They’re the Premier League’s most thrilling team for the neutral but most of their supporters would sacrifice a little entertainment to be a few places higher in the league table.
Tottenham Hotspur have turned chaos into an art form under Ange Postecoglou this season and the Australian head coach is sticking to his guns despite his tactical approach coming under fire.
Spurs knocked out Manchester United courtesy of a frantic 4-3 win on Wednesday to reach a Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool and Postecoglou was bullish about his way of doing things.
Ange Postecoglou isn’t budging on Tottenham’s playing style
The outcome of Postecoglou’s tactics would have most Premier League managers tearing their hair out. They average almost six shots on target per match, more than every other team in the league. They’re lodged in mid-table but have a better goal difference than everyone but the top two. Only Chelsea have scored more goals.
Their potency in attack is matched by their habit of getting turned over. Postecoglou plays a game of high risk for high reward and has moved to defend his philosophy in the face of increasing scrutiny.
“Are you not entertained?” he asked Sky Sports after 90 mind-boggling minutes against Manchester United. “What do you want? Do you want a scrambling 1-0? I know the studio are probably going on a meltdown over my lack of tactics but you know what, I love the fact that we just go out there and take it to the opposition.
“In terms of the mentality of the boys, I love it. I love football and I love watching teams that go out there and entertain.
“Obviously we want to be successful as well and we won’t be if we, you know, make things difficult for ourselves like we did tonight. But you balance that up with the situation we’re in right now, ten first team players out, I keep saying it and I don’t think it’s registered with people but that’s okay.”
Postecoglou himself continues to be good value. Managers and head coaches in the Premier League are pragmatists more often than not, and those who seek to play entertaining football to the potential detriment of results tend to get caught out eventually.
But not always. Postecoglou believes he has the players at his disposal to make it work when Spurs are back to full strength, and some of their statement wins this season suggest he might be right.
Spurs will be in action this weekend, taking on league leaders Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the last Premier League fixture before Christmas.