Ange Postecoglou has been told he must accept the blame for Tottenham conceding nine goals in the space of four days – but after being accused of ‘stubbornness’, the manager has threatened to stop answering questions about his tactical approach.
Postecoglou has stuck to his principles in recent weeks, despite Tottenham having some notable absences at the back. It has left them open, with the approach leading to high-scoring affairs at either end of the pitch.
On Thursday, they beat Manchester United 4-3 in the Carabao Cup, but on Sunday, they lost 6-3 to Liverpool in the Premier League. After 61 minutes, they found themselves 5-1 down.
Constantly vulnerable to counter-attacks, Tottenham ‘got what they deserved’, according to former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel – who placed the blame on Postecoglou.
“It’s on [Postecoglou],” Schmeichel told Premier League Productions. “He’s playing to his principles. Today it was crazy, the high line, the space they left behind, they’re not playing with a ‘keeper who’s comfortable cleaning up behind.
“You can’t play a system the players can’t play because of principle. For that they’ve conceded three on Thursday and six today.
“When you look at the table, they’re not on the front page, they’re on the second page. Tottenham are not supposed to be on the second page, it’s because of the way they play.
“The stubbornness of wanting to play that way, they got what they deserved and it could have been a lot worse.”
Postecoglou threatens silent treatment
The Tottenham manager, who is bordering on being under pressure, has faced a lot of questions recently about needing to change his tactics to offer more stability.
But speaking after the game, Postecoglou said he would stop giving answers if people couldn’t ‘see the obvious’ reasons for his approach.
“You know what? I’m just going to stop answering these questions,” Postecoglou replied to BBC Sport. “If people can’t see the obvious I’m not going to point it out.
“Look, make of it what you want, yes we’re conceding goals. If you want to discount the fact we’re missing a goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back as well and that hasn’t coincided with what we’re doing… I don’t know what to say anymore. I think people make up their minds in their own way. They either think what I’m doing is good or they don’t and that’s fine.”
And in his post-match press conference, Postecoglou reiterated that he will not be changing how he sets his team up.
“I think I have been really patient the last 18 months sitting up here answering the same questions over and over again,” he added.
“If people want me to change my approach, it’s not going to change. We are doing it for a reason, we are doing it because we think it will help us to be successful.
“If people don’t understand the circumstances we are in at the moment, the challenges we have from a squad perspective which are as obvious as you want to make them. I get the idea that people think that I should just flip a switch and change and somehow that will miraculously make us a better team.
“It is what it is. I’m just going to continue, stay focused on trying to build this team to be the team we want. In the interim we are going to accept there are going to be challenges along the way.”
Carragher insists: ‘Nobody has ever won anything playing like that’
Postecoglou’s defence of his tactics has fallen on deaf ears, though, with Jamie Carragher arguing afterwards that his approach – if used in all circumstances – does not lead to winning results.
“It was so easy for Liverpool and no matter how many injuries they’ve got, it shouldn’t have been that easy and that comes down to the manager not relenting on how he wants his team to set up,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“With Tottenham, I get the idea, it’s not about a style of play. If everyone’s fully fit and he wants to do things slightly different, and every manager who comes in’s got a different way of doing things, you’ve got to have your ID, you’ve got to have something that’s a little bit different that makes you special, that makes you start off in Australia and get yourself to the Premier League, it’s a brilliant journey he’s been on, and he’s got a way about that – but when you’ve got your best team, not when you’re down to the bare bones.
“Not that I expect Tottenham to win the Premier League, but nobody has ever won anything playing like that.”
Tottenham are 11th in the Premier League table after 17 games as a result of their defeat.