Ange Postecoglou delivered a damning assessment on those connected to Tottenham on Tuesday after becoming incensed with some Spurs supporters actively cheering their own side to lose against Manchester City.
Postecoglou had repeatedly expressed his bemusement on Monday at the prospect of Spurs’ own supporters being happy to lose to City due to the implications it would have on the title race.
A positive result for Tottenham against Pep Guardiola‘s team would have handed the initiative to their rivals Arsenal in the battle to win the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s final day.
While Spurs produced a strong display against City, two second-half Erling Haaland goals earned them a precious victory but home fans chanted ‘are you watching Arsenal?’ after the striker’s 51st-minute opener.
The atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was more flat than many other home matches, with the majority of songs targeted at Arsenal, but Postecoglou refused to be drawn on what exactly provoked a tetchy press conference which ended with the Australian admitting ‘adjustments’ are required to take the club to the top.
Ange Postecoglou was left seething after Tottenham were beaten by Manchester City on Tuesday and took aim at his own supporters
The Australian even confronted one Tottenham supporter in the stands during the match
Postecoglou blasted his club for having ‘fairly fragile foundations’ in his post-match press conference
Postecoglou went on to claim that Spurs have ‘fragile foundations’ in his post-match press conference and had been filmed during the match confronting one supporter who had been goading him to ‘throw the game’ against City.
The scenario has created a huge talking point in football over whether it is right or wrong for fans to cheer for the other team at their rivals expense with differing opinions splitting fans.
And now Mail Sport’s readers have had their say over whether they think Postecoglou was right to question supporters’ logic on the matter.
One reader was left baffled at how a section of Spurs supporters could cheer for a City win, which would in turn cost them a chance at securing Champions League football on the final day.
They wrote: ‘How can any fan actually want another team to beat theirs irrespective of what that would mean, they lost the opportunity of possible CL football just to stop Arsenal. It doesn’t make sense to me, as a Utd fan I still wanted us to win against Arsenal on Sunday even though City could have been champions last night.’
Many of our readers sided with Postecoglou, baffled at how some fans could cheer for defeat
Another reader blasted Spurs fans’ mindset and pointed to their lack of silverware in recent history as a sign to where the club is at right now.
They commented: ‘And that Ladies and Gentlemen is the reason the Spurs trophy cupboard is empty. The club lacks that ‘winning at all costs’ mentality and it’s filtered through to the fans.
‘With a Champions league spot up for grabs the fans preferred the team lose to prevent Arsenal from winning the league. The reaction from Spurs fans is pretty unbelievable.’
Another agreed, writing: ‘They would rather miss out on champions league than arsenal win the league. Says it all about the fans. They moaned for years about ownership and lack of progression or success. The problem is not the club, players, owners or manager. It is the fans and always has been.’
One reader applauded Postecoglou for speaking up and even said that he should quit the club to further his career.
They wrote: ‘Good for him calling out those fans. If he wants to progress as a coach he should quit and go elsewhere.’
Others pointed the blame at the manager, saying Spurs’ form has put them in this position
Another agreed with Postecoglou’s sentiments but questioned why he and the team hadn’t shown this effort and passion in recent weeks, which saw them lose four Premier League games on the bounce for the first time in over two decades.
They wrote: ‘I do agree with Ange, but I also question where has this passion he’s displaying been over the last couple of months? Where has the tactical flexibility he showed last night been, when fans have been calling for it for weeks?
‘No one believed Spurs would make Europe this season, pundits said 10th would be good and rival fans said we were in a relegation fight when Harry left, 5th is a good first season for Ange and hopefully the start of the real foundations he says are lacking.’
Another agreed, rather questioning Postecoglou’s shortcomings and claiming that their run of form ultimately left Spurs in this difficult scenario.
Some Tottenham fans even recreated City’s famous Poznan celebration after the visitor’s scored their first goal
Defeat against City ensured Spurs won’t qualify for a place in next season’s Champions League
‘Maybe if Ange had got his team to do the job by beating Arsenal and not put in awful performances of late then the fans would not have been in this position and would have had CL qualification. Take some responsibility,’ they said.
One Spurs fan hit back at the Australian, insisting the team’s poor form is to blame.
‘Perhaps he should have levelled his anger at the pathetic performances since we beat Villa 4-0,’ they commented. ‘School boy defending & poor defensive team selection have cost us 4th place, not last night.
‘As if any right minded Spurs fan would want to win a meaningless game v City, if it meant our most despised rivals kept their hopes of the league alive. Hilarious that anyone condones it. ‘
