Ange Postecoglou has talked up the professionalism of Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ahead of his anticipated first Premier League start of the season.
Hojbjerg is expected to be drafted into the Spurs line-up for the visit of Fulham on Monday due to Yves Bissouma’s one-match ban for his red card at Luton.
Denmark international Hojbjerg was heavily linked with a move away from Tottenham this summer and Fulham registered an interest in the 28-year-old on transfer deadline day, but no switch to the London club or Atletico Madrid materialised.
While Hojbjerg has only started once this season in the Carabao Cup, he has been introduced in seven of Spurs’ eight league fixtures and become a key figure off the bench for his new head coach.
“I don’t think there was any time during the transfer window where I thought Pierre would move,” Postecoglou insisted.
“The discussions I had with him were that he was here and wanted to contribute, he wanted to be part of what we were building.
“It is obvious someone that has played regularly would have wanted to play more but ultimately our performances have been strong and he has had to bide his time.
“He has also been very important in a lot of the games that we’ve won late or had to shore up late. He has been one of the people who has helped us and it is not like he hasn’t contributed at all. He’s been a really important part for us.
“We wouldn’t be in this position if we were just reliant on our starting XI.
“It is something we impress on all of the guys that as disappointed as you are at not starting, it doesn’t mean you are not playing. You are still playing at some point and what you do with those minutes will help us be successful and push your own cause.
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“With Pierre, he is a professional and very determined to win a spot in the team. He presents himself well every day and over a 38-game season all of these guys will get an opportunity at some point. What they do with that is up to them.
“In the meantime, what is important is if they want to keep getting opportunities, they have to train well and when they do play, whether they start or not, they contribute to the team.”
Hojbjerg continues to be linked with a move away from Tottenham, but could earn further opportunities in the coming months.
Spurs will lose Pape Sarr of Senegal and Mali international Bissouma at the start of 2024 for the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs between January 13 and February 11.
That is a problem for Postecoglou to worry about in the future, but his immediate concern is facing Marco Silva’s Fulham without Bissouma, one of Tottenham’s players of the season.
He added: “(I’m) realistic enough to know you’re not going to run with the same XI and every week you wrestle with what the best sort of line up is going to be for you; fitness, form, the way they’re training, the opposition.
“With Bissouma missing out this game, we had to adjust without him at Luton which I thought we did awfully well with 10-men.
“We’ve got some options. Certainly Pierre is a ready-made replacement.
“He’s been training really hard, he’s obviously probably wanted to be playing more because he’s pretty much been a constant for the last two to three years, but when he has come on for us he’s done really well.
“For me he’s the logical one to come in but we’ve got some sessions left.”
Ange Postecoglou has hinted opportunities for his fringe players could be on the horizon ahead of a busy week for Tottenham.
Spurs return to action after the international break with a Monday night clash at home to Fulham and face a quick turnaround with a trip to Crystal Palace four days later.
Yves Bissouma is suspended for the visit of Fulham, which should see Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg earn a first Premier League start this season, and Postecoglou has also urged fit-again Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gil and Brennan Johnson to be ready if called upon.
“We’ve got a Monday night game and then we back it up with a Friday night game, so we’ll probably need a good deal of the squad to do those two games,” the Spurs boss explained.
“As good as we’ve been, there are still a few players like Brennan, (Rodrigo) Bentancur, Gil and Lo Celso who haven’t really played at all for us yet.
“Having them back, even in terms of training and raising the level, they are the things that will give us the focus to maintain and keep improving the performances.
“When there is competitiveness around the squad in training and playing, that guards against any complacency or anyone feeling comfortable about things.”
Bentancur is still “weeks” away from returning to first-team action after his anterior cruciate ligament injury in February, but Lo Celso will aim to make an impact over the next week.
Lo Celso was linked with a move away from Tottenham at the start of the summer before Postecoglou made clear his desire to keep the Argentinian, who then sustained a muscle issue in his only start of the campaign at Fulham in the Carabao Cup in August.
The midfielder is fit again now and made substitute appearances for Argentina against Paraguay and Peru during the international break.
Postecoglou said: “He is obviously very highly regarded within the Argentinian set-up because they always call him up and he played in both games.
“He didn’t play significant minutes but he played in both and played 15 to 20 in the second game. It is great for him and his confidence.
“Unfortunately he had a disrupted early part of the season but again another player we haven’t had a contribution from and that’s a pleasing thing for us.”
Postecoglou will hope to see Gil begin to contribute too following his return to full fitness after surgery on his groin in August.
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The Australian admitted Gil’s influence is even more critical with Ivan Perisic (ACL) and Manor Solomon (knee) out until 2024.
“Bryan can be really important for us,” Postecoglou insisted.
“It has been great to have him just working really hard at training. He’s missed all of this season so far and it’s well chronicled that we lost Ivan and Manor, who play in that left-wing position.
“Having Bryan fit and available again is great for us. He’s, I guess, in the same boat as everyone else because at some point he’ll be afforded an opportunity and then it’s up to him.
