A New Hope

“Wins in football is a wonderful thing,” says Humphreys Ker, in the latest episode of ‘We are Wrexham.’

“It wipes the slate clean, changes the agenda and changes the topic of conversation.”

The greatest example of this – in this six-game old Premier League season – is Ange Postecoglou.

Despite having the Spurs reigns for a short time, the no nonsense, Australian orator has managed to seduce the press to say and write something positive about the club.

Afterall, he has a fascinating story to tell.

A Greek immigrant who arrived in Australia on a boat, lived as a working-class lad and saw football as a way of connecting with his dad.

This isn’t too dissimilar from us all but then Melbourne isn’t the footballing enclave that London or Manchester is.

The Australian sporting arena is dominated by Aussie rules football (AFL) and Rugby. It makes his journey to the Premier League more impressive when you consider that there was no clear pathway.

Most of Postecoglou’s playing career was spent at South Melbourne, where he was later coached by Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás.

He would also manage the club and won the 1999 OFC Champions League before managing Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory.

In October 2013, Postecoglou became manager of the Australian national team but were swiftly eliminated from the 2014 World Cup after three entertaining defeats against Chile, Netherlands and Spain.

Despite the disappointment, Postecoglou galvanised Australia and won the 2015 Asian Cup by beating Son Heung-Min’s South Korea in the final.

He was successful in Japan - managing Yokohama - before arriving at Celtic after Eddie Howe decided not to take the role in June 2021.

It was good fortune. Especially when most pundits view Europe and South America as the only bastions of footballing significance.

Postecoglou’s appointment was met with scepticism amongst the media and his own players. Despite a rough start he won five trophies in Scotland with a great blend of optimism, coaching and unearthing talent from his time in Asia.

He was again met with derision when he agreed to become Spurs manager. After all, anyone who has played Football Manager or has a healthy social media following could win the SPL with Celtic #amirite

In fairness, you can’t blame them. Such has been Tottenham's lust to break that trophy drought that we lurched from our traditions and appointed conservative managers like Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte (We don’t talk about Nuno..oh no no no).

Postecoglou had found a club that had lost its identity but one that was desperate to return to its roots. A club that would be welcoming of his style but in dire need of a statesman to communicate to the fanbase and beyond.

No longer are there those press conferences that you have to ‘read between the lines’ in. Quotes that were molded into negative articles and cast a shadow over the club.

With Postecoglou you know what to expect and his intensions for the North London Derby couldn’t have been clearer.

The first thirty minutes were not an easy watch. Spurs rode their luck at times. Destiny Udogie and James Maddison were both caught in possession, which Arsenal really should have capitalised on.

From my perspective it felt that I was reincarnating every trauma of previous visits to the Emirates.

Almost expecting the Spurs midfield to buckle followed by a calamitous mistake from the goalkeeper or defence.

However, the mistakes we did make went unpunished and the predicted consequences – from the likes of Paul Merson - of playing openly at Arsenal never came to pass.

Spurs continued to play the Postecoglou way regardless. We grew into the game ten minutes before half time, and its solely down to the manager.

The messaging was clear. If a player makes a mistake, then it’s on the coach who asked them to play that way and not the individual itself. “We don't stop.”

A 2-2 draw was the fair result despite being dominant for most of the second half. Perhaps, we could have won if Son and Maddison hadn’t withdrawn with injuries.

Now wanting more, it felt that Spurs let them off the hook. Yet it signified something different.

The prospect of a Spurs that doesn’t fall apart at the first sign of trouble.

A Spurs that won’t arch from being ultra defensive to that ‘oh shit we need to attack the opposition if we want to get anything from today’ attitude.

It is the prospect of a Spurs that will stick to a fundamental belief that playing with an attacking mindset will guild more wins and help us overcome difficult periods.

This weekend we welcome Liverpool for another litmus test of Postecoglou’s Tottenham. Another boil in recent years that Spurs fans would like to lance.

It may or may not happen this Saturday at the Lane. But at least under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou there is a new hope.

Not just in one great individual player but in a squad and a manager that works in unity. One that pays homage to a forgotten identity and makes you proud to be Spurs again.

If this Postecoglou ‘vibe’ continues beyond its infancy then we can start to dream again, mate.