Manager Watch: Ange Postecoglou

[spurmin]

It’s not meaningless. The problem is treating it like the holy grail. But finishing fourth and being in the Champions League is better than finishing 5th and being in the Europa.

He Doesn’t want to fight for fourth place which he has said on numerous occasions.
It’s not a trophy. We used to take the piss out of Arsenal for that mentality.
Top four is meaningless to him, he wants to be top which is where inside and outside the club needs to change.

 

[dontcallme]

I think this is mainly what it comes down to, but I think it’s wishful thinking. We have twenty years of evidence which suggests otherwise but we always go into the Europa assuming we’ll win it.

Truth is we haven’t even got past the quarters and usually we go out even before then.

I think this is a big opportunity for Ange.

My understanding is this year no CL teams move into the EL when they get knocked out.

Our performance in the EL will be a good sign of whether we are developing this “winning mentality “ everyone is so obsessed with.

 

[GarlicBread]

What I find odd is our fans worrying about Arsenal winning the league but seemingly not bothered by how embarrassing it is to celebrate a loss like some small time club.

 

[makeveli]

Our form last 6 games and we are the problem !!!

 

[dontcallme]

No complaining now.

I’m not. Our transfer business the last 3 or 4 windows has been good.

Like always some targets will be missed due to clubs not selling, asking prices being too higher and huge competition for the signing.

The idea that qualifying for the CL changes this is evidently not true.

 

[muppetman]

Our form last 6 games and we are the problem !!!

Maybe a bit of context about who we've played in those?

Anyway, today is a new day, I still think Ange could be the one and I think the last few pages have only cemented what a fragile lot we all are.

COYS!

 

[KingsDodgyKnee]

We played some good stuff last night, probably the best we've played in a few months. We were the better team I'd say but City finished their chances, that's football I suppose. Some better personnel up front and a proper 6, and we'll be much better next season.

I think Ange is well within his rights to be pissed off last night. He'll be hugely disappointed that the team didn't get something after playing well, Bentancur will have pissed him off and he'll be annoyed at the fans in the stadium for being muted and not cheering on the team. That's all fair enough. Nothing he said in his interview is in any way controversial imo, so I'm not sure why so many are getting their knickers in a twist? The X posters are doing for engagement farming, but I don't think anyone else should be annoyed by what he said, it's exactly what any manager trying to build an elite team would say

 

[TheChosenOne]

It entails not losing 5 out of 6 matches at the business end of the season. It entails winning more than 1 away game in the whole of 2024. It entails not conceding 61 goals in 37 league games. It entails not losing 12 league games in a season. It entails not limping out of the Carabao Cup by sending out a near 100% second string team away against Premier League opponents.

It doesn't entail being fans being content to lose one relatively meaningless game to deny their worst rivals the league. One Game. One game.

We've played 40 games this season, every fan will have been desperate to win 39 of those games. Had we won more of those 39 other games, there wouldn't have been many, if any, fans in the uniquely uncomfortable position they had found themselves in last night.

Whether you agree or disagree with people being in that position, there's too many people going over the top with their criticisms and it's utter bullshit.

Of the people who are preaching "I want my team to give 100% to win every single game because that's what an elite team does blah blah blah", I bet I can dig through old posts and find them advocating playing fringe or youth players In cup games against lesser opposition or Europa League/Conference League group games to rest key players for league games. AKA, "I consider some games less important to win than others and I'll be okay to sacrifice a win in a certain match because it might provide a benefit elsewhere."

Those 12 matches we have lost (so far) this season is exactly the same amount of matches that City, Arsenal and Liverpool have lost together in total.

It’s a mess.

 

[easley91]

Oh my days. HE ISN'T BLAMING THE FANS FOR EVERYTHING. Just the crap atmosphere inside the stadium and comments over the last couple of days.

 

[dontcallme]

What I find odd is our fans worrying about Arsenal winning the league but seemingly not bothered by how embarrassing it is to celebrate a loss like some small time club.

What I find odd is that some people genuinely think this is unique to us.

There are loads of examples of teams celebrating their rivals defeats. This one was slightly unique but people thinking this is a Spurs thing are being ridiculous.

