What is the charge? Winning a trophy? A succulent European trophy?
Democracy Manifest
Daniel Levy has done what every Spurs fan knew needed doing. Yet our fanbase, despite everything we’ve been through appears not to have the stomach for it. Mr. Levy does, that’s why he’s running the organisation and us mere mortals are known as ‘supporters’ or more often than not ‘clients’. No serious football club retains their manager after finishing one place above the relegation zone, no matter what cups have been won. For years we’ve been demanding that Tottenham operate like a big club, don’t cry when they follow that through. Do you think that lot down the road would keep Arteta in these circumstances…? Or course not. Announcing Ange’s departure late on a Friday afternoon was smart, I expect Thomas Frank to be announced on Monday, if not Wednesday at the latest. Getting all of this done quickly ensures the club can go into the market fast and have a proper pre-season, exactly as it should be. I’d like to think the club has learned from its previous mistakes. Frank fits the mould, he’s clearly great with the players and the fans, he plays attacking football but unlike Ange is open to adapting when required. Can he cut it at the level we desire? Let’s back him and find out.
I didn’t write an article about my trip to Bilbao. I did consider it but winning, not least, winning a cup final is so alien to me I didn’t know where to begin or how to say something that hadn’t already been said. I was also basqing (sic) in the pure joy and sunshine that poured through that beautiful city, not to mention the constant flow of pintxos and larger on that glorious Thursday afternoon. I guess I just didn’t have it in me. Make no mistake, Bilbao was the greatest night of my footballing life, even if Spurs go on to win the lot, this would still top it all. The sheer relief, the outpouring of emotion, it was our ‘Agüerooooo’ moment, except we had ours without financial doping, we had ours with Sonny. As I made my way to Bilbao, I did ponder, if I was to pen something, what my angle might be. I noticed the similarities between my journey to Madrid back in 2019, the respective routes the club and indeed my mates and I had taken to the final(s): tickets, travel, and most importantly, emotion. The stand out difference was clear, I loved Poch and no part of me wanted him to leave, it wasn’t even conceivable at the time. Whereas en route to the Basque Country, whilst all I was thinking about was the game and how close to glory we finally were after all these years, I still was certain this needed to be our managers last game in charge, regardless of how the final played out. The emotions may have wavered me a little for a few days post game but I think that’s understandable. However, the news of Ange’s dismissal and indeed the wild reaction it’s garnered from our ever AFTV-like fanbase has strong-armed me into writing something, anything…
In 1991 Jack Karlson was arrested by police in the city of Brisbane. The Australian man was accused (and later reportedly found guilty) of credit card fraud. Yet his style, commitment and charisma whilst being arrested was so incredibly engaging, it lived on beyond reasonable doubt. It took almost 20 years for the infamous ’Succulent Chinese Meal’ clip to be loaded up to Youtube where it then of course spread faster than a bushfire. Like Jack, Ange is now being celebrated as he gets bundled into the back of a police car, sorry I mean, asked to leave Hotspur Way. Also like Mr. Karlson, Ange will be remembered for his flare, his chat and his unwavering belief in the cause. The reality however, is that Jack Karlson was a fraudster and in many ways Big Ange was too. But he was our fraudster, and he won us the European Cup and will quite rightly be remembered forever as a Spurs legend BUT we also played some of the worst football I’ve ever seen at White Hart Lane under his tutelage, we finished 17th for Christ’s sake, losing 22 games in a league season. In a way, that’s what makes him so charming (it’s worth noting for reference at this point that Benoît Assou-Ekotto is in my top 5 Spurs players of all time). It wasn’t just one bad season with Ange either, or down to the much maligned injury crisis, bar his opening handful of games (which people like to forget included Fulham away in the cup), he was tactically inept most of the time and we can’t let the emotions of Bilbao blur the facts. It’s better he leaves now on a massive high, than stinks the place out and gets the boot in October, writing off another league season while he’s at it. This idea that we’ve abandoned ‘audere-est-facere’ by sacking Ange is ridiculous. Yes we want to win cups but we must challenge in the league. It astonishes me how quick to forget our fanbase is of the incredibly bad form, the ear cupping, the constant arguing with fans, not to mention the Man City home game at the end of the 23/24 season.
Is Daniel Levy a Spurs Legend? Serious question.
