Postecoglou brought in a new coaching duo, Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo, in the wake of Chris Davies’ departure and both have made their mark this summer with their input and in particular their discipline, which comes with their military background, the latter serving and the former’s family ties to the armed forces. Montgomery has had a strong involvement in all set piece work at both ends of the pitch since arriving and that has been clear already. Not only did Cristian Romero score from a set piece in this second game but with what is a hybrid set piece defending system, involving both zonal and man marking, that side of the game for Spurs has looked much tighter in the opening encounters with the players showing more discipline and responsibility in their roles.
Ange Postecoglou said “The performance was excellent, I said after the game, I thought the performance last week was excellent too, but you’ve got to also turn that sort of dominant performance into outcomes and results. We did today, we looked really threatening going forward all the time. We created many chances, different kinds of chances, and I thought we handled their threat which they still are from set pieces and long balls really well today. So there was a little discipline in both aspects of the game.”
On having threats all over the pitch,
Ange Postecoglou added “It’s what we want to evolve into and we’re still in the process of that. We had Deki playing in midfield today, I thought he was really good and we had Sonny scoring a goal through the middle and he scored a goal when he went out wide. I think we looked a threat from varied different areas and even set pieces. So, if we’re going to turn compelling performances into consistent results, you’d need to have more than one avenue of attack. I thought we showed that today.”
Postecoglou does not believe it’s about being ruthless this season so much as continuing to play in the way that will create chances galore in every single game.
Ange Postecoglou said “Not necessarily [it’s about the ruthlessness]. I still think it’s about performance. I think if you perform like we have these first two weeks and you keep producing that multitude of chances, then more often than not you’ll win games of football, I still think it’s the performance. I think once you start focusing just on the outcome, on goals… because even today, I thought, you know, we created some unbelievable opportunities and could have scored more goals. But the idea is that you keep your level of performance up, and I think what you don’t want to do is after last week, change your approach, looking for goals. We haven’t changed our approach. We played the same way as last week, but I just felt today we had just a little bit more variety in our attacks. We went out wide, we went through central areas, we made some fantastic runs straight through the middle. I think Madders had a couple of one-on-one opportunities. I think that’s part of it as well. If we can become a team that’s not just a threat in one way, I think that’ll help us. Set pieces is another one. Cuti is unbelievable in the air, and we usually have some good deliveries in there. All those kind of things help.”
This was an important victory. It wasn’t a must-win game but Postecoglou wants to start amassing the points to have a big season at Tottenham and to do that with the matches that are coming up in the opening weeks of this season Spurs needed momentum. This was a great start. It was a risk bringing Yves Bissouma straight back into the Tottenham midfield as soon as his club suspension was done. Rodrigo Bentancur’s concussion after a strong display at Leicester meant Postecoglou had a decision to make. He could further punish Bissouma by making him sit on the bench and watch 18-year-old Archie Gray play in the midfield or he could hand the Mali international some reward for a week of responding to his public suspension with increased effort.
Ange Postecoglou said “You know what it’s like when you punish your child and they do everything right for the next two days? He’s first in the meetings, he’s doing everything right but there’s always temptation down the road, so we’ll see. I’ve always believed in opportunity for redemption and learning. We’re still in that space at the moment with Biss. “
But obviously that door closes after a while if there’s repeated [indiscretions]. He’s been good but I would have been surprised if he wasn’t. It’s always the key with Biss is consistency. The consistency of behaviour, what he does… it’s not that he’s doing a lot of bad things.
Ange Postecoglou said “Obviously the last transgression was very serious but it’s the little things along the way also. I think sometimes that manifests in his game where he’s really good and he’ll have a moment when he’s not. I think it all correlates. From our perspective it’s about trying to continually guide him, but it’s up to him. He’s got to continue to try to be the best version of himself that he can possibly be.”
Postecoglou handed Bissouma the chance to pay something back to him and his team-mates, knowing that the remarkable young talent that is Gray will get his chance soon. The Spurs boss also wanted to play two attack-minded midfielders in James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski so perhaps did not want to put the pressure on the teenager to mop up everything behind them. Bissouma continued his penitent path with an impressive display, which not only brought that blockbuster first goal for the club but also a performance full of running and importantly very little in the way of mistakes or lapses in concentration. His celebrations included a bowing, hands clasped together apology to the fans before he grabbed the badge on his shirt repeatedly. He then ran over and hugged Postecoglou after the goal. The midfielder loves playing for the 58-year-old. He calls him a father figure, which makes his continued lapses, in Postecoglou’s words, all the more frustrating for the head coach and his coaching staff.