“He certainly has all the criteria and credentials to play in that position for us and, like I said, his training is getting stronger now, he’s part of the group and I’m sure he’ll get an opportunity.”
Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has returned to full training but is still weeks away from being in contention to play first-team football.
Bentancur saw his fine 2022-23 campaign cut short in February when he suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage to his left knee during a 4-1 defeat to Leicester.
The ex-Juventus midfielder had been one of Spurs’ best performers, scoring six times in 26 appearances last season and after eight months out he is close to a return, but will not be in the squad for Monday’s visit of Fulham.
“No, he won’t be in the squad,” Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed.
“We’ll be careful with him. Now he’s sort of fully training, so that means he’s into the whole session. We’ve drip-fed him into training the last month and he’s coped pretty well with that.
“Now he’s into full training. We’ve got to be mindful that he’s missed a fair bit of football, but I think the more he trains with the first team over the next few weeks, we’ll sort of pick our moment.
“He’s looking good at training and it was great to have him for the last couple of weeks fully integrated with the guys who are here and we’re looking forward to having him back.”
Joint-leaders Spurs will have vice-captain Cristian Romero and skipper Son Heung-min available for the London derby.
Romero suffered a whack to his ankle in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Peru earlier this week, while Son was visibly in discomfort during South Korea’s 6-0 victory against Vietnam, although did play the whole match and score in the friendly.
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No issues have been reported since the duo returned to Hotspur Way this week.
Postecoglou added: “It has been a pretty positive international break. In terms of availability I’ll start with the internationals first and everybody is back.
“The medical reports seem good so no real issue around the guys from a fitness perspective.
“Playing on a Monday night helps and all the international players should be fine but Brennan (Johnson) we will need to see.”
Johnson has not played for Tottenham since the north London derby at Arsenal on September 24 after he sustained a minor hamstring strain.
The Wales international is training again and set to be in the squad against Fulham, but Spurs will be without Yves Bissouma after he was sent off for two bookable offences at Luton a fortnight ago.
Postecoglou also revealed Dejan Kulusevski is fine after speaking with the winger who was involved in Sweden’s Euro 2024 qualifier at Belgium on Monday, which was abandoned at half-time following confirmation that two Swedish supporters had been killed in a shooting three miles from the stadium in Brussels.
“No, he is fine. I had a chat with him,” Postecoglou explained.
“Like everyone else we shake our heads at these things where you go to a football game and these kind of things happen.
“It is sad and kind of confronting how close it comes to your own world, but Deki is fine. He trained yesterday with the team and is ready to go.”
Australia manager Graham Arnold reiterated Ange Postecoglou’s message for his side to beat England for “the kids and the nation” ahead of the first ever meeting between the countries at Wembley.
Arnold brought in Spurs boss Postecoglou and his fellow former Australia head coach Guus Hiddink in a bid to inspire the Socceroos ahead of Friday’s friendly in London.
Australia are underdogs going into the encounter, having only beaten England once in seven meetings – a 3-1 triumph at Upton Park in 2003 – and sitting 23 spots below their fourth-placed hosts in the FIFA world rankings, but Arnold says his side will only have victory on their minds when they take the pitch.
He said: “The speeches that Ange said yesterday were very similar about what we’ve been saying for years with doing it for the kids in Australia, the nation and your family and people who are close by and the supporters.
“I know one thing is that they (the players) will run until they drop, the energy will be there and they’ll put in the performance of their lives.
“I have got a special relationship with both (Postecoglou and Hiddink). I’ve known Ange for 40 odd years, I’ve played and coached against him, worked with him and we’ve had a great connection for years.
“With Guus, he’s pretty much a mentor to me and like a brother, a father. I’ve got to be careful with what I say because he’s not that old but he’s always been a great man to me and I worked with him during the 2006 World Cup as his assistant.
“We aim to win. We’re not going out there to lose or draw the game, we’re going out there to win the game.
“It’s the culture that we bring. We’ve seen the Socceroos and the Matildas (Australia women’s team) bring the nation together and this is not my team, it’s the nation’s team.”
While Australia are looking to make history at Wembley, Arnold highlighted some of the challenges he says they face trying to grow the game back home.
Despite the successful co-hosting of the Women’s World Cup this summer, where the Matildas got to the semi-finals, Arnold says the infrastructure and support they receive pales in comparison to other sports Down Under, or that England enjoy.
“We don’t get anywhere near the help and resources (of Australian rules football),” Arnold said.
“We see the Prime Minister and the government say they love coming out to watch the Socceroos and Matildas with scarves on but they must lose them when they go home.
“We don’t have a home of football. Whether you believe that or not, we don’t have a home.
“When the Socceroos come to Sydney to train, we have to go to a rugby league field where they remove the posts and put soccer posts up. That’s the truth.
“We are the highest participated sport at grassroots (in Australia). The last four days England have been at St George’s Park and they come down to (Wembley) where they are inspired and have a culture, we don’t have anything like that.
