what

@WotWhatWhere

Joined December 2019

1.5K Following

1.5K Followers

93 Posts

what @WotWhatWhere

14 days ago

@FPL__Raptor @FFH_HQ

WotWhatWhere retweeted

@InvertTheWing

about 1 year ago

Ange, oh Ange. Where do I even begin? It was 27th July 2019, and you were managing Yokohama F. Marinos against one of the greatest club teams of all time, against one of the greatest managers of all time. Most friendlies like this, I shove under the rug. I see it as a game to get into match fitness. But, this this was different. With my own eyes, I saw someone completely tactically outclass Pep Guardiola's superteam. The fact it was a friendly became irrelevant to me. Because what I saw was potential. What I saw someone who dominated possession, made tactical outsmarts against a team managed by the all time greats, with all time greats. On a shoestring budget, relatively. And that was when I decided to look more into Ange, his origins, his philosophy, his character. And really, I immediately fell in love. And I decided to embark on this journey with him. From Yokohama, to Celtic, to Tottenham. I have supported him every step of the way. And do you want to know why? It wasn't just his philosophy, it was his origin. His come up. His character. What I saw was a man that was strong, confident, and in an industry filled with nepotism, didn't need any handouts. To get to the level he got to, coming from an underdeveloped footballing nation, not being a prominent football player? Wow. This man was special. Special. You do not get there by chance. You get there by hardwork, skill, and perserverence. And from that day on, that is who I began to look up to. I know whatever team he touches would turn to gold, because it is the biggest case of "zero to hero" I have seen. His philosophy, it simply could not fail. Ange became my inspiriation, and I vowed to keep him on a similar pedestal to Guardiola and Tuchel. June 2021 was his first taste of European Football. He joined Scotland. I think most people do not care about this, and are mostly here for my journey with him from Tottenham. But what I saw at Celtic, the fanbases reception to him, it was very similar to what I have seen throughout his journey. Love, turned into hostility turned into love again. In the end, he always wins. His career is built to win. He is a winner. And he will ALWAYS get the last laugh. He learns from mistakes, he doesn't succumb to pressure, and he doesn't deviate from his beliefs. Winning. Throughout this tenure at Celtic, I once again saw tactical brilliance against bigger opposition. It was against Real Madrid, where they may have lost 8-1 on aggregate, but I knew to myself "a better team doesn't lose 8-1, but wins 8-1". That is Ange Postecoglou. He could lose 10-0, 12-0, but I would still see his ideas, his philosophy, and how obviously it would translate into success. 6th June 2023, it was time for a new chapter. A chapter that tested me mentally, a chapter with ups and downs because how exposed I became to the internet. Let me tell you something, before this journey with Postecoglou, I would analyse Guardiola's Manchester City and Potter's Chelsea. My favourite. But it was casual. I would have fun, tweeting. Log off. But then, Tottenham signed Alejo Veliz. I was desperate to analyse how he would fit into Ange Postecoglou's plans, so I wrote a thread. A thread which talked about his strengths, weaknesses, and how he would fit into the system. And a lot of Tottenham fans seemed to follow me, more than I have ever gotten. That thread is no more, because it was poor work on my end. I do not want to keep up poor work. But that is irrelevant. I use this app to engage in tactical or footballing discussions with likeminded people. I cannot do that in real life. People will either call me insults, or tell me that I am "being too serious, it is not that deep". I would go into a pub, start talking about Guardiola's tactical acumen, and get told to fuck off. So when I saw people were willing to engage with me, myslef on this app, I cut down social interaction in real life, to focus more on interacting with people on here. I loved this experience, and being thoroughly invested in Ange, I began to post Ange content. I wanted to talk about Ange, his project, his future. Here, unlike in 2022, I would no longer be tweeting into a void, and have people to engage with. People seemed to respect my work, and I grew and grew, more Tottenham fans took interest. But I do not care about these numbers. What I care about is the amount of friends I made, the amount of people I can talk comfortably to about tactics, football. It helps me grow. The perspective I had 2 years ago, it is not the same now. And that is why this chapter, this chapter in particular changed my life for the better. The signings of James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Micky Van De Ven really kicked off what I knew would be a certain, surefire project. They fit into Postecoglou's philosophy perfectly. The wide winger, stretching defenses, the creative midfielder who thrives in pockets, and the last ditch counter stopping defender. And to this day, they still remain the 3 best signings of the Ange Postecoglou era, and the 3 most important players throughout his first trophy. Poetic. The first 3 months of his tenure at Tottenham, it was the best football I have seen him manage in his career. You know, some of the best times in my life. I would come home from a long day, even ditch plans with family members, just to sit down and watch Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham. The joy it gave me, the amount I learned from it, the free-flowing, confident football. The vibes, beautiful. Then, the Chelsea game occured. Could I care? No. Because