Ange Postecoglou said “It seemed to work so I’m going to ban him next week and bring him back the week after mate as that seems to do the trick, Biss was great today, not just his goal. He was really disciplined, but discipline is a word I use with him a hell of a lot. Hopefully he gets to the point where he understands how important it is, because we want to see the best of Biss playing for this football club.”
The problem is Bissouma is not 18, 21 or even 25. He turns 28 on Friday and he really should be at a point in his career where he is settled and focused on his football, rather than anything superfluous outside of it, in order to squeeze every last drop out of ability. He’s popular around the club and a fun figure, but so is Son while still having an incredible work ethic that has taken him up among the elite players in the world while being an inspiration to every younger player at the club.
Ange Postecoglou said “Biss was good and we know Biss is a good footballer. It’s about him being the best version of himself and he will only get there if, as we’ve spoken a few times, discipline is a big thing for him and I thought it was a disciplined performance for him today, Not just the goal he scored, but he had a really important job for us. He knew they’d play fairly direct and he had to be there to mop up second balls and intercept things and he was clean for the most part in possession. So good performance. “
There’s no doubting his ability. He has that ability to do something special, but he needs to make sure that he does everything, he tries and endeavours to do everything right on and off the field to give him the platform to show who he could be as a footballer.
Ange Postecoglou said “We certainly believe in him, we’re certainly giving him an opportunity, but as I said before that’s not a never-ending thread, at some point you need to cut it and it’s really up to him to keep going on.”
Maddison had his say after the game,
James Maddison said “We all know Yves’ ability. He is a ridiculous player at times. He has got a skill not many have. The gaffer is a great man with good morals. [Yves] has to keep working hard.”
This needs to be the fuse that finally ignites an inconsistent career rather than simply a blip on a downward curve. Yves Bissouma has met the best possible person at the best possible time in Ange Postecoglou, but ultimately only the midfielder can decide his path ahead.
James Maddison said “[Assists] are always nice. I’m driven to play as well as I can and being a creative midfielder that kind of correlates with getting goals and assists. I felt like a real threat today and against Leicester, which is good, I feel in a good place, when you feel dangerous and feel like a threat. We started the game so well on the left side – me, Wilson and Destiny. We had a really good dynamic going, and we got the balance perfect of sometimes leaving Wilson one vs one, sometimes me running the half space, and we had some dangerous crosses where we could have scored, could have had a couple more assists. But the the goals and assists are important for a player like myself, because that’s what I’m in the team to do, that’s what the club bought me for. So it’s nice to get the return on the chances and that I create. I feel great. The disappointment of missing the Euros meant the silver lining of that was I’ve got a full summer to rest, recover and really get my ankle back perfect, work hard and come back fit with the hunger, And now I feel really good at the minute, so hopefully that can continue, and I can keep contributing to help our team win.”
Postecoglou can see the return of the Maddison who ran the show for Tottenham in the first half of last season.
Ange Postecoglou said “I thought Madders was really good and again, really disciplined. It’s not an easy game when you play against a team like Everton because you know there’s not going to be a hell of a lot of space in the front third, but you’ve also got to work defensively for second balls, I thought he was really good at doing that for us. He mopped up a few times when they’ve gone long and kept the ball for us. He had a really good synergy with Wilson early on, they worked really well together, and then he made some great runs. I think the key for me with Madders, a bit like Biss in a different angle, is if he’s physically good, if he’s feeling 100% physically, and he’s fit and he’s training every day, he can produce those kind of performances. It’s when that drops off a little bit that you see his performance… I think it affects him as well, you know, if he doesn’t feel 100%. There’s no doubt he’s at that now that he’s training every day. He trains hard every day. He’s had a really strong pre-season and I think that makes him feel like ‘you know what, I can go out there and do the stuff I do’. If Maddison can do the stuff he does across the whole season then Tottenham are going to profit in a major way. “
Tottenham could well be thanking their lucky stars that Bayern signed Michael Olise to add to their list of wingers, otherwise Kompany may well have moved for Odobert. Instead Postecoglou snared him and immediately threw him in for his debut after his work permit came through on Tuesday. The young Frenchman played without fear from the first minute and quickly proved that he is going to be a player who will get the crowd on their feet. His first touch was consistently something special in stopping the ball dead or taking it into his stride at pace. Opta’s stats showed that Odobert registered the most dribbles (7) and produced the most touches in the opposition box (7) of any player during the game. He also contested more duels (14) than any other Tottenham player during his debut and won the joint-most with six. “Exciting,”
Postecoglou told about the Frenchman Odobert’s performance.
