'What do you want?': Ex-Celtic boss offers powerful defence of tactics after brutal pundit takedown

Former Celtic goalkeeper made two huge mistakes in Carabao Cup clash

Ange Postecoglou’s all-action football has been branded as ‘not right’ following Tottenham Hotspur’s enthralling 4-3 win over Manchester United in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup.

A pulsating encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw the home side take a 3-0 lead just before the hour mark thanks to a brace from Dominic Solanke and a goal from Dejan Kulusevski. However, two major goalkeeping errors saw ex-Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster allow Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to cut the deficit to just one goal.

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Son Heung-Min’s goal direct from a corner would eventually seal the win for Postecoglou, but not before Jonny Evan’s injury-time strike completed the scoring. Despite Spurs’ win, the aftermath of the game saw Forster’s two extraordinary mistakes take the headlines after he was caught in possession twice.

Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's first goal. Cr: Getty Images.Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's first goal. Cr: Getty Images.
Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's first goal. Cr: Getty Images. | Getty Images

“This frustrates me,” said former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. “It is basic stuff that learn when you are a kid. I know it’s Archie Gray, but play forward with quality. It doesn’t mean long ball. You’re giving the lad (Forster) a ball again - and look, it’s awful from the goalkeeper - even if he’s not great with the ball at his feet, he should still be able to deal with that.

“This goes back to my criticism of Tottenham under the manager (Postecoglou). They never change how they play, no matter what the game state is. I don’t think football should be played the same from minute one to minute 90. I’m just repeating myself. When it goes to 3-1, and the stadium know - and you know - what you have been through in terms of losing leads, you don’t give the ball back to a goalkeeper and make him nervous.

“It goes back to what Ange Postecoglou tells them. No matter if it is the first minute or the 90th minute, whether we are winning, losing or drawing - we play the same way. I can’t have that, that is not right. He doesn’t really shout on from the side of the pitch, where we sit we’ve got a great vantage point, looking down, we probably have a better view than him, so we can see the problems a little bit more than the manager on the side of the pitch.

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“He rarely ever passes instruction on from the side of the pitch. When the momentum shifts and, again, he is there with his hands in his pockets. It has proven successful for him in his journey, that why he is here as Tottenham manager but...” said Carragher, before taking a huge sigh.

The ex-Celtic boss seemed unaffected in his post-match interview with the broadcast though, snapping back at Carragher’s criticism by saying “Obviously we made it harder than it should have been, for sure. We were well in control and played really well. We looked like we were going to manage the game, then the two moments are unfortunate. The first one sort of affected Fras (Fraser Forster) and the second one is a result of that.

“I like the whole bit, mate. Are you not entertained? What do you want - a scrambling 1-0? The studio is probably going into a meltdown over my lack of tactics. I love the fact we go out there and just take it to oppositions, even though we’ve got so many absences at the moment. These boys are maintaining their principles about trying to play the football we want to play. I really like the way we played tonight, obviously those two moments kind of taint the overall - obviously it doesn’t help us in terms of our consistency. But in terms of our mentality? I love it.

“We had to scramble a little bit. Showed some character at the end, got a fourth and we are through to the semis.”

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