Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou – A leopard never changes its spots

Ten days ago The Sydney Morning Herald published this prophetic piece written by their journalist Vince Rigari as he recalled the scenario back in 2012 when Ange Postecoglou had just won his second consecutive title as manager of Brisbane Roar, talked the talk about making it three amid wild celebrations through the city only to immediately break the news to the club that he was leaving.

Two days after that Postecoglou was unveiled as the new manager at Melbourne Victory as he took another step towards his ultimate goal which appears to be to manager at the highest level in the Premier League.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 22: (L-R) Ange Postecoglou, Matthew Smith and Dario Vidosic of the Roar hold the winners trophy after the 2012 A-League Grand Final match between the Brisbane Roar and the Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium on April 22, 2012 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

That is quite an ambition and no-one should criticise Ange for holding firm in his belief in himself and his determination to reach his ultimate destination. And it has been a long road, 25 years to get to the top and he’s inevitably had to stand on a few toes along the way, disappoint supporters in Australia Japan and now Scotland, to fulfil his life-long ambition.

Football is a cut-throat business but Ange Postecoglou backs himself every single time. And he also knows that he is at his best going into a club in some degree of chaos because that’s where his USP comes to the fore and he can shine, as he explains in the video above.

 Roar fans show their support with a banner of coach Ange Postecoglou before the 2012 A-League Grand Final match between the Brisbane Roar and the Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium on April 22, 2012 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

After a few years that early challenge is gone and it’s all about looking for the buzz of doing it all over again in another city, or country, or continent, each time at a higher level than before. It’s worked every single time up until now so why not at Tottenham? He will believe that he can do it and if he is given the time needed he probably will.

READ THIS…Confirmation that Ange Postecoglou has left Celtic to join Tottenham on a four year deal

By that time it will be the Tottenham fans singing the Celtic songs about Ange Postecoglou and then roughly two years from now, it will be them crying into their beer because the manager who has brought then success, playing a brand of football that they love, up sticks and heads off to the next level up and the next challenge at Real Madrid, Barcelona or a club at that level.

A leopard, you see, never changes its spots.

Here’s some of what Vince Rigari was saying in The Sydney Morning Herald on 27 May 2023…

Two days after winning the 2012 A-League grand final with Brisbane Roar, Ange Postecoglou and his players were feted with a ticker-tape parade through the city. Thousands of fans lined the streets to celebrate their second title in a row – but they all had knots in their stomachs because rumours were rife that he was about to leave the club.

Postecoglou sat in a sports car with skipper Matt Smith and the team’s precious silverware on a melancholy drive down the Queen Street Mall and then to a public reception at King George Square.

“Why not? Let’s make it three,” Postecoglou told the crowd. Then they returned to the club’s headquarters at Ballymore and he broke the news they were all dreading: he was leaving.

Some players had already guessed as much by his body language on the day. Only two of his assistants, Rado Vidosic and Ken Stead, knew it was coming for sure because he’d given them the heads up.

Two days later, he was unveiled as Melbourne Victory coach, and by the end of the week he’d spilled his guts in a newspaper column about how he’d wrestled with his emotions in the build-up to the grand final, and how hard it was to keep his cards close to his chest.

“I knew the news would make an impact, but I did not want it to take away from the celebration of the win, and it is why I left it until after the parade,” Postecoglou wrote in the Sunday Mail.

“It was tough to say goodbye to the players and staff, so I kept my message to them as short as possible. No words could explain my feelings. Obviously, I understand that some were disappointed in my decision but, ultimately, I felt it was the right time for me to move on.”

Sometimes, try as you might, there is no easy way to say goodbye.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

14 Comments

  1. Martin Blackshaw on

    Well, unlike the Board and others, I think Ange Postecoglu lacks integrity and loyalty. He’s decent coach, no doubt about it, but he lacks integrity and loyalty. He had his agent working on a move to Tottenham as far back as March after Conte’s sacking, but he kept it quiet and continued to use those Celtic players to deliver the clincher success to ensure his appointment at Spurs.

    I have absolutely no time for people who lack loyalty and even less for those who pretend to have it by beating the breast in hollow displays. The one place Postecoglu failed Celtic miserably was in Europe. He didn’t have the ability to make any kind of impact, and now he’s effectively running a team that will be playing quality European standard teams every week in the EPL. Good luck with that one.

    Celtic need to move on quickly and get a manager in place who is hungry and talented, preferably a younger manager with noted success already. But they also need to pick a man next time who knows what loyalty means and isn’t just in it for his ego and personal ambition.