“After the World Cup I said ‘hopefully this will make things change’ and that government funding will help inspire the kid’s lives and fulfil their dreams.”
Australia’s most recent meeting with England saw the home side claim a 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light in 2016, when an 18-year-old Marcus Rashford because the youngest player to score on his England debut.
Roy Hodgson was in charge of England for that match but Arnold, who took charge in 2018, is looking forward to pitting his wits against the present incumbent Gareth Southgate.
Arnold said: “England are a fantastic team and Gareth Southgate is a great coach, a wonderful man and I look forward to seeing him tomorrow night.
“We are very appreciative of the invitation to play here and we’re looking forward to the match.”
Australia play England at Wembley on Friday night but former national team head coach Ange Postecoglou does not envisage football truly taking off in his home country like it dominates in his current residence.
Postecoglou has enjoyed an excellent start at Tottenham and they are joint-leaders of the Premier League after eight matches going into this month’s international break.
Optimism is rife at Spurs but their 58-year-old manager remains pessimistic about the state of football in Australia, despite his nation co-hosting a successful Women’s World Cup this summer where the Matildas finished fourth.
Postecoglou spent four years in charge of the Socceroos and – despite achieving plenty – he has given up hope of the sport cracking life Down Under with subtle digs aimed at governing body Football Australia ahead of Friday’s friendly clash in London.
Asked about his Asian Cup win on home soil in 2015, Postecoglou replied: “It didn’t make an impact back there and that was kind of my frustration.
“I don’t think that anything they can achieve… when you look at what the Matildas did at the World Cup, unbelievable but you still won’t see an influx of resources to the game. You won’t. I guarantee it.
“They’ll build stadiums and other codes will use them. I just don’t think the nation as a whole has that inside them to understand you can make an impact on the world of football but it requires a kind of nationalistic approach that I just don’t think Australians – at their core – are really interested in.
“There’s a couple of things. One of them is obviously the sporting landscape, where there’s some pretty strong codes there that have generationally dominated the landscape.
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“There’s Aussie Rules, that’s the indigenous sport of Australia. It’s kind of unique to them and they take great pride in protecting as their code. The rugby codes dominate.
“It’s very hard for football to make an impact in that space and I guess then the flipside of that is just how global the sport of football is.
“If I can compare that to a country like Japan, who also have the tyranny of distance and baseball’s pretty strong, they plant a lot of resources into football and you can see that’s making an impact. I don’t see Australia down that road.”
Japan was Postecoglou’s next destination when he walked away from the Socceroos job after he helped his country qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
The ex-Yokohama boss had managed Australia at the 2014 edition, but his departure seven months out from the global showpiece was a surprise and at the time he described the job as “taking a toll” both personally and professionally.
Postecoglou has been involved in coaching since 1996 and while he has taken the Premier League by storm so far, he does not expect his time at Tottenham to change the landscape of football in Australia.
“I don’t. I don’t know and maybe that’s just me, not being cynical, but I gave up that fight,” he explained.
“It’s a much easier space for me to live in because I was so frustrated for so long. It was my biggest frustration. One of my major drivers for doing what I did was to do that – to change football in Australia and that’s the reason I left.
“I felt I hadn’t made an impact at all. That’s easier for me to deal with than to think maybe I still can now with what I’m doing. I just think I’d be disappointed, so I’d prefer to think it’s not going to happen.
“I walked away from a World Cup. We qualified and I walked away. The reason I walked away was I just didn’t enjoy what I was doing.
“It’s not just doing the job and winning games of football, it’s got to be a higher purpose. My higher purpose in Australia was to change the game. I just don’t think that will happen.
“It was the right decision for me (to leave), it was the right decision for where I saw the next stage of my career and if I didn’t make that decision at that time, if I had waited until after the World Cup, I’ve got no doubt I wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
Postecoglou replied no when asked if he would manage Australia again and laughed off talk of replacing England chief Gareth Southgate.
He added: “England? Oh, come on mate. They’ve got a fantastic manager and I’m eight games into a Tottenham career. That’s how I think.”
Australia midfielder Massimo Luongo feels everyone in his country is now a Tottenham supporter following the remarkable start Ange Postecoglou has made to life in England.
Spurs lead the Premier League on goal difference from north London rivals Arsenal going into the international break and are unbeaten in the league since the former Socceroos boss took charge.
He is the first Australian to be appointed in England’s top flight and has caused a sensation in his home country by transforming the club’s playing style in just a few months.
Luongo, who after helping Ipswich to second place in the Championship has been recalled to the national team for the first time since 2019 for Friday’s meeting with England at Wembley and next week’s game against New Zealand, was an unused member of Postecoglou’s squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He has featured in every one of his club’s league fixtures this campaign as Kieran McKenna’s side have won nine of their first 11 games to install themselves as early favourites to land consecutive promotions.
It follows a period in the international wilderness during which he endured difficult spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough, with injuries contributing to a lack of playing time and a “difficult time mentally”.
