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Hello! Ange Postecoglou is about to record that difficult second album. There’s more pressure at Tottenham Hotspur this time.
On the way:
🤝 Postecoglou meets The Athletic
🇪🇸 Dani Olmo to Barcelona
🥇 USWNT on the brink of gold
🔵 Chelsea’s latest struggles
Earning his Spurs: Postecoglou knows goodwill does not last forever
The closing week of Ange Postecoglou’s first season at Tottenham Hotspur should prove to be defining.
You’ll remember how it went: Postecoglou’s indifference about qualifying for the Champions League when Spurs would have lapped qualification up; his indifference about Arsenal winning the Premier League title when all in his sector of north London said over our dead bodies.
A broadly positive year in which Postecoglou made plenty of friends wrapped up in slightly fractious fashion, and next for him comes that delicate second season where familiarity eats into goodwill. They like Postecoglou at Spurs. They like the bravery of his football, even if it has flaws. They like the cut of his jib. But they won’t be patient indefinitely.
What resonated in this interview with him today, done with The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor, was Postecoglou saying the same himself. He can see that no honeymoon period is infinite and neither is faith in a popular coach.
“As managers, particularly in the initial period, we have a fair bit of power and influence to say, ‘Well, we’ll do this my way’, and for the most part players will do that,” Postecoglou said. “But then that wears off because eventually they’ll want to see some fruits for their labour.”
One bonus for him is that Spurs are enjoying a better pre-season than their last one. Twelve months ago, they were coping with poor weather and cancelled matches in the Far East. This time, in Japan and South Korea, it’s been smoother. Physically, they seem up to speed.
All the same, it wasn’t easy to go past this quote from Postecoglou: “Last year it was quite obvious that we didn’t have a squad equipped to handle the rigours of a Premier League campaign.”
That was true in the context of the top four and yet, in this transfer window, Spurs have made only two signings: Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall. They’re 18 and they’re red-hot European prospects, but they don’t make Tottenham’s skin more impenetrable. So will Postecoglou kick on from the final week of last season? Or will it come to represent the hurdles he couldn’t clear?
It deserves to work out for him. Not many former bank tellers get to a Premier League dugout. Before him, no Australian had either. He’s fun, he’s different and he’s easy to warm to. But football is no personality contest and reading between the lines of his interview today, you don’t have to tell him that.
Transfer Talk
News round-up
More from the transfer universe, which seems to be gravitating around Atletico Madrid:
Olm-oh?
Olmo celebrates with Spain (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Dani Olmo was so electric at the Euros — for my money, Spain’s shining light — that any move this summer had to take him to the top.
He’s already at a prominent club in RB Leipzig. A sideways switch was pointless. It’s taken an offer on the scale of Barcelona’s to float his boat.
But while Barca are about to snatch a multi-faceted gem, is he a signing they need? You might think that’s a daft question given Olmo’s class, but the game is littered with stories of big names who failed to fit a certain system.
Olmo is predominantly a No 10. Barca have multiple options there, including Ilkay Gundogan. Their top target was Nico Williams and in no respect are he and Olmo the same player. Nonetheless, our Spanish experts think Olmo might start on the left wing at Camp Nou.
Joined-up thinking hasn’t been Barca’s strength. Let’s hope this one works out.
10 players that need a move
Olmo didn’t need a move this summer, but my word, some in the Premier League do. Elias Burke has highlighted 10 names with itchy feet and these three caught my eye:
Chelsea’s latest blues
Speaking of Maresca, he’s given us an early contender for a having-your-cake-and-eating-it quote of the season.
Conor Gallagher is likely leaving Chelsea, another academy player yielding a tidy wedge of cash. Maresca thinks the blame for the exodus of youth products from Stamford Bridge lies with the Premier League and its profitability and sustainability (PSR) constraints.
Homegrown talent is the easiest route to big profits, you see, and clubs are under pressure to balance their books. “This is not Chelsea’s problem,” Maresca said in a press conference this week. “These are the rules.”
Maybe, but only with the caveat that since 2022, Chelsea have forked out more than £1bn ($1.27bn) on signings. I can’t see Maresca’s violin cutting through. Besides, after another pre-season defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in Charlotte last night — featuring a seemingly nasty high-line “habit” — there’s more to focus on closer to home.
Real Madrid, in contrast, might be warming up. How’s this for a pass for Brahim Diaz from Vinicius Junior for their second goal? Disguise, weight, perfection…
USWNT’s final flourish
The USWNT march on. It was extra time again at the Olympic Games last night but Sophia Smith’s goal turned Germany’s stubborn lights out. Beat Brazil in Saturday’s final and it’s gold medals ahoy.
Emma Hayes asked her players to suffer in France and they have. They have a winner in the dugout and winners on the pitch and they had Smith to thank for a bit of quick-thinking that caught Germany’s goalkeeper out of position.
We have all the reaction in our Full Time newsletter and podcast.
(Top photo: Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)