Spurs could land "excellent" Postecoglou upgrade by hiring 4-3-3 manager

After yet another defeat, Tottenham supporters surely cannot wait for this Premier League season to end.

On Friday night, Spurs were beaten once again, this time 2-0 by Aston Villa at Villa Park, both goals coming in the second half.

This was their 25th defeat across all competitions this season, and their 20th in the league, the most they have suffered in a single league campaign since being relegated 90 years ago.

The Lilywhites had previously finished no lower than eighth since 2008, but are currently 17th, which will represent their lowest finish since 1977.

Nevertheless, of course, Tottenham could conclude the campaign both in the Champions League and having ended their 17-year trophy drought, facing fellow strugglers Manchester United in Wednesday’s Europa League Final at San Mamés; an era-defining night for both clubs.

Regardless of the outcome in Bilbao, Daniel Levy has already started to plan for next season, so does he have an ‘excellent’ manager at the top of his wish list?

The latest on Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs future

Back in September, Ange Postecoglou declared that “I always win things in my second year”, and, after months of ridicule, is now potentially 90 minutes away from delivering on this manifesto promise.

But, is this assertion actually true?

As the table outlines, Postecoglou does indeed always win a trophy in his second season at a club, which surely has to be a good omen for the thousands of Tottenham supporters traveling to the Basque Country next week.

Nevertheless, as reported by Matt Law and James Ducker of the Telegraph, the Australian is still set to lose his job as Spurs manager, with Postecoglou himself admitting that the “general sentiment” is that “even if we win it, I’m gone anyway”.

So, who could Tottenham target as a potential replacement?

Tottenham’s potential Postecoglou replacement

According to a report by Rudy Galetti of Team Talk, Spurs are ‘seriously considering’ appointing Ajax head coach Francesco Farioli as their new manager this summer.

Farioli, who is just 36 years old, took over the Amsterdam giants just last summer, but this is his fourth senior head coach position already, as the table below outlines.

Up until recently, we’ll come onto that shortly, Farioli had been earning widespread praise for his work in the Dutch capital.

Mike Verweij of De Telegraaf praised his “excellent tactical plan”, following Ajax’s 2-0 De Klassieker victory over fierce rivals Feyenoord at De Kuip in October.

Meantime, Joost Berger of Opta’s the Analyst outlines how he has ‘transformed’ Ajax, who had endured a ‘nightmare’ campaign last time round, ‘turning the club around’ without mass-recruitment, praising ‘Farioli’s ability to make the most of what he’s got’.

Berger also highlights how the Italian has prioritised ‘defensive discipline’, going against the traditional Johan Cruijff Ajax-style, insisting that his team plays ‘short passes’ in an attempt to ‘lure the opposition forward out of their shape’.

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Well, just a few weeks ago, Farioli was on course to become the youngest manager to win the Eredivisie but, as noted by Barry Glendenning​​​​​​​ of Guardian Football Weekly, his team have since endured an ‘all-time collapse’.

Having been nine points clear a month ago, Ajax have collected just two points from their last four games, conceding a 99th-minute equaliser against ten-man Groningen on Wednesday, so will go into the final day a point below PSV Eindhoven, highly likely to miss out on the title.

Of course, this is disastrous, but Ajax have qualified for the Champions League group stage, doing so after a two-year absence, and Farioli has exceeded all expectations, having taken over a team who’d finished fifth, 35 points below the champions.

Valentijn Driessen of De Telegraaf asserts that Farioli’s position in Amsterdam is now ‘untenable’ due to the fact that the recent collapse ‘will forever be negatively associated’ with the Italian manager and his philosophy.

This may be a bit overboard, given that the 36-year-old, who has deployed a 4-3-3 in pretty much every game this season, is clearly a promising young manager but, if he does decide to depart Ajax this summer, or is pushed out the door, Spurs should swoop for him as an upgrade on Postecoglou.

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