How Archie Gray managed to break football on Tottenham debut as Lankshear won over Postecoglou
Here are our Tottenham talking points after their 5-1 victory against Heart of Midlothian in their first official pre-season friendly of the summer
Returning to Scotland to talk about England
This was a return to Scotland for Ange Postecoglou and an official return to action for Tottenham ahead of a season that the Australian expects plenty from.
The 58-year-old came out by himself before kick-off and the warm-ups to wander around the Tynecastle Park centre circle, with the line of photographers capturing his every move. He was well aware that he was being watched but he was soaking up his return to the country and the stadium where he won his second league title with Celtic last May.
Now Postecoglou is planning for similarly big things with Spurs and he already has a leg-up on his predecessors in being the first Tottenham head coach in half a decade to get a second pre-season at a north London club that has suffered from a revolving door for managers.
It was entirely fitting that the match would be in honour of Dave Mackay, a legend for both Spurs and Hearts. The Scot knew exactly what it took to win trophies in N17 and Postecoglou is looking to etch his name in the club’s history in a similar manner.
It would oddly be in Scotland that Postecoglou would have to talk about England, for his name was linked on Wednesday with the list of candidates in the frame to replace Gareth Southgate as the national team boss.
The former Australia manager was quick to snuff out any such talk.
Moore, he’s one of our own’.
Another Postecoglou blueprint goal came next when Werner raced down the left and hit a low cross for Spence to slide home into the net. The youngsters were not done though as a fifth goal arrived when Bergvall curled in a cross and Dane Scarlett’s header was saved only for Ashley Phillips to poke in the loose ball, with claims that a Hearts defender may have got the final touch.
“It was a good run-out,” Postecoglou told Football london. “It’s always good when you play these games and there’s a good crowd and a good atmosphere because it feels like a real game sometimes.
“A friendly game you worry that the competitiveness and intensity isn’t there but I thought it was today. Both halves were good. We played some decent football. The boys worked hard, no injuries. We’re only nine days into pre-season so overall I thought it was a good hit out for us.”
Pre-seasons matches are about raising the fitness and sharpness levels, avoiding injuries and taking a closer look at and acclimatising new signings and academy talent. In that regard, this game north of the border ticked all of the required boxes
The new signings
Postecoglou needs further new recruits in the weeks ahead but there were two new faces and one returning one (technically two) in this first game back that would have cheered the Australian.
Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are two of their brightest young talents in their respective countries. The fact that they are both just 18-years-old might cause those on the outside to dismiss them as signings of potential simply for the future.
Ask anyone inside the club about the signings and the feeling is very much that Spurs have grabbed two big players for the now as well as that future.
There is a buzz in particular around the club when it comes to Archie Gray, perhaps because he is already battle-hardened by 52 games in the fast and physical Championship last season, but also because he speaks and acts like a player 10 years older.
That Gray was bought for a package deal of ยฃ40million, with Joe Rodon heading in the opposite direction to Leeds, shows just how highly Tottenham rate him as they leapt with glee at the collapse of his move to Brentford.
For Gray is seen within the game as someone who could become the next Steven Gerrard or Declan Rice with the right guidance. Off the pitch, he is a student of the game and mature beyond his years.
Staff around the club and the first team set-up have spoken about his friendly nature, with him even still going to instinctively do many of the things that were expected of him as a youngster at Leeds like putting away the cones after training, only to be told that he doesn’t need to do that as ยฃ40m summer signing in the Premier League.
On the pitch his ability and confidence is clear, and like Gerrard and Rice he has the tactical intelligence to play in any role you ask of him. To be thrown in as a centre-back, a position he hadn’t played in before, might have been daunting for a teenager on his debut in front of 15,000 or so people.
For Gray, he just took it in his stride. Last season he spent much of the term as a right-back, making the most tackles of any player under-21 in the Championship, so he was prepared for the defensive aspect at least and he also proved adept at using his height to head the ball away. One tackle he made in the centre of the pitch was so hard that it burst the football and a replacement had to be called for.
