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Mixed managerial fortunes

It is a tradition now for the first section of these pieces to be dedicated to managers and one man in particular. That man is Ange Postecoglou, who had another sensational month at Tottenham Hotspur in September.

Postecoglou oversaw an undefeated month in the Premier League, which included a draw away from home at Arsenal in the North London Derby and a 2-1 win over Liverpool.

But the result that probably best symbolises the considerable impact the former Brisbane Roar boss has already had in London was Spurs’ incredible turnaround against Sheffield United. The win, the latest winning comeback in Premier League history, meant Postecoglou’s unbeaten home league record reached an astonishing landmark of 50 matches across spells with Yokohama, Celtic, and now Tottenham. But it was important for other reasons.

Firstly, it indicated the players’ willingness to embody a never-say-die attitude, a well-known hallmark of any Postecoglou side. But another feature is how Postecoglou has utilised his man management skills to squeeze more out of much-maligned Brazilian forward Richarlison. The former Watford man still polarises opinion and has by no means been a revelation under the Australian. But there seems to be a path toward redemption, which can be seen through a slow rebirth in the attacker’s confidence.

Whilst on international duty with Brazil, Richarlison admitted he was seeking psychological help for off-field issues plaguing his performances. Postecoglou’s responses ahead of the Sheffield fixture about the Brazilian’s situation were as empathetic and genuine as any player would hope to hear from their manager.

“Whatever Richy needs, we’ll help him get to the space he wants to,” Postecoglou told the media in his pre-match press conference.

“What I will say is that no one has a perfect life. Sometimes we look at footballers and they do things well and we think they have all the money they need and that’s a perfect life, but that doesn’t make you immune from life itself.

“I’m sure that every player in our dressing room is dealing with something. I think sometimes players fall into the trap of thinking their lives should be perfect because of the position they’re in but that’s not how life works.

“Who in their life doesn’t have something that is stressful? I have lived 58 years now and there has never been a time in my life where everything is perfect.

“I lost my father three years ago and he should have been here for the journey, so I have got to deal with it. That is me talking personally but everybody in this room, there will be something.

“It could be a family member, a health issue, a financial issue because there is always something and footballers are not immune from that.”

What happened next? Richarlison scored a 98th-minute equaliser for his side, who won the game two minutes later through Dejan Kulusevski. It is not a coincidence. It is down to Postecoglou’s incredible ability to be in tune with the personalities in his squad and fundamentally understand what footballers, as human beings, require so they can perform at their best.

In the aftermath of the result, the Postecoglou praise was in full overdrive, and rightly so. Max Rushden, a Tottenham supporter and a British radio, TV presenter, and podcast host based in Australia, gave his thoughts on how Postecoglou has conducted himself in the new role when speaking to AAP last month.

“He feels like a new young manager and the way he talks about the game and the way he’s so open is sort of a breath of fresh air,” he said.

“He’s just so honest and decent.

“In the men’s game right now there’s a bit of a void of talent in terms of Australian soccer players currently playing.

“They can’t look at the men’s game and go ‘We’ve got one of the best players in the world’ but actually they have now a manager who is very quickly making his name known everywhere he’s gone.”

Craig Foster added more on the significance of the ongoing achievements when speaking to the same publication, praising Postecoglou for how he keeps challenging the status quo.

“For Ange to rise from the NSL with his boyhood club South Melbourne and as a proud Greek-Australian to the EPL says much about modern Australia and the rise of football as the multicultural game at the forefront of national consciousness,” he said.

“Ange is opening pathways for a new generation of highly educated Australian coaches and challenging the notion that elite football only exists in Europe and South America.”

Finally, former Premier League and Newcastle Jets striker Michael Bridges explained on The Optus Sport Football Podcast how Postecoglou’s mindset as a coach has transformed Tottenham.

"We know that stadium would have been empty by the 80th minute if it had been under previous managers because there's no way Tottenham would have found a way to come back from that,” he said.

"But this is Ange Postecoglou. This is the belief that he's brought. He's renowned for his comebacks.

"He tells the players to have the belief later on in the games. You've got to have players who want to win that game as well. So it's not just saying it's all Ange. The players have bought into what Ange is all about. It's exciting times."