Ange Postecoglou said “He’s different from our other wingers. He goes at his opponent and, you know, even if he wasn’t successful, he went at him again and I think that’s exactly why we bought him to the club. I mean, he’s 19-years-old, his first game for his new club at home in front of 60,000 people. Yeah, really exciting.”
Odobert linked up well with Maddison and Udogie from the off and he continually drove at the Everton defence, causing havoc among their lines. Tottenham have often had problems breaking down organised, deep defences but the teenager offers a way through them, prying open gaps for others by drawing more bodies towards him. It was a very promising first appearance though and proof Odobert is going to play a lot of football this season under Postecoglou because he fits right into his no fear style and system.
Son Heung-min said “He was very, very impressive. He’s been training with the team, maybe three or four times, maybe a little bit more, but you can see how much quality he has. And he understood how we want to play and I was very, very pleased to see him on the left side, going one-on-one and making a good impact. I mean it’s his first game, we don’t…let’s not celebrate too much because, you know, with the young players we need to stay very humble. We also have to take care of these players, we can’t let them celebrate that much after one game, because football has such a long, long period and long season. So I will also tell him I’m trying to help him, the young lads, because it’s not everything, you know one game is not everything. I hope he can continue the performance and keep the sharpness for the team. So it will be very, very good, and today he was very, very impressive, but we have a long, long season ahead. I hope he can keep on performing like this all the way through the season.”
Odobert need only look at Son as the benchmark for an attacking player at Spurs. Some try to claim the South Korean is on the decline or can’t play either up front or on the left as well. However, as he has always done, Son continues to make a mockery of anyone who doubts him. Saturday’s two goals, one as the striker and one as a left winger, made it 248 goal involvements in 410 games for Spurs with 164 goals and 84 assists. When asked after the game if he ever gets nervous when faced by an open goal as he did for his first, the Tottenham captain simply looked with mock disgust and quipped.
Son Heung-min said “I’m Sonny, I’m joking, I’m joking”.
At 32, Son is showing no signs of slowing down either in terms of scoring or his pace. He was the only man who could keep up with Micky van de Ven for his second goal, no mean feat when the Dutchman has been clocked as the fastest player in the Premier League. He will have a new understudy to help mentor in Odobert and someone to continue to push on his own performances. Postecoglou has often said that what impresses him the most about Son is that the oldest outfield player at the club is the one still the most desperate to learn and improve. His work rate remains phenomenal as shown by the pressing for his first goal and the captain also earned the corner that Romero scored from.
Postecoglou was asked after the game about Son’s assertion that he wants to become a Tottenham legend.
Ange Postecoglou said “There’s no sort of set criteria for that stuff. I’ve got no doubt that whenever he’s done and dusted – and it’s hopefully a long way down the track – he will be in esteemed company at this football club. But I love the fact that he’s still motivated to do more. That’s the key thing for us. He was really good today. It’s the reason I put him in the middle because we know Jordan is a big part of their build-up play and they use him a lot. And Sonny’s the best presser that we have in the front there, he’s unbelievable. I think he relished that role and again showed his threat when he went out on the left with that great finish.”
What will likely help Son this season as well is that he will not have to play every game. He has often been run into the ground in previous seasons due to the club’s thin squads but this year Odobert and Timo Werner will be able to come in and give him days off. There are so many potential options that Manor Solomon is set to head off after only six appearances for Spurs with a loan move to Leeds United without an option to buy as the 25-year-old looks to get his sharpness and fitness back in the Championship. On the right-hand side, Brennan Johnson is yet to find his rhythm this season. He’s getting into the right positions but his touch and decision-making isn’t helping him when he’s there. The Wales international was given the whole game to find his way as Odobert began to tire in the second half. With Odobert right-footed and having played on the right on a number of occasions last season for Burnley, Johnson will have a fight on his hands and the £50million attacker will have to raise his game accordingly if he is to beat his 15 goal involvements last season. For Postecoglou, competition and depth is what he needs, especially as the games arrive every three days or so from next month onwards.
