Manager Ange Postecoglou

[Jenderbazzfass]

Fuck off with that bollocks. It was never remotely a possibility last year. At this stage last season we were in 13th place, 17 points clear of the relegation zone, had a +14 goal difference. The gap never went below 16 points until week 37.

There was plenty to complain about with Postecoglou's handling of the thin squad in the latter part of last season, but 'almost got us relegated' is bullshit.

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Well it did not hurt the cause that Leicester managed to amass a total of 25 points. We'd be safe already with only the number of points Frank earned in 80% of a year.

If the relegated teams had not been so dreadful last year we'd have been in exactly the same position, and probably not won the cup due to not being able to bin off the league

 

[robotdevil]

Fuck off with that bollocks. It was never remotely a possibility last year. At this stage last season we were in 13th place, 17 points clear of the relegation zone, had a +14 goal difference. The gap never went below 16 points until week 37.

There was plenty to complain about with Postecoglou's handling of the thin squad in the latter part of last season, but 'almost got us relegated' is bullshit.

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He avoided relegation simply because the three below us were some of the worst teams to ever grace the premier league. A normal season would have been a lot tighter.

In fact out of the last ten years with his points total we would have been relegated three times and it would have come down to goal difference once. That's fucking dreadful for a club of our size. Unfortunately the board have conspired to make things even worse since then but he was definitely the start of this decline.

 

[CJJ]

If we're fighting against relegation, why would we appoint an idiot who almost got us relegated last season? I don't see any logic...

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logic? in this thread

 

[Percy Clay]

Well it did not hurt the cause that Leicester managed to amass a total of 25 points. We'd be safe already with only the number of points Frank earned in 80% of a year.

If the relegated teams had not been so dreadful last year we'd have been in exactly the same position, and probably not won the cup due to not being able to bin off the league

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So, we're agreed, it was never a remote possibility last season.

 

[Percy Clay]

He avoided relegation simply because the three below us were some of the worst teams to ever grace the premier league. A normal season would have been a lot tighter.

In fact out of the last ten years with his points total we would have been relegated three times and it would have come down to goal difference once. That's fucking dreadful for a club of our size. Unfortunately the board have conspired to make things even worse since then but he was definitely the start of this decline.

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I'm glad you agree it was never a possibility last season.

 

[Deuterz]

So, we're agreed, it was never a remote possibility last season.

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Lol we were one place above the relegation zone and survived only because other teams were dreadful. What a pedantic distinction to make.

The slide started under Ange in his first season where we lost almost every game at the end of the season. Then we started the next season the same way and it never got better.

 

[candrews]

I was all in on Postecoglou being sacked in the weeks leading up to winning the Europa. When we did win, I had a wobble in my belief that the sacking was the right thing to do. Nevertheless, I was happy enough when the axe fell.

Now?

Now, I think, with the squad he had at his disposal, he overachieved in his first season in getting us to finish 5th. I also now give more weight to the proposition that he managed his playing resources to maximise our chances of winning the Europa.

That does not mean that I think he 'binned off' the league. I believe he always sent his teams out to try to win every game. In the league though, from January, he prioritised Europe and the squad depth was not strong enough to be effective in the League.

Nevertheless, at week 28 last season we had 34 points. We had a positive goal difference of plus 14. We were in 13th place and 17 points above the relegation zone. What would we give for that now?

I have come to the conclusion we were wrong not to give him a shot at this season.

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Some refreshing honesty on here. Great post!

 

[Percy Clay]

Lol we were one place above the relegation zone and survived only because other teams were dreadful. What a pedantic distinction to make.

The slide started under Ange in his first season where we lost almost every game at the end of the season. Then we started the next season the same way and it never got better.

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More waffle. We were never even close to being relegated. At least 16 points clear right up to week 37. That's a fact. Generally speaking, teams that get relegated are dreadful. That's why they go down. We were 16 points clear of the dreadful teams until week 37.

 

[Steed_Train]

Now let's do a before and after comparison

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Before we had Kane!

 

[Deuterz]

Generally speaking, teams that get relegated are dreadful. That's why they go down.

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Lol, Leicester got 25 points. We got 38. Which means we didn’t hit the generally accepted safe point from relegation.

This season, 18th already has 25 points. Because last season they were weaker than usual. Get how that works?

We were as bad as many a relegated side last season, Ange was just fortunate it was a particularly weak year.

 

[CJJ]

Before we had Kane!

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No, I mean before he manages a club and after - including Forest.

 

[FightingIllini]

I also now give more weight to the proposition that he managed his playing resources to maximise our chances of winning the Europa.

That does not mean that I think he 'binned off' the league. I believe he always sent his teams out to try to win every game. In the league though, from January, he prioritised Europe and the squad depth was not strong enough to be effective in the League.

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January may be overextending it a little bit.

On April 3 we lost to Chelsea with a full strength team. With 8 games to play we were in 14th place, 14 points clear of the drop and 13 points behind 8th place, and had the first leg against Frankfurt a week later.

From that moment, Micky Van De Ven and Cristian Romero both played every single minute of the five remaining games of the Europa League campaign, increasingly using tactics to emphasize their presence, while never sharing the field for a second in the remaining 8 games in the league. VDV only played a single half in the league from there until after the EL was won.

