Ange Postecoglou

Ange would kick * out of Spiderman.

 

Think you'll find we're all agreed that the St Mirren game in fact never happened.

 

Is that like when Dimitrovski, Pterovski and Ilievski becomes Dimitrakis, Petros, and Elias? Many in now Northern Greece had to change/ alter their names in accord with Greek government requirements so as not to be distinguished as of Greek orthodox origin. see https://www.britannica.com/event/Macedonian-Question

 

All about borders and eastern block politics. Those who changed their names and Hellinised them were able to get Greek passports and leave communist southern Yugoslavia and migrate abroad to Australia after claiming Greek ancestry.

I had a team mate whose family had done that and were originally from Bitola but were of Slavic- Macedonian background.

 

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed one of the benefits of living in Scotland.

In a recent interview in his homeland, the Australian commented on how he is now able to experience a 'football heaven' due to the number of games he can watch live.

The 57-year-old has previously spoken about getting up to watch matches in the early hours of the morning with his father when he was growing up.

However, now that he lives on the other side of the world, the fixtures are on at a more reasonable hour.




Speaking to Craig Foster for Stan Sport, he said: "The beauty about living in Europe is that literally every night of the week, I'll put the kids to bed about seven or eight o'clock and then I'll put my feet up and there'll be a game on.

"For me that's brilliant. It's heaven, football heaven.

"Whether it's Champions League or it's La Liga or it's the Premier League or it's the Bundesliga it's all on there at eight o'clock at night.


So that's how I finish my day.

"I can watch it (without analysing it), I just love watching football."




Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou feels his side can use the Ajax model to help the team become a 'competitive' force in Europe once again.

The Australian thinks that replicating how the Dutch giants trust the process of promoting young players is one way in which the Scottish champions can bridge the financial gap between themselves and the European big boys.

He noted that Alfred Schreuder's team's philosophy could be an effective long-term strategy for the Bhoys to compete in the Champions League once again.




Speaking to Stan Sport Football in his homeland, Postecoglou said: “You can do one or two things. You can sort of say that’s a gap that will never be bridged because, ultimately, the rich clubs will continue to get bigger as we’ve seen.

"Inevitably now, as their riches are greater in these competitions, they focus more on them, so they are the ones that are the beneficiaries of it, so that gap becomes bigger.

"Or you can take the view as I have that you chip away at it. Every year you go there and you make a little bit more of an impact.


“The more you’re at that level, I think the more belief you gain as a club and as a group when you are competing on consistent levels.




If you look at an Ajax now, and people say Ajax have sold so many players in recent times but are consistently making the Champions League and made it to a (semi) final."

The 57-year-old went on to praise the current champions of the Netherlands for how committed they are to building up young players.

He highlighted how even though they did not experience instant success in doing so, the longer-term process worked.

"There was probably a three or four-year period when they were building that team that they didn’t even win the Dutch league," he continued.

"But they had the discipline to say, well, we’re going to play young players.

"We probably won’t win the Dutch league, but over the course of time.

"You look at a club like that and they’re chipping away at it. That’s where I see a club like Celtic.




You go into the competition, yes for experience, but also to make an impact and chip away at these bigger clubs, so that every time you are in it, you get a little bit closer.

"Will you ever get to the same space? Probably not. But enough when you’re more than competitive.”

 

That is why Ange is an exceptional man - he sits down with Craig Foster to talk football, with the guy who ruined his football reputation in Australia on tv to the extent that he could not get a gig in Australia and moved overseas to work.
Foster now works with Stan Sports and has continually strived to keep in the media spotlight since those days. He has never publically apologised to Ange for his behaviour in that interview and the damage it caused him and his family.

Former Socceroo and former Foster team mate in the national team, Robbie Slater, is now a media football pundit in Australia. Slater can not stand Foster. He will not talk to him and wants nothing to do with him since their playing days - which says a lot. Go to Wiki and you will see why.

