NORMAN GILLER'S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 485
Submitted by Norman Giller

So, according to an army of defeatists, yesterday's depressing 1-0 loss in the North London Derby should lead to the instant dismissal of manager Ange Postecoglou and that will be the answer to Tottenham's problems.

How short-sighted, blood-thirsty and irritatingly impatient can you be?

Just stop for a second and analyse Tottenham's season so far: A draw at Leicester that should on chances created have been an emphatic victory ... a 4-0 home slamming of Everton ... a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle that any balanced witness would have accepted was flattering to the Geordies ... and then the 1-0 loss to the deadly enemy, when a draw would have been a fairer reflection of the action.

Cue an hysterical outcry against Postecoglou, the man with a plan that will not be allowed to flourish and bear fruit if many Tottenham head-hunting fans get their way.

The lynch mob were out in force within seconds of Gabriel being allowed to head Arsenal into the lead from a corner-kick that again pinpointed Tottenham's weakness at set pieces.

Those baying for Ange's blood wouldn't concede that Tottenham were beaten by one of the top three - possibly two - teams in the land. They go head to head with Man City on Sunday and could come out as the new No 1 power.

It's a fact that Tottenham almost proved themselves their equals yesterday, with just that unchallenged Gabriel header the difference between the sides. My Spurs Odyssey team-mate Declan Mulcahy gives his assessment of the match HERE and laments - as we all do - that this was Arsenal's third NLD victory on N17 territory in their last three visits.

That cuts deep, and Ange's growing army of would-be assassins did not take kindly to him playing down the meaning of the NLD. I respectfully suggest that the man who was in charge of 15 Auld Enemy clashes in Glasgow between Rangers and Celtic understands better than most the meaning of local derbies. He just happens to be mature enough to get it all in perspective.

Playing Arsenal should never be the be all and end all of Tottenham's season. Only small-minded fans put that status on a game that is important but not to the extent that it makes or breaks a season. That is tribalism of the unwanted kind.

I know I am an old git but my generation accepted defeat with grace and without turning on the manager. The poisonous hatred that has erupted on line should be unacceptable by anybody with an ounce of balance and understanding.

Skipper Son Heung-min has been savaged for claiming Spurs "dominated" the game, nobody giving him any allowance that he is communicating in what to him is a foreign language. He knows better than anybody that only goals will satisfy the angry mob. In Sonny and Ange I trust.

It's off to Coventry on Wednesday for the first cup challenge of the season in the EFL, and then home on Saturday to Brentford in the Premier League. We need Dominic Solanke to start paying back his huge fee. No pressure!

Anything but victory in both matches will turn the heat up on Postecoglou.

Well, I for one will not be fanning the flames. Ange deserves at least another six months to get his positive plan working. I wish those calling for his head laryngitis.

COYS!

So here we are already in the fifth week of our eleventh season of the Spurs Odyssey Quiz League, and the question is:

Which striker with an Italian-sounding first name scored 21 goals in 51 international appearances, and from which club did he join Spurs in 2008?

Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 5.

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 ten 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 real stinker of a tie-breaking poser that is based on opinion rather than fact.

This year's main prize will be a framed certificate announcing the winner as SOQL champion 2025, plus three signed books to be revealed at a later date.

Last week's question: Which son of a professional footballer has won 127 caps and from which German team did he join Spurs in 2015?

Answer:Son Heung-Min, Bayer Leverkusen

See you back here on Monday. COYS!

Follow @spursodyssey