Fragile Fanbase

[Misfit]

Tedious

 

[Wiener]

I think the majority of Spurs fan share your sentiment. It's been a painful few years but it looks like Ange is starting to bring back the kind of football we can all enjoy.

Between Uni and getting married, I followed Spurs home and away for much of the nineties. Despite the terrible state of the club, both on and off the pitch, I had a great time. Luckily for the fans (and Alan Sugar) there was no social media. Had it existed then it would have been hell on earth.

 

[NickHSpurs]

You'll get the odd knee jerk reaction. But if you're referring to the Levy out chanting, then I completely disagree with you.

The majority of the fanbase wants him gone due to the last two decades worth of mistakes. The latest one, is being stuck in the final hours of the window with 100+m in money that he got from selling one of our best ever players (and who he hasn't replaced yet, neither are we even seemingly close to doing so). There always seems to be some excuse too.

We were buying land for the stadium, then we were building the stadium, then we had the loan, then Covid hit, now its we have too many deadwood players to get rid of before we can spend any more money on players we desperately need.

And last night was a wake up from the dreamy start we've had, which shows how fragile the squad is, not the support.

To call a fanbase which has the highest ticket prices and yet sells out home and away, playing shit football for the last 4 years and not winning anything since 2008 "fragile" because they voice opinions and don't just support Levy blindly, is lazy.

They stuck with the team last night and despite discussion around Ange's team selection (which was suspect), I don't think there's been a massive overreaction.

Edit: And any dramatics we may or may not show, is a result of the piss poor management of the Club for 20+ years. When you're already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it's the little things that push you over (like a Maddison crutches moment).

Nothing to do with the Levy chants really
mate, just the general doom and gloom every little bump in the road that I’m finding exhausting.

 

[NickHSpurs]

In an age that prioritises instant gratification and short attention spans, you can’t really be surprised that the mood swings so quickly within the fan base.

The younger the fan base becomes, the more modern problems become a part of supporting a football club. The more integrated social media becomes with football, the more impatient a fan base will become.

15 second short videos, instant food deliveries, social media that is based on comparison, these are just a few of the things that are intoxicating every fabric of society in the modern age.

Patience and logic are becoming more difficult to find, and those that tend to display these traits are in general of an older generation (I’m an early 90’s baby, so I’ve experienced “both” sides of the coin.)

It’s going to take time to rebuild this team, there is just too much deadwood in and around the squad at the moment. If only people could relax and give it 2-3 seasons to materialise it would make everyone more content and happier when we do finally achieve that success we’re all craving. Nothing worth having comes easy.

Brilliant post

 

[mattstev2000]

Hyperbolic thread.

Most posts about Ange are still fully behind him, they're just pointing out he made a mistake last night which he did.

I'm haven't seen anyone liken him to Tim Sherwood.

 

[Teemu]

I've been watching Fragile Fanbase (pronounced the Italian way: Fra-gee-lay Fan-bah-zay) since he was a young boy. His mum used to shop at my local Sainsbury's in the outskirts of Naples and I beat his older brother at marbles in primary school. He's really impressed me in the holding attacking wide central forward defender role whenever I've seen him, I think he'd be a perfect fit for the system.

In Ange we trust.

 

[dimiSpur]

In an age that prioritises instant gratification and short attention spans, you can’t really be surprised that the mood swings so quickly within the fan base.

The younger the fan base becomes, the more modern problems become a part of supporting a football club. The more integrated social media becomes with football, the more impatient a fan base will become.

15 second short videos, instant food deliveries, social media that is based on comparison, these are just a few of the things that are intoxicating every fabric of society in the modern age.

Patience and logic are becoming more difficult to find, and those that tend to display these traits are in general of an older generation (I’m an early 90’s baby, so I’ve experienced “both” sides of the coin.)

It’s going to take time to rebuild this team, there is just too much deadwood in and around the squad at the moment. If only people could relax and give it 2-3 seasons to materialise it would make everyone more content and happier when we do finally achieve that success we’re all craving. Nothing worth having comes easy.

I too am of a similar age to you. I agree with the general social issues you've identified. I cannot include the Spurs fanbase in that though. Which other club has had the horrific run we've had, yet continues to have a massive fanbase spending thousands upon thousands of pounds (and rising!) per season to follow their team.

Logic, in this instance, says have patience in Ange and his team, but not in the Club's ownership. It would be illogical and downright stupid to "trust" any Levy process at this stage. In this instance, we have to "wait" for Levy to correct previous years' mistakes and get rid of the deadwood, before we can spend any money replacing our greatest ever goalscorer. That's just piss poor management of a club by Levy and it's not in line with other societal dysfunctions to point that out.