When people tell me that I’m a contrarian, I say ’no I’m not!’. Perhaps I’m interested in balance or just like to play devil’s advocate (or was it Dick’s Advocaat?) from time to time. Whatever it is, I’m glad General Levy (a man who operates with post ejaculate clarity at the best of times) had clearly made his mind up before Bilbao, that the manager had to go. Of course that is the right decision and it’s what almost every Spurs fan was thinking before that magical night in the North of Spain swept everyone up in the feels. Not to mention the parade, which I made it back in time for. As a Tottenham local my son’s school had a half day to mark the occasion. I made it down there with him and cried my eyes out all over again. I love our fanbase and I love our club. Wanting Ange gone doesn’t take anything away from these memories, it only enhances them. Of course only Spurs could find themselves in a situation like this but we know that, I can’t keep pointing out the bleeding obvious, it’s effectively preaching to the choir at this point.
What isn’t preaching to the choir, is saying that I respect Daniel Levy for making such a massive decision and sticking to it. He does what he thinks is best for the club and whilst he may not always get it right, I think generally speaking he gets it more right than wrong. The man will be remembered as a Spurs legend when enough time passes. What he has done for the club in the past 25 years is incredible, only people with short memories or too young to remember the 90s would disagree (with that last point at least). Of course, I know all the reasons people don’t like Levy and a lot of it is kosher, just be careful what you wish for. Romantically wishing for Ange to stay in the job would be futile.
Enough of the recreational outrage, you know your Judo well.
This is democracy manifest. Ta-ta.
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14 Comments
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09/06/2025 @ 9:12 am
Absolutely bang on regarding your observations of Ange’s push and respect for the much maligned Daniel Levy, always the easy hit. The outpouring of indignant horror at the sacking of a manager who finished fourth from bottom with not even the often quoted 40 points for “guaranteed” survival is astonishing. The bulk coming from journalists that for the past few months have been baiting Postegoglue at every opportunity, suggesting his tactical ineptitude and his dead man walking status was just around the corner. Now the deed has been done, once again, and Ange got this bit correct, the usual open season to beat our great club with the proverbial shitty stick. They couldn’t even allow us three weeks of basking in the glory of finally getting the monkey off our backs. Let’s be honest about this, great to win a trophy, but not the most difficult trophy to win when you consider the opposition we’ve played to do so. And let’s not forget, we’ve not exactly swept all and sundry off their feet along the way. What does matter is 38 games against your peers, of which we failed to register a point in 21 of those matches. I have been to “The Lane” 13 times this season for PL matches. Out of those 13 matches, I have witnessed 10 defeats, 2 draws, and a solitary victory against an equally poor Utd team. Try telling me with any substantial argument that Ange did enough to warrant another season in charge.
09/06/2025 @ 10:00 am
In 1958 Spurs appointed William Nickolson as manager. 58/59 season Spurs finished 18. 2 seasons later Spurs were champions and cup winners.
1975/76 Spurs manager was Keith Birkinshaw. Spurs were Relegated! Spurs won the FA Cup in 1981 under the manager Keith Birkinshaw.
Big clubs do not swap managers every 18 months spend only £5m per season and win things. Chelsea swapped managers frequently but spent Billions on aquiring silverware.
Do your research
09/06/2025 @ 10:26 am
I thought of Birkinshaw too but it was a completely different time and era,
in the now i don’t think anyone can credibly disagree that any big club is likely to (and probably has a responsibility to) sack a manager that comes 1 place above relegation.
11/06/2025 @ 8:38 am
The managers you refer to are Nicholson & Burkinshaw, not Nickolson & Birkinshaw. We were relegated at the end of the 76-77 season not the 75-76 season and Spurs net spend over the two years of Postecoglou‘s tenure was 24/25: £-91.42m & 23/24: £-125.5m, not £5m per season. Maybe it is you Geoffrey that should do your research.
09/06/2025 @ 9:40 am
Absolutely spot on.After the first ten games everybody worlked out how to beat Spurs,only exceptions were very good teams who would,nt lower themselves to those tactics(ie Man City).
We only played one good team in winning the Europa Leagues and that was Frankfurt,the others including Man Utd were very poor.We could have been beaten 8-0 in Turkey!
So well done on winning a trophy Ange,laying foundations and blooding some good young players.You were clearly not the man for the next phase.Take your pay off,all the memories and get a great job in a league that will suit you and enjoy your life.
Meanwhile onward and upward COYS.
09/06/2025 @ 9:48 am
Great words and they ring correct to all the fans that don’t indulge in 8 word Instagram comments. That final was for the fans after a dreadful 18 months and to be fair the man got us over the line. Thanks and all the very best for the future.
