Tottenham Hotspur’s ever-changing managerial strategy over the last half-decade has not only led to huge unrest among the fanbase, but also within the dressing room.
Ange Postecoglou’s squad is an eclectic mix of various play styles, some of which will favour the defensive stylings of Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, whilst others will still remember the beautiful football they played under Mauricio Pochettino.
It is a miracle that the former Celtic man has managed to cobble together any form at all, let alone enough to propel them to the top of the Premier League, having failed to be beaten.
And yet, despite their successes, Daniel Levy still came out to apologise for the dramatic shift in strategy that has forged such an unbalanced side: “I had gone through a period where we’d almost won. With Mauricio we went through some very good times. We didn’t quite get there but we came very close and we had a change in strategy. The strategy was ‘let’s bring in a trophy manager’.
“We did it twice and look you have to learn from your mistakes. They’re great managers but maybe not for this club. For what we want, we want to play in a certain way and if that means it has to take a little bit longer to win maybe it’s the right thing for us. That’s why bringing Ange in was from my point of view the right decision.”
Whilst he has seemingly hit the jackpot with that particular appointment, the chairman and his latest manager are also benefitting from the reignition of some of their key men. Few have enjoyed such a drastic turnaround like Heung-min Son.
The South Korean was one of those at Spurs who arguably suffered the most under Conte’s regime, which seemingly starved him of the ball, opportunities to score, and eventually confidence.
He would admit just how tough a period it had been: “It was a tough time for different reasons, but it made me even stronger. Now I’m an experienced player. Last season was probably the toughest season I’ve faced but, also, I learned the most – more than when I was 18. That was a surprise to me. It’s made me stronger again.”
Having hit double figures every year since his 2015 move to N17, aside from that debut term, such a record was seriously in danger when the 31-year-old only had three goals to his name after 15 league games, all of which had come in the same game.
Whilst he would finish on an admirable ten, supplying a further six league assists, it was still far from the standards of a man who had won the Golden Boot the year prior.
And yet, that now seems a distant memory, with Son over halfway towards reaching that same goal tally this season, with six goals after just eight league matches.
Such form was bound to draw praise, with Postecoglou seeking to laud the influence of his new captain: “He has been outstanding as a leader and as a player. When you put him in that position, he just works so hard and team-first orientated. His first thought is what is best for the team.”
In turn, the 111-cap whiz is desperate to perform for the new boss: “Look, I’m so grateful that I’m working with him and I’ve learned so many things as a player and also as a human being. It’s been a fantastic journey until now but I think in the future we will have more fun working together. I will do everything he asks because he’s giving so much good information to us as a human, as a manager so we are very, very happy about working with him.”
Despite all these niceties, there remains one recent sale that is actually outscoring Son, with Jack Clarke silently starring with Sunderland as a consistent threat from the flank.
Signed for £10m from Leeds United, the future was exceedingly bright for the teenage trickster who had clearly caught the eye of Pochettino.
With a history of bringing youngsters up through the club and into the first-team setup, north London marked the perfect home for the 18-year-old seeking guidance to lift his promising career to the levels expected.
However, a string of loan spells did little to achieve such a goal, with the wide man falling fowl of the managerial merry-go-round that resulted in his 2022 sale to the Black Cats, having made just four senior appearances for Spurs.
Alex Neil, their boss at the time, would stress the importance of handing the 22-year-old a place to settle and focus on his football without the worry of trying to batter his way into a star-studded side: “Jack is a player with huge potential.
“We had him last season and I think he grew stronger and stronger as the season went on, but the most important thing for him is that he’s now our player. He has obviously got quality, but what he needed to do was find a home and we have managed to provide that. Jack enjoys it here.”
He is now reaping the rewards.
As one of the crowning jewels of Tony Mowbray’s youth-focused revolution on Wearside, Clarke has been starring this season for the high-flyers, who sit fifth in the Championship against all the odds.
In fact, it is his goals that have propelled them so high, with his impressive tally of seven not only surpassing that of Son’s, but also making him by far the top scorer within his club, with the closest being a number of teammates on just two.
Few could have predicted he would enjoy such a blistering start to the new campaign, but such potential had always been ready for the unleashing. All it took was a show of faith and a caring boss to pay attention to his needs, the likes of which he might have received had Postecoglou come in charge before his departure.
This sale could be one Levy lives to regret, as he spent big for a youngster, saw no return on the pitch from an invisible ace seldom handed a chance, and have now allowed him to move on and flourish elsewhere.