Next up, Tottenham faced Arsenal in a mouth-watering North London Derby. Despite Spurs’ electric start to the campaign and a clear shift in culture, Postecoglou, as always seems to be the case, had his doubters heading into the monumental occasion.

Premier League legend Paul Merson’s column for Sky Sports previewing the derby seemed to assume that Postecoglou’s supposed naivety meant Tottenham had no pathway to taste victory on enemy territory.

“Speaking to Celtic fans, he won’t (change his style) — he plays the same football everywhere he has gone,” Merson wrote.

“If he doesn’t, it will open the game up. And if you go toe-to-toe against Arsenal, there’s only one winner.

“Because of the way they pass the ball and move between the lines, I don’t know if Spurs could live with Arsenal. They will get blown away.”

Although Arsenal were better in the opening stages and could have been 2-0 up, Spurs, unlike Merson predicted, indeed went toe-to-toe and were arguably the better side in the second half, possibly even looking more likely to snatch a winner.

It was another instance where Postecoglou’s insistence on playing an attacking, possession-based, all-in style of football paid off. Unlike other managers who may understand such a style takes time to implement and will be patient for results, Postecoglou expects his sides to be able to execute as soon as possible. Spurs centre-back Cristian Romero gave more insight into the mindset of the ex-Socceroos boss when talking to Optus Sport ahead of the Arsenal clash.

"He (Postecoglou) is a person whose ambition is clear. He just wants to win. From the first day he got here he made that very evident," Romero said.

Postecoglou is putting the runs on the board early, gaining validation with his style. But he is also increasingly gaining confidence in his recruitment and ability to revitalise players who were seemingly out of favour under previous management.

James Maddison has been an incredible pickup, whilst Postecoglou has reintroduced the Premier League world to the talents of Yves Bissouma, along with finding a role where talented young prospect Pape Matar Sarr can excel. Postecoglou is not interested in age either; Sarr only turned 21 last month.

Some players seem to be thriving more than they were under previous coaches. Son Heung-Min was already a sensational footballer, but Postecoglou’s decision to convert the South Korean forward into an out-and-out striker has done wonders for him and the team.

Postecoglou has found suitable roles for his players in a short space of time whilst also introducing his fundamental principles quickly. In Spurs’ 5-2 win at Burnley in early September, their fifth goal stemmed from 15 consecutive passes in their half. They slowly broke the press before advancing the ball at a breakneck pace, utilising Son’s lighting speed to devastating effect.

The season is young, but prominent figures are still handing out hyperbolic praise when discussing Postecoglou. Bridges tipped the Australian to win the league’s Manager of the Season award last month, even comparing him to compatriots Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

What has been most crazy is the celebrity fanfare surrounding Postecoglou. Actor Tom Holland (aka Spiderman) previously praised him, whilst singer Robbie Williams recorded a song created by Spurs fans about him.

But the latest celebrity to catch Ange fever was Henry Winkler, or ‘The Fonz’. The actor caught wind of Postecoglou’s love for the popular television show Happy Days as a kid. He recorded a video of him congratulating the manager on Spurs’ win over Liverpool, even asking if he would put a signed Fonzie poster on his wall today. Ange Postecoglou once coached the Whittlesea Zebras in Victoria. Now, actors are singing his praises on social media. Bonkers.

But maybe it’s not that outlandish. After all, Postecoglou was nominated for the FIFA Best Men’s Coach of the Year in September, too.

We now move on to Postecoglou’s ‘protégé’ Kevin Muscat, who had an indifferent month in Japan.

Muscat’s Yokohama F. Marinos lost their first Asian Champions League group stage game to Incheon United, which ironically is the club former Melbourne City defender Harrison Delbridge calls home.

But what was most concerning for the former Melbourne Victory boss was his side’s form slump in the league. Yokohama only picked up one win from four in the J-League, with Vissel Kobe taking control in the title race.

Some solace can be taken from winning their two-legged J-League Cup quarterfinal. But Muscat’s side subsequently lost the semi-final earlier this month.

