England target Postecoglou is polar opposite to Southgate
Gareth Southgate’s recent departure from the England national team means that the Football Association (FA) now has a huge task at hand. Southgate was at the helm of the Three Lions for nearly eight years before eventually stepping down earlier this week. The Englishman opted to resign following his team’s disappointing defeat in the Euro 2024 final against Spain.
Before Southgate’s decision, and even the title-deciding match, there were assertions that the FA would bizarrely offer the manager a new contract regardless of the game’s outcome. Southgate’s previous deal was set to expire in December. Nevertheless, the coach ultimately made the move to leave the team on his own.
With a massive hole to fill, the FA is expected to take their time in a managerial search. England does not play again until September. As a result, the organization has reportedly even considered naming an interim for the time being. There are, however, several coaches in the mix for the job.
Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, and England U-21 manager Lee Carsley are widely considered to be front-runners for the position. The Telegraph is also now reporting that Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou is a contender as well.
Southgate is widely seen as a defensive, conservative coach
Postecoglou only just joined the north London outfit in the summer of 2023. While the Greek-Australian coach is relatively new to Premier League fans, he has been tracked for years by English officials. The aforementioned news outlet claims that FA technical director John McDermott has monitored Postecoglou since he managed Australia beginning in 2013.
Assuming the Spurs coach is a viable option, he could not be more different than Southgate. The fan base regularly ridiculed Southgate for being extremely tactically conservative. Under Southgate, England routinely sat back and allowed the opposition to play on the front foot. This was even though the Three Lions have one of the best attacking groups in the world.
Along with a defensive mindset, Southgate also shied away from making big aggressive decisions in his lineups. This was evident when the coach brought on Conor Gallagher and Kieran Trippier just before Spain scored the winning goal on Sunday. It was only after the goal that Southgate made a more attacking alteration.
Postecoglou favors hectic and aggressive tactics to differ from Southgate’s England
Postecoglou, on the other hand, has instilled an aggressive style at Spurs by deploying a relentless high press. The Premier League club may not have the exact players Postecoglou needs to have overwhelming success with this tactic. Nevertheless, the Three Lions do, and England fans undeniably prefer a more attack-minded coach like Postecoglou.
The Spurs boss is, however, not without faults. Postecoglou showed naivety at times throughout his freshman Premier League season. Undoubtedly the biggest instance of this came during a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November.
Spurs spent the final 25 minutes of the match with just nine players after two different red cards. Despite this, Postecoglou stuck with an incredibly high defensive line. Although the Blues had issues scoring goals in their last few campaigns, Chelsea’s forwards cut through Postecoglou’s high defensive line like a hot knife in butter.
Postecoglou is certainly an interesting option for England. His perceived stubbornness to stick to his preferred tactics regardless of the situation is a bit concerning though. There is also a major hurdle for the FA to jump concerning the coach’s contract at Spurs. He still has three more years on his deal and the club will surely want to keep him in place.
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