 

I know * all about the EPL these days, can anyone tell me if any of the top 6/8 sides are likely to want a new manager next summer? I know it's far away in footballing terms.

At this stage I'm just desperate we keep him for next season at the minimum. Feel like there will be good wins in Europe this year and the delivery of another title under Ange would be fantastic - but that third season just feels like it's gonna be where the magic happens

 

No typical top 6 side in the EPL are going to be after Ange.

 

The only club that'd work for him would he arsenal imo but they seem to have finally settled lately. The rest don't give enough time so no point in going.

 

I think he's an incredible coach and a brilliant man manager and I definitely think he could get a big move somewhere but it won't be to any of the top 6. Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea won't even talk to him while he's managing us. It's their * arrogance that causes that because he could manage any of them in my opinion. He will need to go somewhere else first, either a lower Premier League side or a bigger team in Europe somewhere. Even someone like Palermo in a few years time, owned by the City Group, big club in Italy. Just been shafted with years of bad financial management. You would imagine that, with the city group behind them now, they'll start to really become a bit of a force in italy again over the next few years.

 

Becoming very obvious that large sections of the main stream media are not going to rest until Ange has left Celtic - He will now be hounded continually about any EPL vacancy and be made to feel like there is something wrong with him for continuing to stay at Celtic and not accept a EPL job -

This is absolutely disgusting behaviour from the Scottish media who claim to want the best for Scottish football but push any talented player or manager out the door if he is with Celtic - They fear Ange; they know while he is with Celtic it will be very likely that rangers will be in his shadow and remain firmly in second place - Some of the articles being written in the usual tabloid gutter press are stinking with envy and bitterness - Very clear they want Ange out of Celtic and the sooner the better

 

Had another read through this thread again. It's a wild rollercoaster of a thread pre-December but the gradual buy in from supporters is actually beautiful stuff to read.

February the 2nd was the day we never looked back. Ange has been a phenomenon.

 

Never leave big man

 

December was the big thing for me, he had a majorly depleted team, majorly, he made sure we didn’t concede and would win by a goal cos he had to. Stuck by his philosophy still but absolutely made sure he’d just * win with what he had available, and made the board get his 3 targets in even before the January window opened.

We’ve never had a manager that could make a board move that quickly, and he done from a position of strength off the back of a run he had no right to string together.

That run, if anybody ever fancies to watch it back, Tam Rogic made sure the manager would be backed. And reading between the lines now, I don’t think he wanted another year, done another year for Ange, and he repaid faith in a manager he really wanted to be successful. And correct me if I’m wrong here, did he not leave this summer, despite us having another year we could get out his contract?

 

He spent some time at Arsenal, I think when Wenger was still there, just studying the club and their methods. So they would've been aware of him before he went to Celtic.

But Arsenal seem very happy with Arteta right now, and Ange seems very happy with Celtic.

Can't see that changing for a long while, although we'll always be vulnerable to the mega-deal that he simply can't say no to.

 

I love the way he thinks and this was highlighted in his recent interview on Aussie tv where he wants Celtic to implement the Ajax model.

There are however a couple of obstacles that would make that difficult in Scotland.

1. Our reserve team football is non existent, the B team system where we play in the lower league is good for very young players but is not good for developing players who need first team football at senior level. Guys who are like 19-21 need to play at a higher level than the highland league. Loan deals are an option of course but ideally they would play in a team that uses Anges philosophy of football which would be hard to find in Scotland or anywhere else.

2. Scottish football culture does not allow for patience. In the above article he talks about Ajax not winning the league for 3 years while they developed their young players. In Scotland and at Celtic that would cost you your job you would have 2 seasons at a maximum.

Would love for Ange to stay long enough to leave his ethos and philosophy in place long after he was gone so lucky to have him. Hope he rubs off on the board and other staff members long term.

 

Imagine Ange as manager of Scotland in future, taking the nation to the next World Cup finals.