Ange Postecoglou hints Tottenham are confused about their own DNA, ‘Not a big club’
It’s been a chaotic week for Tottenham fans already, but Ange Postecoglou’s honest comments have made for fantastic entertainment as he speaks some much-needed home truths.
Just as Thomas Frank got the chop at Spurs, former boss Ange Postecoglou was preparing to speak to Gary Neville and The Overlap crew.
It was perfect timing and a great opportunity for Postecoglou to speak candidly about the problems affecting Tottenham.
As well as digging at Daniel Levy’s bizarre comments before the Europa League final, Postecoglou also called out the fact that the Lilywhites have not shown enough ambition in the transfer market.
What Ange Postecoglou said about Tottenham’s transfer activity
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Postecoglou recalled how the club behaved after his first season in charge, and claimed he was not given the necessary tools to succeed in that summer transfer window ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Postecoglou also went on to argue that Tottenham’s string of managers over the past 5-10 years do not share a common DNA, especially when Spurs seemingly want to play a certain way.
He said: “You look at that list of names [of managers at the club] and there isn’t really a common thread through there as to what they’re trying to do. And I do think part of Tottenham’s DNA, for want of a better word, is they do like their team to play a certain way.
“And I think it’s fair to say with Mauricio [Pochettino] they were going down that path. Although at the same time, I think people have been too dismissive of Harry [Kane’s] influence through that period.
“He’s an unbelievable player. If I had Harry the last two years, that first year we finished fifth, I’m convinced we would have finished in Champions League spots. So even him leaving, you can’t plug that hole. It’s just impossible.
“So when you look at those managers, like I said, they’ve gone from, you know, Mauricio played a certain way and sort of I think fit the DNA, then the big thing was, well, they haven’t won anything. We need winners. So let’s go for Jose [Mourinho]. Jose gets them to a cup final and they sack him the week before the cup.
“So you’re going, if you’re talking about winners, well, in a one-off game, I wouldn’t mind Jose being my manager at my club just for a one-off game. What happens beyond that is… And then, you know, then it was Antonio [Conte] because, again, he’s another winner, you know, and then Antonio goes and I sort of come in.
“They say, well, we want the football, you know. With Antonio, we made Champions League, but we didn’t have the football. So we want the football and you’ve got the football, even though my DNA is I’ll win as well.
“So then we go down that path. So that’s what I mean. It’s a real curious in terms of understanding what are they trying to build? You know, what are they? Obviously, they’ve built an unbelievable stadium, unbelievable training facilities. But when you look at the expenditure, particularly, you know, their wages structure, they’re not a big club.”
Spurs have spent money in all the wrong places
Over the last 12 months, Spurs have spent big on the likes of Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Conor Gallagher, Kevin Danso, and Mathys Tel. Those five signings came to a total of roughly £200m.
Before that, Tottenham spent just over £100m on Solanke, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, and Antonin Kinsky.
None of those players are bad players by any means, but as Postecoglou says, can we really expect those signings to make a significant impact and take the club to the next level?
It says a lot that Spurs have spent more than £300m on ten players in the last two seasons, and yet the highest-paid players at the club (Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons) are still on under £200,000 per week. Meanwhile, Arsenal have six players earning £200,000 or more, while Bukayo Saka, their seventh-highest-paid player, is on par with Tottenham’s top earners.
However, Ange Postecoglou did give Daniel Levy some credit, while also arguing that Tottenham need to take some more ‘big club’ swings.
He said: “When you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is ‘to dare is to do’. It’s everywhere. And yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that.
“Whether you like or dislike him, give credit to Daniel [Levy] because that path has got a new stadium, new facilities, but taking a safe path, I think what they didn’t realise that to actually win, you’ve got to take some risks at some point. And that’s the DNA of the club.”
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