Ange Postecoglou claims Jurgen Klopp tactic wouldn't work in modern game

Ange Postecoglou says he modeled his Celtic team on some of the ideas Jurgen Klopp implemented at Liverpool, but changes to the game since mean it is much harder now

Ange Postecoglou on The Overlap podcast. (Image: The Overlap // YouTube)

Former Tottenham and Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou says Jurgen Klopp wouldn't be able to implement his 'heavy metal' style at Liverpool in the modern Premier League.

When the German first moved to Anfield from Borussia Dortmund, his team was very pressing-focused, even though its tactical emphasis altered as time went by. It was a moniker that stuck throughout his tenure, even if by the end it wasn't that accurate.

However, Postecoglou says Klopp would struggle to use the same approach now because of the way that the game is refereed, and the type of teams that there are in the English game now.

"I really don’t know because I hear every one of them complaining, yet when they get us together with the referees, it's overwhelmingly supportive," Postecoglou, speaking on The Overlap, which is sponsored by Sky Bet, said.

"I didn’t vote for [VAR], I know that and I said publicly in a meeting. It was bought in for accuracy. What it has done is change the game. I don’t think Jurgen [Klopp] would be able to play heavy metal football in today’s game."

Postecoglou went on to explain that he was influenced by Klopp's style when he was at Celtic. It was that kind of football that convinced Tottenham to take him to the Premier League.

Liverpool legend Jurgen Klopp.(Image: Ronny HARTMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

The idea of using a high press and high-intensity game to force opponents into mistakes is one that made for an exciting and attractive style of play.

However, Postecoglou is of the view that teams can't play like that anymore because players are more protected from physicality by the laws of the game, and VAR is interrupting so often.

The former Spurs boss used the example of wanting to take a quick throw-in, only to be halted by a VAR review. Momentum, in that scenario, is then lost, and the opposition can get itself reorganized.

Playing quickly and taking advantage of chaos can only happen when things are running smoothly within the game. Because VAR reviews can only happen when the ball is dead, games can be more disrupted by its influence.

Jurgen Klopp is set to return to Anfield for Liverpool's latest legends game(Image: Getty Images)

Last weekend, Liverpool had an experience of what life could be like without VAR. Rio Ngumoha saw a goal wrongly ruled out for offside, while in the Aston Villa vs Newcastle United cup tie, a series of errors were made by the on-field officials.

"In general, I enjoy watching football without VAR because if you then score you're like, 'It's a goal' so that was the same with the [disallowed Gakpo goal]," Slot said in his post-match press conference.

"I looked at the linesman [when Cody Gakpo saw a goal chalked off] and he didn't raise his flag so I was like, 'That's nice' but then a few seconds later he did raise his flag, which was correct because he was offside.

"They also explained to me that he wanted to know who scored, the moment he heard it was Cody he said then he's offside, so a fair and good decision.

"I like VAR only for the clear and obvious things and I'm not meaning a red card yes or no for Marc Guehi on Mo Salah because I thought it was 100 to 0 but I've heard people saying they could live with that decision.

"So even that decision was not 100 to 0, 80 to 20 so let's stay away from that and only go to offside yes or no, ball over the line yes or no and for the rest the referee referees the game.

"That's my opinion, but that's not going to happen. That's the way I would like the VAR to be. I think we're now so used to VAR that I would prefer to have VAR during a game, to be honest."