Was that the right thing to do, was it necessary, should the league results have been better regardless, all fair questions, but both the bare facts and everything that has been said publicly by the players and Ange leaves no question about the decision getting made to prioritize EL over PL. Claims that this didn't happen are wrong, period.

 

[Spurboy]

Lol we were one place above the relegation zone and survived only because other teams were dreadful. What a pedantic distinction to make.

The slide started under Ange in his first season where we lost almost every game at the end of the season. Then we started the next season the same way and it never got better.

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Incorrect,had relegation been a possibility Ange wouldn’t have tanked the league,is that too hard for you to understand

 

[candrews]

Lol, Leicester got 25 points. We got 38. Which means we didn’t hit the generally accepted safe point from relegation.

This season, 18th already has 25 points. Because last season they were weaker than usual. Get how that works?

We were as bad as many a relegated side last season, Ange was just fortunate it was a particularly weak year.

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You really will go to unbelievable lengths to try and clutch ANYTHING that validates your WRONG opinion.

It's embarrassing at this point buddy... We weren't born yesterday, you really aren't kidding anyone.

 

[Deuterz]

Incorrect,had relegation been a possibility Ange wouldn’t have tanked the league,is that too hard for you to understand

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Yeah because it’s fucking bullshit. The fall off started well before that. And you don’t need to “tank the league” to beat AZ Alkmaar, Frankfurt or Bodo, cos that’s fucking stupid.

Ange lost his job due to how bad the league form is. He would’ve been aware of minimum targets. He didn’t tank anything, it’s just a convenient excuse for his nutters to justify losing every single week.

We were a bad team doing very badly with easier fixtures in Europe. We weren’t having exhausting duels with Barcelona in Europe, we were losing first legs to AZ.

Y’all may as well claim Frank tanked the league to be top 4 in the CL. Ange claims this shit to protect his precious ego and his cultists jump on board.

 

[JDefoe]

Fuck this arrogant cunt and his cunt fans.

 

[Phomesy]

I was all in on Postecoglou being sacked in the weeks leading up to winning the Europa. When we did win, I had a wobble in my belief that the sacking was the right thing to do. Nevertheless, I was happy enough when the axe fell.

Now?

Now, I think, with the squad he had at his disposal, he overachieved in his first season in getting us to finish 5th. I also now give more weight to the proposition that he managed his playing resources to maximise our chances of winning the Europa.

That does not mean that I think he 'binned off' the league. I believe he always sent his teams out to try to win every game. In the league though, from January, he prioritised Europe and the squad depth was not strong enough to be effective in the League.

Nevertheless, at week 28 last season we had 34 points. We had a positive goal difference of plus 14. We were in 13th place and 17 points above the relegation zone. What would we give for that now?

I have come to the conclusion we were wrong not to give him a shot at this season.

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This final sentence isn't just logical - it's incontrovertible.

This is not to say that we would have done any better under Ange - almost certainly not. But what is in no doubt whatsoever is that IF we had started the season with Ange and he'd got the same results as Frank did he'd have been fired by November latest.

This would have made everyone concerned - from the players, to the CEO, to the Levy kids and ALL fans - on the same page. That massive change was needed - not just managerial but squad wise.

As I said on a different thread - it's likely Frank would have done better coming in midseason and "saving the Club" rather than taking over from a "trophy winning manager".

Most importantly if this had happened we would have definitely strengthened in January. No "new" manager would have been abandoned in January like Frank was this year.

I, too, thought sacking Ange was the right thing to do. My doubts started after yet another terrible transfer window. Then the terrible performances. I genuinely thought the Powers That Be knew what they were doing. They don't. And never did.

Sacking Ange has turned out to be a catastrophe - and it's nothing to do with his managerial ability (or lack of it). The fact that the usual suspects can't recognise this even as we tumble towards relegation shows how they care more about a shitfight than Spurs.

 

[Phomesy]

Fuck this arrogant cunt and his cunt fans.

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You're only this angry because you know you're wrong. And have been wrong. And it's allturned to shit.

We're all in the same boat mate. Focus your anger where it should be.

 

[Phomesy]

I tell you what, when Ange finally manages to make his way to a new club, he can reunite with Maddison. If he can get him out the medical room that is.

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Really churlish and disappointing of you.

 

[FightingIllini]

And you don’t need to “tank the league” to beat AZ Alkmaar, Frankfurt or Bodo, cos that’s fucking stupid.

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A perfectly legitimate argument.

He didn’t tank anything, it’s just a convenient excuse for his nutters to justify losing every single week.

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And the legitimate argument gets badly harmed by the refusal to just deal with reality here.

Romero, Van De Ven, Solanke, Johnson, Udogie and Porro started all of the final 5 EL games, the QF, SF and Final. The whole back line and the two primary goalscorers, that was his core group that was fit during that period.

In the seven league games between Southampton on 6 April (which we won despite fielding a weakened team in preparation for the first leg with Frankfurt) and the final day against Brighton (which was after the final):

Van de Ven played 45 minutes total
Romero played two 90's, one other half, and was unused 4 times
Porro was an unused substitute 4 times
Udogie was an unused substitute 6 times
Solanke was an unused substitute twice, and came off the bench twice more
Johnson was an unused substitute twice, and came off the bench twice more

You just look stupid pretending this didn't happen, there's no other way to say it.