Looking back now, a 6-2 defeat by West Ham United only weeks into his Celtic Park tenure was a rather fitting welcome to British football for Ange Postecoglou.
A man who would become famous, or infamous depending on your perspective, for a uniquely chaotic brand of ‘you score, we score’ football.
Not so much the ‘beautiful game’ but the bountiful game; Where goals would fly in at both ends, where central defenders would find themselves pressing on the halfway line, and where full-backs could often be spotted popping up in the six-yard box.
West Ham United might have failed to beat Postecoglou’s Tottenham outfit – in fact, the Hammers have won only once away to Spurs since Ravel Morrison turned into Diego Maradona 12 years ago – but they did manage to put six past the Australian’s ragtag backline during a pre-season drubbing of Celtic back in 2021.
And Frank McAvennie, a fan favourite at both clubs, watched on from the Parkhead stands as Michail Antonio led the Hoops in a merry dance from a centre-forward role he was beginning to perfect.
Michail Antonio during Crystal Palace v West Ham United in the Premier League
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
Michail Antonio wowed Frank McAvennie when West Ham United destroyed Celtic
Shortly after Celtic captain Callum McGregor got the ball rolling with a gorgeous strike, Antonio effortlessly breezed past Stephen Welsh and slotted home a delightful equaliser.
Only moments later, West Ham’s powerhouse number nine again left the Bhoys for dead. Racing onto a Pablo Fornals through ball and finishing emphatically.
Despite that Michail Antonio only developed into a number nine relatively late in his career – a la McAvennie in his own playing days – the former Nottingham Forest and Southampton winger can boast an impressive catalogue of finishes which many a lifelong centre-forward would have been proud of.
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“Antonio is a strange one. He is a bit like myself. He played in midfield and got pushed up front,” McAvennie says of a man who only really established himself as an out-an-out striker after his 30th birthday.
“I went to see him playing Celtic a couple of years ago [in that pre-season friendly]. Wow. It was Antonio up front and I said to the people I was with; ‘This is going to be an example of how a centre-forward plays’.
“He bullied them, there’s no other word for it. He is a wonderful talent.”
Michail Antonio wants to stay but West Ham contract talks stall
With 68 Premier League goals as a West Ham player – he reached double figures for three successive campaigns between 2019 and 2022 – Antonio is now the club’s record scorer since the competition began.
Antonio hopes to keep Jarrod Bowen at arms’ length by extending a contract which expires in July. Thus, ensuring he has another year alongside the current Hammers skipper to look forward to.
Bowen is now only 12 goals behind his long-serving teammate.
However, talks over a new West Ham deal have stalled. Reports claim that David Moyes is eyeing an Everton reunion with a man he helped transform from a pacey wideman into one of the most feared number nines in Britain.
Despite turning 35, and after so many months of action, Antonio clearly still has a lot to offer.
He recently made his first appearance since breaking his leg in December. In their CONCACAF World Cup opener, Michail Antonio produced an eye-catching Jamaica cameo. One he hopes could prove a starting point for an unexpected career revival.