Jamie O’Hara believes the time has come for Tottenham Hotspur to sack Ange Postecoglou and has named the man he thinks should be appointed as the current manager’s successor.
It has been a difficult few weeks to be a Tottenham supporter. The Lilywhites have won just one of their last eight matches in all competitions, against Manchester City who are also on a poor run of form, and sit 11th in the Premier League table.
While Spurs missed out on the top four last season, there was a feeling of optimism about Ange Postecoglou, who said in September that he always wins silverware in his second season at a club, a claim which is true up to this point.
But doubts have arisen as to whether Postecoglou will be able to maintain his proud record and while some have chosen to blame club chairman, Daniel Levy, for Tottenham’s troubles, ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara has made no secret about who he thinks is responsible for his former club’s shocking run.
O’Hara has been a vocal critic of Tottenham in recent weeks and even went as far as joking on his X account during Sunday’s defeat against Chelsea, that he had seen a better defence from his divorce lawyer than Spurs.
It is Tottenham’s shaky defence that concerns O’Hara the most and he believes Bretford boss, Thomas Frank would help bring balance to the North Londoners.
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, he said: “If Ange Postecoglou keeps playing in the same way, then I’m afraid he’ll have to go, I’m sorry but Daniel Levy will have to get rid of him.”
“You can’t go on with that football and style of defending any longer.”
“I love Thomas Frank and I’d have him at Spurs every day of the week if Ange left. I think he’d be a great fit as Tottenham’s manager if we could get him out of Brentford. He’s been brilliant there and if Ange does leave – he’d be someone I’d look at.”
He also spoke about Tottenham’s previous managers and praised Nuno Espirito Santo, whose current side, Nottingham Forest are flying high in the Premier League, just two points off the top four.
“Spurs went to the extreme with Jose Mourinho. His football was tough to watch—defensive and rigid—but they did win games,” O’Hara said.
“Then Antonio Conte came in, similar story: some good stuff but still all about defence. Now they’ve swung completely the other way with Ange Postecoglou, and it’s all attack, no cohesion in the defensive structure. You need a balance—good football but also the ability to keep clean sheets.
“Nuno Espirito Santo, who Spurs binned off because his football wasn’t great, but he showed over the weekend why he’s still top-notch. Look at Forest against Man United—they played some great stuff bopping it about.
“But when it got to 3-2, he made changes. Straight away, subbed on defenders, switched to a 5-4-1, and said, ‘Try and break us!’ United couldn’t. That’s in-game management. Result? Three points for Forest.
“It’s not always pretty, but that’s the difference between a manager and one who knows how to adapt mid-game. Take Spurs against Chelsea—2-0 up, the game should’ve been dead and buried.
“Instead of being horrible to watch and shutting it down, they fell apart and lost 4-3. That’s the gap between top managers. Nuno knows how to see a game out, understands his team’s strengths, and gets the job done.”
While O’Hara has mentioned that Conte and Mourinho played too defensively, he has praised Mourinho for getting wins, however, Spurs finished sixth and seventh in the two seasons he spent as Tottenham’s manager, while Tottenham looked really poor during Conte’s second season in charge.
And his praise of Santo is the most bizarre, considering he was sacked after 17 matches, while his decision to substitute Lucas Moura for Steven Bergwijn, which those in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium responded to with cries of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing,’ was a fine example of how out of his depth he was.
While he is now doing well at Nottingham Forest, it is also worth mentioning that he was sacked by Al-Ittihad in his first job after leaving Spurs.
Postecoglou has had to endure a large number of injuries and does not have the luxury of having Harry Kane in his team – the player who along with Heung-min-Son, carried Mourinho’s team. Also, Tottenham’s attack has been as big a concern as their defence recently, with just three goals scored in the games against Ipswich, Fulham, Bournemouth and Rangers.
As for the defence, you only have to look as far as the Chelsea game to see that often goals are conceded not because of Postecoglou’s style, but due to poor individual errors. Tottenham gave away two penalties which ultimately lost them the game. Would another manager really have success at Tottenham under their current circumstances?
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