 

[Wiener]

I'm at a very peculiar stage in my fandom.

I despise Levy and his pals and think they're a cancer destroying the club. When I say destroy I mean it to. With every passing season the fanbase is more divided, priced out of seeing our team , home ground is now a souless entertainment venue used to boost their asset and we're on a cycle of hope and failure. And to be fair a lot of this is just modern football but I do believe that Levy is one of the worst examples of the heartless greed that runs through it

But I adore Ange, adore him. His attitude is exactly what Tottenham Hotspur should be about, he speaks so well with a refreshing honesty and I still want to protect our team like it's my own family.

I wont overact to a bad result as the issues and hopes remain the same , one game doesn't change that.

So I'm very much caught between two sides and all I can do is try and enjoy the positives and ignore the other stuff .

If you want heartless greed look to Manure.
If you want failure look to Everton.
If you want a club (nearly) destroyed look to Leeds (and Everton).

I don't understand how you can say that our home ground is now a soulless entertainment venue. It's actually pretty well designed and the atmosphere, performance on the pitch permitting, can be one of the best.

You are right that this is the trajectory modern football is on. And Levy is doing is doing his best to stay ahead of the curve. My prediction is that in 10 years European football will be unrecognisable. Unless we have Europe wide legislation with something like the 50 + 1 rule which they have in Germany. However the risk of doing that is that all the top players will end up in the United States or wherever there is no ceiling to ticket prices and player remuneration.

As a spurs fan I recommend you enjoy what we have now (and leave cancer out of it).

 

[chas vs dave]

home ground is now a souless entertainment venue used to boost their asset and we're on a cycle of hope

You say that, but last home game was a lot of fun. It felt better than a lot of whl matches

i'm still buzzing about our future but that was a kick in the bollox last night.

Jokes on you, tottenham gelded me a long time ago.

 

[beats1]

Everybody wants a fresh start and new long term project

No one wants to put in the work that goes with it

I see the slander towards Skipp, but yet our club clearly lacks homegrown players or a player with a real connection to the club. Yet the ones who came through the academy get ten times worse as if they haven't earned the opportunity unlike the crap we sometimes pay millions for who don't care. Against AC Milan Skipp and Sarr were the only ones who gave a fuck not even Harry Kane looked the part. Also btw Skipp has never been a no.8 always a 6.

Now why am I mentioning this? Kane, Townsend, Rose, Bentaleb and Mason were a major reason why Poch did so well. That didn't do well by any means and struggled for the first 19 games in his first season. It wasn't until we played Chelsea in the 5-3 when we finally saw what we were about to witness.

Only Rose and Kane went on to be great players but the abuse both Kane and Rose got from youth players to end of the careers was insane from our own fans. Yet neither did anything or said anything wrong, Rose repeated all the shit you guys were saying.

Im not saying we need to be just more supporting of youth players but we complain about the football for the last year and can't expect magically people who have been in that environment and experienced that toxicity 10x more than we did as fans and magically to go back and be happy all of a sudden, be like, we gonna be good again guys.

Players like Reguilon and Gio, were brilliant for us under Mourinho for a period, they didn't get shit overnight but they won't get better overnight either. Though the former is on the way out.

TBF the club don't help things, despite what is being said there are somethings that objectively are mess

 

[NickHSpurs]

Hyperbolic thread.

Most posts about Ange are still fully behind him, they're just pointing out he made a mistake last night which he did.

I'm haven't seen anyone liken him to Tim Sherwood.

Clearly that was a joke to put emphasis on the hot takes people seem to have about every little thing.

This isn’t hyperbolic, where have you been? These extreme fanbase rollercoasters of highs and lows have been exhausting for a long time now.

 

[Albertbarich]

If you want heartless greed look to Manure.
If you want failure look to Everton.
If you want a club (nearly) destroyed look to Leeds (and Everton).

I don't understand how you can say that our home ground is now a soulless entertainment venue. It's actually pretty well designed and the atmosphere, performance on the pitch permitting, can be one of the best.

You are right that this is the trajectory modern football is on. And Levy is doing is doing his best to stay ahead of the curve. My prediction is that in 10 years European football will be unrecognisable. Unless we have Europe wide legislation with something like the 50 + 1 rule which they have in Germany. However the risk of doing that is that all the top players will end up in the United States or wherever there is no ceiling to ticket prices and player remuneration.

As a spurs fan I recommend you enjoy what we have now (and leave cancer out of it).

I disagree totally .

But this isn't the thread for debate as I've done it to death with people in others and there is a thread on Levy for it.

I stand by my opinion and will celebrate ENIC leaving like I've won the lottery but in the meantime I'll get behind Ange and the lads.

