The real reasons why Ange Postecoglou is so upset after losing to Newcastle United – The truth

The Mag

·5 January 2025

The real reasons why Ange Postecoglou is so upset after losing to Newcastle United – The truth

Ange Postecoglou is upset.

The Tottenham boss is furious.

OneFootball Videos

Ange Postecoglou lashing out after Spurs 1 Newcastle 2.

The Tottenham manager pointing out how badly he and his team have been wronged.

Well, when I say ‘pointing out’ where Spurs have been wronged, Ange Postecoglou is a ‘little’ short on the detail.

Indeed, he has given no detail at all.

The reality is, that just like the managers of clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and so on, the Spurs boss knows he can say whatever nonsense he likes and they won’t challenge it.

Imagine if this was Eddie Howe humiliating himself, as Ange Postecoglou has done? We all know for absolute sure that we wouldn’t have journalists just publishing what has been said/claimed without challenging the claims.

The biggest part of Ange Postecoglou’s (unspoken, non-detailed) ‘argument’ is obviously the equalising goal.

The Premier League Match Centre Twitter account, saw PGMOL explain why the Anthony Gordon goal was allowed to stand:

‘The referee’s call of goal was confirmed by VAR, who checked for a potential handball by Joelinton in the build-up and deemed that his arm was by his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental.’

I know it is a bit of a nuisance for the Spurs fans, compliant media and Ange Postecoglou, but you know, these are the… rules.

Yet still they cry on about the injustice of it all.

Cry some more.

Honestly, the Arsenal and Spurs fans must surely be the most pathetic fanbases around. Of course, it isn’t all their fans, just a massive number of them who are quite clearly either clueless,, or deliberately ignore the truth.

The perfect explanation of how the rule currently works on handballs in these situations, is shown by what happened to Newcastle against Villa and Spurs.

I think it is ridiculous to disallow any of these goals for accidental handball but this is the reality. The ball was blasted at Bruno Guimaraes by a Villa defender against Bruno’s arm which was by his side, it hit the arm then another Villa player. That was disallowed as he was the last NUFC player to touch the ball, even though his arm was by his side and actually if he had lifted his arm, the ball would have hit his body and it would have been a goal.

With Gordon’s goal, the ball struck Joelinton’s arm which was by his side, then both Bruno and Gordon touched the ball before it went in the net. The rules absolutely say that this goal had to be given, as per that PGMOL explanation above.

Ange Postecoglou then makes out like it is some global conspiracy and how unfair it all is and how Spurs have been cheated, yet the media just let him get away with it.

This is exactly the same as we have so often seen from shameful characters such as Ferguson, Mourinho, Arteta, Klopp and others.

Instead of accepting the reality, the rules, the truth, they have repeatedly looked to distract everybody from their own and their team’s shortcomings.

Ange Postecoglou thinks he is being clever in refusing to give details of exactly how he and his team were cheated, relying instead on compliant journalists and daft Spurs fans to do his dirty work for him…

“On the balance of play, any balance you want with all things being equal, we would have won today. Outstanding. I couldn’t be prouder of the players. I couldn’t ask any more. It’s a game we would have won if all things were equal. If all things were equal and balanced we would have won today. Things weren’t equal and balanced.”

Those journalists and Spurs fans mainly talking about Dan Burn and Joelinton not getting more than one yellow card each during the match for some run of the mill challneges/fouls, as some other outrageous way that Spurs were supposedly cheated by biased match officials.

Quite ironic when four Newcastle players were booked and yet it took until the ninth minute of added time for Spurs to pick up a booking.

Those NUFC bookings included Alexander Isak not leaving the pitch quick enough when subbed and Botman booked when Maddison was two yards away and knocked the ball past the United defender, then ran into Sven Botman who just stood there and had no possible chance of getting out of the way.

Whilst Solanke cynically and cowardly put in a late reckless challenge on Dubravka after the keeper had played the ball, Solanke having his knee at head-height when making contact. I think it could well have been a red card but not even a yellow.

Then of course Kulusevski making contact with his shoulder to Gordon’s face, in the Spurs penalty area. It wasn’t as obvious and cynical as when Virgil van Dijk should 100% have been red carded in the 3-3 game for something very similar on Gordon. However, can you imagine the outrage from Ange Postecoglou and Spurs fans if it had been their players on the receiving end of these Solanke and Kulusevski incidents???

The Aussie completely losing the plot.

“You can talk about whatever you want. You want my opinion – if all things were equal and balanced we would have won. We had plenty of chances. Our football was outstanding considering everything we’re going through. If it was an even playing field we’d have won.”

Surely you need to aim the ball at the opposition goal to even begin to claim something as ridiculous as this.

After Spurs scored, the next 100+ minutes, Martin Dubravka didn’t have a serious save to make from a shot on goal. The stats show three other on target efforts BUT in reality, these were two the equivalent of pass backs, then the other was was actually going wide when Dubravka dived and got a hand to it.

Even if you were really really really generous, Spurs could only have ‘deserved’ a draw, as clearly no issue with the Isak goal AND Spurs having no other goalscoring chances on target.

That is of course if you lose all grip with reality, as the truth is that Newcastle United absolutely deserved to win. Eddie Howe’s side far more dangerous, more clear chances, more near misses, whilst the Spurs keeper was named man of the match. That wasn’t due to him standing there with nothing to do whilst watching Dubravka pull off one world class save after another at the other end of the pitch!

Isak, Gordon and teammates had other great chances to score extra goals, whilst Spurs had a couple flash wide and one or two crosses that were played across the box.

Newcastle United were away from home, the better team, more and better chances, with the Expected Goals stats showing 2.43 to 1.00 in United’s favour.

So what are the real reasons why Ange Postecoglou is so upset, furious and so on?

In 17 months, Spurs have allowed him to spend an enormous £370m on players (stats via Transfermarkt) and they are now a shambles, now fighting more the possibility of relegation rather than qualifying for the Champions League

Only Wolves, Southampton and Ipswich have lost more Premier League games than the 10 of 20 the Aussie has managed.

Since carrying huge luck in his opening couple of months and first ten PL matches (including that huge VAR error which gifted them a win over Liverpool, the next 15 months have produced bottom half of the table form, Spurs in the Premier League with a record of Played 48 Won 19 Drawn7 Lost 22.

Ange Postecoglou has only previously managed in the pub leagues of Scotland, Japan and Australia, this is the very first time he has managed at a (relatively) big club and clearly he is massively struggling. Unable to cope with the ultra competitive Premier League, despite inheriting a talented squad and spending a further £370m on it in the last 17 months.

The bookies rate Julen Lupetegui 4/5 favourite to be next PL manager sacked, Ange Postecoglou in the closest of races at 13/8, Sean Dyche (7/1) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (16/1) the next nearest sack race challengers.

Conclusions

These are the real reasons why Ange Postecoglou humiliated himself on Saturday.

Arguing black was white, or was it simply a case of unable to cope with black and white…?

Either way, Ange Postecoglou and the Spurs fans need to have a good hard look at themselves, man up, then prepare for their next defeat against Liverpool in midweek!!

Spurs 1 Newcastle 2 – Saturday 4 January 2025 12.30pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Gordon 6, Isak 38

Spurs:

Solanke 4

Possession was Newcastle 43% (54%) Spurs 57% (46%)

Total shots were Newcastle 14 (7) Spurs 13 (4)

Shots on target were Newcastle 4 (3) Spurs 4 (2)

Corners were Newcastle 10 (7) Spurs 9 (3)

Touches in the box Newcastle 27 (18) Spurs 26 (4)