Colin Sheridan: Ange Postecoglou walking a fine line of maintaining status to continue run of second-year triumphs
SECOND-YEAR SUCCESS: Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou, for long enough now, has floated a curious mantra: he wins things in his second year.
Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou, for long enough now, has floated a curious mantra: he wins things in his second year. It’s become less a boast and more a prophecy, whispered in press conferences, tweeted by diehards. And after a trophy at Tottenham last season, he's pointing at Forest with all the confidence of a man handing in his invoice early. But, in the smoke and mirrors that is top-flight football, prophecies don’t always survive first contact.
Let’s begin with the origin story. Postecoglou’s résumé is studded with second-year triumphs. At South Melbourne, he delivered a national league in his second season. Brisbane Roar? Same script - success came in the follow-up. At Yokohama F. Marinos, he lost a cup in year one but then landed the J1 League in year two. Then there’s Celtic - a double in Year 1, a treble in Year 2. Most recently, Tottenham: dumpling through a difficult first Premier League season, under fire for league form, and then - boom - Europa League winners in Year 2. The brag has become shorthand: He said as much himself: “Usually in my second season I win things.” Except sometimes “winning” is a fudge. His Tottenham league season preceding the Europa League glory was among the worst in their history: worst points, most defeats, a fight just to stay up. The silverware was real, but the road was rutted. And the first year of many of his jobs was not always a blank canvas - sometimes he inherited squads, funding, expectations, politics. Not every environment is a clean slate.
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