Micky van de Ven, who gave everyone an injury scare before playing his part in wrapping up the game in style. Towards the end of the first half, the Dutchman’s foot got caught in the ground during a challenge and his knee hyperextended. The 23-year-old is not one to go down easily but he lay on the floor in a lot of pain and Postecoglou would have had flashbacks to that hamstring injury last November.
Ange Postecoglou said “Yeah, I was worried obviously, but I’m worried about all of my boys mate. They’re all special to me. You certainly don’t want anything, particularly when it’s something awkward like that. There’s a real fear [in that moment] that it could be something but speaking to him, he handled it ok and he said he was fine after a couple of minutes. He is important to us but they’re all important. That’s why we’ve tried to create a squad where we’re not going to just be putting him out there week after week.”
Van de Ven looked like his day was over. Radu Dragusin was sent out to warm up and started to prepare to come on, but the Dutchman began to feel better almost immediately and got through the rest of the half. He emerged for the second period and just got stronger and stronger as it wore on. He made two terrific interceptions and showed his strength and pace numerous times in dealing with balls over the top. ”
James Maddison said “He’s brilliant. With the aggressive line we play, he’s so important. He’s so important for us, I know we always talk about it, but his pace is just ridiculous. So it really helps us play that high aggressive line, and it’s no coincidence that we get so many offsides. There’s so many times, I know it gets delayed and it looks like we’ve conceded a chance, but it gets pulled back and it’s offside. That’s because of the work that the back four do with the aggressive line. Sometimes you’re going to get teams that are creative and they have good players. So they maybe have a well-timed run behind or play a nice pass where they’re onside and that’s where Micky uses his pace to get us out of trouble. A brilliant player. “
To ensure any residual doubts over his knee were dismissed, Van de Ven embarked on that long striding run from box-to-box, with Everton players around him and poor 19-year-old Roman Dixon bouncing off him at one point. He expertly drew in Tarkowski before laying it off for Son to score and the Tottenham captain admitted he was praying Van de Ven did not give him the ball too early.
Son Heung-min said “I said to to Mickey it’s his goal, you know? When he was driving with the ball I was just running with him. Then I was thinking, I was saying, ‘if you pass it now, I’m going to kill you’, because there was a long way to run, and he had so much space and I was like ‘Yeah, commit Micky, commit’, like inside of my head, And he was committed and he played the perfect pass. He was like a playmaking player. After I scored the goal the fans were singing Micky’s song you know, but cheers, Micky. I was very pleased, scoring goals is very pleasing, but seeing Micky running like this and passing like this, it has to be Micky’s goal. So, I’m very, very happy and grateful having these amazing defenders behind me.”
Postecoglou believes Van de Ven can become one of the best in the game and he praised the young Dutchman once again after the game.
Ange Postecoglou said “Outstanding. I mean he’s a pretty special footballer. Last year when we had that back four up and running, we were a pretty compelling team, but we also know we can’t just keep putting them out there and I think with Romero, Micky and Destiny, they’re not at peak fitness at the moment and they all sort of missed pre-season. So we sort of knew this two or three weeks, we saw it last week about the 60 minute mark, they really started to fatigue and we’ve just got to be really careful with them. “
But if we can get through the international break, then once the midweek games start, we can start rotating a little bit and, you know, because we need them at the peak of their performance because when they’re like that, they’re outstanding footballers.
Ange Postecoglou said ” Porro defended well on the right and on the left, Udogie is improving his fitness even if he had to come off late on and Postecoglou explained his exit. He was a bit sore. He had sort of tightness, both hamstrings and calves, I think. Again, he was really fatigued last week as well, so trying to get as many match minutes into him as possible through this early period just to get his fitness up. I haven’t spoken to the medical team but when I spoke to him, he just said he felt tired.”
