many times. But I genuinely feel comfortable making risky passes, short passes, and if someone does miss a pass or a tackle and the ball goes in, I don’t think any of us would even flinch because that’s what we are being asked to do. We believe what we have been asked to do and we are enjoying trying to be better at it."
There are many similar words of praise from those who Postecoglou has trained and most will tell you he is the best coach they have ever worked with, regardless of the high profile nature of those they have played under before.
Spurs are crying out for an identity and Postecoglou is certainly someone who will bring a clear idea of football through the doors of Hotspur Way. If the Aussie, who is aiming to win the domestic treble with Celtic this weekend, gets the job at the north London outfit then everyone will know what brand of football Tottenham will come into matches with.
Not every Tottenham supporter is going to be happy if Postecoglou does end up getting the job and his track record will be questioned, as it was when he arrived at Celtic. Many Spurs fans though just want to enjoy watching their football team again and that is something the Australian can deliver and then some.
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