There’s no doubt Ange Postecoglou has made Tottenham Hotspur a more entertaining team to watch. The Australian arrived in North London not long after the end of the Antonio Conte era at Spurs with supporters keen to see their side play a dynamic, attack-minded brand of soccer. This is something Postecoglou has achieved.
However, there are growing questions over his ability to deliver the sort of tangible success Tottenham wants. Spurs doesn’t just want to be entertaining - it wants to win titles and trophies. It wants to compete for silverware at the top of English and European soccer, and this is where Postecoglou’s approach is still to be proven.
In essence, Postecoglou wants his teams to take risks. He adopts a high defensive line to facilitate the counter-pressing of the players further forward and takes his chances that this will result on high-percentage opportunities to find the back of the net. Tottenham fans have seen this over the last two seasons.
In some matches, though, that high defensive line has been exposed. There is space in behind for opposition attackers to exploit and this has given Spurs a soft underbelly. Many believe it will be difficult for them to challenge for the biggest prizes until this weakness has been shored up, either through a change of approach or a change of personnel.
Cristian Romero has allowed mistakes to creep into his game. The Argentina international was at fault for Brighton’s winner before the international break, losing Danny Welbeck as he attacked a cross into the box, and this sort of thing has become the norm for the central defender. Postecoglou must find a way to get better out of him.
Set pieces have also been a weakness for Tottenham. Guglielmo Vicario has been targeted for his lack of physicality from corner kicks, but many argue Postecoglou and his coaching staff should be doing a better job of organising his team when defending their own box. Spurs is simply too weak at the back.
Nonetheless, Tottenham has embarked on a long-term project with Postecoglou in charge and the team is still on an upward trajectory in a broad sense. Spurs’ performances this season have been better than the results the team has registered. In many ways, Tottenham should be higher than ninth in the Premier League table. It remains the case, though, that Postecoglou still has a point to prove.