Since Tottenham Hotspur launched to the top of the Premier League table (have we mentioned that fact lately?), there has been a sizable increase in the number of articles from football journalists about the club, and head coach Ange Postecoglou./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72804931/1655760136.0.jpg)
It makes sense, of course. An ascendent Tottenham is novel and different. Anyone can write a glowing piece about Pep Guardiola, and the media was agog over Mikel Arteta’s ability to sketch pictures on whiteboards for the whole of last season. So now that Spurs — Spurs, for God’s sake! — are at the top of the mountain, unbeaten in their opening ten matches and on a record-setting run for new manager in the Premier League, it feels like every single football writer on the planet is churning out articles trying to figure out why.
It’s certainly a welcome change from the doom-fest that were the Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho eras (ignoring the eminently forgettable Nuno Interregnum). Spurs’ resurgence is notable not just because they’re playing a style that’s almost completely different to last season’s tactics, but because of the refreshing personality of its new head coach.
And these pieces! They almost vibrate with astonishment about how Big Ange has turned around a club mired in the tar pits of bad karma so quickly. Look at how he imposed an entirely new team leadership, gushes Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard. He knows everyone’s name at the club, even the staff, says David Hytner in The Guardian. He lets his assistants actually lead training? He’s respectful and open? Surely he throws at least one person under the bus. You mean there aren’t any lemons?
