Ange Postecoglou, curses and a patchwork Spurs high line
SUPERSTITION AIN’T THE WAY
Strewth, mate! Having been presented with the first three Premier League manager of the month gongs available since taking over at Spurs, Ange Postecoglou could have been forgiven for worrying that the curse associated with the award was about to strike with the power of 10,000 suns. While the straight-talking, no-nonsense Aussie doesn’t strike Football Daily as the kind of superstitious type who salutes magpies and worries about breaking mirrors or spilling salt in the training-ground canteen, during his time at Celtic he did once greet news of a knack crisis by saying he “must have walked under a ladder”.
At his press pow-wow before Tottenham’s flamin’ trip to Wolves on Saturday, Postecoglou had about him the bearing of a man who had not only walked under a ladder, but subsequently discovered it was attached to the back of a fire engine that had been summoned to put out a fire at his house. Following his nine-man side’s deceptively emphatic 4-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in an epically wild match on Monday night, he was gloomily able to reveal to the ladies and gentlemen of the Fourth Estate that the game and three points that were up for grabs weren’t the only thing he had lost.
In news that will prompt Spurs fans to stick the boot into any black cats unwise enough to cross their paths, the Spurs manager revealed that James Maddison, so instrumental in the club’s early-season success, will be out with ankle-knack until some time in January, while fellow summer signing Micky van de Ven faces a similarly long spell on the sidelines after pulling up lame with what looked like a nasty case of hammy-twang. With Richarlison also out for a month or more, and Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie both set to sit out their Molineux appointment on the Premier League’s Naughty Step, it will be a somewhat make-do and mend lineup missing several seriously influential players that will take to the field.
“We’ll have to make some changes but the guys who’ll come in have been training hard, they understand how we want to play and they will give everything they can to try to make us successful,” tooted Ange, desperately squinting in his bid to see a bright side. “I know people say it’s an advantage that we’re not currently in Europe or the [Milk] Cup, but if we were, some of these guys would have had game time. They’ll come in and they haven’t had a lot. We’ve got to be careful about the sort of game time we give people.” Asked by one reporter if he might be tempted to change the way his team sets up, considering his patchwork defence might be uncomfortable playing the usual high line across the edge of their opponents’ six-yard box, Ange did manage to crack a smile and something of a zinger: “Yeah there’s always a temptation, but apart from chocolate I’m always pretty good at not giving into [them].” While several Spurs players may be absent, their manager is here all week.
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