NORMAN GILLER'S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 506
Submitted by Norman Giller
Crisis? What crisis? It's amazing what a victory can do for everybody's confidence. Suddenly extreme optimists are talking about Tottenham lifting the Europa League trophy and even many of the keyboard warriors appeared to have softened their war on Ange Postecoglou.
It was the deafening and dedicated chanting of the Tottenham supporters that helped Spurs get over the line yesterday in a vital victory over a Manchester United side they can claim to have now beaten outright this season.
What a contrast to the protests of the Levy/ENIC out brigade before the match. I much preferred the encouraging shouts of the Spurs supporters to the ugly, morale-lowering protests against Daniel Levy and ENIC.
Levy will choose his time to sell up and it will cost £4bn for a club that nearly went to the wall not that long ago. He and ENIC must have done something right. But some Tottenham followers are so blind with hatred that they will not see reason.
They should dwell on the fact that, by all accounts, it's a company in Qatar showing most interest in our great club. That will sit comfortably with the Yid image! Are we going to hear choruses of 'Arab Army ... Arab Army ...?'
As I keep saying, better the devil you know ... One day the fickle supporters screaming angrily against Levy and ENIC will turn on the new owners. Mark my words.
This was Tottenham's third win against United this season, completing the double in the Premier League as well as conquering them in the Carabao Cup. Plus there's a good chance they will meet them again in the closing stages of the Europa League.
Sorry to be the one to make cautious noises, but I have to point out that this is the weakest and most ineffectual United team I've ever seen, and I go back to the first great Busby side of the 1940s. Jack Rowley, Johnny Carey, Jimmy Delaney ... of course you remember it.
Even their crushed coach Ruben Amorim oddly confesses that's the worst of all United teams since the launch of the Premier League in 1992.
So while celebrating a much-needed three points, we must keep our feet on the ground and accept that was a close-run thing against a United side that, while appalling, went close to snatching a draw.
Our Spurs Odyssey guru Paul H. Smith gives his eyewitness account of the mistakes-strewn match HERE, and points out how United might easily have had a couple of goals with more accurate finishing.
It was crucial to have James Maddison on the scoresheet, because he is a confidence player who needs to be seen as cock o' the walk. An arrogant Madders is important to the Spurs cause. Let's hope he keeps hitting the bullseye.
And once again an all-action Djed Spence was Tottenham's outstanding performer. If he continues like this he is a certainty to come to the notice of new England manager Thomas Tuchel.
The jury is out on Mathys Tel. He worked hard but it is too early to judge him, while Kevin Danso looked the business at the heart of the defence.
The positive news is that at least the crowd got behind Spurs. Though they will hate to admit it, this shows that the protestors are still just a very noisy minority. What most of us - particularly Ange Postecoglou - want to see is a consistently winning Spurs side, regardless of who is pulling the financial strings.
Next stop Ipswich Town in the good old Saturday 3pm time slot, so pleasing to we traditionalists. I hope the majority of fans continue to get behind Tottenham, not in their way. It's called 'support'. Sorry to be old fashioned.
COYS!
Week 26 of our eleventh season of the Spurs Odyssey Quiz League, and the question is:
Which Scottish international striker played for Tottenham, Manchester United, Coventry and QPR in the 1980s and with which club did he start his career in England?
Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 26. 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 Edmonton-born defender played for Spurs, Millwall and which other London club before moving to Stoke City?
Answer: Ray Evans/Fulham.
See you back here on Monday. COYS!