His last call-up was in October 2019, but he has impressed enough at Portman Road to earn a recall from boss Graham Arnold.
Australia reached the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar under Arnold – their fifth consecutive finals – before being eliminated by eventual winners Argentina, their best performance at the tournament since 2006.
And Luongo, who was long-listed for the Ballon d’Or in 2015 in part for his showing at the Socceroos’ victorious Asian Cup campaign, said that though there are comparisons to be made, the two coaches should be judged on their own merits.
“They’re completely different, like most managers,” he told the PA news agency. “Ange has his ways, Arnie has his ways. (The 2014 World Cup) was definitely an enjoyable time. (Postecoglou) brought me from Swindon in League One and he gave me my chance.
“What he’s doing now is incredible. Every Aussie is following him now, I think every Aussie is secretly a Tottenham supporter. It’s great to watch from afar.
“Being in this country, I think he’s just a genuine person, you see that in his media interviews. He’s got so much passion for the game, he’s just hungry for success. And that’s what we have here (with Arnold).”
Australia are ranked 27th in the world but were buoyed by their success in Qatar, knocking out Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark to progress from their group.
They will be looking to replicate the result the last time they met England in London, running out 3-1 winners at West Ham’s Upton Park as Three Lions manager Sven-Goran Eriksson made 11 half-time substitutions.
“England are one of the best in the world,” said Luongo. “But even at Ipswich we look at teams ahead of us who we want to replicate, (like) Man City, the best team in the world.
“We’re alright, we’re doing well, we’re a good Australia team. People underestimate that.
“No matter who you play I think Aussies have that DNA that you don’t just roll over and give up. That Argentina game (in Qatar), I watched it, if it goes on for another 30 minutes, we get an equaliser, easily an equaliser. It’s just the nature of football. When momentum is with you, you never know.”
He added that there have been significant changes to the national team set-up since his last call-up.
“(There are) a lot of young players,” he said. “The staff, there’s a lot more backing now. The set-up has (improved), there are no corners cut. Things you wouldn’t even think of are covered, more beds and physios, the food; everything. They’re trying to create an atmosphere that’s as top-level as you can get.
“The expectation now is really high. The World Cup is a big evidence that we can beat top teams, especially European teams.
“I think we’re definitely in a transition period of younger players coming through. At the moment you can’t really judge the team based on the first year of four years building up to a World Cup.
“The manager’s got three more years to build a team and see where they get to. These games are a building process. I promise you the team now will look very different to the next World Cup team.”
Ange Postecoglou hailed 10-man Tottenham after their 1-0 win at Luton but insisted they have achieved nothing by going top of the Premier League in October.
Spurs produced a gritty display to claim all three points at Kenilworth Road after Micky van de Ven scored his first goal for the club in the 52nd minute following James Maddison’s cut-back.
Tottenham’s task was made a whole lot harder when Yves Bissouma was sent off for two bookable offences towards the end of the first half, the second yellow card for simulation, but Postecoglou’s team held firm in the face of late Luton pressure.
“Two different halves, I thought we played some great football in the first half. I thought it was as good as we’ve played and we probably should have been two or three up,” Postecoglou said.
“Obviously the red card changes the game but again I thought the lads handled it really well. They stayed calm and composed.
“In the end just the sheer will and effort of them to make sure we won, not just the starters but the guys coming on, it was a great collective effort.
“Biss made a mistake. He has been brilliant for us this year. He made a mistake and the good thing is how he reacts to these things.
“His team-mates made sure that mistake didn’t cost us and I’m sure when Biss gets back in the team he will reciprocate and make sure that whatever else happens he can get us over the line.
“With all these things I always look at reactions. What are we doing about it? I thought the reaction was outstanding.”
Victory helped Spurs take over from Manchester City at the Premier League summit with the champions in action on Sunday away to last season’s runners-up Arsenal.
A draw at the Emirates Stadium would keep Tottenham top for the international break, but Postecoglou played down their league position – despite this being their best start to a top-flight season since the club’s 1960-61 double-winning campaign.
He added: “I don’t think you read too much. They’re not silly, they know it’s only October and being top of the league now doesn’t really mean anything tangible apart from the fact that we’ve started the season well.
“It’s not like they’re sitting in there thinking we’ve achieved anything. We haven’t achieved anything. All we’ve done is lay some really good foundations.
“Our goals and ambitions lay in improvement. Can we play better? Can we become a better team? And if we do that then we’ll see where that takes us.”
Luton boss Rob Edwards was frustrated that another strong display failed to produce any points.
Spurs started impressively and could have been 3-0 up inside 10 minutes but Richarlison sliced over from close range before Thomas Kaminski saved another effort by the Brazilian and Pedro Porro rolled wide when one-on-one.
Tottenham remained on top until Bissouma’s red card when he went down under close proximity to Marvelous Nakamba, but there had been no contact and referee John Brooks showed the visiting midfielder a second yellow card.
The clash played in front of a partisan Kenilworth Road crowd hinged on a crucial five minutes after half-time when Elijah Adebayo could not convert Chiedozie Ogbene’s dangerous cross from the right in the 47th minute.
