Why Ange Postecoglou doesn’t think Tottenham’s exhibition match against fellow Premier League side Newcastle at the MCG on May 22 is a mistake
- Tottenham will take on Newcastle at the MCG on May 22
- Questions have been asked about player welfare in England
- Comes three days after the end of the Premier League season
Ange Postecoglou has labeled Tottenham’s friendly in Melbourne a ‘unique opportunity’ but admits it is unlikely to become a regular event.
Spurs announced earlier this month that they will visit Australia three days after the end of the Premier League season to take on Premier League rivals Newcastle in a friendly.
The match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on May 22 has been roundly criticized over concerns about player welfare and a lack of respect for the environment, a matter of weeks after Green Football Weekend.
Postecoglou defended the merits of the post-season friendly, which will see the 58-year-old return to his home city.
“We leave straight after the last game (at Sheffield United) and we take everyone who is fit,” Postecoglou revealed.
Ange Postecoglou has labeled Tottenham’s friendly in Melbourne a ‘unique opportunity’ – and he is aiming to bring a full-strength squad to Australian shores in May.
It comes as Spurs are due to play fellow Premier League side Newcastle at the MCG just three days after their competition in England ends (pictured, star midfielder James Maddison)
“We thought that because our season was so disrupted and there weren’t many games, this was a unique opportunity for us.
“I wouldn’t see this as something that would happen on a regular basis unless we felt the benefits would outweigh the costs.
“On this occasion, when we were balancing everything, we felt this was a good opportunity to take the club to the other side of the world and help us continue to grow the football club.”
England boss Gareth Southgate was recently asked about the friendly, which will involve Euro 2024 hopeful Kieran Trippier, Anthony Gordon and James Maddison, and predicted post-season matches will become more common.
Southgate expressed hope that none of his players would be injured.
But Postecoglou insisted: ‘I’m sure Gareth will be a club coach one day and he will have a different perspective, just like in the past.
‘I was (once) national coach (at the Socceroos).
England boss Gareth Southgate recently stated that he hopes homegrown players from both EPL clubs do not get injured in Australia ahead of Euro 2024 in June
“At the weekend I would sweat it out when the players were playing, whether it was a normal match, a friendly match, whatever kind of match it was.
“The downside of that is that there were quite a few club coaches on edge with the national team this week, so it’s the world we live in.
‘There has to be a balance. We’ve thought about it a lot as a football club and it’s fair to say that if we’d been in Europe and had a really big season we’d probably have made a different decision.
“We weighed everything up and felt there was a real benefit to playing this game.”