NORMAN GILLER'S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 452
Submitted by Norman Giller

The football gods were out in force on the side of Spurs as they snatched that dramatic last-minute win against the nine men of Liverpool, and it leaves me wondering if Ange's Angels have gold dust (or goals dust) on their wings.

You have to be of a certain age to remember the original Tottenham angels. Back in the European glory-glory days of the 1960s, Polish reporters accused Spurs of being 'no angels'. This was after Bobby Smith and Dave Mackay had exhibited their famed and feared physical power during a 4-2 defeat in a first leg European Cup tie against Gornik Zabrze.

Showing their waspish wit, a small group of Spurs fans turned up for the return leg at White Hart Lane dressed as angels and carrying placards with such slogans as: 'Praise them for they are glorious' and 'Spurs play football from the heavens'.

Tottenham's players responded with a crushing 8-1 victory, and 'Glory Glory Hallelujah' was chorused on the terraces as the angels paraded on the pitch perimeter. These 62-year-old memories came flooding back to me as the Tottenham faithful reached for their new song inspired by Potteries football fanatic Robbie Williams: 'I'm loving Big Ange instead.' (Of course, from the hit song Angels ... from here on in, Ange's Angels when sung in N17!).

Continuing the musical metaphor, Postecoglou has got all his Spurs players singing from the same song sheet and the positivity is palpable. Our Spurs guru Paul H. Smith gives his eyewitness account of the remarkable, incident-packed match HERE and underlines how bright the immediate future is under the baton of the larger than life Greek/Aussie.

Daniel Levy has been kicked black and blue by his army of critics, but only a handful of them have come forward to praise him for having the vision to appoint the - to them - 'unknown' manager (who just happens to have had more than 30 years in the game and is lauded in Asia and has managed Australia in a World Cup finals tournament).

I recall one of the most brutal of Levy's critics sneering that he had only appointed Postecoglou because "he was the cheapest option and had been successful in the Farmers League." Good friends of mine, who had watched Ange lead Celtic to the treble, told me that he was a tactical master, preaching positivity at all times. My Scottish contacts said Ange had built a team worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Jock Stein's fabulous Celtic team of the 1960s. There can be no higher praise.

Now we are watching a Spurs side as good on the eye as Tottenham at the peak of the Pochettino era. And Postecoglou has inspired this transformation in a matter of months. I'm loving Big Ange instead.

Yes, the luck was with Spurs on Saturday. On the first red card awarded by a rattled referee, all I will say is if that had been a Spurs player making that tackle Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would have gone berserk. It could so easily have been a leg breaker.

The disallowed Liverpool goal - wrongly flagged off-side, without a proper VAR check - was unforgivable, but it was not the fault of Spurs. It was human error and, as any angel will tell you, that is even beyond the gods.

COYS!

Week nine of season nine of the Spurs Odyssey Quiz League challenge, and the question is:

Who while with Spurs scored 13 goals in 15 appearances for England, and which club did he help shoot to the Fourth Division title after leaving Tottenham?

Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 9. Deadline: midnight this Friday. I will do my best to respond to all who take part.

The rules are the same as in the previous eight seasons. I ask a two-pronged question with three points at stake - two for identifying the player and one for the supplementary question. In the closing weeks of the competition I break the logjam of all-knowing Spurs-history experts with a tie-breaking poser that is based on opinion rather than fact. That's when I become as popular as Sol Campbell in an Arsenal shirt.

This year's main prize will be a framed certificate announcing the winner as SOQL champion 2024, plus three signed books to be revealed at a later date. We have retired the omniscient David Guthrie after his three victories.

Last week's question:

Which son of a retired professional footballer has won 113 international caps, scored 150 goals for Tottenham and from which club did he join Spurs?

Answer: Son Heung-min/Bayer Leverkusen

See you back here same time, same place on Monday. COYS!

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