A New Dawn at Spurs
Big Ange's Day
Anttrailsramblings blog, August 2023
Just in case anyone reading is not aware, I am a lifelong Tottenham Hotspur supporter. I had a season ticket in the old West Stand at the age of 10 before they knocked it down to build the New West Stand before they knocked the whole stadium down to build the new one.
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Being a Spurs supporter was never a conscious decision for me, it was a birthright, or some might say a life sentence. The genesis of this situation was when my father, as a young lad, was offered the opportunity to go to a match by his uncle. "Do you like blue or red?" he was asked, to which my Dad replied "Blue". Had he not I would today be a supporter of that other North London team, Woolwich Wanderers. Virtually all football clubs, like Tottenham, stay true to their geographical roots. Every now and again a team decides to relocate, like Wimbledon moving to Milton Keynes. It's never a good thing. Woolwich decided in 1913 to relocate to North London and, like a cuckoo came into Spurs nest and has made a nuisance of itself ever since. Cuckoos can be quite successful but, like Woolwich, they are deeply unpopular. I'm glad Dad chose Blue.
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All organisations have their own culture and Tottenham Football Club's is centred on the concept of Glory. It's an interesting word, definitions tend to include such elements as honour, beauty and achievement. The word appears multiple times in the Tottenham lexicon: "Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur", "The Game is about Glory" and my personal favourite "It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. At Spurs we set our sights very high, so that even failure will have in it an echo of glory". That last one is particularly relevant to the current generation (and I know annoying to some of the older) because infamously Tottenham have been failing consistently for quite a while now. 15 seasons and counting since a major honour.
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Through my own career journey I became fascinated by the concept of an organisation's culture and how a good one, established and promoted through effective leadership, creates success. I ultimately summarised my own recipe for leadership thus: hire brilliant people, create an environment in which they can flourish and glow in the reflected glory of their achievements. (I just realised the glory word is in there too!)
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Translate that simple recipe into what has been going on at Tottenham and the problem is clear. Creating an environment in which the team can flourish should mean being true to the culture of the club, you know ....Glory! The last three managers have been so lacking in ambition to play with honour, beauty and ultimately achievement that we might characterise them as inglorious. Nuno, Mourinho and Conte - the Inglorious Bastards!
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But now in the unlikely guise of an Australian, to the great delight of those of us who prosecute our support through the Australian supporters club Ozspurs, we have a manager who gets it. Big Ange Postecoglou.
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I should get to the game... The glorious style of football demanded by our new Antipodean leader is a step change from the turgid dross served up under the Inglorious Bastards. After a nervous start and with the benefit of some profligate finishing by our opponents the team started to hum. The ball was moved forwards quickly, defenders inverted and at times became attackers, chances were created and the woodwork struck twice in quick succession. Soon after half time Spurs took the lead and began to play with real ingenuity, style and attacking prowess. The defence too looked secure and after a 16 pass, 10 player move ended with the second goal the result never looked in doubt. Of course as seasoned Spurs tragics most of us remained nervous of a comeback, even as the board went up to show 9 minutes of added time. But we need not have feared, this was Big Ange's day. Spurs 2 Man Utd 0.
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The euphoria that I felt at the conclusion of the match was palpable around the whole ground. This was not a crowd simply celebrating a good home win, there was a genuine sense of joy tinged with relief. The cognitive dissonance that we have collectively felt in recent times as supporters of a club that expounded one philosophy but practiced another has dissipated. We have our club back. Glory is back on the agenda.
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Strangely, the mood reminded me of a train journey I took to London the morning after Tony Blair had been swept to power in the 1997 election. There was a palpable sense that something really meaningful had shifted, the people had got their way and optimism was in the air. "Things can only get better" was the theme tune. I am not making a political point here and whether things did actually get better I'll leave others to judge. I do know that ultimately Blair, like all political leaders, and indeed football managers, ultimately got booted out himself. We can live in hope that before that day arrives for Big Ange we will have experienced many more days like Saturday, maybe an end to the trophy drought and at least a renewed period in which we can be proud of the club that so many of us care deeply about.
Come On You Glorious Spurs!
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