So why have Yokohama experienced a sudden drop-off? Perhaps the increased scrutiny surrounding Muscat and his managerial future played a part. The manager’s September seemed to centre around persistent links with a move to Rangers in Scotland. Such talk was arguably being fuelled by Postecoglou, a mentor who sees Muscat as the next cab off the rank in the sudden association of Australian coaches with the top five leagues.

Postecoglou backed Muscat to do well in the UK should he make the move in the future when speaking to talkSPORT last month.

“Kevin’s a good man and he’s doing very well in Japan,” he said.

“Watch out for him, he’ll be another one that comes across.

“[He’ll be] another Aussie that comes across here and breaks down some barriers.”

Without overly focusing on Postecoglou, he again referenced Muscat when speaking to the media about being a pioneer for Australian coaches ahead of Tottenham’s clash with Liverpool.

“I’ve tried to open doors – but all I do is open the door and then the rest is up to them,” Postecoglou said.

“Kev has done an outstanding job, or Harry at Celtic or now Mile, you know, they don’t get special treatment. It’s just me opening a door for them and then the rest is up to them.”

Postecoglou and Muscat have a strong relationship, and their managerial careers have sometimes been closely aligned. The Tottenham manager evidently wants to see Muscat follow in his footsteps and take the next step up from the J-League.

The next step won’t be with Rangers, though. That post was filled recently by Philippe Clement. However, several bookmakers in the UK priced Muscat as the frontrunner to take the job in the wake of Michael Beale’s departure. Although Rangers dismissed claims they had contacted Muscat for the role in early September, it’s now widely understood that the club eventually decided between the Australian and Clement when choosing their new manager.

Muscat’s links to the Rangers role could have stemmed from his associations there as a player, where he did win the treble in his solitary season. The 50-year-old was previously linked with the job while still in charge of Melbourne Victory in 2017. Muscat's success with the Big V suggests he could handle the expectation to deliver immediate success, as would have been the case at Ibrox.

Had he been appointed, there certainly would have been some irony in seeing Muscat take over at the former rivals of a mentor in Postecoglou. Had their managerial timelines run differently, the pair might have even faced each other in an Old Firm Derby at some stage.

But right now, it is still unclear what Muscat’s next move will be. His connections within the UK would be substantial, having featured for Crystal Palace, Wolves, and Millwall as a player. Alternatively, Muscat may feel he has unfinished business elsewhere in Europe, particularly after his brief and unsuccessful stint at Sint-Truiden in Belgium.

Whatever Muscat does, he ought to hope it turns out better than his former Melbourne Derby foe Patrick Kisnorbo's move when he joined Troyes in France.

It was another torrid month for the ex-Melbourne City boss in September. He saw his side fail to register a league win whilst drawing twice and being defeated three times. To make matters worse, one of those defeats was to arch-rivals Auxerre at home.

Kisnorbo is under increased and volatile scrutiny by the club’s fans. After all, since they are a relegated side, Troyes were expected to fight for instant promotion back up to Ligue 1. Yet, they are astonishingly closer to relegation from Ligue 2.

The position seems untenable, and Kisnorbo’s significant failures thus far seemingly point to him not being ready for such a big step directly from the A-League Men. One could speculate that he would not have been appointed had Troyes not also been a member of the City Football Group like Melbourne City.

Matildas hero makes another leap

To the women’s side now, and Mackenzie Arnold’s year somehow got even better last month when she was named the new captain of West Ham.

Arnold has become only the third-ever captain in the club’s professional women's team's history. To further highlight her strong bond with East London, the Matildas custodian recently signed a contract extension that will keep her at the club until the end of 2024.

The World Cup hero has yet to reach 100 games for the Hammers but has been donned with the significant honour of the captaincy. It is rare for a player to be bestowed captain with less than 100 appearances for a club. But it is a testament to her performances and ability to lead by example, which Matildas fans saw on home soil recently.

Arnold now heads into her fourth season at West Ham in 2023/24, joining in July 2020. This recent announcement, coupled with keeping four clean sheets on the international stage and making three penalty shootout saves against France, must mean her confidence is at an all-time high.

Meanwhile, in off-field news for Arnold, she also signed a sponsorship deal with Nike last month, joining Sam Kerr in being sponsored by the brand.

