Featured Image Credit: TNT Sports/Getty
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou, Gary Neville, Football, Premier League
Marcus Chan
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou, Gary Neville, Football, Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou aimed a cheeky dig at Gary Neville when asked about his team’s tactics.
After drawing 2-2 against Brentford on opening day, Spurs have won their last two Premier League matches against Manchester United and Bournemouth by two goals to nil.
Despite their unbeaten start, former United man Neville raised a concern about Postecoglou’s tactics during Monday Night Football.
He said: “I do feel there is a flaw in the way they set up, however, it does come with some reward.
“What you have here is the two full-backs in midfield, in [Destiny] Udogie and [Pedro] Porro, what I didn’t like about the way that Spurs deployed this system is that when these two centre-backs here were on the ball I felt as though they didn’t have that simple pass wide in any, way shape or form.”
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Neville continued: “I see the benefit of this system, you isolate your wingers one v one. They have taken the United wide players in.
“So, from that point of view, I see the benefit of it. But from my point of view, you have players in a very uncomfortable position.”
Bringing the full-backs inside has been a popular tactic since Pep Guardiola did it during his first season in charge of Manchester City.
When asked about his tactics on TNT Sports, Postecoglou said: “There's no secret, I'm just copying Pep, mate.”
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This has led to fans speculating that the Australian has had a dig at Neville for his comments on MNF.
Postecoglou continued: “We do a lot of work on it. A lot of it, it is on instincts but we're trying to create a system, wherever I've been, that is as fluid as it can be.
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“If there's space there, forget that you're a full-back, you're a footballer, get in that space. It's up to us to make sure that we're covering the gaps that are left.”
He continued: “I think once players realise that they have the freedom to be able to do that, it's still very structured, then they don't second guess themselves. They know that it doesn't matter if they're a left full-back, if there's space there then they get into it.
“Both Pedro and Destiny, when they have the ball and they're running with it, they're really difficult to stop. It's an essential area and it makes it more effective.”