What's Behind Ange Postecoglou's Scintillating Start With Tottenham Hotspur

The way Ange Postecoglou has come in at Tottenham Hotspur and immediately taken the Premier League by storm has been nothing short of remarkable.

His scintillating start with Spurs has been made all the more impressive by the fact legendary striker Harry Kane departed for Bayern Munich in a late, high-profile move. But the hard-nosed Aussie wasn't one to get caught up in the drama of it all, instead preferring to just get stuck into the task at hand. And that he's done.

No nonsense, direct and with an exhilarating football philosophy, the man who's proved his class and enjoyed plenty of success over the years managing the likes of Australia, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, Yokohama F. Marinos and Celtic appears destined to be a real hit in North London too.

Tactically sophisticated, wanting to control proceedings in all phases and so progressive in his ideas, it's been a joy to watch him instill his philosophy so quickly and effectively, as Spurs have been one of the standouts of the season.

Currently sitting joint second in the table with three wins and a draw from his first four matches while playing an exciting and entertaining brand of football, their electric form has been one of the key talking points so far.

Stamping their mark especially going forward, watching Spurs implement Ange's ideas admirably already has ensured they've posed huge conundrums for opponents on how to stop them.

While they line up in a 4-3-3 on paper, their actual shape morphs into something resembling more of a 2-3-5, 2-3-2-3, or a 2-3-4-1, with the eights operating as dual 10s and the full-backs inverting into midfield alongside Yves Bissouma.

As a result, they regularly form overloads and have a host of passing angles available to the ball holder due to the natural triangles and diamonds created, which gives them a strong base framework to move the ball crisply and carve through opponents.

In addition to this structure allowing them to enjoy good connections due to their spacing to promote slick ball progression and a solid central presence, the wingers then add vital width and depth to horizontally and vertically stretch opponents.

Wanting his team to pass out from the back, new goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has been crucial towards this, with his composure, decision making and distribution skills giving them a nice foundation to lure out and beat the press.

Center-backs Cristian Romero and new signing from VfL Wolfsburg Micky van de Ven are typically near the keeper to help draw out the first line of pressure while Bissouma and the inverted full-backs are just ahead ready to receive.

The attacking midfielders, who have smartly breathed life into passages by finding room between the lines and in the half spaces, then read where to move depending on the location of the ball to support while the wingers will stay wide ready to receive quick switches after opponents have been drawn to one side or be ready to go in advantageous 1v1s.

Fluid, waiting perfectly for the moment to penetrate opposition blocks to accelerate offensive forays, the fact Spurs also add in vital variations through their numerous rotations compounds issues for their adversaries. How they subtly adapt their positions and occupy different areas is also key in outfoxing foes.

With opponents constantly caught in two minds in relation to who to mark or where to be situated, this indecision is often all Spurs need to exploit subsequent openings to venture upfield into dangerous areas.

The use of principles like the overload to isolate, third man runs and the up-back-through also deserves mention, as Postecoglou's swiftly got his players up to speed even though he knows they're by no means there yet.

The attackers are also important in terms of pinning opponents to generate space and gaps within backlines for runners to exploit. Indeed, with Spurs frequently spreading five men near or across the last line of defense, this ensures there's minimal room for error for defenses, for one blown marking assignment is all Tottenham need to wreak havoc. Indeed, their passing numbers serve as a testament to their class, for they rank second in the league for key passes per 90, second for deep completions p90, third for progressive passes p90, and fifth for through balls.

The close proximity of their attackers helps them combine smoothly, interchange coherently, use opposite movements and move rearguards to generate space to conjure openings.

How they populate the box with runners across the width, get the full-backs to maraud into the final third with underlaps and most notably get at the blindside of markers amplifies their threat, plus gives the man on the ball many options to aim at. Ranking second for goals, shots p90 and touches inside the box p90, this aptly underlines the danger they pose.

Doing a good job of responding to triggers, curving their harrying to use their cover shadow to block passing lanes, setting traps and working as a collective, there's been much to admire about their work in this compartment.