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Criticism has resurfaced for Tottenham after their defeat to Brighton on Sunday, which they suffered by allowing the Seagulls to come back from 2-0 down at the Amex.
A lot of said criticism has been targeted towards Spurs’ manager, Ange Postecoglou, of whom questions are being asked once again regarding his tactical philosphy.
According to one former Premier League captain, however, it wasn’t all down to the man from down under.
Troy Deeney “sorry” for Ange Postecoglou
In a recent appearance on TikTok, former Watford captain came out in defence of Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, offering sympathy for him while calling out the Spurs defenders.
“I actually feel sorry for the fella you know.
“You look at how Spurs play, they play some good stuff, they attack well and score loads of goals, but when it comes to defending, people blame the manager for defending, but how can you put on a session that stops people mis-kicking a ball?
“You can’t do anything about poor defending, the last goal for example, Rutter shouldn’t be getting that, foul him, then when you get to the byline Bentancur is there, just get it.
“I think when you look at Ange, I would challenge people to look at the goals they concede, they’re not structural damage ones, they’re not struggling, it’s man to man, me vs you, that’s more mentality.”
Deeney, as quoted by TBR Football.
Indeed, Tottenham have already conceded eight goals in the league after seven games, having sustained three defeats along the way.
The Lilywhites welcome local rivals West Ham at home next week on the other side on the ongoing international break.
Ange Postecoglou rocked up to his press conference and decided to give this beautiful lesson on life.
'A lot of it is about understanding yourself as a person. I know what's important to me. That's my anchor. If I stay to that, I keep everything else away' pic.twitter.com/8yQJPfE9J3
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) October 6, 2024
Choices have consequences
There’s only so much the players can do in the face of persistent insistence of their manager wanting to play one and only one way.
Many teams, like Brighton this past week, will prove capable of either taking Spurs’ plan apart from the get-go or finding an ad hoc solution in-game. If the Spurs management cannot come up with a plan to deal with that, and their players do not have the agency to switch tactics on the pitch, there isn’t much they can do.
“Exciting football” is a sword that cut both ways. Last week we saw it cutting Spurs instead of the other way round, and we’ll see more of both under Postecoglou in the coming months.