But most intriguingly, before being named the Hammers’ new captain, there was also heavy speculation Arnold would be swapping clubs in September. Reports from The Mirror linked Arnold with a move to Manchester United last month to replace England goalkeeper Mary Earps, who reportedly wanted to depart the club for Arsenal. It was understood Arnold was at the top of the Red Devils’ replacements list, and had she moved, the goalkeeper would have become only the third Australian to sign for Manchester United’s top men's or women's side in their 145-year history, being the first for the women’s. An Aussie goalkeeper at Manchester United certainly sounds familiar.

To add to the intrigue surrounding Arnold, two of West Ham’s four summer signings were goalkeepers. Yet, as we know, she stayed and is the undisputed number one.

Nonetheless, when an Australian is linked with a move to a big club, we get to see how foreign reporters describe them to their audience. Women’s football writer for The Mirror, Megan Feringa, had a fitting analogy for Arnold in the wake of the Manchester United links.

“A brick wall. The common football description for a goalkeeper proving to be particularly indomitable. But after the Women's World Cup quarter-final match between Australia and France this summer, arguably no goalkeeper was more synonymous with the description than the Matildas’ Mackenzie Arnold,” she wrote.

Feringa is undoubtedly not the only critic taking note of Australia’s number one. In September, Arnold, or the "indomitable" brick wall, was nominated for the FIFA Best Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

Irvine and Metcalfe at the heart of promotion push

We now move from England to Germany, where the Socceroos midfield duo of Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe is in the midst of an enjoyable time at club level with St Pauli.

We’ll start with Irvine, who had a rocky September despite the club’s results. Eighty-eight minutes into the Socceroos’ friendly with Mexico, Irvine left the game after rolling his ankle. He required a stretcher to exit the field of play.

St Pauli’s medical department later confirmed a lateral ligament rupture and a joint sprain, saying Irvine would be unavailable “until further notice”. The midfielder returned much earlier than expected and only missed two league games in September.

He made two appearances at club level, picking up one assist. There were understandable fears when the injury occurred that Irvine would miss the Asian Cup next year. But his sudden return has effectively put those concerns to bed.

Nonetheless, St Pauli’s Sports Director Andreas Bornemann still had some somewhat concerning comments about the injury last month.

“Even if the worst fears did not come true, it is still a serious injury because the joint as a whole was severely affected,” he said.

Perhaps caution still needs to be taken with Irvine to ensure he does not reinjure the affected area, as a second incident would likely be much more severe and rule him out of Qatar. There is no reason to be too concerned at the time of writing. But you can never be sure, particularly with Irvine's combative approach on the pitch.

Off the pitch, it was also a big month for the former Hull City man, who was appointed the new PFA President, replacing Alex Wilkinson. Irvine became the body’s seventh President last month.

Meanwhile, Connor Metcalfe also has much to smile about after a sensational September. The former Melbourne City man started and played 68 minutes against Mexico alongside Irvine. An important conclusion here is that the Socceroos could benefit from having two players making up their Asian Cup midfield who play alongside each other regularly at club level.

Metcalfe continues to push his case for starting minutes in Qatar, and last month, he started in three of the four appearances he made for St Pauli.

Intriguingly, he has been deployed in a more advanced role but still prefers to play midfield, as he told KEEPUP in August.

Though Metcalfe is in a rich vein of form, a starting spot at the Asian Cup is certainly not guaranteed, unlike his club teammate, who is a likely shoo-in should he be fit. Nonetheless, an Aaron Mooy-shaped hole needs to be filled in Australia’s midfield. What’s good for Graham Arnold but bad for someone like Metcalfe are the numerous options vying for minutes. Aiden O’Neill, Cameron Devlin, Keanu Baccus, Denis Genreau, and Patrick Yazbek are all strong contenders for more game time. Meanwhile, Massimo Luongo can’t be ruled out as an outside chance for Asian Cup minutes.

But there’s still much football for Irvine and Metcalfe to play until they even think about Qatar. With the season St Pauli is having, each game at club level continues to be more crucial for the Aussie duo.

The Bundesliga 2 club are once again in the promotion conversation, and this season, it seems likely; they have yet to lose in the league. The club won three of their four league games in September, and they also thrashed a potential promotion rival in Holstein Kiel 5-1, which undoubtedly underlined their promotion credentials.