 

[-Afri-Coy-]

I too am of a similar age to you. I agree with the general social issues you've identified. I cannot include the Spurs fanbase in that though. Which other club has had the horrific run we've had, yet continues to have a massive fanbase spending thousands upon thousands of pounds (and rising!) per season to follow their team.

Logic, in this instance, says have patience in Ange and his team, but not in the Club's ownership. It would be illogical and downright stupid to "trust" any Levy process at this stage. In this instance, we have to "wait" for Levy to correct previous years' mistakes and get rid of the deadwood, before we can spend any money replacing our greatest ever goalscorer. That's just piss poor management of a club by Levy and it's not in line with other societal dysfunctions to point that out.

I agree completely with your sentiment, it might be a bit of oversight on my part but I was specifically talking about Ange and giving him time, the board and Levy won’t get a shred of patience from me.

The problem is these two things are intimately intertwined so we have to apply the same reasoning across the board even if it goes against our better judgement of the board and Levy or we end up in limbo as a fan base. When things go well we celebrate too much and when things go bad we throw our toys out the cot.

It’s polarising in a sense, so I’d rather swallow my disdain for the board so I can focus purely on the positive things that Ange and his team are bringing to the table. Let’s face it the board isn’t changing anytime soon, so might as well as put our full focus and patience into the thing that brings us positivity.

 

[BENNO]

In an age that prioritises instant gratification and short attention spans, you can’t really be surprised that the mood swings so quickly within the fan base.

The younger the fan base becomes, the more modern problems become a part of supporting a football club. The more integrated social media becomes with football, the more impatient a fan base will become.

15 second short videos, instant food deliveries, social media that is based on comparison, these are just a few of the things that are intoxicating every fabric of society in the modern age.

Patience and logic are becoming more difficult to find, and those that tend to display these traits are in general of an older generation (I’m an early 90’s baby, so I’ve experienced “both” sides of the coin.)

It’s going to take time to rebuild this team, there is just too much deadwood in and around the squad at the moment. If only people could relax and give it 2-3 seasons to materialise it would make everyone more content and happier when we do finally achieve that success we’re all craving. Nothing worth having comes easy.

This is such a good post. Almost my first thought after the game was that i couldn't look on Twitter or this site for the next 24 hrs 'cos it'd just do my head in (i already don't tune in to Talksport anymore & have cancelled Sky).

Yesterday was annoying and disappointing , nothing much more than that in any rational world. It was also predictable in as much as i thought wed play with 10 of the starting 11 becaseu Ange had hnted at as much.....however, i did expect the chosen players to perform much better than they did.

I 100% know why Ange did it, and i agree with why he did it, and as annoying as this might sound at the moment, we will probably be better off in the future because he did it now and has seen what he's seen. That's no comfort at the moment but we were shit last year and this is very much a long term rebuild, and it should still be viewed as such (albeit it's started well in the league and imo it will be a shorter and less painful rebuild than i had originally expected...but it's still a rebuild !).

Anyway, get a bit cross, have a bit of a rant, then get back to backing Ange and the players 'cos that starting XI will NEVER play together again and we'll be pretty good this season, but we'll be bloody good the following one.

 

[TheChosenOne]

@NickHSpurs

“This is a project, we finished 8th last season, have some perspective you whiny entitled little bitches, honestly fuck right off with that shit”

Well I’ve supported my team boy and man for 57 years next month (since I was 10 and made my first visit to WHL and until the mods tell me otherwise I am pretty sure I can voice my opinions on this forum.

I am deeply offended by your comment and would like to ask ‘Who do you think you are ?” using trash talk to other members of SC who do not share your opinions

And I can cuss with the best on here. I remember relegation, cup wins and all those other highs and lows that go with supporting Tottenham.

 

[dimiSpur]

I agree completely with your sentiment, it might be a bit of oversight on my part but I was specifically talking about Ange and giving him time, the board and Levy won’t get a shred of patience from me.

The problem is these two things are intimately intertwined so we have to apply the same reasoning across the board even if it goes against our better judgement of the board and Levy or we end up in limbo as a fan base. When things go well we celebrate too much and when things go bad we throw our toys out the cot.

It’s a bit bipolar in a sense, so I’d rather swallow my disdain for the board so I can focus purely on the positive things that Ange and his team are bringing to the table. Let’s face it the board isn’t changing anytime soon, so might as well as put our full focus and patience into the thing that brings us positivity.

I completely agree with you. We have to support the Club and as Ange himself said prior to the United game, the whole "family" needs to be heading in the same direction.