Soon after Van de Ven tapped home when Maddison spun away from Alfie Doughty and picked out the Dutch defender in the six-yard box.
“We had a huge opportunity, a massive chance we didn’t take and we’ve been punished for it because we switched off for the short corner. Those two moments are big in the game,” Edwards reflected.
“They are top of the Premier League, they will have chances and we are new to it. I was really pleased with a lot of what I saw, but I am really disappointed and flat as well.”
Micky van de Ven’s first goal in English football fired 10-man Tottenham to the Premier League summit with a 1-0 win at Luton.
Spurs entered this fixture following a controversial 2-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend, where Jurgen Klopp’s side were denied a legitimate goal due to a “significant human error” by VAR operator Darren England.
It meant three points for Ange Postecoglou’s team at Kenilworth Road would send them to the summit for at least 24 hours, but they had to work hard for it after Yves Bissouma was sent off in first-half stoppage-time.
Bissouma was booked twice in quick succession by referee John Brooks, the second for simulation, but Van de Ven’s close-range finish in the 52nd minute earned Tottenham a hard-fought win.
This was the first meeting between the clubs since 1992 and the hostile atmosphere was a throwback to that era with even TNT pundits Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch booed ahead of kick-off.
Spurs had put seven goals past the other newly-promoted teams this season and should have added to that tally inside 10 minutes.
Richarlison was guilty of fluffing his lines twice, firing off target via his shin with the goal at his mercy from Dejan Kulusevski’s third-minute cross before Thomas Kaminski denied the Brazilian with his feet after James Maddison’s slick through ball 60 seconds later.
Pedro Porro was next to squander an excellent opportunity when Son Heung-min played him through and he fired wide. The Tottenham captain also curled into the stand before Luton started to settle.
Huge cheers greeted the Hatters’ first corner in the 25th minute, although top goalscorer Carlton Morris could only send his header off target following Alfie Doughty’s delivery.
The visitors remained a threat and a driving run by Pape Sarr set up Kulusevski, but Kaminski produced an excellent fingertip save to parry the 18-yard curler wide.
Luton had the ball in the net after 39 minutes but it was immediately ruled out and a VAR check showed Elijah Adebayo had shoved Cristian Romero.
Doughty’s free-kick dropped for Adebayo, who after pushing Romero flicked over Guglielmo Vicario and onto the post where Lockyer headed in, only for it to be disallowed.
The free-kick came from a Bissouma foul on Chiedozie Ogbene and referee Brooks booked the Tottenham midfielder for a professional foul.
A second yellow card followed in first-half stoppage time for simulation when Bissouma went down under close proximity from Marvelous Nakamba, but there was no contact and Brooks correctly sent off the visiting player.
Luton should have taken the lead two minutes after half-time when Ogbene held off Destiny Udogie and crossed in for Adebayo, but he could not steer his effort on target.
The hosts were hit with a sucker-punch in the 52nd minute when Van de Ven opened his account for Tottenham.
After a number of corners in quick succession, it proved third time lucky for Postecoglou’s side when Maddison collected Kulusevski’s short corner and brilliantly spun away from Doughty before he cut back for Van de Ven to slot home from six yards.
It briefly silenced the partisan Kenilworth Road crowd but they were soon roaring their team on and Doughty dragged wide soon after the opener.
Morris tested Vicario minutes later and, although Porro sent an effort just past the post for Tottenham in the 62nd minute, Luton started to build momentum.
Jacob Brown headed over before substitute Cauley Woodrow had a weak shot saved.
A deflected effort wide by Doughty was the final warning sign for Postecoglou, who introduced Emerson Royal and Oliver Skipp for Son and Maddison with 14 minutes left but Spurs held on to go top.
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has questioned whether VAR is having a positive impact on football and admitted he would get rid of the technology in its current form.
The fallout of Spurs’ controversial 2-1 win over Liverpool last weekend continues after Jurgen Klopp suggested on Wednesday a replay would be the right outcome before he insisted a day later the matter was over for the club.
It comes after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) admitted a “significant human error” occurred when the 34th-minute strike by Luis Diaz was incorrectly ruled out for offside after miscommunication by VAR operator Darren England, who was under the impression the on-field decision had been to award the goal, to referee Simon Hooper.
Postecoglou was quizzed on whether he would get rid of VAR, he said: “I would in its current form. I just don’t think that technology’s ready for our game.
“I’ve got absolutely zero against goal-line technology, that’s a no-brainer because that’s quite significant, but it works for our game.
“I just think our game is unique and I know people say well let’s get referees explaining their decisions. Oh my God. Seriously? Could you imagine sitting there listening to a referee explain every decision on the game.
“I’m going to the Gridiron on Sunday, I love it, I love American football. It’s three-and-a-half hours mate. Do you want to sit through three-and-a-half hours of listening?
“I just think with VAR at the moment, we think it’s going to eliminate (errors) and the more we use it, I think the worse it’s going to get.
