Ange Postecoglou has come under fire following Tottenham’s heavy defeat to Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur were taken to the cleaners by league leaders Liverpool, who scored six past their goalkeeper Fraser Forster at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. It could have been even worse for Spurs, so the 6-3 scoreline largely flattered the home side.
The Lilywhites conceded six goals at home in a Premier League game for the first time since 1997 when Chelsea hammered them 6-1 at White Hart Lane. Liverpool boss Arne Slot defended Ange Postecoglou in his press conference on Friday before the game as he questioned why he was getting slammed for playing an aggressive, pressing and enterprising brand of football.
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel slated Ange Postecoglou’s ‘crazy’ tactics after Spurs’ 6-3 defeat to Liverpool. The Australian’s tactics and defensive organisation have come under scrutiny, but there’s certainly an argument to suggest he has been extremely unfortunate when it comes to injuries this season.
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Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie—Tottenham’s defensive spine—were all unavailable to face Liverpool, with Big Ange forced into using young midfielder Archie Gray in an unaccustomed centre-back role alongside Radu Dragusin. 36-year-old Fraser Forster, who dropped two howlers against Man United in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals last week, continued deputising for the injured Vicario in goal.
Sports commentator and presenter Richard Keys came in the defense of the Tottenham boss after the Liverpool defeat, urging everyone to give Postecoglou “a break” given the long injury list he’s dealing with.
“I said it last week. I’ll say it again. Can we please give Postecoglou a break? Did anyone notice three of his regular back four were missing v Liverpool,” Richard Keys wrote in his personal blog.
“Oh! —and his first-choice keeper. Not once did I hear him make an excuse for the defeat nor list his injured players. City haven’t stopped whining about missing just one – Rodri, despite the fact they won six and drew one of their first seven games after his injury.”
The alarming levels of inconsistent displays and results will undoubtedly be a concern for Tottenham fans, and the game against Liverpool after wins over Southampton and Man United further underlined that. Scoring goals has not been a problem at all as they found a way to put three past Alisson Becker and could have got a couple more with better decision-making in the final third. It has been the defence that has been all over the place.
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With as many as nine Tottenham players currently out due to a mixture of injuries, suspension and illness, any manager in the world is going to find it extremely hard to get results on a consistent basis.
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Amid a storm of criticism from media outlets and former footballers, Keys’ defence for Big Ange comes as refreshing and honest.