    • Niall McLaverty on

      I couldn’t agree more Martin. Regardless of the success Ange brought to the club he lacked the loyalty and integrity of true legends at this club….those who did not jump ship at the first sign of temptation.
      That is the true measure of character …one that he has revealed now he never possessed as regards this incredible football club.
      The EPL is a soulless playing field of corporate greed and empty principles. Ange will discover that scenario quicker than most.

    • Johnny Roberts on

      Ange had alot of people fooled he’ll fool the spurs fan’s with his beating the chest pish,ain’t got a loyal boan in him,we’ll see how he does down in the epl against quality teams and see if he really is good or not,Australia and Scotland it’s not the best cv.good luck.

      • I understand that you are hurt, but Ange’s move has to be understood in the context of Australian football. This is an opportunity he simply couldn’t turn down – a move to nominally one of the top 6 clubs in English football. Australia has never had a manager in the English Premier League – nor any of the biggest domestic competitions, for that matter – and had Ange turned down this offer, this train might never have come again. With this in mind, he was never likely to stay in the Scottish Premiership for too long. But none of this should dampen the genuine affection he evidently has for Celtic.

        I wish your Bhoys all the best for the following season.

  2. RPM Celticfan on

    In my opinion its the fans who buy into it that only have themselves to blame , its a JOB , part of that job is to get the fans onside , do you think tod cantwell is suddenly a rangers fan , they say and do the thinks that the gullible will lap up , and we do , we do it every time ,because its what we want to hear , how many times will we fall for it how many times will we think this ones different ? forever because thats our job as fans to look for positives not negatives as we get enough of that elsewhere , Hail hail .

  3. I get both of these points above but at the end of the day Ange spoke about the future with Celtic and how there was unfinished business i.e. improvement in the Champions League, that’s the bit that stinks.
    From the article above he did the the exact same with Brisbane Roar i.e. why not make it 3 when he’d already got a new job.
    He’s entitled to go to any job he wants I don’t have an issue with that but for a man who says he is a straight talker and states he has integrity and honesty as part of his character is nonsense, as above a leopard never changes its spots.

  4. Johnny Roberts on

    Ange is obviously a talented manager but I don’t think he will be doing so good in the epl,I don’t think his style of play will hold up,can you amagine him playing the way his defence is far up the park teams like man city will rip that apart and as you’ve already seen he can’t do it in the champions leage that’s how he jumped ship,it gets him an out pluss loads of cash it’s a no brainer.

  5. I agree 100% Martin, he has been a chest beating fist pumping fake, riding two horses at the same time. He should have come clean much earlier, that would have been much more respectful to the many fans who clearly adored him. It would have course meant the drama of the long goodbye over the last two or three games, however that would have been the lesser of the two evils and kept his integrity intact. It will forever be a tainted treble, and to mention Tommy Burns after the final league game, the most loyal of men with integrity in abundance, when he knew he was going was disgraceful

    • There is a reason why teams at the highest levels don’t play like Ange as they would get ripped apart. He was abysmal in Europe- Neil Lennon’s record 2nd time around was better beating Lazio home and away and topping the group in the Europa

      • The way that Ange has left stinks. It’s not that he has left – it’s the manner of his departure

        He did a similar thing in Australia as per the above article. When he joined us he left the Japanese team halfway through the season – the behaviour was all there to see.

        I wish him regret in the way that he left Celtic- i have absolutely no good wishes for him whatsoever and hope he suffers in his first season.

  6. The way that Ange has left stinks. It’s not that he has left – it’s the manner of his departure

    He did a similar thing in Australia as per the above article. When he joined us he left the Japanese team halfway through the season – the behaviour was all there to see.

    I wish him regret in the way that he left Celtic- i have absolutely no good wishes for him whatsoever and hope he suffers in his first season.

  7. I think Ange has picked the wrong time to go to Spurs-just look at the opposition-

    MAN CITY
    MAN UTD
    ARSENAL
    NEWCASTLE
    LIVERPIOOL
    CHELSEA

    is he going to get a CL SPOT ? Even a Cup will be difficult ! Ange has yet to prove he can progress in Europe.
    Perhaps he’ll be able to adjust to EPL level, however if he starts badly all those Spurs fans who viewed his appointment cynically will make their voices heard ever louder. Personally I think he should have stayed at Celtic and built up European credibility but his self-confidence/arrogance appears to be unlimited.I watched the two Cup Finals last week and the comparison between the English version and the Scottish was stark and verging on embarrassing. A rare misplaced pass at Wembley and at Hampden Celtic constantly giving the ball away and frequently being outmuscled in tackles. Of course Ange signed a 4 year deal so if he gets sacked after a year or thereabouts he’ll get a very nice pay-off .Pride goes before a fall ?