Ange Postecoglou

He and/or his representatives were talking to Spurs, probably for weeks, behind the club's back. He was not honest with the club or the fanbase about his true intentions. He straight up denied that he or his agent were in talks with Spurs while a deal was being made.

He used the adulation from our support to imply that he was in it for the long haul. He has direct quotes suggesting that he would be here for a number of years and that he'd stay here "as long as the people in charge want me here". He often mentioned that he had plans to make us a European team, a project that he did not see out to complete.

He was offered a long term contact on a number of occasions but was happy to stay on his current deal, presumably to make his exit here easier.

Whichever way you want to slice it, that isn't the behaviour of a so-called honest man of integrity. He was feeding us pish as long as it suited him. Even some of his Aussie disciples are surprised by his actions (not the half-baked Celtic fans that are creating accounts on Spurs forums as we speak).

He played the support and told us what we wanted to hear as it benefitted him at the time. Quoting Tommy Burns and the "standing on the shoulders of giants" soundbites were smart moves to enamour himself with the support. It worked, but when it's all said and done he neglected the opportunity to become a legend here. Again, no issue with that. But don't paint yourself out to be something you aren't.

That's precisely the issue people have with him. Not that he left, but his conduct throughout his tenure that contradicts how this has all played out.

 

Can’t understand the bitterness in here at all.

Total clutching at straws to paint him as some awful snakey * just because he’s decided to leave for a bigger job.

 

Pretty sure for some of them it's the first they've been seen since right before last year's Europa League final

 

Might have been wearing a Spurs top under the suit

 

B-bu-but he thumped his chest and quoted Tommy Burns about the support always being there!

 

I heard he was singing oh when the spurs go marching in all week

 

Think folk are bitter because he's been talking to Spurs since March yet talking pish last week about his focus on Celtic.

Anyway such is football these days

 

I could believe that. Would take at least a week to sing that dirge.

 

I’m weirdly not bothered about it. Like not overly upset, angry, or bitter.

I never bought into the rhetoric with Rodgers or Ange. They’re both ambitious guys who were always likely to move on for the right opportunity. Both could’ve handled it better in ways.

It presents us with a challenge, but not one we can’t actually benefit from if we get the next manager call right. There’s so very good names out there, I’m (reasonably) confident that we’ve moved on as a club from pursuing the likes of Lennon, Keane etc, and will bring in someone of a high standard.

 

For what it’s worth, Ange has left us in the best position of any manager this century. A treble and guaranteed CL football, along with a strong squad. Sure the squad will change a bit but that would've happened even if he had stayed.

O’Neill left an overly expensive and ageing squad that needed gutting. Strachan’s squad had gone stale. Mowbray left a mess. Lennon's first spell left a decent squad but this current one is stronger, the second spell left a mess. Deila left the foundations of Rodgers' squad but one that had far too many cheap punts and deadwood, and Rodgers left us in the lurch when we had a game two days later.

 

Maybe this hits on the crux of the problem.

I always found it strange people interpreted the, "as long as the people in charge want me here" as a literal statement he was never ever going to leave.

Why do grown adults, who know how the world works and how the footballing world works actually take statements like that as if they're some immutable line in the sand? Surely on the face of it, it is ridiculous.

To me, when I see a statement like that from a football manager, it's to stop an antagonistic media linking him with every potential job so he can focus on the football. I just don't get how people can now drag that up to attack him for taking a better job after the season has finished with a record breaking treble.

I don't mean to disrespect anybody, but some of you done this with Rodgers and now you've done it with Ange.

Stop doing it. No one is staying when a better job offer comes in, particularly between seasons. There's a grey area were they might be personally settled etc. but no one with any ambition is getting emotionally attached to a club to the point they patch their career progression and opportunities. It just doesn't happen.

I mean, for * sake if he was to fall 9 or 10 behind next year we'd be calling for his head.


Am I disappointed in Ange? Of course, I felt he could've given us another year to round off the project.

But we've got people saying he should've declared to the SMSM that he was interested in Spurs before the cup final. <-- That right there is the smoking gun that tells you people have lost their sense of reason in their disappointment.

 

No they think he should have declared his interest in the Spurs job to the club with whom he was under contract and not made an agreement in principle with us for a new contract when he had been chasing the Spurs job for months.

I don't care that he lied to the press, or that he lied to fans really though it would have been nice if he hadn't. I do care that he mislead our club and didn't even havea set of balls big enough to look the players in the eye and tell them.

The "ditraction" pish is just that pish. The speculation and hanging in limbo would have been an even bigger distraction than them being kept in the picture.

 

He arrived here via Greece, Australia and Japan he had zero connection to Celtic. He walked out on Yokohama midseason to take our job he had previously left Brisbane and also the Australian national team prior to a world cup. He came here and achieved far more than we expected when he was appointed. Yes he gave the odd quote but did we learn nothing from Rodgers ? managers for the most part say what's needed to get through an interview.

I genuinely think he was surprised that Spurs came in for him rightly or wrongly Spurs are one of the big 6 in England and a guy with no connection to Celtic will undoubtedly see that as a step up in their managerial career moving to a team with better facilities in a better league with a lot more money.

I find it hard to hold a grudge to him but the one thing that sticks in my throat is that it was clearly going on for far longer than we knew and I think he could have handled the last week or 2 slightly better but then again at the same time if he came out and said he was looking to move on at the end of the season there would also be a section of the support raging as well.

 

Imagine your manager marching into the dressing room mid-season and saying he was interested in another job that he might take at the end of the season. * bizarre. As I said, people just talking * to criticise him.

Distraction pish?

Some random guy telling the manager with 25 years experience what will and won't be a bigger distraction for HIS players and staff before a final that he won. * * man.

 

You know it could all be part of Ange's master plan. Move to Spurs. Leave JK temporarily in charge. Buy players from us, he was expecting us to lose anyway, at ridiculously high prices. JK spends the dosh on players Ange has identified. Ange gets himself fired from Spurs at the start of the season. And he's back in the dugout at Celtic Park before the CL kicks off with a Megabucks squad.

If only....

 

Ange Postecoglu has promised to bring Champions League football to White Hart Lane.

He aims to have BT Sport installed by September.

 

We granted permission for him to speak to Spurs on Monday, his deal was finalised on Tuesday but he interviewed twice and has been included in the process since Conte left in March. Something not adding up there.

 

Then what you are suggesting is Spurs effectively tapped up our manager.

I doubt very highly that is true

 

Hes been talking to them since March so yeah they have

 

Aye because the players seeing all the transfer speculation on social media and on sky sports news totally wouldn't have been a distraction eh? Except Cal stated after the game it was a distraction and he had to work hard to keep the players focused. I'm sure Cal really appreciated that extra work load in the lead up to a Cup final, cheers Ange.

They were going to be distracted either way but not knowing plays on the mind and keeps you awake worrying. Leaving people in limbo is the worst thing you can do, a clear picture is always preferable. It may even have motivated them to give Ange the best send off. They aren't children.


You are acting like Ange doesn't have previous with this *, he did it to Brisbane Roar and he happily walked out on his Socceroos team without a thank you or goodbye.