what I saw after that, was still sublime. I saw character. I saw perserverence. And I saw a team that I still think could win the league with a successful January window. Unfortunately, momentum is a big thing in football. And as motivating as Ange is, it is simply impossible to succeed when your starting XI keeps chopping and changing every week, not by choice. But I did not think of it. I knew Ange would bounce back in the 2nd season, it has historically been the case. 5th place, losing the club's best ever player, and being a victim of one of the worst cases of corruption in Premier League history again Arsenal. It was a mammoth achievement, and the tell tale signs were there. It was an eventful first season for me. I made a lot of friends on here, and lost a lot of real life relationships because of it, because of my focus on the craft of football. But ultimately, everything happens for the reason. If my partner could not support my interests, then it is a sign from the universe saying that I should not support her. I was more grateful for the amount of friends I amassed on here, how I was able to have proper, analytical footballing conversation on here, without getting insulted. However, that was quite short lived. As Tottenham began to lose, things became more sour. There was more hostility aimed towards me, I could not tweet about the game without getting told I should "fuck off with Postecoglou", or other personal insults. But I powered through. Throughout this period, I also tweeted about other clubs, because of course, Ange is not the only manager that interests me. And I am blessed that people did not see me as a "Tottenham fan", but rather a fan of football, and someone who they could just talk football with. I appreciate that. The likes of Bayern fans, Chelsea fans, Manchester City fans, I also very much enjoy our discussions too. It is something I am very grateful for, because I expand my football knowledge/discussion. You have changed my life. For I would like to think the good. Sometimes, it is a mental rollercoaster. But other times, it gives me a good outlet to talk about football freely, with people understanding where I am coming from, rather than getting told to "fuck off". And The Summer of Euros, wow, man. Good memories. It was not even necessarily the football I enjoyed, but it was one where I felt I had the biggest sense of communtiy. I felt unified. Everything felt unified. I was happy. In the summer, I talk about transfers, and begin to gear up to embark on Ange's next season. It was not a good start. The board saw the magic Ange worked last season, and that he was a few good signings away from competing for the title. Yes, the title. But unfortunately, the board let him down massively. They gave him mediocre players who were not his first choice, but also not addressing depth options they needed to succeed. In my mind, it was a surefire error for failure. But then I remembered, who do I think this is? Mikel Arteta? No, it is Ange Postecoglou. He could turn water into wine. He has overcame so much in his life, he is not letting an underwhelming transfer window ruin him. And just like that, Ange Ball resumes. And again, beautiful football. The results may not have been beautiful, but do you know what sure was? The tactical prowess. I loved what I was seeing. This is Ange. This is the Ange that would surely win a trophy. Results were not going Ange's way, due to countless missed chances. But the football was. 4 points off of 2nd, coming into the 3rd month of the season. The title, was still on. And then everything, it came crashing down. Something I have never seen before in Ange's tenure. The board incompetency had came back to bite him. This was the most adversity he had faced in his entire career. So much adversity, that even I was losing faith. He had been completely hung out to dry. First team members dropping like it was the Hunger Games, fan support, atmosphere at an all time low, relegation form, poor football, no wins. There was nothing redeemable about him. And there were times I lashed out, times I began to change my profile picture, dissociate. But do you know one thing I always did? Come crawling back the next day. Because deep down, I could never give up. Never. I may critcise him, be unhappy with him, but NEVER did I say the two words. NEVER did I fully quit on him, fully dissociate myself from him. Because deep, deep down, I knew he would still bring glory. When you love something, someone, you want the best for them. And you get overprotective, emotional, reactionary. And that is how I felt about Ange. There were times I lashed out about his treatment of youngsters, squad management, tactics, a whole lot. But at the end of the day, I could never turn my back on him. Because this is a man that treats adversity like a fly on the pavement. It doesn't exist to him. Every part of the journey he had to take has made him stronger, better. And every day, I was praying to myself that I get to witness this day. I get to witness him succeed. Not just for my own benefit, but for him. He deserves all of this. Every critique, from the mainstream to his fanbase, he was unphased. He stood on his business. And got the last laugh. Ange Postecoglou is a man that has changed my life. A man that has shaped my philosophies, my goals, my mental. And a man that has given me 98,600 friends to talk with about football. Today, marks one of the greatest days in my life. A day that shows me that you should never give up. A day that has one of the biggest inspiriations in my life gets what he deserves. But you know what? The job isn't done. Next step is the League Title, followed by The Champions League.

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