Irvine didn’t feature in the win due to his injury. But it’s safe to say it was memorable for Metcalfe, who showed his class with what could be the club’s goal of the season: a 35-yard first-time piledriver into the top left corner, which he later admitted was the best goal he’s ever scored. Metcalfe also recorded an assist in the same game.

His ability to provide a goalscoring threat from midfield was certainly seen during his time at Melbourne City, and he’s starting to threaten more for the national team. Metcalfe had a few opportunities in the Mexico outing, and more recently, he headed a golden chance against England onto the post.

Should he start turning those chances into goals for Australia, Arnold may have no choice but to regularly sprinkle his midfield with a St Pauli-like flavour moving forward.

Edwards continues to fly under the radar

We continue on more excellent European performances by Australian midfielders, as Ryan Edwards continues to fly under the radar with consistent minutes and good displays for SD Amorebieta in the Spanish second tier.

Edwards scored twice across three appearances in September. He has played against Levante, Espanyol, SD Eibar, and CD Leganes this season. In recent seasons, these sides have been in La Liga, one of the best leagues worldwide.

Unfortunately, Amorebieta, who achieved promotion last season, has not handled the step up in quality too well, with Edwards’ club in a relegation battle, which was likely expected.

Although Edwards would have liked to be a part of more wins, he thoroughly enjoys his time in Spain, as explained in an exclusive interview with Optus Sport last month.

"I love it (playing in Spain). It’s a great mix being in the second-division and even last season in the third-tier. Spanish football is known for the passing football, tiki-taka, but there’s a great variety of styles and the fans are brilliant. Amazing stadiums,” he said.

"The level is really good quality, you’re punished for a mistake. The football is great. Every game is a chance to play against players who were in LALIGA. One of my teammates has played Champions League for Athletic Bilbao, playing against Messi, Neymar, Suarez so the calibre of player is great.

"It’s a great moment in my career to be playing here. The football here, there is more thought behind how to score. It’s a great learning experience for me."

Edwards has experienced several different learning curves throughout his career, having played consistently in South Korea, Scotland, England, and now Spain since his loan spell at Perth Glory when he was younger. But one experience he has yet to have is putting on the green and gold and representing the Socceroos.

The journeyman did captain Australia at U23 level. Although he previously expressed his desire to represent his country at a senior level, he explained in the same interview how the “dream” does not overly affect him at this stage of his career.

"The Socceroos dream is never going to falter, it’s always going to be there," Edwards said.

"If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’ve made different moves to other players in Australia, I take pride in that. Culturally I’ve learned so much and nothing can take that away."

Pain joins Goodwin with rich vein of form in Saudi Arabia

Finally, we move to Saudi Arabia, where two former A-League Men wingers are upsetting the applecart in the Middle East.

Many high-profile stars have moved to Saudi Arabia recently. Yet, Connor Pain and Craig Goodwin are playing regularly and contributing massively to their clubs in the Arab world.

Goodwin’s performances can be understood. After all, the winger has looked at home at a World Cup and was overqualified for Australia’s domestic competition.

Meanwhile, Pain’s form has been somewhat surprising, not least to see him contributing more with attacking output at new club Al-Orobah in the second tier. He started the club’s first six games in September, scoring three goals and playing every minute. Pain even netted a brace on debut.

The individual form has also translated to team success. Al-Orobah won five of their first six games and is currently well-positioned to earn promotion and win the second-tier title.

Pain and Goodwin play in separate leagues, yet that did not stop them from facing each other last month, as the former Western United man came off the bench in the King Cup Round of 32, where Al-Orobah lost to Goodwin’s Al-Wehda. The 2022/23 Johnny Warren Medallist also came off the bench, and both were substituted in with scores locked at 0-0. You might say Goodwin impacted the game more, with his team scoring two late goals.

Whatever the case, having played each other in Western United vs Adelaide United fixtures in recent years, facing off in a cup tie in Saudi Arabia probably wasn’t on either player’s mind a few months ago.

The basis of the information throughout this article would not have been possible without the work of Damian Davies.

You can follow Christian Marchetti on Twitter @ChristianM29, or on Instagram @christianmarchetti29.