Ange Postecoglou, curses and a patchwork Spurs high line

Strewth, mate! Having been presented with the first three Premier League manager of the month gongs available since taking over at Spurs, Ange Postecoglou could have been forgiven for worrying that the curse associated with the award was about to strike with the power of 10,000 suns. While the straight-talking, no-nonsense Aussie doesn’t strike Football Daily as the kind of superstitious type who salutes magpies and worries about breaking mirrors or spilling salt in the training-ground canteen, during his time at Celtic he did once greet news of a knack crisis by saying he “must have walked under a ladder”.

At his press pow-wow before Tottenham’s flamin’ trip to Wolves on Saturday, Postecoglou had about him the bearing of a man who had not only walked under a ladder, but subsequently discovered it was attached to the back of a fire engine that had been summoned to put out a fire at his house. Following his nine-man side’s deceptively emphatic 4-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in an epically wild match on Monday night, he was gloomily able to reveal to the ladies and gentlemen of the Fourth Estate that the game and three points that were up for grabs weren’t the only thing he had lost.

In news that will prompt Spurs fans to stick the boot into any black cats unwise enough to cross their paths, the Spurs manager revealed that James Maddison, so instrumental in the club’s early-season success, will be out with ankle-knack until some time in January, while fellow summer signing Micky van de Ven faces a similarly long spell on the sidelines after pulling up lame with what looked like a nasty case of hammy-twang. With Richarlison also out for a month or more, and Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie both set to sit out their Molineux appointment on the Premier League’s Naughty Step, it will be a somewhat make-do and mend lineup missing several seriously influential players that will take to the field.

“We’ll have to make some changes but the guys who’ll come in have been training hard, they understand how we want to play and they will give everything they can to try to make us successful,” tooted Ange, desperately squinting in his bid to see a bright side. “I know people say it’s an advantage that we’re not currently in Europe or the [Milk] Cup, but if we were, some of these guys would have had game time. They’ll come in and they haven’t had a lot. We’ve got to be careful about the sort of game time we give people.” Asked by one reporter if he might be tempted to change the way his team sets up, considering his patchwork defence might be uncomfortable playing the usual high line across the edge of their opponents’ six-yard box, Ange did manage to crack a smile and something of a zinger: “Yeah there’s always a temptation, but apart from chocolate I’m always pretty good at not giving into [them].” While several Spurs players may be absent, their manager is here all week.

“I haven’t changed my view about him. He scored three goals; it should have been six” – just when you thought Nicolas Jackson might have a spring in his step, Mauricio Pochettino comes across all Captain Buzzkill and brings the striker back down to earth.

All I can say is well done and thank you for not leading yesterday’s Football Daily with more inane ‘VAR strikes again’ rubbish. Instead, you’ve bravely gone for a more retro look at technology ruining football, with a good old-fashioned floodlight failure story. Bravo!” – Simon Hawkins.

Almost 30 years ago, in the San Francisco Over-35 PAPY League, I signed up with an otherwise all-Peruvian team (they were desperate and I was tall). We wore Universitario shirts. We won absolutely nothing and dropped out of the first division, but I kept the shirt. When I read your great story about Alianza turning off the lights on victorious Universitario, I resurrected the shirt from the back of a drawer and put it on. Either I’ve expanded or the shirt has shrunk, but it looked terrible. I definitely wanted to do an Alianza and turn off the lights” – Mike Gaynes.

In March 2020, just as the pandemic struck, I experienced an Alianza Lima game. As a long-time Hull City supporter, who now lives in Melbourne, I am used to a lot of stress, excitement, etc. Nothing could live with this, though. I have never seen so many police units: armed, riot, horseback, motorbike, helicopters, and ordinary uniformed. Had to show my passport and I was spared the truncheons moving people along. I was in the popular end, the singing never stopped, only at half-time when everyone sat down. There were three tunnels for the teams: one for the away team, one for the home team, but at the other end of the ground another tunnel for the home team if they lost as the more sedate supporters were there. It was a 1-1 draw, a good experience that made the Den look like a walk in the park” – Steve Cochrane.

With regard to Stephen Pearson’s letter, which referenced my letter, which referenced Andrew Kluth’s letter, which referenced your own Memory Lane feature about Glenn Hoddle’s house (Football Daily letters passim), he/they are wrong, and you and I are right. Your original text was ‘in front of their fancy detached house and back-garden pool’. I’ve already dealt in an earlier paper with the concept of ‘in front of’ as meaning nearer to the camera. An example of perspective is clearly illustrated by the top of Glenn’s head being on a level with a first floor windowsill. The adjectives ‘fancy detached’ simply describe the nature of the house, just as ‘back-garden’ and the adjectival phrase ‘needs a good clean’ describe the pool. The order of object placement, working forward from the horizon, is: (i) house (fancy detached); (ii) swimming pool (back-garden filthy); (iii) Glenn and his wife (fancy conjoined); (iv) camera. Glenn and his wife are indubitably ‘in front of’ objects (i) and (ii). Thank you” – Ken Muir.

