Postecoglou slams ´Mr Hindsight´ critics and defends Tottenham record

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has launched a scathing attack on his critics, describing them as “Mr Hindsight” as he defended his record at the club.

Spurs are marooned in the bottom half of the Premier League table after enduring a difficult second season under Postecoglou.

The former Celtic boss had to contend with an injury pile-up in the early weeks of 2025, and his position was called into question before Thursday’s Europa League victory over AZ Alkmaar.

While that triumph – which sealed Spurs’ place in the quarter-finals and kept their hopes of silverware alive – eased the pressure, the Australian has not forgotten the criticism.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Fulham, Postecoglou told reporters: “You know who the greatest nemesis for any manager is? In today’s world, and he’s only come to the surface probably in the last five, maybe 10 years… Mr Hindsight.

“You know who Mr Hindsight is? He’s the guy who, when the outcome’s there, the result’s already done, he’s got all the answers with the greatest of certainty that was so obvious, and he’s never wrong.

“Mr Hindsight will go out there every time and profess to be the oracle of all oracles because he just deals with what’s happened after the event, never before.

“You want to be critical or you want to have really strong opinions about things? State them before the event.”

Scrutiny of Postecoglou intensified after he declared, “I always win things in my second year” following a derby defeat to Arsenal last September.

In terms of their underlying numbers, Spurs have managed fewer shots (14.32 to 15.37) and expected goals (1.68 xG to 1.82) per league game this season than in 2023-24, but have scored marginally more goals per game (1.96 to 1.95), also conceding fewer (1.46 to 1.61).

Postecoglou defended his record as he added: “If you survive for 26, 27 years, it means you haven’t stuffed up too many times, whatever you do.

“If you’re a plumber, then everywhere you’ve gone, if there’s leaks, you’re not going to get another job. If you’re a doctor and people are dying, then you’re unlikely to kick on.

“You might say, ‘okay, but he’s out of his depth now’. But if you’ve taken a club that finished eighth to fifth in your first full year…

“When you put all that together and then you hear, ‘he’s out of his depth, he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he’s got no idea, his methods don’t work, his philosophy doesn’t work’…

“In any other industry, you wouldn’t do that. You might be critical of his performance, but you wouldn’t do that. Google my name and get some headlines.”

Postecoglou’s energetic, attacking style has also been described as naïve by some pundits, but he believes there must always be more to football than results.

“If it’s just results, what’s the point of having anything else? All we’ll do is whoever won, you put a column there and everyone writes the same piece,” he said.

“You can write; ‘these managers are under pressure, these managers are the best’. Then flip it the following week because results always go the other way.”