He has got as much out of the last 2 years as we have. The actual spurs fan base should always remember to not give a sh.. about what the Athletic and other poncy outlets write and even more so the idiots on social media. Keep it Spurs. A very strong appointment may be on its way this week…
09/06/2025 @ 9:52 am
Respectfully disagree:
* There was a reason for the poor league form (injury crisis / concentrating on Europe)
* TF is not a step up (average record / never won anything / no experience in Europe / no experience of negotiating multiple tournaments / no experience of managing elite players like world cup winners)
* If the Europa league “isn`t the hardest competition to win” why haven`t we won it before?
* To imply Ange was a fraudster is extremely harsh, for all his faults, and I admit there were quite a few (team selections, substitutions, not taking the opposition strengths into account enough) ….I thought he was pretty straight down the line, and his post sacking message showed he got the fans
At the end of the day history will show his record as:
Season 1 – 5th qualified for Europa
Season 2 – Europa league winners, qualified for Champions League
That`s it Ange deserved another season
09/06/2025 @ 10:02 am
Great article and spot on. I’ve been a Spurs fan for over 60 years and have seen some great football and some awful football. Ange produced both.
I realise I’m in a minority when I say I’d rather we had qualified for the CL by league position rather than winning the Europa League.
I do think Levy made the wrong choice in Ange – there’s the world of difference in winning the Australian League, the Japanese League and the one-horse Scottish League and finishing in the top four in the EPL.
Frank knows the EPL and has more than one style. Good luck Ange but more importantly COYS
09/06/2025 @ 10:34 am
Great article, someone needed to say that!
I’m a season ticket holder and had to sit through terrible football and losses all season.
Injuries are not enough of an excuse, we were terrible before and certainly after, i was there.
I want to see good football, i want to see the players going out there expecting to win.
Ange was never going to deliver that, we are right to move on.
Every gooner i know was hoping Ange would stay!
09/06/2025 @ 10:58 am
Not totally convinced that Levy is quite the demi-god described, but fully agree that he got the Postecoglou elbow right – he just had to go after a disastrous league season like the last one!
I’m embarrassed by the ridiculous reaction of so many of our fans, and it goes a long way to explaining why Spurs have acquired their own word for comical failure (‘Spursy’, obviously), because there’s a willingness to accept mediocrity on the part of much of the fanbase, which allows the players to under-perform, and the owners to under-invest, because second-best will do.
Our EL win was not remotely ‘glorious’ – it was a smash and grab against the poorest United team for decades, and was negative football at its worst – a 90 minute ordeal for every watcher, nothing like the ‘it’s who we are mate’ cavalier football of the ‘Angeball’ myth. Surely the new man will do better, because he can’t do any worse!
09/06/2025 @ 11:09 am
Absolutely correct. From the pre-season tour games of 23/24 where we played the football equivalent of basketball, we have continued to play football only allowed in school playgrounds. We pay an awful lot for our season tickets and to say that he deliberately chose the EL over leagues performances was an insult. You can play for both when using common footbal sense. Still, we did win the EL, but I am convinced it was more the players (although Ange gets credit for pushing them) that won rather than his tactics. I have been to finals since way back in 1967 so I have seen success and failure, and I know this success does not outweigh the failure of the last two seasons. E
09/06/2025 @ 7:40 pm
Tottaly bang on. We will have taken much bigger steps forward than perhaps is realised over the last few weeks when we look back with the benefit of hindsight. With regards to the longer term I also agree about Daniel Levy. All in all the stewardship of the club has been sound and made us contenders like we were up until the mid/late eighties…….without nation state backing – an English football club! – which is often overlooked.
12/06/2025 @ 3:49 pm
I agree TOTALLY. Others have said most of it, so I won’t repeat. This season I have seen some of the most disappointing football since games I watched as a 13 yo in 1956/7. If anyone can remember that far back, they know how badly we have played this season, and on perfect pitches, not Southend beach!!
01/07/2025 @ 8:42 am
Absolutely, I think you’re spot on about needing to move quickly. The earlier the manager is in place, the better the chance we have of preparing properly for the season ahead. Frank does seem like a great fit, doesn’t he? His ability to connect with players and fans is something the club really needs right now. Plus, his flexibility in approach could be crucial—having a plan B is so important at this level. Games jackpotjill-casino-aus.com here. Of course, it’s always a bit of a gamble, but I agree with you—if we back him, we might just get the results we’re hoping for. There’s no progress without taking a bit of a leap, right?