Before Ange Postecoglou's first league game as Celtic manager, he already cut a jaded figure.
After bowing out of the Champions League as early as July, Postecoglou launched a remarkable public critique of his club's own recruitment. The affable Australian caveated his frustration by taking full responsibility for the "hesitation" in the transfer market. "I don't say that because I'm some kind of martyr," Postecoglou insisted. Two years later, his start at Tottenham Hotspur has earned him saintly status.
A 2-0 victory over Fulham took Spurs to the summit of the Premier League table, with a tally of 23 points from nine matches. No manager has ever made a better start in the competition's history. Tottenham, under any incumbent, have only begun a new season in better form once; and that 1960/61 campaign ended with the double of the top flight and FA Cup.
While Postecoglou's start stacks up favourably compared to his predecessors in north London, how does it compare to the opening salvos from his contemporaries among the Premier League's elite?
Pep Guardiola's Premier League start at Man City
- Premier League record after nine games: W6 D2 L1
After a burst of six consecutive Premier League victories to start his Manchester City tenure in 2016, racking up 18 goals in the process, Pep Guardiola felt compelled to downplay his side's strength.
"We are far away. If we were close then I could just go back home," Guardiola insisted. The Catalan coach may have delivered that line with a smirk but he was proved right when Spurs emphatically wiped the grin off his face with a 2-0 win at White Hart Lane.
With the sheen of invincibility erased, the teething problems that Guardiola had spotted in City's first six performances translated to the points total. Despite their swift start, Guardiola's new side, which was repeatedly exposed by set pieces and counter attacks, spent the final months of his debut campaign fretting over Champions League qualification while Antonio Conte's Chelsea romped to the title.
Jurgen Klopp's Premier League start at Liverpool
- Premier League record after nine games: W3 D3 L3
Upon his arrival at Liverpool in October 2015, Jurgen Klopp declared: "My message to the Liverpool supporters is that we have to change, from doubters to believers."
A tally of three wins from his opening nine league games, leaving the Reds slumped in ninth place, certainly could have cast a shadow of doubt over fans. Yet, even at this early stage of Klopp's Anfield tenure, there were flashes that pointed towards the heaven-scraping potential of the German's 'heavy metal football' approach.
The suffocating 4-1 thrashing of Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City at the Etihad proved to be the first of Liverpool's defining victories under Klopp. "It feels perfect," the then bespectacled manager gushed post-game.
Mikel Arteta's Premier League start at Arsenal
- Premier League record after nine games: W3 D5 L1
"Trust the process" is a phrase that has dogged Mikel Arteta's tenure as Arsenal manager, particularly when ironically hurled his way during the many dips of his early spell at the helm.
It was Mesut Ozil, the first star that Arteta successfully iced out of north London, who conjured the indelible wording with a tweet - X was just a twinkle in Elon Musk's eye in 2019 - after Arteta's debut in a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth. "Unlucky to not get the victory. But many positive things to take away from the game. Let's trust the process," he wrote.
Arsenal drew five of Arteta's first seven Premier League matches, prompting a shift in focus towards the FA Cup. That process has always been trustworthy for Arsenal, ending Arteta's debut campaign with a triumph at Wembley.
Erik ten Hag's Premier League start at Man Utd
- Premier League record after nine games: W5 D1 L3
While the entire Manchester United squad chuntered through a punishing 13.8km run, Erik ten Hag could be forgiven for wondering what he had gotten himself into. The Dutchman had become the first United manager to lose their opening two games since John Chapman in 1921 and was left disgusted by the running stats from a nightmarish 4-0 humbling at Brentford, with chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" surfacing before the first drinks break.
As punishment, Ten Hag cancelled the team's day off and accompanied his players on a run as long as the difference in collective distance covered between United and the Bees.
However, Ten Hag's firm hand prompted an upward surge, with United climbing off the foot of the table to third by the end of the season.
How Ange Postecoglou's Premier League start compares to Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta & Erik ten Hag
READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP
This article was originally published on 90min as How Ange Postecoglou's Premier League start compares to Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta & Erik ten Hag.
