 |
| Tottenham Hotspur Blog News responds to what it views as a personal and unfair attack on manager Ange Postecoglou by The Guardian. |
A disgraceful personal attack on Ange Postecoglou by Jonathan Liew and the Guardian
Clearly not the Guardians of decency
While we are writing about football snobbery and the toxics, this is what happens when you give them a voice.
 |
| The article suggests Ange Postecoglou might be better suited to leagues like the K League or League of Ireland—a dismissive swipe at his career outside Europe’s elite. |
 |
| Jonathan Liew accuses Postecoglou of building his success on “nuclear-strength bullshit”—a toxic and personal attack disguised as commentary. |
 |
| Even as Postecoglou leaves Spurs with a major trophy, the piece ridicules his past achievements in Australia and Japan—exposing deep-rooted Euro-snobbery. |
I’ve seen some outrageous articles in my time.
But this one — Jonathan Liew’s Guardian piece on Ange Postecoglou — might just take the biscuit.
Not because it’s a sharp footballing insight.
Not because it makes a point I disagree with.
But because it’s an outright character assassination, dressed up in clever words and hidden behind faux-intellectual snobbery.
Let’s not beat around the bush.
This wasn’t football journalism.
It was a personal attack from a man who appears to despise Postecoglou’s background, philosophy, and achievements.
And for The Guardian to publish it?
That’s on them.
They’ve given a platform to someone who used it not to inform, but to sneer.
If you want to do that, then do it from your own blog.
A Trophy Ignored, A Legacy Distorted
Postecoglou just delivered Tottenham Hotspur the UEFA Europa League.
Read that again.
A man who came in during a rebuild, with half the squad injured, fans divided, and media vultures circling…
… finished the season with silverware.
It was the club’s first European trophy since 1984.
Yet that barely earns a nod in this piece.
Instead, Liew makes smug digs about the Greek Super League, the K League, the League of Ireland…
…like Ange is some kind of managerial con artist whose time at Celtic, Japan and Australia shouldn’t count.
He even suggests that Perth Glory or Gamba Osaka might be his next level.
That’s not criticism.
That’s Euro-snobbery wrapped in sarcasm.
And it stinks.
When Football Journalism Turns Toxic
Here’s the bit that crossed the line for me:
“A managerial reign so evidently built upon a towering silo of nuclear-strength bullshit.”
This isn’t punditry.
This is the language of a toxic individual who wants to humiliate, not debate.
Ange Postecoglou was transparent, passionate, and consistent in his philosophy.
You might disagree with his tactics. Fine.
You might question his choices. Go ahead.
But to accuse him of being a fraud?
That says more about the writer than the subject.
Out of Context and Out of Order
Yes, Spurs finished 17th.
But this is deliberately out of context.
The second half of the season was sacrificed to target cup glory — a strategy that paid off.
Anyone who watched the games, tracked the injuries, or listened to Postecoglou explain the club’s long-term direction knows exactly why that league position happened.
Whether you agree with that approach or not this piece oversteps the mark by a distance.
Next season would’ve been a different story.
That was obvious.
However, the club didn’t agree with that approach in the end.
Because his sacking wasn’t about results.
It was about control.
“No, we are not prepared to pay that price to win them. “
“No thanks,” the toxics shouted.
The spreadsheets agreed.
Points come first.
Final Thought
This piece of journalism demonstrates when social media is so toxic.
Journalists then write to that audience.
They all do it, just not quite this brazenly.
This is read by the rest of the football world and Tottenham Hotspur then gets a reputation.
To win something, you have to fight against the reputation.
Players who join have to overcome that reputation.
17 years prove that that is difficult.
This is why the actions of the toxics stop Spurs winning.
It’s the consequences of their actions that are too distant for them to see.
Hence, they shout, because they always shout, it wasn’t me.
You don’t have to like Ange Postecoglou.
You don’t have to agree with his methods.
But if you’re going to write about him — especially after winning a major European trophy — at least do it with honesty and fairness.
Because what we just saw from The Guardian wasn’t journalism.
And the saddest part?
There are people out there who’ll lap it up.
Toxics live in their own little worlds, whereas others understand it’s a global world these days and think accordingly.
Micky van de Ven, who obviously knows more about Ange Postecoglou than any reporter or our toxic fans had this to say to Dutch outlet Voetbalzone:
“I think many of the players got along with him well. And of course, he is the first coach who has brought success to Spurs in a long time.”
“That also shows that he has a certain quality. That also means that he has a winning mentality, 100%.
“From that, you would of course say that it is strange that he was fired.”
He clearly holds the same view as myself.
COYS
The blog with a forthright opinion (that’s correct) – Go on, click it
 |
| https://tottenhamhotspur.blogspot.com/2025/06/jackanory-part-3-curious-case-of-man.html |