“It was there for the clear and obvious error. It seems like everything now. Yellow cards, fouls, corners, everything’s getting scrutinised. It’s not our game.
“We’re not rugby, we don’t have those stoppages. What I always loved about England was the frenetic pace of football.
“Why are we trying to take that out? Now, I think part of the consequence of last week was that none of us liked it when they were taking so long to make a decision and it sounded like last week they were rushing into a decision.
“That suggests to me that I don’t think the technology in its current form is suitable to our game, but I know I will be in a minority with that and my role within that is to accept that whatever my feelings are on it, ultimately, there’s still going to be an arbitrator of decisions.”
Postecoglou has consistently insisted he is not a fan of VAR and expressed fears for what football may look like in years to come if technology interferes more and more.
“This is probably the only time I’m happy I’m 58 and not 38. I don’t know what the game is going to look like in 20 years’ time and I’m not sure I would like it with the way it’s going,” he added.
“I’ve always loved the fact that our game has more flaws in it. The uniqueness of our game is the goal is so hard to get. We always focus around that.
“Usually goals came from either a combination of brilliance or some flaws by someone.
“We’re trying to sanitise all that by trying to make it into something that I just don’t think is our game. That’s not what I’ve loved about football. I’ve loved the imperfect nature of it.
“When you’re sitting there analysing every little decision – and it seems we’re going that way where people just want every decision to be right – then that will slow down the game invariably, there will be more interruptions and they’ll take away from what I love about the game.
Meanwhile, Postecoglou played down Klopp’s claims earlier this week about replaying the fixture.
He said: “I think Jurgen’s said that and maybe that was taken a little bit out of context.
“My view is when you’re talking about a replay, there’s got to be some sort of threshold and I don’t think a mistake is a threshold for that.
“It was a unique mistake, people have used an unprecedented mistake and I agree with that, but it was still a mistake.
“So, if your threshold for replays is mistakes by individuals, that’s 365 games a year, I reckon.”
Wales manager Rob Page has promised not to jeopardise the health of Brennan Johnson by telling him to turn up for international duty when carrying an injury.
Johnson will miss Wales’ crunch Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia in Cardiff on October 15 after sustaining a hamstring injury on his first start for Tottenham against Arsenal in the north London derby.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday that Johnson will miss Tottenham’s Premier League trip to Luton this weekend but will be fit to return after the international break.
Page said: “The communication between us and Tottenham has been first-class. It’s about having mutual respect. Both managers want a talented player fit so it’s about working together.
“I’m not going to insist that he has to come away and we’re going to play him, jeopardise his safety and health. I wouldn’t do that. But they also understand the importance of our games.”
Page criticised Johnson’s former club Nottingham Forest after he missed Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier away to Croatia in March.
Page said at the time that he should have been “stronger” to ensure Johnson arrived on camp for Wales to make their own medical assessment of the 22-year-old forward.
Johnson has since joined Tottenham for £47.5million – the second highest transfer fee paid for a Welsh player after Gareth Bale – and is considered to be a hugely influential figure as Wales move forward in the post-Bale era.
On communicating with Tottenham over Johnson’s fitness situation, Page added: “We’ve had great conversations with them, but ultimately his injury will dictate whether he can meet up or not.”
Wales realistically need to avoid defeat against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and win both games of their November double-header to secure automatic qualification for next summer’s Euro 2024 in Germany.
Captain Aaron Ramsey was not named in the squad for the Croatia game after damaging a knee tendon and has also been ruled out of November’s games against Armenia and Turkey by his Cardiff manager Erol Bulut.
Ange Postecoglou hailed Tottenham’s bravery at Arsenal, but expressed his bemusement at the handball rule and joked “armless defenders” will be required after Cristian Romero gave away a penalty in the 2-2 draw.
Spurs grabbed a share of the north London derby spoils after captain Son Heung-min struck either side of half-time.
An own-goal from Romero in the 26th minute broke the deadlock at the Emirates, with the Argentina defender deflecting Bukayo Saka’s shot beyond team-mate Guglielmo Vicario.
Son fired home before half-time from James Maddison’s cross, but Arsenal made the perfect start following the restart when Romero was penalised for handball after he blocked Ben White’s shot from close proximity.
Saka rolled home the 54th-minute spot-kick but 108 seconds later Tottenham were level when Maddison won possession from Jorginho and played in Son, who netted his 150th Spurs goal.
“It’s not about being happy with the result, for me it was about the performance,” Postecoglou said.
“You can get a result here, a draw, and like I said before you can walk away knowing that ‘you know what, we escaped’, but I don’t have that feeling now.
“I think we went toe-to-toe with a top team and at times I thought we really asserted our dominance on the game. At times they did but that’s what happens when you face top sides.
“Even if we had lost today, and I don’t like losing, but for me to keep pushing these guys, they need to feel that out there that what we talk about and work on, they can see it come to fruition and when it does against a top team, being brave with our approach, that’s the key thing. For me I’m pleased.”
