Tottenham gun’s gesture says it all as Postecoglou’s critics shut up

A football icon has been “cooked” by a Tottenham star’s gesture as Ange Postecoglou tasted “vindication” on a dramatic Monday morning.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham has got the monkey off its back, snapping a 105-day nightmare wait for a Premier League win on home soil.

The London club’s 1-0 win over Manchester United on Monday morning (AEDT) may have saved the Australian manager’s bacon — just hours after former Tottenham star Jamie Redknapp said he couldn’t see why the former Socceroos coach hadn’t been sacked already.

James Maddison scored the only goal on 13 minutes as Spurs moved above United in the table into 12th thanks to a third win over the Red Devils this season.

Maddison celebrated his goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with what many have interpreted to be a gesture to silence outspoken Manchester United great Roy Keane.

Maddison, who missed the last five matches in all competitions with a calf muscle injury, was the first to react to Andre Onana’s parried save after the Red Devils goalkeeper kept out Lucas Bergvall’s effort.

And the delight was there for all to see on Maddison’s face after he tucked home into an empty net, where he proceeded to do the “shush” celebration towards the camera.

That gesture came days after Keane tore the Spurs midfielder to pieces.

Speaking on the recent episode of The Overlap, Keane said: “Let me tell you. If you think he’s going to come back and get Spurs into the top six, you’re in cuckoo land. He’s good, he’s a talented player.

“But if you’re a player in the Spurs dressing room and Maddison’s back in the squad, you wouldn’t be looking and going, ‘Oh Jesus – he’s back today. We’re going to be fine.’

James Maddison got the monkey off Tottenham's back.

James Maddison's gesture after scoring the early goal. Photo: X, Premier League.

“England have a squad of 300 and he can’t even get in that. You kid yourselves everybody.”

Maddison after the game did not confirm his gesture was a response to Keane, but did say: “There was a little bit of outside noise this week.

“People will have their opinions. Nobody is more critical of me than myself. The gaffer prefers when we are in our own bubble but it’s difficult with social media, you see this stuff.”

Countless fans on X said Maddison’s gesture was a clear rebuke of Keane.

“Maddison was so blatantly biting back at Keane’s comments this week.”

Another commented: “Roy Keane threw shade. Maddison kept receipts. And he answered the call today. That celebration was personal.”

A third added: “Did Maddison just shut Roy Keane up with that celebration? Maddison shushing was defo targeted at that Roy Keane Overlap clip a few days ago.”

Meanwhile another fan simply stated: “Maddison cooking Keane is pretty fun.”

Postecoglou would have enjoyed it more than anyone.

Earlier on Monday, Redknapp said Postecoglou was fortunate Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was taking most of the heat from angry Spurs supporters.

When comparing other managers being sacked despite doing better than the Australian, Redknapp explained: “There’s never any rhyme or reason when he’s [Levy’s] got rid of managers.

“When you look at even [Andre] Villas-Boas, he was seventh in the league.

James Maddison tapped in the winner. Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images.

“It’s hard to second guess what someone like Daniel Levy will do, he’ll look at things and try to assess, but when he comes under enormous pressure that’s when he tends to change the manager.

“But he’s probably thinking right now, ‘who else do I bring in?’ There are candidates out there I think will do a great job here, but I think that’s the problem.”

Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones said the win on Monday morning was “vindication of sorts” for Postecoglou, who finally got some of his biggest stars back from injury.

Before kick-off and after the match Spurs fans again vented their frustration towards owners ENIC and Levy.

A huge banner read “24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy - Time for change” as a sizeable contingent of the home crowd joined a protest calling for Levy to go.

However, the mood for Postecoglou was lifted even before kick-off as he was able to welcome back a host of first-team regulars who have been sidelined by injury.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made his first appearance since November. Maddison returned to the starting line-up, while Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert were on the bench.

“They are quality players. We’ve had it pretty tough the last two-and-a-half months,” said Postecoglou. “It was important for us to win and gain some traction.

“I certainly feel there is still a massive opportunity for us in this back half of the season and hopefully today is the start of that.”

— with AFP, TalkSport

Originally published as Tottenham gun’s gesture says it all as Postecoglou’s critics shut up