In-Depth Analysis: Has Ange given up on his principles? | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has had a nightmare season so far. After a solid first season, with a fifth-place finish in the league, the Australian manager showcased to Spurs fans how he likes to play football. With a nonstopping press and offensive approach, the Spurs fanbase finally seemed to have found the attacking philosophy that has always been the club's favorite brand of football. However, the Australian manager has been having a challenging second year at the helm.

In-Depth Analysis: Has Ange given up on his principles?

With an injury crisis worse than in his previous year, Big Ange has been having a difficult time finding consistency under Spurs, especially with a full calendar and matches every three days. It is also fair to say that inconsistency was a common word in Spurs' vocabulary, mainly due to last season's second half and a few setbacks with a nearly full-fitted squad, like against Brighton and Crystal Palace. Therefore, Ange has always had issues finding consistency, and injuries only made it more complicated.

In the most recent run of Spurs matches, there was an aspect that worried me more than the defeats and performances on their own. The problem was how we played, which was far apart from what Ange always praised in his style. The notably known "Ange Ball" was nowhere to be seen in the past few weeks, with Spurs 'parking the bus' at times and giving up possession against opponents.

For instance, Spurs played a mid-to-low block approach against Brentford with exponential moments of higher press. It worked on that occasion, with the Spurs getting the three points with an own goal on a corner and a Pape Matar Sarr counter-attack score at the end. However, the reciprocate was not true against Liverpool and Aston Villa, two matches in which Spurs lost in all fairness. Liverpool, in particular, Ange's Tottenham Hotspur played an unrecognizable and cowardly match.

In that context, it is entirely understandable the fans' frustrations toward the Australian. Besides the season's terrible results so far, that frustration also comes from the fact that Spurs are not playing the offensive and highly entertaining football that Ange promised. Even if the argument was to play a more pragmatic approach to guarantee results amidst an injury crisis — an utterly fair point — the results are also not coming to fruition either.

Now, with less competition due to the recent cup eliminations, Ange has had more time and free weeks to recover his players. Against Machester United last weekend, the Spurs gave a small but significant sample to show that the Ange Ball was still a thing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A so-needed home win against United also came aside a performance worth Ange's original standards for the club, which is relieving.

Therefore, I don't believe Ange has abandoned his principles, and I am not entirely opposed to his occasional strategic changes. However, I do believe he has to find the proper balance in his approach with each opponent without necessarily neglecting his core principles. After all, this is not the first time this inconsistency has happened, and Spurs sometimes look like a club with the most significant gap between their floor and ceiling in the whole league.

I still do believe in Ange for the future, and hopefully, with better recruiting and more tactical tweaks along the way, maybe the Spurs can find a solution to close that gap. There is still a long season ahead, but if the club truly believes in Ange's philosophy, they will give him time and tools to turn this mess of a season around in the Prem and the Europa League.

Ange screams the good, the bad, and the ugly of what it means to be Spurs, which might be exactly what the club needs to dare to do.