Teddy Sheringham has given a mixed reaction to Ange Postecoglou’s appointment as Spurs manager.
The former Celtic boss walked into a car crash two years ago and seems to be inheriting a job of similar magnitude in London.
After some initial positivity around the appointment reality seems to be kicking in for Postecoglou with the issue of Harry Kane dominating every media conference.
During some strained times at Celtic Postecoglou never had to deal with any jokers pulling stunts like taking out a Bayern Munich shirt with Kane 9 on the back.
In typical fashion the Spurs boss dismissed that attention seeking move but the clock is ticking down towards the start of the season with the Kane issue unresolved and in the hands of Daniel Levy.
Sheringham enjoyed two spells at entertaining Spurs sides, earning a place in their Hall of Fame and took part in a Question and Answer session with Lord Ping:
The appointment of Ange Postecoglou divided fan opinion. The usual stereotypes about Scottish football were rolled out when discussing his achievements at Celtic. What do you think of the decision to appoint Ange?
Like a lot of Tottenham fans, I wasn’t so sure about the appointment. He has a great reputation but there’s respectfully a big difference between playing expansive football against the likes of Inverness and Hibernian and doing it with Tottenham taking on the likes of Manchester City. It’s going to be a tough ask.
Postecoglou’s appointment will certainly be no worse than the last two or three managers that we’ve had at the club. The last three appointments have gone down the stable route, playing pretty dire football.
I’m absolutely going to give Postecoglou my full support. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do. The Tottenham fans want to see things on a Saturday afternoon that they can’t replicate playing on a Sunday. They want to be entertained with attacking football, which I hope Ange can bring. I hope he can get it right at the club because make no mistake, it is a difficult job for him.
There will be sections of the fan base that he will need to turn from doubters into believers. I hope that fans give him the chance to get it right because he will need at least six months to get his ideas across to the players in terms of the football he wants to play, the intensity. The fans want to be entertained but they also want to win.
The Kane issue was well known of before Postecoglou took over as Spurs manager but was never going to be a deal breaker.
Although the England captain has never discussed a wish to move on from Spurs the fact that he now has less than a year to run is a fairly obvious statement of intent.
Two years ago Postecoglou encountered similar issues with Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie, with a lack of alternatives both players were used extensively including in a Glasgow Derby just days before they got their moves to Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
At the same time Jota, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Cameron Carter-Vickers were arriving to make an impression and take the team in a different direction.
Edouard had effectively been a one man strike force for the previous two seasons, almost straight away Kyogo Furuhashi filled that void with few complaints about trading the Frenchman for the goals of Kyogo.
At Spurs Postecoglou has no obvious heir to the goals of Kane, until that issue is resolved the former Celtic boss will be working under a shadow.
If things don’t go well there will be plenty of critics jumping on Sheringham’s line that beating Hibs and Inverness is no preparation for the EPL- even if Ange’s Celtic side only played one match against Caley Thistle.
