Ange Postecoglou’s tactics against Chelsea labelled ‘football suicide’ by Glenn Hoddle as Tottenham legend urges Spurs boss to ‘change’ his gung-ho approach

• Ange Postecoglou’s tactics have been labelled ‘football suicide’ 
• YOUR COMMENTS: Were Spurs brave or naive against Chelsea?
• Chris Sutton: ‘How my son nearly died’ – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off podcast

Glenn Hoddle has questioned Ange Postecoglou’s uncompromising tactics after Tottenham played a high defensive line despite being reduced to nine players against Chelsea.

In a frenetic affair, Spurs were reduced to nine men following red cards for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie against London rivals Chelsea, with the returning Mauricio Pochettino looking to get one over his old club. 

But despite their two-man disadvantage, Postecoglou instructed his players to continue playing free-flowing attacking football, which left his makeshift defence at risk of serious exposure.

Indeed, Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners after two late Nicolas Jackson goals in injury time, with questions raised as to whether the Australian should have approached the game differently.

One such dissenting voice is that of Hoddle’s, with the Spurs legend urging Postecoglou to be more adaptable, particularly when his team are up against it. 

Ange Postecoglou’s tactics against Chelsea have been labelled as ‘football suicide’

Spurs refused to change their approach despite being reduced to nine men on Monday

Your browser does not support iframes.

‘If Tottenham keeps playing that high, near the halfway line, then I think its footballing suicide with 10 men,’ Hoddle said at half time of the game, at which point they were only without Romero.

‘You can’t get pressure on the ball and they’ll get picked off. They’ve got to play a little bit deeper.

‘They’ve done it all season. They had the defenders in there that they’ve had it work, but it seems to me they haven’t changed their tactics. They’ve got to change.’

A similar debate has raged on following the full time whistle in North London, with fans divided as to whether Tottenham showed bravery or naivety in their chastening defeat. 

But Postecoglou insists his team will not heed Hoddle’s advice.

‘It is just who we are mate, it is who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here,’ he said.

‘If we go down to five men, we will have a go.’

Reflecting on the game as a whole, Postecoglou said: ‘It is pretty hard to process. It is almost impossible to analyse the game because it just seemed to get out of control for large parts of it.

Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle has urged the Australian to be more adaptable

‘The red card (for Romero) affected the game, I felt like I was standing around waiting for things to happen, with VAR intervention. It felt like a lot of standing around.

‘There will be a forensic study of every decision out there, I think that is the way the game is going and I don’t like it. If you look at all that standing around we did today, maybe people enjoy that sort of thing but I’d rather see us playing football.

‘You have to accept the referee’s decision, that is how I grew up. This constant erosion of the referee’s authority is where the game is going to get – they are not going to have any authority. 

‘We are going to be under the control of someone with a TV screen a few miles away.

‘The decision is the decision. In 26 years I have had plenty of bad decisions, I have had plenty fall in my favour. It is what it is.’

James Maddison was substituted in the first half and Postecoglou added: ‘He got a knock on the ankle, we were down one man already. It made sense to make a couple of changes at that point.’

‘Premier League managers should just manage. I was taught to respect the officials. But managers – me included – try to find a way to bend the rules.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article