Even though sustained, long-term overperformance is not necessarily in the cards, there is something extraordinary developing in the atmosphere. Nothing surpasses the subversion of your melancholy that puts you on top of the universe and surrounded by 60,000 others who feel the same. There is always immense joy to be discovered in the late comeback. Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, though, has something extra—a profound awakening.
You can see it in the celebrations after Dejan Kulusevski’s score, when ten players from the outfield run in all directions and the goalkeeper races 100 meters to join in. An entire stand is thrashing with one another behind the goal.
They cannot claim to have anticipated this, but they can guarantee that this season is more enjoyable than most. They continue to congregate at bars and on the concourses thirty minutes later, singing the same tunes.
Supporters were ready for it, therefore it’s working. They merely desired a little amusement. When domestic football is reduced to its most basic components, it is played on a Saturday between the hours of three and five, as a way to escape from the rest of the world and try to believe in something different. After waiting a while, Tottenham fans finally received that.
Because the players have faith in it, it is successful. Any of those who speak will extol Postecoglou’s virtues and abilities as a leader. Even though I’ve only known him for a few weeks, his impact is profound. He wants them to play the style of football they prefer. He wants students to take risks, make mistakes, and do both, but he doesn’t want them to worry that those mistakes will define them.
It is effective because the manager recognizes the significance of the fans. Since joy is the goal of the entire ludicrous exercise, Postecoglou wants them to let go during their celebrations. He is aware of their potential for good and that he will require them should things go wrong, which they inevitably will at some point.
But above all else, it is succeeding because of a dedication to having a proudly identifiable identity.
After the game, Postecoglou stated, “It’s everything for me.
“The way we play, it’s not just that I think it’s what leads to success – it is, that’s what I think, and it has in my career.
However, playing that way “says a lot about you as a football club because it requires a fair amount of bravery, a fair amount of courage, and a real relentlessness when you play that way, and I think that has to sort of marry with the image of the football club,” the author continued.
This honeymoon is not ending anytime soon. Come through the north London derby undefeated next weekend and this relationship may well be built to last.