Send your letters to [email protected]. Today’s letter o’ the day is … Mike Gaynes, who wins our last copy of Tinseltown: Hollywood and the Beautiful Game – a match made in Wrexham. You can buy a copy here.

There were fun and games in Toulouse, where Liverpool thought they had snatched a 3-3 draw with a 97th-minute Jarell Quansah goal, only for the VAR to undertake a Tivo box-style rewind to find an earlier Alexis Mac Allister handball, meaning the Reds went on to lose. Jürgen Klopp took it well, of course. “We scored a third goal,” he roared. “I think it is a goal, 100%. It is pretty long ago that triggered the situation. I am not even sure it touches the hand.” Klopp’s mood was made even jauntier when he had to speak to hacks in what appeared to be a wooden box below the noisy Toulouse ultras. “Whose idea was it to have the press conference here?” he growled. “Wow! … WHAT?! … YOU HAVE TO ASK REALLY LOUD!”

There were no such noise issues for Roberto De Zerbi, whose slick Brighton side silenced the Ajax ultras at the Johan Cruyff Arena, cruising to a 2-0 win over 11 players doing a bad impression of four-time Big Cup winners. Meanwhile, West Ham were grateful to Lucas Paquetá for giving them a 1-0 home win against Evangelos Marinakis-owned Olympiakos before Evangelos Marinakis-owned Nottingham Forest visit on Sunday. There was even a win for Rangers, 2-1 against Sparta Prague. All the British teams look likely to qualify for the latter stages at the moment.

Luton manager Rob Edwards has said sorry to Liverpool fans who were targeted by tragedy chants at Kenilworth Road last Sunday. “I want to apologise,” he said. “Bring the noise – but let’s be good and be respectful.”

Jürgen Klopp is delighted to see Luis Díaz looking much happier after hearing his kidnapped father had been released. “Lucho is really happy, [giving] thumbs up all the time,” Klopp said. “Timing-wise it couldn’t have been better.”

Departing Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has said she wants to make sure her succession is as smooth as possible. “Chelsea is my club and will always be my club,” she soothed. “I will pass the baton in the best way possible to make sure my successor is as successful as I am.”

Jim Ratcliffe is expected to seal a deal for 25% of Manchester United in the international fortnight, which is good news for tea-timely emails scouring for content among the tumbleweeds. Meanwhile Erik ten Hag has had a moan about Marcus Rashford’s form. “We are not happy,” he sighed. “We have an expectation … but I know he will be back.”

Eddie Howe, who would dearly love a midfielder in January, has indicated Newcastle will do everything in their power to resist a proposed new Premier League rule that would prevent teams from signing players on loan from associated clubs.

Evan Ferguson has inked his name all over a new Brighton contract until 2029, when we’ll all be flying around in electric hovercrafts.

Yeovil keeper Joe Day has explained how he was hospitalised for two days by a spider bite, but recovered in time to play against Gateshead in the Glovers’ FA Cup win three days later. “The doctor did reckon it was the reaction they’d expect from a bad false widow bite,” he explained. “My right ear was pinned back [during the match] and because of the swelling my hearing wasn’t great in that ear anyway, so with the bandage and the [skull] cap on I couldn’t hear too well.” Yup, we’re checking under our pillow tonight, too.

And while this isn’t strictly an announcements newsletter, we’ll make a brief exception to note the engagement of Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis. Congratulations!

Megan Rapinoe plays her final match on Saturday, in the NWSL final for OL Reign against Gotham FC. But was this great advocate for so many causes on and off the field also a great player? Megan Swanick has a mull.

Israeli side Maccabi Haifa played at “home” in Cyprus on Thursday. Jacob Steinberg reports from a strange, poignant night in Larnaca.

Teenage defender Brooke Aspin, on loan at Bristol City from Chelsea, tells Ella Braidwood about future hopes and her traumatic experience of sepsis.

League Two toppers Stockport are on a roll, baby! Dominic Booth on the team armed with 12 wins on the bounce and an increasingly plausible-sounding seven-year plan.

And nine feels miserly and 11 seems excessive, so here are 10 things to look out for in this weekend’s Premier League matches.

Spot the ball. We’re struggling a bit as Brentford’s players train at Bushey Hall before their FA Cup fourth-round tie at Derby in January 1937. It didn’t go too well, Dai Astley’s hat-trick giving the Rams a 3-0 victory.