However, last night pointed out an issue. Setting aside the Ange mistake of 9 changes, it showed that our squad is woeful. It showed us that if Romero or VDV are out for any period of time, we are in deep trouble. It showed that we really do need a striker. It showed that Hojbjerg and Skipp, are miles apart from Bissouma and Sarr.

Now I'm not saying our second XI should be of the same quality as the first XI. We are Spurs, not City. We are not playing in any European competition and with a game per week until the end of the season now, we don't need a 25 man squad.

However the basics, the bare minimums of getting rid of Ndombele, Dier and Lloris, who take up what, 400k per week in wages, should have been dealt with. All three of them are still here. It's just not enough.

And so whilst I agree that being bipolar regarding the team's performances isn't on, and anyone heavily criticising Ange should have his head checked (yes it was a mistake, but you can see his logic and also how good he can potentially be), using last night to emphasise the problems that haven't gone away re: Levy, is perfectly OK in my opinion. Otherwise we aren't fans, we're blind followers of a cult leader. Catholics looking up to their Pope!

 

[absolute bobbins]

Fans are generally mentally weak when it comes to their team, just like you're mentally weak when it comes to your kids. On the surface it is no differnet at any other club.

However, a lack of success from the club is compounded by a lack of success in personal lives does exacerbate the situation and makes a fanbase more prone to wild swings in mood and outlook.

 

[Cambridge Spur]

Can we please stop with the ‘Bi-polar’ references. That is a serious mental health issue and it doesn’t need to be continually thrown at our fans as some sort of insult. For the record I will never judge a Spurs fan for their reactions to how things are going. I won’t always agree but this club is more than just football for many people, myself included so who am I to dismiss their feelings.

 

[Bobbins]

You'll get the odd knee jerk reaction. But if you're referring to the Levy out chanting, then I completely disagree with you.

The majority of the fanbase wants him gone due to the last two decades worth of mistakes. The latest one, is being stuck in the final hours of the window with 100+m in money that he got from selling one of our best ever players (and who he hasn't replaced yet, neither are we even seemingly close to doing so). There always seems to be some excuse too.

We were buying land for the stadium, then we were building the stadium, then we had the loan, then Covid hit, now its we have too many deadwood players to get rid of before we can spend any more money on players we desperately need.

And last night was a wake up from the dreamy start we've had, which shows how fragile the squad is, not the support.

To call a fanbase which has the highest ticket prices and yet sells out home and away, playing shit football for the last 4 years and not winning anything since 2008 "fragile" because they voice opinions and don't just support Levy blindly, is lazy.

They stuck with the team last night and despite discussion around Ange's team selection (which was suspect), I don't think there's been a massive overreaction.

Edit: And any dramatics we may or may not show, is a result of the piss poor management of the Club for 20+ years. When you're already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it's the little things that push you over (like a Maddison crutches moment).

Winner post, especially the highlighted bit.

Fans aren't "bi-polar", they're fed up with the regime. They'll support the team through thick and thin and any shaft of light is met with overwhelming positivity (lest you forget "Antonio" ringing round the ground a year ago). You could quite easily say the incredible levels of support Ange and the team have received in only three games is equally "bi-polar" and reactionary.

But failure is ingrained into the club, and these days everyone knows why, and who is responsible.

Fans being angry and depressed because we've gone out of the only realistic chance of silverware, in August, in the first round we've been in, as the first PL team to get knocked out, for the first time in 18 years that we've been knocked out this early, having won our last 7 away games at Craven Cottage - is not fans being "fragile"!

It was an awful performance which was symptomatic of 15 years of Spurs failure and was a stark reminder that despite our positive new manager, the club is still in absolutely no way set up to even try to win anything, and that the culture of failure still runs bone-deep through every aspect of the institution.

People are right to be pissed off and they have every right to express it.

 

[TheChosenOne]

Winner post, especially the highlighted bit.

Fans aren't "bi-polar", they're fed up with the regime. They'll support the team through thick and thin and any shaft of light is met with overwhelming positivity (lest you forget "Antonio" ringing round the ground a year ago). You could quite easily say the incredible levels of support Ange and the team have received in only three games is equally "bi-polar" and reactionary.

But failure is ingrained into the club, and these days everyone knows why, and who is responsible.

Fans being angry and depressed because we've gone out of the only realistic chance of silverware, in August, in the first round we've been in, as the first PL team to get knocked out, for the first time in 18 years that we've been knocked out this early, having won our last 7 away games at Craven Cottage - is not fans being "fragile"!

It was an awful performance which was symptomatic of 15 years of Spurs failure and was a stark reminder that despite our positive new manager, the club is still in absolutely no way set up to even try to win anything, and that the culture of failure still runs bone-deep through every aspect of the institution.

People are right to be pissed off and they have every right to express it.

I can’t winner this enough