NORMAN GILLER'S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 502
Submitted by Norman Giller
Call me a stubborn old git or a blind old fool (notice the "old" common denominator), but I refuse to join in the stampede to kick Ange Postecoglou out of his manager's job at Tottenham.
Yesterday's defeat at Everton was as cutting and catastrophic as any in his tottering tenure, but take the first choice goalkeeper and central defenders out of any of the major teams and they will struggle.
An injury list of eleven players - repeat, eleven - would torpedo the plans of all managers, and I am in a shrinking minority that would give Ange at least until the cup challenges before showing him the door.
Daniel Levy is hardly famous for being sentimental, but even he has to concede that the Greek-Aussie has been cursed by an injury crisis that would be worth an editorial opinion piece in The Lancet. What was that Napoleon said about, 'Give me lucky generals ...'?
I leave it to our Spurs Odyssey guru Paul H. Smith to provide the gory details of the 3-2 nosedive at Goodison HERE, but how different would it have been if Ange could have fielded a full-strength side?
There's no ducking the fairly conclusive (and concussive) fact that Tottenham have lost five of their last six Premier League games and drawn the other. With irrational positivity as my guiding force, I prefer to point to the victories against Man City at the Etihad and the 1-0 lead that Spurs take into the second leg of the League Cup semi-final at Anfield.
Everything is in the often-bloody hands of Daniel Levy. I will say exactly what I feel about today's Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump and my advice to him - look to do only good things and try to bury the bad. AngeBall is worth another go, starting with Thursday's visit to Hoffenheim in the Euro League.
Daniel should ignore the know-all keyboard assassins who would have had Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw out of their jobs in their first struggling seasons.
Please don't pull the trigger yet, Mr Levy. In Ange, I continue to trust.
COYS!
Week 22 of our eleventh season of the Spurs Odyssey Quiz League, and the question is:
Which Spurs player is the son of a former international, occupies the same position and with which club did he start his senior professional career in 2020?
Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 22. 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: Who was the son of a top jockey, the only player to score a hat-trick for Spurs in a North London Derby and what number Tottenham shirt did he usually wear?
Answer: Terry Dyson/Shirt number 11.
See you back here on Monday. COYS!
