“It's difficult for him at the moment. Injuries are not helping and there are suspensions as well but he's just got to continue doing what he believes,” says Tim Sherwood, who attended the game on Saturday against Newcastle, himself.
It was the sixth straight home game in the Premier League without a win for Tottenham, but the former Tottenham manager doesn’t hesitate in offering his support to Postecoglou and his style.
“He's been given the job at Tottenham because of the way he plays and his philosophy which is different to anyone else. He did a fantastic job last season. And this year, there's added expectation from the fans at Tottenham because he did do so well last year,” Sherwood adds before pointing the finger at recruitment.
“Tottenham have spent money, don't get me wrong, but some of the players they've bought are not up to the level. But every club gets it wrong sometimes and Ange needs a little bit of help. I still believe he's the right man for the job,” states Sherwood as a firm believer a manager needs his personal style. Just like Russell Martin even though it cost him his job at Southampton.
“Sometimes, the recruitment and the technical management team have to look at themselves and say; perhaps the players are not good enough. I've been in that situation before. They try to change a manager and then they bring in another two or three in the same season and they still get relegated. Perhaps it's not the manager's fault.
“With regards to Russell Martin, everyone was crying out, ‘stop giving the opposition a leg up and gifting them goals by playing out too much’. Now they’ve brought in a new guy but they're still getting hammered.”
Tottenham are 15 points behind their own tally at the same stage of the season last year which has left part of the Spurs support venting their frustrations. Not least by booing the team off after the 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton, but Sherwood is hoping the club will stick with their Australian manager.
“In my opinion they'd be mad to make a change. He's there to do what we've seen for the last couple of seasons and he will continue doing that until he gets success or Tottenham decide to make a change. Football fans need to be entertained and they're certainly getting entertained,” Sherwood chuckles, remembering the 116 goals Tottenham have scored since Postecoglu took over.
Stick with Ange and win a cup
Only three sides have scored more in the same time. However, they’ve also conceded 91 goals. Sherwood still has faith there’s something good lying in wait.
“It’s a huge week for Postecoglou, for Tottenham and their fans. If you asked the fans before that game against Newcastle; ‘would you rather win this one or rather beat Liverpool 3-0 in the week in the Carabao Cup?’, they would all unanimously say, ‘we want to win a trophy. The Carabao Cup is our biggest chance to win a trophy’.
“I think his team selection against Newcastle was interesting. I don't know about illnesses or injuries to some of the players who were on the bench, but Maddison, who was on the bench, is a starter for me. And Son, without a doubt, is a starter in my opinion. It would be interesting to see if they come back,” says Sherwood, who eyes a chance for Spurs even though the opponent in the two-legged semifinal is Liverpool who only recently hammered Spurs 6-3 at the same stadium.
“Liverpool took some liberties in their team selection against Southampton and it's only because it was Southampton that they got through. I suspect Arne Slott will make changes again, because he will try and preserve his players. But they've still got good players, so it's still going to be a difficult game. The worry for me when the draw came out was that the second leg was at Anfield. It's in February, though and hopefully Tottenham will have a few players back to fitness then.”
If one had to choose, Sherwood believes he speaks for the majority of Spurs fans when stating he’d prefer winning a trophy over a top four finish any day of the week.
“I am not sure the owners see it that way, though. That stadium is built for Champions League football and everyone wants the Champions League because that's where the money is. On the balance of what we've seen this season, consistency probably isn’t there, but I still think Tottenham could beat anyone on their day. But they could also lose to anyone. They've shown that but can they win a cup competition? Without a doubt and one thing's for sure; it's fantastic for a neutral to watch.”
- Tim Sherwood was talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of Lucky Block