Postecoglou was less enthusiastic about the decision to award a penalty for Romero’s close-range block on White and likened it to the handball given against Wolves’ Joao Gomes at Luton on Saturday.
He added: “I’ve got no idea about the handball rule. I really don’t. I saw the one yesterday at Wolves and it just seems if it hits your hand it’s a penalty and then other times if it hits your hand, it isn’t a penalty.
“I’ve got no idea. It is the one rule in the game I just don’t understand.
“Unless we start developing armless defenders I don’t know how you are supposed to block things and be in a natural position.
“It is what it is. You kind of hope these things even themselves out over the course of a year but I don’t understand the handball rule.
“I think any clarity would be good because I have got no idea.”
Opposite number Mikel Arteta was disappointed Arsenal failed to make it three wins in a row over their rivals.
A key moment occurred after Romero’s own-goal when Gabriel Jesus won back possession from Maddison inside the area, but his 14-yard effort was blazed over the crossbar.
Arteta said: “We are very disappointed not to earn the three points, that’s for sure, and especially when you go in front twice in the game and have the opportunity to win it.
“We had control of the game, could have made it 2-0 with Gabi and then you concede the goal and you have to bounce back. We did and scored the goal but it’s a shame that within a minute you concede the other one.
“I think that affected the team emotionally quite a lot and we lacked some composure to make more passes in the final third.”
Arteta also leapt to the defence of Jorginho, who was introduced at half-time in place of the injured Declan Rice, after the ex-Chelsea midfielder was robbed of possession by Maddison for Tottenham’s second goal.
“What happened is I love him and we love him,” the Arsenal boss insisted.
“Errors are part of football. They’re allowed to make errors because they play and we don’t play. We are all with him.”
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou is full of admiration for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, but fails to see many similarities between the pair.
Postecoglou’s youthful Spurs side face the biggest test of his early reign on Sunday when they make the short trip to the Emirates for the first north London derby of the season.
Second-placed Tottenham travel across the capital in high spirits but face an Arsenal team that are into a fifth season under Arteta, who also took over a club in the doldrums and has overseen a cultural change from top to bottom.
While Postecoglou is at the start of the same type of rebuilding job at Spurs, he poked fun at suggestions he is alike his 41-year-old opposite number.
He said: “I think Mikel has been outstanding, really strong right from the start by having a real vision for the football club and the club’s backed him, but I don’t think that’s unique.
“I think Liverpool did the same with Jurgen (Klopp). Most clubs that end up having a successful period do it on the back of having a really clear idea of what they’re trying to create.
“The only problem is that a lot of clubs jump at shadows at the first sign of things not progressing at the rate they were hoping to. Credit to Arsenal and credit to Mikel that they backed each other and they’re reaping the rewards of it but that’s not a blueprint for us to follow.
“We’ve got our own blueprint. You don’t have to follow anyone else’s timescale, you don’t have to follow anyone else’s processes. What you’ve got to do is have a clear idea about what you want and provided along the way you see progress, stick to it.
“In terms of similarities, I’m 58, he’s whatever (41). I’ve had 26 years, he’s five years into it. He’s managed in one country, I’ve managed in a few. I’m not sure how he’s got a great head of hair!
“He’s a lot fitter than I am. I don’t know, there’s not a lot of threads I can sort of join between us. I wouldn’t say we’re opposites.
“We’re different. Even in the way his team plays. Yes he does have a very attacking philosophy but it’s different from mine and that’s the beauty of the game. That’s what you love about it.
“It’s why you can’t copy. If you’re an artist and you see a Picasso, yeah you can copy it, but it’s not going to be a Picasso is it? It’s the same with football.
“You can see that somebody does something really well, but don’t bring your own personality into it. I have great admiration for the way he’s gone about things and how he’s stuck to his beliefs. It’s a credit to him.”
Postecoglou did not claim to have any type of personal relationship with Arteta, but he did reveal a time when he got to view the Spaniard up close.
The former Celtic boss watched Manchester City training not long after he was appointed manager at Yokohama, who are part-owned by the City Football Group.
“I spent a week at City when I first got the Yokohama job because they were part of the group and were generous enough to invite me in,” he revealed.
“I didn’t speak to anyone but I observed training and you could see then how passionate Mikel was about the game and that he was itching to get going and become a manager himself.
“He’s had a different journey but he’s made the impact.
“As I keep saying, there’s no real defined way to get here.”
Tottenham attacker Ivan Perisic is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in training.
Spurs confirmed on Tuesday that Perisic had sustained a “complex anterior cruciate ligament injury” to his right knee in non-contact training.
Perisic played a key role off the bench in Tottenham’s dramatic 2-1 win over Sheffield United last weekend with an assist on his 50th appearance, but the severity of his injury could mean it is his final appearance for the club.
Croatian attacker Perisic is out of contract next summer and could be looking at a nine-month timeline before he can return to action.
“The experienced Croatia international sustained the injury in non-contact training and will undergo surgery. Wishing you well in your recovery, Ivan,” a club statement read.
