After a 2-1 defeat to West Ham United, the claws were out for Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou.
Despite the mitigating factor of injuries to key players, a run of four defeats in five had pundits questioning if Postecoglou was too naive for the rigours of the Premier League.
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Yet Postecoglou — like he has at every stop in his managerial career — remained true to his footballing ethos amid the growing volume of naysayers.
So it was no surprise Postecoglou didn’t alter his approach one bit against a club also dealing with a significant injury crisis themselves in Newcastle.
Tottenham blew Eddie Howe’s side out of the water in a resounding 4-1 victory and the scoreline could — and perhaps should — have been greater in favour of the hosts.
Spurs skipper Heung-Min Son was shifted to the left and tore a visibly knackered Kieran Trippier apart all night long while Richarlison scored a confidence-boosting double.
The performance was, as The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards noted, “Angeball at its best.”
“When Tottenham Hotspur play as well as this, it is hard to keep up,” Edwards wrote.
“It is football played in a whizz and a blur, the ball and players moving at such speed, that you always feel you are a split-second behind the action.
“You are never quite sure who just played that pass, or performed that piece of skill. Your brain is still trying to compute that passage of play as your eye is busy trying to absorb the next one.
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“This was ‘Angeball’ at its best. A thrill a minute, white knuckle, adrenaline ride, but what you could easily see is the man inspiring it all against Newcastle was the magnificent, irrepressible Son Heung-Min.”
Former England international Chris Sutton also lapped up Tottenham’s display with a sarcastic dig at those who wanted Postecoglou to adapt and take a more pragmatic approach.
“Really enjoying how naive Ange and Tottenham are today,” Sutton wrote on X.
The Daily Mail’s Oliver Holt also took aim at those who questioned Postecoglou’s tactics for an injury-ravaged Tottenham, with the win against Newcastle proving Angeball “had never really been away.”
“It is the way of English football that when a man like Ange Postecoglou comes along and dares to do things a little differently, there are those who lust for his downfall,” Holt wrote.
“They had scented his blood as darkness fell over north London yesterday and Postecoglou’s Spurs side faced the prospect of losing for the fifth time in six matches.
“If Spurs had been beaten by Newcastle and the free fall had continued, there would have been talk of a crisis, more suggestions that Postecoglou’s brand of attacking football was just too naive for the Premier League and that he had been found out. English football is a cosmopolitan place but it struggles with outsiders who break the mould.
“But the glee about the defrocking of the new boy did not last. Spurs did not lose their fifth in six. They won and they won at a canter.
“They beat a ragged, dispirited, depleted Newcastle side with ease and with a style that said Angeball was back and that, actually, it had never really been away.”
Victory over Newcastle ensured Tottenham kept pace with those in the Champions League hunt, although the club’s 30 points is just four more than eighth-placed Brighton.
It is perhaps a little remarkable to think of what Postecoglou has done at the club in the short time he has been in north London, especially since he lost club record goal scorer Harry Kane on the eve of the season.
That’s why former Premier League winners Alan Shearer and Tim Sherwood believe Postecoglou’s body of work to date must convince Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to loosen the pursestrings in the January window.
“I think come January, Daniel Levy now knows he has to trust this man,” Sherwood said on Optus Sport.
“I trust him, because I know the way he wants to play. And the fans will certainly trust him, even on the back of a poor run.
“If he wants to bring recruits in, let him bring them in. Give him the strength, because I think he will take this team to the Champions League next season.”
Shearer agreed and also pointed to Kane’s departure as the catalyst for every other Tottenham player to raise their performance levels.
“I think what he’s (Postecoglou) done in the short amount of time … he’s sent a message not only to other clubs, but more importantly players who want to come into Tottenham Hotspur, because it’s an exciting project,” Shearer said.
“One or two might be worried. (James) Maddison wasn’t and (Micky) Van de Ven wasn’t, that Harry Kane would have been leaving.
“Harry’s gone now and that’s perhaps made them a better all-round unit where everyone now has to chip in. Everyone’s had to say, ‘OK, now it’s my opportunity to improve at least 10 per cent.’ And I think certainly in the forward positions, the players have done that.
“They’ve had a really good start up until now. But I do think in January, if they were to get another two or maybe three, they could have a really, really exciting second half to the season.”
With Postecoglou and Tottenham now back in the winners circle, it gives them some needed momentum in a packed festive schedule.
How long it will last remains anyone’s guess, but you can be sure Postecoglou won’t tweak his approach no matter how loud his detractors become.
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