Tottenham will remain at the top.

Surprisingly, Ange Postecoglou set a record for points in his first nine Premier League matches. This relatively unknown manager brought Tottenham 23 points after nine rounds – the points total of a champion. In those first nine games, Tottenham played more away matches than at home, facing formidable opponents such as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool. The initial success is undeniable. The only question is how long Postecoglou and his team will maintain this success. The answer: it's highly likely that Tottenham will be successful throughout the entire season.

Tottenham sẽ trụ ở đỉnh cao - Ảnh 1. — Coach Postecoglou helps Tottenham create a surprise in the Premier League.

Free from European cup commitments and the burden of the League Cup (with the FA Cup only starting in January 2024), Postecoglou's team can focus all their energy and resources on the Premier League race from now until the end of the year. This is undoubtedly an advantage. What's most admirable about Postecoglou is his boldness in imposing his own playing style and philosophy from his very first time managing in the Premier League. Even more surprisingly, Tottenham has adapted to his tactical approach very quickly. Even at his previous clubs – most of which weren't considered "top-tier" and certainly couldn't compare to Premier League standards – Postecoglou never achieved such rapid success as he is doing at Tottenham this season.

"Ange-ball" essentially refers to an attacking style of play, characterized by aggressive possession and pressure in the opponent's half when not in possession; generally speaking, it's a high-level style of play. In reality, the style implemented by Postecoglou at Tottenham has yielded concrete results, not just theoretical success. Key statistics such as ball recovery, high-pressure pressing, ball control, touches in the opponent's penalty area, and goal-scoring opportunities are all very impressive. Tottenham has clearly improved these statistics compared to their previous season, ranking above a number of strong teams. This is accompanied by a significant improvement in their image, that is, the beauty of their playing style.

The team's possession rate has skyrocketed from 49.8% to 61.4%; the number of touches in the opponent's penalty area has increased from 23.6 to 42.6 per game; the "expected goals" metric has risen from 1.52 to 1.89; and the number of shots has increased from 13.6 to 19.1… Except for the somewhat ambiguous issue of possession (many teams have good possession but are too passive), the remaining changes are all very important. This is a matter of playing style, rather than the caliber of the stars. Therefore, Tottenham fans have every right to expect continued success.

Conversely, Tottenham's weakness lies in the frequency with which they concede shots on goal, which is somewhat excessive for a top-of-the-table team. This is actually a trade-off: attacking frequently inevitably exposes them to more threats. Even in what could be called a defensive weakness, Tottenham actually has strengths. They are very proactive in pressing to win back possession or create difficulties, boasting the best PPDA in the league (PPDA is the average number of passes in an opponent's attack).

Overall, Tottenham's strength this season has come more from their training ground than from the club owners' coffers. That's the most wonderful detail of a success story in top-level football.