Much has been made of the potential appointment of Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham's next manager. Amid previous links with Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann and Arne Slot, the Celtic boss is now the odds-on favourite to succeed Antonio Conte.
Some fans are open-minded to the 57-year-old coming in, while some have reservations about appointing a manager who has extremely limited experience of working in Europe since starting his managerial career in the mid 90s. Tottenham opting for glamourous, big-name managers in Conte and Jose Mourinho didn't work, though, and a change from the their previous approach could be key to getting Spurs back on the rise and playing the eye-catching football that supporters desire.
Two years on from the club turning to Nuno Espirito Santo in wake of Mourinho's dismissal, a number of fans have compared Postecoglou's possible arrival to that of Espirito Santo. Perhaps having a point with both managerial searches surpassing two months and others heavily linked with the job first, the comparisons between both are lazy and unfair to Postecoglou.
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Writing in his programme notes in May 2021, chairman Daniel Levy stated that the club were aware of selecting "someone whose values reflect those of our great club" and returning to "free-flowing, attacking and entertaining" football that the club are known for. Espirito Santo was so far from the vision set out by Levy and it was no surprise to see him exit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just a few months after signing on the dotted line.
The football served up by the Portuguese was dismal, with the team unable to register a shot on target in the second half of their defeat at West Ham and then the following game, which proved to be his last at the helm, as they lost 3-0 at home to Manchester United. Postecoglou is not another Espirito Santo, far from that.
Two years on from his programme notes where he mentioned what he is looking for in his next manager, Levy last month claimed that Tottenham "shall spend the period ahead of next season working relentlessly to position our club for on-pitch success and football you will love to come and watch". Postecoglou undoubtedly ticks that box, with Celtic completely transformed by his appointment and running riot in Scotland with their attacking and entertaining approach.
The head coach, who turns 58 at the end of August, is well aware of his requirement to please supporters as he knows they come to games to be entertained. It will always be his way.
“My philosophy on the pitch is that we never stop. We aim to be relentless in our spirit and in our commitment," he said ahead of a trip to Ibrox in March 2022, as reported by the Daily Record. “Playing attacking, entertaining football won’t always be easy but it will always be worth it. And for me, it will always be worth giving you a team you can be proud of.
“As I say to the players, for 90 minutes it is our responsibility to make you feel good and give you moments to remember. It will always be our way."
He added: “Of course, winning is a huge part of the club’s identity, but for me it’s not just about winning, it’s about how we win and about the kind of team we aspire to be. It’s about having a strong faith in our ability and a belief in our own style of football.
“We have a way of playing the game which is challenging but offers great rewards and while we have a huge responsibility to deliver results, we want to be a team that excites you, puts a smile on your face and gets you out of your seat.
“I want my players to enjoy it and I want our fans to enjoy it - together. And by uniting behind this shared vision of what we want to be, we can deliver the success we aim for.”
Postecoglou and Espirito Santo are worlds apart in their approach and philosophies, with the Australian also much more charismatic and someone who has all the qualities to unite everyone given the current disconnect between fans and club. If worst comes to worst and the ex-Australia boss struggles at Tottenham, which hopefully won't be the case if he can replicate his Celtic tenure in north London, at least his team will go down fighting and swinging rather than the dour football served up by Espirito Santo,.
As well as comparisons with the former Wolves boss, fans have also pointed to Steven Gerrard's unsuccessful spell at Aston Villa following his time in Scotland as a reason why Spurs should not plump for Postecoglou. Again, this is unfair on the Australian as he has a wealth of experience as a manager compared to the ex-England international who took on his first senior managerial role with Rangers back in 2018.
Of course many will claim that nearly all of Postecoglou's time has been spent in Australia and Japan prior to his move to Scotland, yet he still has 27 years worth of managerial experience under his belt which is invaluable compared to Gerrard who only started cutting his teeth in management a few years ago. Rangers' title success in 2021 was the 43-year-old's only piece of silverware from a possible nine trophies on offer across his three full seasons at the helm, with Postecoglou set to claim five from a possible six providing that Celtic get the better of Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.
Amid much hope following his arrival at Villa Park in November 2021, the Whiston-born manager couldn't take the club forward after finishing 14th in his first season in charge and it duly resulted in his dismissal 11 months after taking on the hotseat. Many have claimed that Michael Beale's exit in the summer of 2022 was a major factor in Gerrard's struggles last season as he no longer had his trusted assistant coach, who he once dubbed as "the expert", by his side as was the case during his time in Glasgow.
Just because Gerrard's first spell as a manager in the Premier League didn't go to plan doesn't necessarily mean history will repeat itself with Postecoglou. The experience that the Celtic boss has built upon over the past two decades will prove vital, as will his football philosophy that suits Tottenham down to the ground.
Harry Kewell, who is now part of Postecoglou's coaching staff, opened up on his colleague's experience in the game and stated that the fact he has had to do the hard yards across a number of jobs in Australia to get to where he is is something he really respects.
"This role when this came about with Ange. I think this is what I needed, you know, to see what a top manager does," Kewell said on the Football Coaching Life podcast, “To see how he handles certain things, so this is probably my first time when I’ve had someone I can sit down with and talk football.
“What I like about him most is that he’s done it the hard way, where no ones backed him. I quite like that. That Ozzyness, that toughness, that grit to keep going and believe in yourself. He’s had times when things weren’t going well, but when you listen to him. I wear a hat a lot, but I take my hat off to him.
"When I first was going in there, it was like “wow.” I knew how we played or roughly how we played. I thought it was going to take me a couple of weeks to understand the movements and all that. It took me two days.
“I know football, I understand football, but the way he makes it, explains it, the way he shows it, it’s simple. It’s really simple, and it amazes me if you get it wrong. All you have to do is listen because that’s how easy he makes football.”
The comparisons with Espirito Santo and Gerrard are lazy and disrespectful to Postecoglou, who has achieved success in his career and left all his clubs so much better off as a result of his work and approach to the game. Tottenham fans will soon discover that he is far from another Espirito Santo if he is named as the club's next manager.
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