It was perhaps noteworthy that Djed Spence continued his redemption story by coming on for Udogie at left-back, suggesting that Ben Davies is seen more as the extra centre-back cover. The Welshman was presented with a glass ball by Ledley King before the game to recognise his 10 years at the club. Postecoglou did appear to suggest that he is not looking for further options in the centre of defence on Friday ahead of the game when asked if he was looking to do something in that department in this final week of the transfer window.
Ange Postecoglou said ” No, look we’ve obviously got Radu [Dragusin], who is going really well and training really well. Ben can play centre-back as well and Archie [Gray] can play centre-back so I think we’re OK”
He also has Romero, who was superb on Saturday in his 100th appearance for the north London club. The Argentine was aggressive in exactly the right ways and led the backline throughout every challenge they faced as they made it look easy for much of the encounter. Romero was last season’s top-scoring Premier League defender and he has already bagged his first of this campaign with a powerful header. He could have had two had he sent an early volley either side of Pickford and he then showed his passing range with two pinpoint lofted balls into the path of Maddison. The 26-year-old appears to be maturing rapidly as a defender under Postecoglou and that he has won the World Cup and two Copa America titles will only increase his own confidence on the pitch. Postecoglou sees Romero as someone who has everything he wants in one of his players, with his belief, aggression, ability and winning mentality.
Ange Postecoglou said ” He’s outstanding. Obviously with all these kind of things you have the image of a player from afar and before I got here I thought he was going to be really important to me because he’s such a fantastic centre-back for club and country, but being here, watching him, the way he trains and the way he plays, unbelievably strong mindset. An absolute winner in every thing he does. He was really important last year and he’s going to be really important moving forward. He is one of the players within this group who has achieved things from a team perspective and those kind of things are transferable. He has won the World Cup, he has won the Copa America, so he’s part of a successful team and I think he’s a really strong influence in the group. It’s great he plays his 100th game. I know he’ll perform at the level he normally does, he’s really consistent, but hopefully we’ll make it a special day for him.”
It was indeed a special day for Romero and after the game he posted on social media:
A special match and a pride to reach 100 games played with this shirt. Great game by all, this is the way to go! Thank you all for the support as always. Let’s go @spursofficial”
Romero undertook an interesting interview with Telemundo Deportes this week and spoke about his desire to win things with Spurs.
Cristian Romero said “It’s now the second season that I’ve played in this system and the truth is that I like it a lot. I’m someone, a central defender, who really likes to play quite high up, it’s a nice game system to play this year. I think they are correcting some things tactically from last season and I think we are a little more solid team. Let’s hope to show it during this season.”
He also spoke about the arrival of Dominic Solanke, saying:
Cristian Romero said “For me, he’s a great striker. He is going to contribute much to the system we have and I think he can contribute a lot to the team. Obviously there is also Richy and there is a nice competition between the two, a very healthy competition on a daily basis and let’s hope they have an excellent season.”
Cristian Romero believes that it’s now time for Tottenham to win silverware to add to his international honours.
Cristian Romero said “At club level yes obviously my wish is to try to get some trophy and you always try every day to get up and come and try to convey that message to your team-mates, I think it’s going to be a nice season. We have many competitions to play in and we hope that it happens. It’s a nice thing that many people consider you one of the best but it is always something that pushes you to keep improving to keep growing. There are too many defenders and too many players to say that I am the best. Absolutely no one is the best, apart from Leo [Messi] who is the best footballer I have ever seen with my eyes and the rest I think have to work a lot. To be considered one of the best defenders, like I said is something that drives you day after day after day to continue improving, continue having the same ambition. I think I’m on the right path. If they put me up there it’s because I am doing things well and I want to continue doing it the same way and see where my ceiling is and that is my thought on a day-to-day basis.”
Postecoglou has a young and talented side this season but he also has a few experienced heads in the team to help guide them on the pitch. Romero and Son in particular can be the driving forces and examples for the youngsters to follow. It was once said you can’t win anything with kids and that was swiftly proved wrong. Tottenham’s young gifted group, looking up to Son, Romero and Postecoglou, are aiming to do exactly the same. Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform. Want breaking and top Tottenham stories sent straight to you? Join our Spurs WhatsApp community by clicking this link. If you’re curious you can check out our privacy policy here.
