Opinion: Cash A Factor, But More To Spurs Move Than Wages

Ange Postecoglou looks set to be announced as Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager within the next few days. He departs Celtic as a treble winner, having led the club to five out of six trophies after an incredible rebuild.

Ange took over the club on the back of an awful season, which ended trophyless and saw us trail theRangers by 25 points in the league. Senior players such as Scott Brown, Kris Ajer, Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard, Moi Elyounoussi etc departed, while Ange was left without a first choice goalkeeper or captain.

On a minimal net spend, he rebuilt the team, achieved incredible domestic success (up against a challenger that reached the Europa League final) and put in some superb performances in the Champions League, which deserved better results. Indeed, 82 chances were created in Europe, while Shaktar were dominated twice and Real Madrid were stunned for an hour at Parkhead. It felt like he could build something to progress at that level with more composure in front of goal and experience playing against the world’s best. We’ll never know how far he could have taken us.

Having won a domestic treble, it was European progression that was left for Ange to achieve. That he didn’t hang around to take that opportunity has led many Celtic fans to say he ran to England for the cash, but I think there’s more to it than that. Obviously, his dramatic wage increase will be a factor along with moving to London. However, it cannot be overlooked that he is joining a club which has recently been in a Champions League final, who have been a top four club in England for many years and who play at the top end of a much stronger league than our own.

Ange will back himself to get Spurs back into the Champions League. Once there, he could make a much bigger dent than at Celtic because they have an enormous budget by comparison. If he can win a trophy with the London club then it’d make history too.

So, there are a number of challenges and opportunities for him. Realistically, he is never going to be offered the Man City, Man United or Liverpool job direct from Celtic. In that sense, the Spurs role is probably the best job he’s going to be offered so it’d be hard for a non-Celtic supporter to turn down.

I have no ill will towards him.

Ange did a great job with us, I just wish this offer came at a later date so that he could have another couple of years leading us into Europe. Nevertheless, Celtic will go again and there’ll always be another hero ready to step in.

Liam Kelly

READ THIS…Brendan Rodgers the new favourite to replace Ange Postecoglou at Celtic

Incidentally, you might have missed this brilliant article from our Japanese writer on The Celtic Star which was published on Saturday morning ahead of the Scottish Cup Final. Yatao reports on Reo Hatate’s article in the Japanese media where the Celtic midfielder gives an insider’s account of what among other things his difficulty coping with the injury picked up against Hibs in March and the impact that the Celtic fans had on him for his return against theRangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final at the end of April.

Reo Hatate also explains what happened in the Celtic dressing room at Tynecastle at half-time on the day we won the league and how Ange Postecoglou’s instructions to Hatate helped Celtic win that match. It’s a fascinating read and the link is below…

READ THIS…This is Yatao – Reo Hatate on experiences gained this season at Celtic

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

2 Comments

  1. Would like to have seen him stay a while longer and have another crack at Europe in the CL, he now leaves with the worst group stage record of any Celtic manager