“Obviously I wasn’t expecting to play centre-back but honestly I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to play and learn different positions,” he said in his club interview after the game.
“I don’t really care where I play. I’m 18-years-old and I need to learn the game. Honestly anywhere he puts me, I’m just happy to learn the game and have great team-mates around me to teach me things about the game.
“It was just to get another good feel of playing the football and ultimately getting the minutes in the legs. They’re a good team and it’s always good to come here. We came here last year and it’s a really good stadium. An enjoyable game, but mostly really important to just get minutes in the legs.”
He added: “It’s just getting used to simple things that my team-mates like on the pitch, off the pitch, and ultimately trying to get to know them. I thought today really helped.
“They’re all brilliant and they’ve all helped me so much, especially Pedro today, he’s been really helpful for me. I’ve not played centre-back before and I thought he was really helpful for me. Especially everyone in training as well, not just on the pitch when we play these pre-season games.
On the training pitch, every single day, everyone’s trying to help me which I really appreciate. They’ve been brilliant so far.”
Postecoglou was impressed with Gray, who formed an effective makeshift defensive partnership with Oliver Skipp, who had played as a centre-back occasionally in the academy to round out his development.
Other than the odd decision a natural centre-back wouldn’t make, the duo did well together on the whole and they will point to the clean sheet for their 45 minutes on the pitch, although they were indebted to some iffy finishing from Hearts and one fine reflex save from Brandon Austin.
“Archie did well. He, Skippy and Jamie [Donley] probably weren’t expecting to start in our back four, but that’s ok,” said Postecoglou. “It’s about guys like Archie getting accustomed to how we play, how we train. He’s an intelligent kid and coped with that okay today. It’s just about letting him and Lucas settle into things, but I thought he was good, Archie was really good today. He did the things we know he can do well and he’s adapting to the intensity and tempo of everything we do, so he did well.”
Bergvall was in his more natural box-to-box midfield position in the second half, alongside fellow teenagers Alfie Devine and Tyrese Hall. The Swede took a little while to find his range and the tempo of the game but once he did, he really hit a groove and became a creative threat.
He teed up Moore to run on to score his goal, put in a terrific cross for Scarlett to head, which was saved before Phillips poked in the rebound, and the 18-year-old midfielder started to run the show for Spurs with his midfield partners against the Scottish Premiership side.
Bergvall likes to roam as he is comfortable out wide or as a number 10 and that will suit Postecoglou’s system but also challenge the teenager to ensure he has the fitness to get back quickly when others can’t cover the space he has left behind him.
For Bergvall, the pace and power of the English game will take a little longer to fall into the rhythm of but the very early signs so far are that he reads the game well and quickly finds a way to adapt.
“Same with Lucas. They’re both really good kids,” said Postecoglou of the Swede and Gray. “They’ve come in really with the right attitude, very humble, but really ambitious and want to make an impact. They’re not here to ease their way in, they want to play and it’s exactly what you want from young guys coming through and they’ve added a good energy to the group.”
Back in the fold was Timo Werner after Spurs agreed a deal with RB Leipzig to bring the German back for a new, longer loan spell with an ยฃ8.5million option to buy him next summer if they wish.
The 28-year-old gave yet another demonstration that he will do exactly what Postecoglou asks of him in getting down the left, beating his man and striking the ball low into the six-yard box as shown for the assist for Spence’s goal.
Werner will also have to contribute with goals himself and that’s something the once prolific forward will have to rediscover.
Another returning face, who will feel somewhat like a new arrival to Postecoglou because he hasn’t kicked a ball since September was Manor Solomon.
The winger, who turns 25 next week, looked understandably rusty and like a player who hasn’t played an official game in 10 months following those knee problems but he will get sharper as the weeks go on. The biggest problem for him is that there is increased competition in the winger slots with potentially more to come.
“Yeah, he missed a whole lot of football, that’s for sure,” said Postecoglou. “I think he was happy to be out there again. A good pre-season for him and hopefully get him back up to speed.”
The new signings impressed but it is early days both for them and for Postecoglou in the transfer market.
Leave a Reply