Has Tottenham broken another coach? Fans cheered against Spurs to keep Arsenal from winning the title. Coach Postecoglou angry, arguing with fan, talking about fragile foundations

The Premier League heads to the final, with Manchester City close to a record fourth title in a row. That’s thanks in part to beating Tottenham away on Tuesday night. Interestingly, a good number of Spurs fans were cheering for the Citizens. The reason was simple, they didn’t wish the title on rivals Arsenal. Coach Ange Postecoglou is taking it very hard.

Tottenham are often the target of ridicule. This is mainly because the club is failing to win trophies. There are probably more reasons for this. We can talk about the club’s management not investing in the players, but a lot is made of the lack of a winning mentality. Not only in the club itself, but also among the fans.

This was confirmed before Tuesday’s game against Manchester City. Before the game, there was an unprecedented situation. Many fans of Arsenal, Spurs’ biggest rival, were rooting for coach Ange Postecoglou’s charges despite all the rivalry.

But Spurs fans had it very much the other way round. They wanted their Tottenham to lose. From the reactions elicited by the BBC, one can read that many of them downright wanted the debacle to send a clear message to Arsenal – we don’t help rivals. They even wanted Postecoglou to field a young eleven and run out to celebrate in front of the Citizens supporters after the debacle.

Postecoglou was very uncomprehending about this before the game. “I understand the rivalry. I was part of one of the greatest rivalries in the world during my years at Celtic, but I will never understand someone wishing their team to lose. That’s not what sport is about. That’s not what I love about the game,” the BBC quoted the Australian coach as saying.

After his statement, there were even words on social media about his dismissal. What a contrast to when, not so long ago, he was composed a song, or rather a Robbie Williams hit was covered to his number.

Tottenham lost. Postecoglou looks broken

Ange Postecoglou himself didn’t want to lose. After all, he wanted his Tottenham to play in the Champions League next season. But it’s not going to happen. Manchester City won 2-0. Some Spurs fans in the stadium were celebrating their opponents’ goals. The coach got into a verbal exchange with one of them.

It was a big disappointment for Postecoglou. “I think the last 48 hours have shown me that the fundamentals are very fragile. That’s what I feel. I’ve seen a lot of that, but that’s OK. It means I have to go back to the drawing board and start doing some things. In and out of the club,” he said disappointedly after the duel.

“I obviously misunderstood the situation and what I think is important in our quest to become a winning team. Right. That’s why I’m here. The chants from the fans? I’m probably out of line, but I don’t care. I want to win, I want to be successful at this football club,” he is clear.

“Other people can feel how they want. I know what’s important to build a winning team and that’s what I have to focus on,” he added.

Interestingly, the situation Tottenham have found themselves in is resonating a lot on social media. Many football fans perceive that Postecoglou is slowly getting into the position that Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were in.

There was also an interesting opinion that while usually a coach loses the support of the fans and the club’s management, it is now the opposite at Spurs and Postecoglou has lost faith in the fans and the management.

Source: BBC, Premier League, Sky Sports