What horrible run have we had though? Doesn't that run begin with where you start your timeline? How many fanbases would eagerly trade places with the results we have gotten in the last 20 years? To be fair to your point, many of these are self induced but then again, aren't the results that most teams have suffered thru the same? again to be fair, i think DL in his effort to create success has done every shortcut he can possibly think of while operating the business the way he thinks is sustainable but none of them have born fruit that meets our rising expectations. (and that's failed execution)I too am of a similar age to you. I agree with the general social issues you've identified. I cannot include the Spurs fanbase in that though. Which other club has had the horrific run we've had, yet continues to have a massive fanbase spending thousands upon thousands of pounds (and rising!) per season to follow their team.
Logic, in this instance, says have patience in Ange and his team, but not in the Club's ownership. It would be illogical and downright stupid to "trust" any Levy process at this stage. In this instance, we have to "wait" for Levy to correct previous years' mistakes and get rid of the deadwood, before we can spend any money replacing our greatest ever goalscorer. That's just piss poor management of a club by Levy and it's not in line with other societal dysfunctions to point that out.
Fans seem to me have a couple of dimensions that really are best described by intersecting bell curves
- Win at all costs vs I just want to be entertained
- Give it time vs. Why hasn't it already happened. Do something about it. F*** off!!!!!!
Much of the response seems not to be the money aspect. I suspect the vast majority that post here dont' spend thousand sof pounds. (although we do invest tons of time). If it was only that, you'd stop spending it. I'd suggest it is ego/identity driven. Spurs are massively important to all of us. Where social media has impacted the game and society is that so much of "life" involves online communications. Us old codgers had the good fortune to grow up with less social pressure. Spurs drop out of a Cup? For the youth (or the yute as my Jamaican teammates use to say) 20 mates razz you with no comeback. for us old guys, a couple of friends might razz us and then ask what age Denny's offers its senior citizen discount (55 for those that didn't know) or does prune juice really work.
The greater one's online presence creates personal meaning, the more dependent you are on things out of your control. That means that other people and events outside your control have greater ability to impact that larger part of life. It's incredibly disempowering and not healthy. Sorry for the novel but it is something that is quite troubling. I agree with much of what you and AfriCoy write. It's just that so much of our fanbase has shown no patience with Ange as evidenced by this thread and i dont' see a solution to it since it's a reflection of society at large. it's also a difficult tightrope to walk to be patient with Ange while impatient with Levy.
Cheers. May Ange's performance be so good for so long that it papers over the cracks in society at large.