As Celtic fans saw week in and week out, Ange Postecoglou is as entertaining as they come.
Life might be tough for Postecoglou at Tottenham right now, but he is still sticking his chest out and ensuring that he doesn’t go down without a fight.
When Postecoglou first arrived at Celtic in 2021, he came as an unknown figure from the J-League side, Yokohama F. Marinos.
Celtic were in trouble after Steven Gerrard’s Rangers had stopped the 10IAR and won the Premiership title, with everything and anything going wrong at Parkhead.
One of the things that stood out with the outspoken Postecoglou was how he handled the media and how he wasn’t afraid to say what he thought.
Sitting in his Premier League hotseat, the 59-year-old recently made a claim that divided opinion and got a lot of people talking.
- READ MORE: Micah Richards baffled by Ange Postecoglou’s actions at Tottenham, that wasn’t happening at Celtic
Thierry Henry responds to Ange Postecoglou’s assist claim
Thierry Henry wasn’t just one of the greatest goalscorers of his generation, he could also put a ball on a plate against any opponent.
That’s why, to this day, he still holds the record for the most assists (20) in a single English Premier League season.
But Celtic hero Postecoglou recently stated that assists is ‘the most useless stat’ in football, it’s fair to say that Henry disagreed and even shared that he prefers to set up goals rather than score them, as he told Sky Sports Premier League (14/04/25).
“When I used to be here (playing in the Premier League), and I will say it, ‘I was like why don’t we do a trophy for the guy that has the most assists’,” said Henry.
“Because you can do that. Mo Salah, you can see, he is looking for assists. Why? Because he knows he can break a record. It does attract people when you can break a record. When you can get a trophy.
On Postecoglou’s assists comments: “Let me put it this way,” added Henry. “I said it so many times that I used to get killed, and people thought I was saying it for the sake of saying it.
“I prefer an assist. I will say it loud and clear. I prefer an assist. You know why? As a youngster, I started to play as a nine. I couldn’t care less about anything else. I just wanted to score.
“When I arrived playing as a professional, I used to play on the wing, and trust me, when you have to go up and down all the game, following the fullback. You break your neck. Minute 89, you put the ball back to a guy that didn’t move the whole game, he puts it in, and he is the hero? No, he scored.
“You’re not the hero. You scored. Did you play well? You didn’t, but you scored. So, I said, ‘okay, I need to remember what it was like to be a winger’ – sharing is very important – I prefer an assist to a goal. People might think I am crazy.”
Who has the most assists at Celtic this season, and what did Postecoglou say?
Whether you agree or disagree with Postecoglou, at least he is as honest as they come, and he doesn’t mince his words.
Sometimes that can rile people up, fire them up and cause a debate, as his assists claim were certainly straight to the point.
“On the side, I have got to say, the assist is the most useless statistic in world football,” said Postecoglou.
“Seriously, it could come off your backside. Fall to somebody on the halfway line, and he scores, and it’s an assist, so it doesn’t impress me. But Dane’s (Scarlett) assist at the weekend was a good one.”
Over in Celtic colours, two men are leading the assist charts for the champions-elect, including the struggling Nicolas Kuhn, who was dropped over the weekend.
- Alistair Johnston – eight assists
- Nicolas Kuhn – eight assists
- Greg Taylor – seven assists
- Daizen Maeda – seven assists
- Luke McCowan – six assists
- Arne Engels – five assists
- Reo Hatate – four assists
- James Forrest – four assists
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