 

[ronspurs]

Spurs fans getting grief, but no one in the media had issues when actual players were saying they wanted Leicester to win the league before playing against them in 15/16.

 

[Dunc2610]

What I find odd is that some people genuinely think this is unique to us.

There are loads of examples of teams celebrating their rivals defeats. This one was slightly unique but people thinking this is a Spurs thing are being ridiculous.

But how other teams fans react is irrelevant, this is our fanbase we're all discussing, and wanting to be an elite team whilst cheering a loss can't go hand in hand!

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

What a cheek from Ange to dig the fans out for not wanting their biggest rivals who have arisen from their shit slumber. we have all backed him and supported him even though he served the following up:
Fulham in the league cup
Chelsea at home
Aston Villa at home
West Ham at home & away
Fulham away
Sheffield United home last minute winner
Liverpool home against 9 men
Newcastle away
Everton away
Brighton away
Wolves at home & away

Performances haven’t been great since Chelsea at home but we’ve rarely turned on him. He should read the room there were many supporting spurs tonight but we can all agree this a loss that can be taken quite well given the implications it has on arsenals title hopes. With us unlikely to secure CL which he spent the past 4 months saying he wasn’t aiming for anyway and it was too soon. I can only hope he is referring to something else and he will address it asap

I guess it needs repeating that this goes beyond that short sighted nonsense. He's talking about the whole thing, something that's been at the club for many, many years.

If we acknowledge that, buy into it and support him and what he said, then that's a start.

 

[philll]

Ange was obviously riled up and carried the same anger into most of the questions, I'm not reading anything into the Bentancur response, it was just a rather terse version of "I was focussing on the game at the time".

 

[dontcallme]

But how other teams fans react is irrelevant, this is our fanbase we're all discussing, and wanting to be an elite team whilst cheering a loss can't go hand in hand!

So we have a weak menality even though other fans are exactly the same?

Numerous Arsenal fans said they’d prefer to lose the EL final if we lost the CL final over both winning it.

Genuinely funny but also sad how many are making out this is a Spurs thing.

 

[Metalhead]

I think this is mainly what it comes down to, but I think it’s wishful thinking. We have twenty years of evidence which suggests otherwise but we always go into the Europa assuming we’ll win it.

Truth is we haven’t even got past the quarters and usually we go out even before then.

There is always that need to focus on the top 4 at the expense of all else although the prize of the winner getting CL does make it more of a pull. I guess if you are a club like Sevilla where it is a model to follow then that's ok but we know that whilst Daniel talks about the desire for silverware, the main priority is that top 4 'prize'. I hate the fact that people do view it as a quasi trophy but that is the reality of it. We just need to be able to turn into that club that competes for the top 4 but can manage the FA cup, league cup and a European trophy run. That's the challenge and that's what would make us a genuinely elite club. I don't think that we are at the moment.

 

[steffenfreundlovesme]

I was thinking that just now... I'll be okay with that as long as we didn't aid them. But City can be nervy on a final day and it got me thinking of it.

You’d be OK with Arsenal winning the league as long as we didn’t help!? That makes zero sense - we aided them winning the league by drawing with them at the emirates and losing to them last month. How could you possibly be OK with us losing to City to end our chances of CL and then arsenal winning the league anyway!? Surely that’s the worst of both worlds…

 

[Dunc2610]

So we have a weak menality even though other fans are exactly the same?

Numerous Arsenal fans said they’d prefer to lose the EL final if we lost the CL final over both winning it.

Genuinely funny but also sad how many are making out this is a Spurs thing.

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting our own fambse to do better? Spurs thing or not!

 

[Mooger Fooger]

I'm completely with Ange on this. We've pointed out plenty of times over the years about how rotten the club is from the inside and Ange is saying he now sees how bad that is.

It's ok for a section of our fanbase to not want to win last night (not the ones in the stadium) but it is absolutely not acceptable for anyone inside the club to be thinking about anything other than Spurs and Spurs winning. What others are doing should not even be thought about or talked about. There's clearly a lot of a work still to be done.

 

[dontcallme]

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting our own fambse to do better? Spurs thing or not!

I think football rivalries are a huge part of the sport and not wanting your most hated rival to win a major trophy goes along with that.