By Sam Dean
Ange Postecoglou might not want to believe it, and he might never understand it, but it is the reality for Tottenham Hotspur nonetheless: when they face Manchester City on Tuesday night (Wednesday 5am AEST), there will be Spurs fans who genuinely want their team to lose.
Nobody expects Postecoglou to care about Arsenal’s hopes of winning the title, of course. This is not the Australian’s problem. But it absolutely would be a problem for many of his team’s supporters, who are desperate to avoid a scenario in which they manage to effectively gift-wrap the Premier League title for their most hated rivals.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is unfazed that victory over Manchester City would effectively gift-wrap the Premier League title for Spurs’ most hated foes.Credit: Getty
Two decades ago, Arsenal won the league at White Hart Lane. Their fans have never let Spurs forget it. The thought of Spurs playing a similarly important role in another title triumph for their neighbours is therefore a source of genuine terror for many in their fan base.
“If we draw or beat City, and Arsenal then win the league, I will hear about it for the rest of my life,” says Spurs fan James Martin. “It’s the same as when they drew at White Hart Lane and won the league in the Invincibles season – we are still hearing about it 20 years later.
“This is not just a short-term thing. It is the long-term thing it would create if we won Arsenal the league. I don’t think I can live with that. The ideal situation would be that it is a great game, like a 4 3, and we lose it in the end.”
Some Spurs supporters go further. Sean Weston this masthead: “No Spurs fan wants to see Arsenal lift the trophy. To help them do it would be a disaster. Let’s stick Oliver Skipp in goal, do the Poznan and help City make up the goal difference.”
This may all sound a little dramatic, but this is the nature of the north London derby and the rivalry between these two clubs. Unlike so many other derbies in English football, these are two teams who have largely been competing for the same titles and fighting at the same end of the table in recent years. The distaste is fresh and real, for older and younger generations.
It must be remembered, too, that Spurs fans are fighting against the “Spursy” tag which is so often thrown their way.
“I have this horrible feeling that we could do the most ‘Spursy’ thing ever and draw it in the last minute, and then Arsenal win the league,” says Martin.
“I just want to avoid a draw,” says Mark Jones. “That is all I care about. If we lose and it costs Arsenal the title, then that is a nice silver lining. If we win, then I will be buzzing for us. All I want is to avoid a draw. Knowing Tottenham, that means it will be a 97th-minute own goal by Son Heung-min to make it 1-1.”
Arsenal celebrate winning the league at Tottenham’s former home ground two decades ago.Credit: Reuters
It is an issue that goes to the heart of fan culture. Does it really matter what your rivals do? Does it really make a difference to Spurs if Arsenal win the title instead of City?
“I want Spurs to beat City because I support Spurs,” says James Goodsall. “I don’t care about Arsenal’s position in the league, just as I don’t care about Wolves’ position in the league.”
Luke Newman, a Spurs fan from Sheffield, adds: “We need to worry about what we are doing more than what Arsenal are doing, which means stringing some results together and getting our confidence back.”
This will be regarded by many as the rational and sensible approach. But football is not a rational and sensible world, and especially not when it comes to the passion of this rivalry. For many in north London, the circumstances are such that usual rules of supporting their club no longer apply.
Telegraph, London
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