Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has plenty of admiration for Mauricio Pochettino’s appetite to take on a “big challenge” but has suggested he would never allow others to take complete control of recruitment.
Pochettino’s Chelsea visit Spurs on Monday with the west London club struggling for a second consecutive season despite an outlay of £1billion since Todd Boehly took over with his Clearlake Capital consortium last year.
While Pochettino has failed to hit the ground running and acknowledged at the end of September he would “need to be more involved now” with regard to the January transfer window, it is a different story for Postecoglou and his summer transfers.
“I haven’t come across him,” Postecoglou said of the former Spurs manager.
“From afar, great admiration. I think the impact he had at Southampton and at Spurs is unquestionable.
“He has taken on some pretty big challenges post-Spurs as well, which I’m all for. I like managers who take on big challenges, so great admiration and respect for his work.”
Paris St Germain was Pochettino’s destination after his departure from Tottenham, but a plethora of signings under his watch were made by PSG sporting director Leonardo.
This summer Chelsea spent more than £350million during Pochettino’s first transfer window, although he has been left with a bloated squad of big-money additions which lack experience.
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By contrast Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison have quickly settled and Postecoglou said recruitment is a big factor for him, especially at the start of his tenure.
He added: “Wherever I’ve been, I’ve made sure that I have the biggest say over recruitment. I don’t do all the work, but I really think it’s an important part of my function and particularly when I first go into clubs.
“When you first go into a club, there are two measures that people will always put up against you.
“One is the results, that tells its own tale, but as a manager, and I’ve certainly had that experience, you can’t always guarantee the results early on.
“The other thing you get measured on is the people you bring in. Because at least if the results aren’t there, then people will say ‘okay, there’s something building here’.
“From my perspective, it’s the one area I really want strong control over.”
Spurs’ new technical director Johan Lange started work at the club on Wednesday and Postecoglou has already spent time with the ex-Aston Villa transfer guru, but a day earlier his focus was elsewhere.
Postecoglou and his wife Georgia were opening-night guests of Sir Kenneth Branagh on Tuesday at Wyndham’s Theatre to witness Shakespeare’s King Lear, a tale of a king seeking love from his three daughters, which ends in devastation.
The Aussie enjoyed the play but is eager for a different ending on Monday night.
“Sir Kenneth is a big Spurs fan and was kind enough to invite my wife and I to the theatre the other night,” Postecoglou revealed.
“We enjoyed it. I did have to swot up on King Lear. It wasn’t part of the curriculum at Prahran High!
“You always learn from life and the appreciation of seeing people excel at what they do is inspiring. You walk out of there thinking, ‘I don’t know how they do it’.
“Sir Kenneth was good after it. I caught up with him briefly, he was very kind with his time.
“He was all over how it’s going and gave me some little bits of advice, which I’ll ignore like he’ll ignore my advice on acting, mate! It was good. It was much appreciated.
“There was a fair bit going on in that play, mate! I definitely want a better ending than Sir Kenneth had.”
Vancouver Whitecaps v Austin FC: Sartini hails 'special' White ahead of enticing BC Place meeting
Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini labelled Brian White as a "special" player ahead of Sunday's enticing MLS meeting with Austin FC at BC Place.
The Whitecaps are third in the Western Conference after a 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls last time out, completing a fine April that saw them lose just one of four matches.
Whitecaps forward White scored in that draw and may get somewhat of a hero's welcome at a packed-out BC Place after becoming Vancouver's all-time leading scorer.
"I'm really happy he could make history here at home in front of his family, in front of his friends," Sartini said of White, who moved past Camilo Sanvezzo as the club's all-time leading scorer.
"It adds a special, special flair to that, so I'm really happy for him.
"He's a player so committed that it doesn't matter if he misses a goal, or he scores the first goal, or if he misses the first touch because he's going to adjust."
Sartini even suggested his coaching has improved White, albeit in a playful manner.
"I think he scored 99% of the goals with me as a coach, so I can even tell that maybe that it's [to] my credit," he joked. "Because I put him in the right position."
Austin are just two points but four places behind Vancouver in the West after winning four of their last five outings, having swept aside LA Galaxy 2-0 in their last match.
Verde and Black head coach Josh Wolff is not getting overly excited with that form, though.
"It's 10 games into the season so we don't get carried away," Wolff said. "When you guys [the media] are slaughtering us earlier this year, I don't get too bummed out.
"You guys do what you do. You got to pump out headlines and you got to get readers, I understand it. Whether I agree with that or not, that's what you guys choose to do."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
With a goal against the Red Bulls on Saturday, White has contributed to at least one goal in six straight matches, the longest streak by a Whitecaps player in the club’s MLS history.
The 28-year-old has found the net – or assisted – in every game since failing to do so against San Jose Earthquakes on March 10, with the Whitecaps reaping the rewards from their star forward.
