Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to appoint Ange Postecoglou as their new manager is undoubtedly a massive gamble by the club.
The 57-year-old has done a sterling job during his two-year stint with Celtic, guiding the Scottish Premiership club to five trophies.
Postecoglou’s detractors will immediately point to his lack of success in UEFA’s competitions, although that criticism probably does him a disservice.
Plenty of people have also been quick to point out how Steven Gerrard fared when he left Rangers to take on the challenge of managing Aston Villa.
However, it is worth pointing out that Gerrard and Postecoglou are two completely different animals when it comes to management.
While Gerrard guided Rangers to the league title in 2020/21, he was fortunate that Celtic completely imploded under Neil Lennon during that campaign.
Gerrard was fortunate to get the Villa job given his lack of managerial experience, and it was no surprise when he failed to live up to expectations.
By contrast, Postecoglou has won titles across the world, albeit in leagues that many so-called experts are quick to dismiss as inconsequential.
However, many of his peers rate Postecoglou as one of the most knowledgeable managers in the business – a man who knows what he wants and how to achieve it.
Postecoglou’s attacking style of play will endear him to Tottenham fans, and he will work tirelessly to deliver what they have craved over the past few years.
While he does not suffer fools gladly, you would be hard-pushed to describe him as being quite as prickly as the uber-belligerent Conte.
Postecoglou is potentially the right man at the right time for Tottenham – a club that desperately needs a sense of identity stamping all over it.
The current players must quickly buy into his methods, or they will be plying their trade elsewhere next season.
The main issue for Postecoglou is whether Levy will back him in the transfer market.
Conte constantly bemoaned the club’s failure to address glaring holes in his squad. Their eighth-place finish in the Premier League last season proved he had a point.
Tottenham now have a manager with a clearly-defined vision about building successful teams in lower-ranked leagues.
Having handed Postecoglou the role, they cannot afford to dither when it comes to signing the players he wants if they want the gamble to pay off.
