As a grim-faced Ange Postecoglou laid into his Tottenham players at the Amex Stadium on Sunday, it was impossible not to think back to another Spurs manager eviscerating his squad following a collapse on the South Coast.
Postecoglou's criticism of his side after they threw away a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 3-2 to Brighton was nowhere near as explicit nor vitriolic as Antonio Conte's parting tirade following the 3-3 draw with Southampton in March 2023, but there were striking parallels in their messages.
Both Conte and Postecoglou described the situations as “unacceptable” and both were critical of the fight and “competitiveness” of their Tottenham players.
“We didn't do what you need to do at this level, it's kind of non-negotiable," Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference. “We just weren't competitive. We didn't win our duels, we lacked intensity, we didn't deliver the things you need to at this level, the basics of the game, and paid the price for it.”
Compare and contrast with Conte, who said 18 months ago at St. Mary's: “I can tell you that if you want to be competitive, if you want to fight, you have to improve this aspect.”
For the avoidance of doubt, Conte was far more extreme than Postecoglou and the Italian would go on to suggest that his players' lack of fight was a symptom of the club's culture under chairman Daniel Levy, in a now-infamous rant following what would prove to be his final game in charge of Spurs.
For Conte, Spurs squandering a two-goal lead with 16 minutes to play to draw 3-3 was the breaking point, the culmination of what he felt was a season of cowardly performances.
“What has been happening in the last few months, what's happening in this, my second season,” he said. “I think that it's the right moment to speak.”
Postecoglou, by contrast, was surprised by the capitulation at Brighton, suggesting it may have been the result of complacency after five wins on the bounce in all competitions.
“I haven't seen it before, and I certainly didn't feel like that's the way the game was going to go,” he said.
Both Postecoglou and Conte were, though, making a similar point about their players' mentalities, each emphasising that Tottenham's shortcomings were not down to tactics or quality, but about a failure to show the necessary desire and commitment on the pitch.
“I am not speaking about tactical aspect or technical aspect,” Conte said, while Postecoglou dismissed the significance of his substitutions and Spurs' missing players, repeatedly returning to his side's "level of competitiveness".
Strikingly, only four players who featured in Conte's final game were involved on Sunday: Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr.
Postecoglou's squad is now almost unrecognisable from the one he inherited; there is a gaping Harry Kane-shaped hole but the current group is widely considered to be more technical and well-rounded.
Yet in spite of the high turnover of players, Postecoglou identified the same failings this weekend that so frustrated Conte and, arguably, have been a feature of Spurs teams for decades.
Their collapse at the Amex was the 10th time that Spurs have lost a Premier League game in which they led by two or more goals, at least three more than any other club in history.
Perhaps Brighton was a one-off for Postecoglou's Spurs, an understandable blip from a developing team, but for all the talk about the club's DNA since the Australian's appointment, maybe a soft-centre is now as ingrained as the penchant for entertaining football.
Conte's final word at Southampton was, memorably, a bleak warning that Spurs could change managers but the same failings would persist after he was gone.
“They can change manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me,” he said.
The most important point to make, however, is that Postecoglou is invested in fixing Spurs and willing to take responsibility for his side's failings, whereas Conte had no interest in finding a solution to the club's problems, which he laid squarely at the door of his players.
Conte's rant felt like a parting shot at a club for which he never had much affinity, a scorched-earth attack on his squad, a come-and-sack-me plea to the board and, ultimately, an attempt to deflect the blame for a miserable season away from his own shortcomings as a coach.
The day after the game, he flew to Italy, where he always retreated at the start of international breaks, with no intention of returning to Spurs.
Postecoglou, though, has made it clear that his remit is to change the culture of the club as well as the style of play, and he will spend this international break mulling over what he described as a “new experience” and working out how to ensure it does not happen again.
In stark contrast to his predecessor, Postecoglou finished his press conference by taking ownership of Spurs' shortcomings and looking ahead.
“It's for me to address and fix, and the responsibility falls at my feet and that's what I need to do,” he said.
