When Howard Wilkinson led Sheffield Wednesday up into the top-flight the established elite were rattled by the speed and relentlessness of his team.
They were robust and direct. And, when the ball went dead, Wilkinson’s players were drilled to react in pairs. One, usually the one nearest the ball, would sprint to retrieve it and throw it to the other, who would have dashed to the spot required to restart the game in the blink of an eye with the rest of the team attuned to plan.
It was a simple enough premise. One of several like it designed to generate intensity and pressure, to disrupt opponents and deny them time to reset, to seize a split-second advantage on the turnover of possession.
This was 1984, long before the audience cared about marginal gains or whether their club employed a specialist coach for set-pieces.
Wilkinson always says it took rivals until Christmas to figure out what Wednesday were up to and combat it, by which time they had beaten defending champions Liverpool at Anfield, held champions-to-be Everton at Goodison Park and were on their way to finishing seventh.
When Howard Wilkinson led Sheffield Wednesday up into the top-flight the established elite were rattled by the speed and relentlessness of his teamÂ
Nowadays, it’s Ange Postecoglou who is looking to ruffle plumage at the top of the tree
Similarly to Wilkinson, Postecoglou’s Spurs side are built to be robust and direct on the pitch
Same game different times, of course. These days, tactical secrets don’t last for long. Turn up in the Premier League doing something different and effective and you will be scrutinised by the armies of analysts using every digit of data from every conceivable camera angle.
This time last year, Ange Postecoglou ruffled plumage at the top of the tree while repairing self-esteem at Tottenham before a cluster of injuries to key players brought momentum to a grinding halt.
Postecoglou’s Spurs never really moved again with the same fluency. There were flashes but nothing like the same and they won only four of the last 11. Four wins against the bottom four. The big question as they start the new season at Leicester City on Monday is whether they were figured out.
The best teams, the best players, the best coaches adapt and find new ways whether that involves tweaking and tinkering or ripping up the plan and starting again. Pep Guardiola searches restlessly for adaptations to the winning machine he created at Manchester City.
Postecoglou performs with confidence. With almost 30 years of coaching behind his philosophy he is not going to change but be sure he will be tweaking and tinkering within his boundaries and expects Tottenham to improve with a deeper understanding, enhanced belief and a broader array of players tailored to his demands.
As explained by Vince Rugari in a new book ‘Ange Ball’, published by Headline, there are parallels if you want them at Yokohama F Marinos in Japan where he faced challenges in his first year changing minds in a culture hardwired into cautious football.
In the second season, having completed a major clear out and transformed the squad, they won the J-League title.
That is a very different competition, of course, in a very different country. But there are similarities as Spurs were drenched in safety-first, counter-attacking principles under successive managers since Mauricio Pochettino. They could also be better for another year.
The club backed Postecoglou in the sense they have belatedly taken a financial hit on players
Eric Dier (right) and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (left) were sold during Spurs’ summer exodus
The club has backed Postecoglou in the sense they have belatedly taken a financial hit on unwanted players. Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Joe Rodon, Japhet Tanganga, Emerson Royal and Tanguy Ndombele have all gone this year. Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso will take the 2024 exodus into double figures.
Just so long as you are not about to sack or lose the manager, then shifting dead wood is no less important in the transfer market than buying players and comes at a price. Cutting loose Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Co was the real catalyst for Mikel Arteta’s revolution at Arsenal and can have a positive impact across North London.
With new signings like Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert, and exciting academy talent Mikey Moore developing fast, Postecoglou has fresh minds to embolden, and a squad crammed with pace and creative flair.
Whether that is enough we are about to find out. Whether a complete absence of defensive instinct proves costly in the Premier League against the world’s most powerful attacking units we will see.
Postecoglou would not be human if he did not hide doubts behind his bullish exterior, but we should wish Ange Ball well. It is terrific fun and provides genuine theatre. And that’s what the game is about, mate.
With signings such as Lucas Bergvall, Spurs have a squad crammed with pace and creative flair
Like father, like sonÂ
Mark Greaves was a keen and versatile young defender at Hull City when I was covering them for the Hull Daily Mail. These were bleak times for the Tigers and not only because of my negative outlook. They were hard-up and mired in boardroom strife and one of the worst professional teams in the country, flirting with relegation to non-league.
Greaves signed from Brigg Town where he won the FA Vase as a teenager. He was smart and likeable because he did not take himself at all seriously and his professional career unfolded in tiers four and five of English football.
On Saturday, I saw his son Jacob make a stylish Premier League debut for Ipswich Town looking for all the world like his father after Marvel makeover. Bigger, stronger, faster, bristling with purpose as if he might tear open his shirt and take off into the skies on a more pressing mission.
If he has inherited Mark’s attitude, his humility and determination to maximise his talent and enjoy his football there is an exciting future ahead. Keep an eye on him this season. I am curious to know what his dad thinks of the greased locks and elastic hairband though.
Jacob Greaves made a stylish debut in the Premier League as Ipswich lost to Liverpool
England interim manager Lee Carsley will be hoping to follow in Gareth Southgate’s footstepsÂ
Football’s most prized coaching roleÂ
If Lee Carsley succeeds Gareth Southgate and makes the England job his own the office of Under-21 boss will become one of the most prized coaching roles in the land.Â
The U21s are currently in the interim hands of Ben Futcher, who will lead them next month into a game against Austria at Kenilworth Road where his father Paul and uncle Ron both played for Luton Town in the 1970s.
Manager moans
First Erik ten Hag, then Julen Lopetegui, managers lining up to tell us they weren’t ready to start the season. Begging questions such as when exactly did they expect it to start.Â
Why not shorten the preseason tours. And can we stop moaning about the schedule anytime soon. Yes, we know it’s brutal, gruelling, etc. That’s the reason you all build massive squads. Rest the ones who are already tired and play some of the others. Greetings of the new season, everyone.