Rodrigo Bentancur is currently out with an ACL injury sustained in February and he is not expected to be available for Ange Postecoglou until November.
Tottenham match-winner Dejan Kulusevski credited the calmness of head coach Ange Postecoglou for inspiring their last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.
Spurs were heading for a first Premier League defeat under the Australian after Gustavo Hamer put the Blades ahead in the 73rd minute.
But the hosts kept their composure and levelled in the eighth minute of stoppage time through Richarlison before Kulusevski rifled home the winner two minutes later to spark jubilant celebrations.
It helped continue the feel-good factor around the club and Swedish attacker Kulusevski paid tribute to his boss following a fourth consecutive league success.
He told SpursPlay: “I was quite calm. In the end I just tried to stay calm, it’s just a game of football.
“When Richy scored, we knew we’re not going to lose and then I got the ball and did my thing. I know I just need to make one good thing to score and that’s what happened.
“We have got to stay calm. You see our coach Ange, he is on the side always being very calm so we have to do that as players.
“Stay calm, trust in each other and play like a family. We can improve a lot.
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“First half we wanted to score too much, we thought we would score a lot of goals, but we have got to stay calm always and wait for the game to come to us.”
Tottenham’s late show ensured Postecoglou kept his lengthy unbeaten home league record, which now stands at 50 matches across spells with Yokohama, Celtic and Spurs.
The 58-year-old has not tasted defeat in a league fixture on home turf in almost three years since Yokohama lost to Kashima in November, 2020.
Postecoglou said: “I do put a big emphasis on that wherever I’ve been because ultimately for your supporters, as much as you enjoy the away wins because you’ve got to earn every one of them, it’s when they come to their home ground that you want to really reward them.
“I’ve been very fortunate that at the last three clubs I’ve had, we’ve had even in Japan 30,000 to 40,000 and at Celtic they’re always sold out and it creates an atmosphere and you can see it helps the team.
“I think that helps you as a club if you’re really strong at home, so yeah it’s something I’m proud of.”
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom was left to reflect on another near-miss after they suffered a third loss of the season due to late goals.
Forward Oli McBurnie was also sent off deep into stoppage-time for a second yellow card, which Heckingbottom insisted was handed out by referee Peter Bankes due to a simple query.
“A centre-back jumps into Wes (Foderingham), turns his back, leads with his elbow, Wes gets stitches and that’s deemed a yellow card,” Heckingbottom said.
“Oli McBurnie goes over to say he’s pulling my shirt – not swearing – and he gets booked. Deemed the same offence. We’ve got a player missing now.
“(Officials) just do not know what they’re doing and it’s nothing to do with the results.
“Both sets of players are frustrated, both sets of fans are frustrated. Why? Because the people directing the game haven’t got a clue about football. They do not know football.”
Ange Postecoglou has laughed off talk he is in the honeymoon period at Tottenham but promised they will continue to improve.
Spurs’ flying start to the new campaign earned their new head coach the Premier League manager of the month award for August on Friday.
The last Tottenham manager to receive the accolade was Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of the 2021-22 season but he was sacked months later in October.
When it was put to Postecoglou that he was still enjoying the honeymoon phase of life in north London, he was happy to point out some of the challenges he has faced in N17.
“I don’t know what your honeymoon was like, but mine didn’t have me losing the greatest player (Harry Kane) in the history of this football club on the eve of a transfer window, me trying to scramble to get players into the club, fighting for everything I do mate. That’s not what my honeymoon was about,” Postecoglou reflected.
“I don’t sit here and think this has come to me or been served on a platter. I’ve worked hard, mate, I’ve worked really hard. It’s been a really tough period, nothing like my honeymoon.
“At Celtic I lost three of our first six. At Yokohama, we were battling relegation, but I can tell you the same sort of building stuff I did at the those clubs, I’m doing here.
“The only difference is the results have been better, encouraging, for sure, but I love this period because there is pretty much a day-to-day uncertainty about where we’re at. That will be here for the next six months to a year.
“Everywhere I’ve been, the second year is where I’ve felt like the team has really taken hold, but I also understand at this football club I can’t go three, four, five months without results because I won’t last. That’s the reality of it.
“If you measure on outcomes, yes, this looks like this has been smoother than the others.
“But I can assure you this has been just as challenging, if not more challenging because of the stakes here in the Premier League.”
Postecoglou admitted it would take two more transfer windows for him to feel his playing group has the squad depth it needs, with Spurs only required to challenge in the Premier League until January.
He added: “I definitely think we need at least two more windows to get to a space where I think ‘okay, we (are happy) as a squad.’
“Don’t forget this year we’re out of the Carabao Cup now and we’ve got no European football, so the fixtures are a little bit kinder to us between now and Christmas, but that’s not our aim.
“We want to have games, we want to be in Europe, we want to be in cup competitions. So we’re going to need a stronger squad and I don’t think we’re anywhere near that point where we’ve got a robust enough squad at the moment.”
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