After a timid performance before the break, Ange Postecoglou stood true to his Tottenham Hotspur philosophy against Aston Villa.
Dropping Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Postecoglou was determined to see a team perform his image – even if he was missing vital players.
And part of that process entailed playing four full-backs across his back line against one of the league’s most potent attacks.
Moreover, although Tottenham slumped to defeat in the game, it did seem as if the plan had worked, only to be let down by poor finishing.
However, it wasn’t all plane sailing at the back, either.
And football.london has now revealed how frustrated Ange Postecoglou was with one of those full-backs playing centrally.
The report details how Postecoglou berated Spurs defender Ben Davies twice within a minute on the touchline yesterday for not playing a quick pass to Bryan Gil.
Although he doesn’t often show it, Postecoglou is under pressure to perform at Tottenham, and he had a tailor-made plan against Villa.
And despite things starting very well, Spurs’ squad is caught in between two eras, with their new manager now having to explore options from the past.
Ange Postecoglou was furious with Ben Davies’ passing as Tottenham lost to Villa
Since arriving for £10m many moons ago, Davies has been a solid performer for Spurs.
Adapting to multiple managers, the Welsh international has developed a very versatile profile.
And although he was the player receiving it from Postecoglou on this occasion, he is actually one of the existing squad members better suited to ‘Ange Ball’.
The defender has often been trusted as a substitute for Destiny Udogie, no easy task.
Davies is absolutely not the problem, rather Postecoglou’s fast start has just caused a lot of expectation early on.
Of course, had they not have suffered the unfortunate injuries to key pair James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, they would probably be coping just fine.
However, as we saw against Aston Villa last night, Postecoglou’s starting eleven at Tottenham had very few alternatives in the same vein.
And that explains why the side are now looking likely to make a £25m signing in January.