Austin FC – Brad Stuver
Austin have kept clean sheets in two straight matches for only the second time in club history, also doing so in June-July 2023.
Austin kept just one clean sheet in the 25 matches in all competitions between the two streaks and their upturn in form should be somewhat credited to goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who continues to impress.
MATCH PREDICTION – VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN
The Whitecaps are the heavy favourites for this one, having won four of their six meetings with Austin FC (D1 L1), including recording victories in all three meetings between the sides at BC Place.
Vancouver have also equalled their best nine-match start in club history with 17 points, yet the Whitecaps have never reached the 20-point mark within their first 10 games of an MLS season.
It will be far from a routine victory, though, as Austin have won four of their last five matches (L1) following a 2-0 win over the Galaxy, including the last two in a row.
Austin have had only one winning streak longer than two games in all competitions in club history, a four-match run in June-July 2022 – but that could come to an end here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Vancouver Whitecaps win – 46.7%
Austin FC win – 27.2%
Draw – 26.1%
Real Salt Lake v Sporting Kansas City: Mastroeni lauds team effort of Western Conference leaders
Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni credited the collective effort of his league-leading side as they prepare to host Sporting Kansas City at America First Field for Sunday's MLS clash.
Salt Lake sit atop of the Western Conference table after a six-game undefeated streak, having overcome Philadelphia Union 2-1 in their last outing.
Alexandros Katranis provided a remarkable 89th-minute winner in that victory over the Union, with RSL not losing an MLS game since March 9 against Colorado Rapids.
"I think it is everything so far, every aspect of the team has been competitive – sometimes the offense clicks, sometimes it is the defense," Mastroeni said.
"For me, it is really the collective; from the staff, to the players, to me and the work we do every day. Scoring the first goal has been really important for us in most of the games.
"Defensively we have been a really good team, it starts at the top, though. We're getting a lot of great contributions from all around the pitch.
"When you tie that all together, we've got a great group firing on all cylinders."
Peter Vermes' Wizards were defeated 2-1 by Minnesota United in their last match, leaving them 10th in the West with just 11 points to their name after 10 games.
Kansas City head coach Vermes knows another difficult task awaits on the road this weekend.
"They are the best team in the West at the moment," Vermes said of RSL.
"They are always a tough defensive team. With the strike power they have up front, we will have to be focused and concentrated, it will be a tough match for us."
Vermes' high praise of Salt Lake comes as no surprise given Mastroeni's men have only conceded nine times this season – a joint-low in MLS.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Cristian Arango has 16 goal contributions through 10 matches this season, equalling the most in a player’s first 10 appearances of a season in MLS history (Carlos Vela in 2019, Cobi Jones in 1998).
With eight goals in just 10 appearances so far this term, the Real Salt Lake star has already surpassed his six strikes in 2023 – and will hope to further his tally here.
Sporting Kansas City – Johnny Russell
Johnny Russell has scored six goals in 13 career MLS matches against Real Salt Lake (also considering playoffs), including scoring at least once against RSL in each of the last five seasons.
The Scottish winger is yet to score in league competition this year, though, failing to find the net in any of his seven appearances – though Russell has only played 90 minutes twice in that run.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
It will be hard to split these two sides with a draw appearing probable, despite the Opta supercomputer suggesting Real Salt Lake have the likelier chance of victory.
Sporting have never recorded back-to-back victories when visiting Salt Lake in all competitions, though they did win the last meeting between these two sides 3-2 in October.
SKC may have also lost their last outing but they have not suffered consecutive defeats across all competitions since April 2023, avoiding defeat in the match following each of its previous 14 losses (W10 D4).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake win – 45.5%
Sporting Kansas City win – 26.8%
Draw – 27.7%
Hoffenheim 1-1 RB Leipzig: Kramaric denies visitors after Simons red card
Andrej Kramaric scored a last-minute equaliser to deny RB Leipzig victory in Friday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw at Hoffenheim, in a game which saw Xavi Simons sent off.
Simons was shown his second yellow card with 18 minutes to play, with fourth-placed Leipzig 1-0 up courtesy of Benjamin Sesko's first-half header.
Marco Rose's team looked set to leapfrog Stuttgart into third ahead of Saturday's fixtures, but Kramaric – who had earlier been denied by a huge double save from Peter Gulasci – salvaged a point for the hosts with stoppage time mere seconds away.
While Leipzig missed the chance to move eight points clear of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund, both teams will be playing Champions League football next season after Germany clinched a top-two place in UEFA's coefficient rankings this week.
Data Debrief: Flying full-back creates again
David Raum assisted Sesko's opener with a pinpoint cross, the eighth goal he has teed up in the Bundesliga this season. Seven of those have been headers, a joint-high tally among all players, alongside Borussia Monchengladbach's Franck Honorat.
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