Tottenham’s sliding doors moment which saw them miss out on control and embrace chaos | OneFootball

The manager Daniel Levy gave his verdict on Tottenham Hotspur’s modern-day team. “They are always a joy to watch,” he said. He had been an interested onlooker for years, watching on from abroad, seduced by the glamour of their flair players. “I watch a lot of Match Of The Day and [with] David Ginola, Paul Gascoigne, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart. They have always been a certain brand and a certain identity,” he added.

It could have been his brand, too. Because the man eulogising about Spurs had turned down the chance to coach them. He did not say so explicitly, because that is not Arne Slot’s way. He prefers not to talk about the expiring deals of his players, in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Nor does he want to discuss Tottenham’s attempts to appoint him in 2023. “I think it’s the same answer that I always give you about Mo’s contract situation and those things,” he smiled.

Slot is more comfortable celebrating the man they appointed a couple of weeks after he decided to stay at Feyenoord and signed a new contract. An exhaustive search that seemed to take in Julian Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino, Vincent Kompany, Roberto De Zerbi and Luis Enrique ended with Ange Postecoglou becoming Tottenham manager.

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Arne Slot, celebrates after Liverpool beat Manchester City in the Premier League at Anfield on 1 December, 2024 (Getty)

It would be out of character for Slot to suggest that he ranked higher than the Australian on Spurs’ shortlist. He prefers to praise Postecoglou and otherwise keep his counsel. “I always said that in football and in general so many things that are said are not true,” he explained. “But the problem is that the ones who know do not want to talk about it, and the ones who don’t know do want to talk about it. That sometimes happens in football. There are players or managers who do want to talk to you and tell you off the record what has happened, but that is always one part of the truth.”

Part of Slot’s truth is simple. “I was really happy that I stayed at Feyenoord,” he added. “That I can say.” That decision was justified: rather than dashing for the exit in the wake of taking Feyenoord to the Eredivisie in 2022-23, Slot remained in Rotterdam, his pulling power such that he earned the more prestigious post at Liverpool a year later.

It may prompt some in north London to wonder how he would have fared there: he has taken Liverpool to the top of the table with a winning habit Postecoglou only showed in his first 10 games.

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Ange Postecoglou after Tottenham drew with Rangers FC at Ibrox in the Europa League on 12 December (Getty)

And as Slot faces Spurs for the first time in his career, Liverpool and Tottenham are perhaps the most consistent and inconsistent teams in the league. They entered the weekend first and 10th. They are two of the most prolific sides, but whereas Angeball seems to forever teeter on the brink of disaster, Slot has a solitary defeat. He seems to build on more solid foundations, but each has lofty ideals. When Postecoglou’s football works, it can be wonderful. It is why Slot is an admirer.

“They are one of the teams who beat [Manchester] City, like us, but not every team beat them in the manner we did and Tottenham did, completely deserved, dominating the whole game,” Slot outlined. It is a reason why he sees the Australian as a manager in Spurs’ truest traditions. “Ange is doing great work there.”

The Dutchman’s interest in the club was piqued long before there was a possibility he could manage them. “It wasn’t like, ‘let’s see how David Ginola, Paul Gascoigne, Modric, how they played’ if it was even an option for me [going there],” he added. “It was just me being a fan of football, I’ve always fancied these players, these teams, like I’ve seen so many things of Liverpool even long before Richard [Hughes, the director of football] called me.”

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Let us entertain you: the Tottenham manager applauds fans after his team’s 4-3 Carabao Cup win over Manchester United (Getty)

Now Postecoglou shapes up as a dangerous opponent, with his four wins over the Manchester clubs this season, with the sense his erratic side can be better on the bigger occasions. After Thursday’s 4-3 Carabao Cup win over Manchester United, he channelled his compatriot Russell Crowe and asked: “Are you not entertained?”

Slot is. If some wonder if Postecoglou’s style of play is too self-destructive for his stay at Spurs to be extended much longer, Sunday’s opponent is an unabashed admirer.

“People always talk about trophies but for me his brand of football is so much more important. If he could combine that with winning a trophy then it would be so good for football in general,” he said. “So people stop talking about it being too attacking or whatever. How on earth can you play too [much] attacking football?”

The only problem for Slot is that the immediate impediment for Spurs is his Liverpool: they meet in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. “I also hope, hope, hope he wins a trophy,” he said. “Not the League Cup. But I am completely a fan of his team for the Europa League.” It could have been Slot in the Spurs dugout. But instead, he will be cheering them on from afar.