'I think he's outstanding': Ange Postecoglou raves about one Fulham man ahead of Tottenham clash
Today at 01:15 PM
As Tottenham Hotspur host London neighbours Fulham on Sunday, both clubs are coming off the back of respective four-goal scorelines in the previous Premier League weekend.
James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski were outstanding as Tottenham thrashed Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad; the playmaking pair so ‘wonderful’ that Gary Neville was very nearly tempted to hand out a joint Man of the Match award.
Fulham, in contrast, threw away a lead while losing 4-1 to a Matheus Cunha-inspired Wolves side at Craven Cottage.
Yet, while the mood in both camps may be very different ahead of Fulham’s trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it is easy to forget that there is still only one point separating the two capital city clubs in the Premier League table.
Fulham, should they pull off a shock win, will overtake Ange Postecoglou’s fun but flawed outfit.
As such, the Aussie is not taking the threat of Raul Jimenez, Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe and co lightly, while praising the stellar job Marco Silva has done in establishing Fulham as a comfortable mid-table outfit only two years after promotion.
Ange Postecoglou a big fan of Fulham manager Marco Silva
“I have got a lot of time for Marco,” Postecoglou said during his Friday press conference. “I think he's an outstanding manager. He's got the team really playing in a manner where they're always looking to be a threat to oppositions.
“He's stabilised them. Their level of performance is good now on a weekly basis. We had a couple of tough battles with them last year.
“Because they play as well it should be a good game.”
Postecoglou’s comments echo those of Pep Guardiola. The Man City boss was full of praise for Fulham too before running the champions very close during a five-goal thriller at the Etihad in October.
Fulham may have come up just short at City but they have picked up their fair share of scalps in recent seasons. What’s more, the West London outfit certainly have what it takes to bloody Postecoglou’s nose, Rodrigo Muniz inspiring a thumping 3-0 win over Tottenham back in March of this year.
Tottenham Hotspur’s injury-hit defence may be tested by Fulham
“We're not unbeatable. I've got news for you, no team is,” Postecoglou accepts, his Tottenham team about as topsy turvy and unpredictable as they come. “Fulham aren't either. That's the beauty of our sport.
“Even Liverpool have lost this year, God forbid.
“On our day, we can beat anyone. We want to continue to be that, the best we can be. When we are [at our best] we're a compelling side and growing into the team we want to be.
“Sunday is no different to any other game for us. It's about continuing to grow, continue to develop. When we kind of put all our elements together we're a very very good football side.
“We've struggled in a few games this year for sure. But that's part of our growth to make sure our levels don't drop to the levels in the games when we haven't really played to our identity. That's OK, it's why we're here. We want to continue to push on.”
Tottenham will be without much of their first-choice backline against Fulham. Guglielmo Vicario is facing months on the sidelines, meaning veteran shot-stopper Fraser Forster is in line for a rare run in the Spurs XI.
Postecoglou has also confirmed that Cristian Romero is not ready to return. Micky van de Ven, meanwhile, is unlikely to be seen again until mid-December.
Yet, after the Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies partnership kept Erling Haaland and co off the scoresheet last weekend, perhaps Tottenham possess a lot more defensive depth than they were previously given credit for.
