Will Ange Manifest a Trophy at Spurs?

Well? Will he? Or won’t he?

Or is the real question, ‘does anybody care if he does or he doesn’t?’

Anybody apart from Ange himself, that is.

It’s been something of a rollercoaster ride for the Spurs fans since Ange’s arrival last year. Perhaps not a rollercoaster ride. But certainly a fairground attraction.

After being warned on his arrival that Angeball took some time, Spurs fans were pleasantly surprised with an early season run that had them going ten games without defeat. Then the wheels came off spectacularly in a disastrous game against Chelsea that saw them losing crucial players to injury and suspension. The Ange train shuddered to a halt soon after that and it’s been stuttering on worryingly, ever since. Last season was eventually written off, but this season Spurs have been moving in fits and starts. A recent home defeat to Ipswich seems like a watershed moment for many observers. Are these still teething problems? Ange himself suggested second seasons were for winning trophies. Could this team win a trophy? Which one exactly?

Of course, it would be a real shame if Ange were to be sent packing by the Tottenham hierarchy. Ange already occupies a unique place in the English game and you can sense that most people would love for him to remain on the stage a bit longer. At a time when the English game is being dominated by tactical geniuses from the Iberian peninsula, it’s refreshing to hear a coach who is fluent in the language of British culture. Not only fluent in British culture, but with his own unique Aussie chip on those broad shoulders. The English have a great tradition of battling against Australian coaches in Rugby and Cricket, but Ange represents a different beast entirely. Coming as he did from successful spells in Japan and Scotland, the English were understandibly sceptical about his credentials for coaching in the, ahem.., greatest league in the world. He hasn’t proved anything yet, not really, and that’s exactly how the English like it when it comes to sport and Australians.

Let’s be honest, now that Messers Klopp, Conte and Mourinho have left the scene, the English could really do with some characters in the dugout. The Unai Emerys and Eddie Howes of this world are certainly decent coaches, – well Unai Emery certainly is -  but they are not exactly box office. While the portugeezers are tactically astute – and linguistically skilled – they don’t exactly warm the cockles of a football fan in the way that big Ange and his Australian twang clearly does. English football needs Ange in this post globalisation age. If the British coaches are unable to cut it at the top table then a Melbourne man is probably the next best thing.

But can he work his magic at a dysfunctional club like Tottenham Hotspur? And perhaps, more importantly, does he actually have any magic to work? This is the question that is now being asked. Let’s be real, anybody can win a league at Celtic. Absolutely anybody. Especially when you are up against Steven Gerrard. And in Japan? Well, let’s not be dismissive and rude, but frankly most people would agree that in some aspect it has to be a lower level than the English premier league. Which is, after, all the greatest league in the world, isn’t it?

It’s not that Ange is a fool. Despite what he says in interviews, there is clearly an ability to change tactics and modify his gameplan. He’s a football coach for god’s sake! But when you are up against the Iberian masters, it’s more than just excellent coaching ability that you need. You need to be elite. Elite enough to win matches against the best. Not all the time, but more often than not. And if you don’t, then the elite players you manage, will perhaps cease to sharpen their sophisticated footballing tools, if not down them totally.

Considering that Spurs have recently beaten both Manchester teams and Emery’s Villa, while losing to Crystal Palace and Ipswich, it is perhaps Ange’s ability to motivate and man manage which should be the real talking point right now.

Are the players losing faith? Are his new team of coaches providing World Cup winners and the like, with the love they require? Does Ange’s stand-offish approach work as well with South American, African and English stars as it did with Scots, Japanese and Australian journeymen.

Of course, when managers lose the dressing room, it’s really only because they’ve lost the boardroom first. And in the recent history of Spurs it’s reasonable to suggest that most managers have never had the boardroom in the first place. This is the club that sacked the most successful manager in history in a week before a cup final. Antonio Conte has been pretty successful too, yet he claims his champions league spot won with Tottenham is one of his greatest achievements. It’s hard to know what the priorities are in the Tottenham Hotspur boardroom, but it’s reasonable to assume that winning is trophy isn’t one of them.

Could this be the reason that Ange is so bullish with his pronouncements. He is telling the world that he wins things in his second season so that the men upstairs realise that he won’t be short-changed with sub-standard signings. He is putting himself under pressure and at the same time heaping pressure on those who hold the purse strings. Or is he just trying to manifest success by talking trophies into existence? He is simply a believer in the power of positive words and affirmations.

Whichever way you look at it, it’s clear that Ange is no mug. He’s won enough matches already to show that he can compete tactically with the coaches he’s up against. He’s also shown that he has enough experience and charisma to lead one of England’s biggest football clubs.  So he has strategy, but will he have enough strategy, both on and off the pitch to achieve what Spurs fans have been waiting for. Can he really deliver a trophy?  

It may seem like it’s too early to answer that question but in the world of elite sport, it’s never too early to demand answers. Spurs have to put a run together soon or Ange will be gone. I’m sure the English nation as a whole would love for him to hang around like the living football embodiment of Neighbours or The Sullivans; a warm comforting presence in an ever-changing world of uncertainty and confusion. But football doesn’t work that way. It’s not daytime television. It’s primetime!  Either he’ll succeed soon and be ranked up there with Dame Edna, Kylie and the Mentalist himself. Or one more defender tweaks a hamstring and he’ll be forever known as the managerial equivalent of Peter Andre. Come on mate! it’s definitely time to perform both Home……………….and Away!