Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has faced criticism from journalist Alasdair Gold following Spurs’ 3-2 defeat to Brighton.
Despite a promising first half where Tottenham led 2-0 through goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison, the team collapsed in the second half, conceding three goals in just 18 minutes.
Gold’s primary frustration stemmed from Postecoglou’s decision to delay making substitutions until the 79th minute, giving the fresh players little time to impact the match.
Alasdair Gold not impressed with Ange Postecoglou’s comments
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Gold expressed disappointment with the reasoning behind Postecoglou’s late changes.
The manager explained that he didn’t make earlier substitutions because he didn’t want the team to be “falsely rewarded” for their overall performance.
Gold found this explanation problematic, arguing that Postecoglou should have prioritised winning the game first and dealt with performance issues later.
The club correspondent suggested that the decision to hold off on making substitutions seemed emotionally driven, which is uncharacteristic of Postecoglou, who is usually more pragmatic in his approach.
Gold said:
“I’m sorry that was just, for me, was one of Postecoglou’s contrary moments that he does sometimes where he’ll just say something just to be like: ‘No, no, you haven’t figured me out’.
“I’m sorry. The false reward thing was like, yeah, say that to the players after if you want, if they still win it, say to them, you know, you didn’t deserve that. That’s going to be so much better next time. That’s fine, but don’t come out and kind of claim like it wouldn’t really make any difference making subs, because ultimately, we didn’t deserve to win the game. No, change the game, win it and then fix the problems after that one.
“I just feel like that one was one that was tinged with a bit of emotion. Too much emotion for a guy that normally thinks about what he says. But that was one I wasn’t a massive fan of.”
TBR Says:
Ange’s reasoning behind his decision for the late substitutions is quite strange indeed. Not making the changes because you don’t want the team to think that they deserve the win in the event that the substitutes could come on and change the game is truly bizarre.
Had Tottenham won the game, it would have been their sixth consecutive victory. Instead, the defeat leaves the team with much to reflect on during the international break as they aim to regain form and consistency in the Premier League.
They face West Ham next after the international break is over and Ange will hope to bouce back from the defeat with a convincing win over their London rivals.
