On this week’s episode, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott are joined by special guest Ange Postecoglou for a candid and wide-ranging discussion on football’s biggest talking points. The panel reacts to Thomas Frank’s sacking before turning their attention to Tottenham Hotspur, where Postecoglou reflects on the club’s DNA, ownership, and the challenges he faced during his time in North London. Ange opens up about his frustrations at the club and shares insight into how he was trying to reshape Tottenham’s culture and mentality.
00:00: Intro
12:01: Thomas Frank
30.46: The Right Fit for Tottenham’s new manager
41:26: Ange Postecoglou on Tottenham
59:13 Microsoft Copilot Community Questions
01:03:24 :Super 6
01:10:24: Analysing Summer transfers: Hit or Miss!
01: 15:30: Benjamin Šeško’s goal vs West Ham
Key Quotes:
Keane on Cole Palmer ability …
‘I think that mentality he believes whatever team he’s playing for even probably when he’s at Man City and he wasn’t getting that many games he probably thinks I’m the best player on the team. He’s got that energy. I like to have a ball. There’s always a fine line between confidence and cockiness. I think when he’s at his best, he does then back it up.’
Panel talking about Thomas Frank Sacking …
Keane said, ‘Spurs’ form last year was poor as well. He’s just not been able to get it going but he’s still a brilliant manager and I’m sure he’ll bounce back. It’s not good for these managers. I go back to your shaking hands with the devil. You go into certain clubs. If you’re going through a sticky patch you just know they won’t stick with you. Imagine going into a job and you have a difficult spell you’re gone.’
Ian Wright said, ‘I think in the current climate you have to probably say it was the right decision for them for the club and what the club need right now because it feels like it’s in free fall. They’re too close for comfort. They had to act. -I feel for Thomas Frank simply because I thought that would have been a good, it’s a next step for him would be Tottenham and him do well there. I thought he would have brought that kind of football that we talked about. You don’t know what you’re going to get from him and he’d confuse people and it’d be hard and it’d be hard to beat.’
Neville said, ‘I would say is Thomas Frank, to be fair Roy’s right the manager’s lost his job. I think we all like Thomas Frank . When he walks out of that door today (it was yesterday) there are a number of managers who have walked out of that door in the last 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 years the likes of Mourinho, Conte, Nuno, Ange and now him they’re not all mugs these guys some of these are serial winners. What is wrong with that football club.’
Panel on Tottenham’s Ownership …
Keane said,‘There’s something missing at that football club. I think there’s a softness on the pitch and off it. Whatever goes on in the building they’ve obviously got a magnificent stadium and an amazing training ground. From a business point of view it’s a brilliant football club but in terms of having a proper DNA and turning it week in week out and putting a shift in they don’t have it.’
Neville said, ‘You must look at the fact that they do need a change of ownership to become successful because obviously you’ve seen that this ownership are not going to bring success they’re not. I don’t believe for one minute Daniel Levy would have said to Jose or to Antonio Conte on the way in we’re going to spend 250 million a year here. They would have known the circumstances. He wouldn’t have lied to them and said there’s like a check book.’
Wright – ‘I know our owners. They want to win. I don’t know if Spurs’ owners want to win.’
Ange on initial thoughts on Frank getting sacked …
‘‘Look having been in that position now twice in the last sort of six months it’s tough and he can’t be the only issue at the club right and that’s probably for every manager but ultimately that’s what we get judged. It’s a curious club Tottenham, it’s made a major pivot at the end of last year not just with me but with Daniel leaving as well and you’ve created this whole sort of environment of uncertainty because there’s no guarantees.’
Ange on his frustrations at Tottenham …
‘I never really spent a lot of time with Daniel. I think he’d like to keep his distance from his managers anyway. I had to make sure my frustrations didn’t come out publicly. I’m going to be really disciplined here. I felt that that doesn’t get you anywhere expressing my frustrations. It didn’t. I don’t think Daniel liked that laundry to be out in public. You’ve got to respect that.’
Ange on Harry Kane’s role at Tottenham …
‘I think people underestimate the role Harry played over the last 10 years. He’s an unbelievable, I only worked with him for a couple of months. He’s the best player I’ve ever witnessed close up in my whole career. We’re playing Renfrew, and I knew he’s not going to be there so that masked a lot of things. It’s not like Harry leaves and then you go sign Erling Haaland.’
Ange on Tottenham’s DNA ….
‘When you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is, to dare is to do. It’s everywhere. Their actions are almost the antithesis of that. In terms of whether you like or dislike them you give credit to Daniel because that path has got a new stadium, new facilities, but taking a safe path. I think what they didn’t realise, that to actually win, you’ve got to take some risks. At some point that’s has to be the DNA of the club.’
Ange on Tottenham Culture Mentality …
‘I do think part of Tottenham’s DNA for want of a better word is they do like their team to play a certain way. I think it’s fair to say with Maurizio they were going down that path although at the same time I think people have been too dismissive of Harry Kane influence through that period.’
‘When I came in they said we want the football and you’ve got the football even though my DNA is I’ll win. Certainly looking at the values of a big club because when we were trying to signed players, we weren’t in the market for those players. We had to sign Premier League ready players but finishing fifth that year didn’t get us Champions League, we didn’t have the money. What was coming out from the club was that we’re a club that can compete on all fronts.’
Ange on the mentality on believing that Tottenham can win …
‘That was the thing I was trying to break. My whole statement about winning things in the second year, I was doing that for the club because no one internally would dare say that because they were just scared.’
‘I remember the day of the Europa final. Daniel came in and we had a coffee in the morning and he said, everyone’s really relaxed. Even he was, and the only thing he said to me, which was bizarre as a motivational point. He said something like ‘I’ve been in seven finals, or 70 finals, and we haven’t won one.’
Ange on the moment that he was going to get sacked …
‘I think the end of January, early February, I knew I was gone. I said to the coaches if we get knocked out of any stage of the Europa League, I’m pretty much sure it’s over. So I knew I was gone because you get a sense of that with the conversations you have about people.’
Stick to Football is brought to you by Arne Clothing – to watch the full podcast episode with Paul Merson, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott
