Had Ange Postecoglou not been hired by Celtic, a broader audience may never have witnessed his epic spat with Craig Foster from 2006. Postecoglou, then a national youth coach with Australia, took serious exception to Foster’s line of questioning during a live television debate. “I don’t sit in glass houses, mate,” was among his assertions. Postecoglou implored the former Australia midfielder to come and watch a training session. “I don’t care what you think about me personally,” he insisted.
It’s YouTube gold, Ali v Frazier in verbal terms. It was also manna from heaven for Celtic supporters. Here was a hitherto unknown manager who, clearly, would take no nonsense upon his arrival from Yokohama Marinos in 2021. Fans insisted a supposedly hostile Scottish media would be reduced to head-spinning wrecks by Postecoglou. There began the UK version of the Cult of Ange, which continues apace in north London. It really is quite a phenomenon.
We can debate whether managers can learn from his approach to attack, defence or transfer business; what is undeniable is that few in the modern game have cultivated a brand quite like the man presently in charge of Tottenham Hotspur. Cosensus is not simply that Spurs have a manager capable of doing the improbable by raising standards in the post-Harry Kane era but that he is the straight-talking, authentic antithesis to everything that is awful about the modern game. Gushing praise follows his every public utterance. Postecoglou seemingly idolised Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa in his youth. In Glasgow, he referenced the late Tommy Burns during an on-field performance with microphone in hand. No opportunity is knowingly missed.
Spurs fans adore him because he is – thus far anyway – a marked improvement on Antonio Conte, Nuno Espírito Santo and José Mourinho. A Carabao Cup loss to Fulham and the preposterous defensive setup against Chelsea are shrugged off because Spurs are fun again. Celtic’s followers have forgotten all about an overnight flit to the Premier League and a dismal European record on the basis Postecoglou success in England can boost their own club’s sense of worth to people elsewhere. From Australia, there is pride that inroads can be made in the biggest league in the world by a man whose playing career was largely spent at South Melbourne. Criticise Postecoglou even mildly and a barrage of lingual grenades will fly from Sydney, Springburn and Seven Sisters. Trust me.
The 58-year-old is an outstanding football coach. His modern adaptation of 2-3-5, complete with overloads and marauding defenders, is the kind of thing people pay to watch. The problem is placing illustrious football figures on pedestals tends to lead to disappointment. Postecoglou’s recurring sources of irritation give cause to scratch below the surface. We have reason to ponder what he may be like if things take a turn for the worse over a reasonable period of time. We needn’t even go back to the Foster episode for a snapshot of alter-Ange.
While in Scotland, he scoffed at the arrival of VAR as if it was a total irrelevance to him. He was soon railing against its introduction, branding it “a bit of a mess” and castigating “zero consistency” in “remarkable” decision-making. “I guarantee you if that game finished 2-2 and it was Rangers that were denied that decision, the talk would be about how that was a title-defining decision,” he said over the non-award of a penalty in an Old Firm game. Not that people should refer to the “Old Firm” in Postecoglou’s company; he objected to Celtic and Rangers being grouped together in discussion.
For Celtic managers, this sort of stuff works. The galleries lap it up. Postecoglou was winning (domestically) while taking public swipes so had the masses in the palm of his hand. Yet this really does not make him the different character so many want to portray him as. He was never likely to spurn the advances of Spurs but refusal to adequately address this lingering situation in the lead-up to his departure patronised the fanbase who revered him. Yes, Ange was good for Celtic, but Celtic were exceptionally good for Ange, too.
More recently, he was snippy with a journalist who dared to ask whether he dared to picture himself lifting trophies. “I’ve got real pictures,” Postecoglou said. “Quite a few.” Indeed he has, from work completed long before Celtic. This was, however, a curious thing to get vexed by. He was further irritated by the questioner suggesting he was “lucky enough to be able to do that”. Don’t use the “L word” in respect of Postecoglou. Michael Beale, then Rangers manager, did this and never heard the end of it.
Postecoglou wants it to be known that he has battled and scrapped for everything in his football life. The reality is he has been touched by fortune. Celtic spent months pursuing Eddie Howe with the aim of making him their manager. Inheriting a Spurs team that had finished eighth in the Premier League and does not have the hassle of European football was also a gift. The only way was up.
“Don’t question my integrity,” said Postecoglou, taking umbrage again when a reporter tried to correlate the absence of Eric Dier with an imminent move to Bayern Munich. The line of questioning was perfectly standard. He had stated Oliver Skipp would provide “probably the only fresh legs” for a game with Bournemouth, where Rodrigo Bentancur duly reappeared after a month out injured.
Perhaps Bentancur’s situation slipped Postecoglou’s mind. Perhaps the Uruguayan made an unforeseen recovery. Or perhaps Postecoglou follows the same path as countless other managers down the years, in seeking to be deliberately opaque about his selection issues. That would be absolutely fine. It just flies in the face of the widely held belief that Postecoglou operates by loftier standards.
