Ange Postecoglou finds himself under pressure at the moment. The Australian might have earned himself a lot of plaudits last season but right now, things are not going Tottenham Hotspur's way. You never know what version of them will show up. This weekend, they won 5-0 against Southampton. The next, they might lose badly and nobody will be surprised. The Aussie manager barely put a foot wrong while at Celtic but could he end up getting sacked by the London club soon?
Postecoglou will be hoping that his Tottenham Hotspur side are able to use their 5-0 win as a launching pad for better results moving forward. He has not been helped by injuries to key players.
Fraser Forster is one player that Postecoglou has had to rely on this season. Unfortunately, the veteran goalkeeper has not proven to be a steady presence between the posts and has come under heavy criticism.
Postecoglou's style of football has not really played to Forster's strengths though. Celtic fans will be well aware of that. But they will also know that the Aussie manager sticks to his system and philosophy, no matter what. As reported by Glasgow World, Kasey Keller told the Sun:
"If your No 1 goalkeeper has strengths and your back-up goalkeeper has different strengths, then you're going to have to make adjustments. That's what coaching is. You don't just get to go, 'You all play like this world all-star team'. No, it doesn't work that way.
"That's not on Fraser, that's on Ange. You're not going to ask your striker to play like Erling Haaland. It's no different for a goalkeeper. Your goalkeeper has his strengths and weaknesses just like every other player. Then to ask him to do something that isn't fair to him, that's just bad coaching. I'm sorry.
“The criticism of Ange has been there is no Plan B. That's great when Plan A is working every week. That's part of the point with Forster. There has to be a Plan B within Plan A, because you don't have the same players on the pitch every game and every player doesn't have the same qualities and abilities."
Ange Postecoglou blamed for Celtic hero's struggles
A lack of pragmatism is something that Postecoglou has always been criticised for over the course of his coaching career. He has always stuck to his philosophy though and it has brought him success everywhere he has been.
Postecoglou was not an overnight success at Celtic. He had a proven track record of success in Australia and Asia before that.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Postecoglou and Tottenham Hotspur. To be honest, a parting of ways is starting to feel inevitable, whether that be in the middle of this season or at the end.