LONDON: By cupping his ear and waving sarcastically, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou went head-first into a confrontation with his critics.
Unfortunately, those critics were the club’s hard-core fans.
Postecoglou, whose future at Tottenham has been looking increasingly uncertain in a tough season for the underperforming London team, might have gone a step too far Thursday when he appeared to goad his own supporters during the 1-0 loss at Chelsea — even though he later denied having that intention.
Tottenham’s away contingent had serenaded Postecoglou with a chant of “You don’t know what you’re doing” after the combative Australian coach made two substitutions in the 64th minute at Stamford Bridge, including bringing on Pape Sarr to replace fellow midfielder Lucas Bergvall.
Within five minutes, Sarr scored a goal from long range and Postecoglou reacted by facing the end containing Tottenham’s fans, cupping his hand to his ear and then waving.
Unfortunately for Tottenham and Postecoglou, the goal was disallowed and Chelsea went on to secure a 1-0 win that consigned Spurs to a 16th loss in 30 Premier League games this season.
Postecoglou was asked about his actions after Sarr’s “goal” and, in his unique style, said “I wanted them to be happy, mate.”
“We’d just scored a cracking goal,” he said. “I wanted them to cheer because they hadn’t had a lot to cheer about.”
Tottenham fans sure will attest to that this season.
And his explanation might not wash with many fans who appear to have turned against their manager, maybe because of the team’s results, maybe because of his style of play, and maybe because of increasingly unhappy demeanor.
It was only a couple of months ago, after a 2-1 loss to relegation-threatened Leicester, that he attempted to confront a fan who had directed criticism the Tottenham manager’s way as he walked down the tunnel.
That is one thing, however. Appearing to taunt supporters — though he denied doing so again in a news conference on Friday, maintaining his actions did been misinterpreted — is another.
“I’d heard the supporters weren’t happy with my decision, which is fine,” he said, “and my response was to celebrate and get them to make some noise and get them behind the team.”
Postecoglou, who is coming to the end of his second season at Tottenham after joining from Celtic, said he wasn’t affected by fan criticism.
“I have been fighting my whole career,” he continued, “and I’ll continue to fight until I’m told to stop by someone.”
Given the growing disconnect between Postecoglou and the fans, winning the Europa League — and thereby ending Tottenham’s 17-year wait for a major trophy and securing a place in next season’s Champions League — might be the only thing that keeps him in his job.
Tottenham play Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarterfinals, with the first leg on Thursday.
Lose and Tottenham just have Premier League games left to play. The team are in 14th place in the 20-team league, making it a woeful campaign for a team among the so-called “Big Six” in England and which were one of the clubs pushing to join a breakaway Super League four years ago.
Postecoglou, who has previously blamed injuries for his team’s poor results this season, said Friday he understood the criticism heading his way and didn’t want to “say something that somehow will change the mood of the fans.”
“I still believe we’ve got a massive opportunity for ourselves this year,” he said, “and I’m not going to let that slip away — whether that’s from external or internal pressure.”
Postecoglou plays dangerous game with gestures to Tottenham’s disgruntled fans
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Postecoglou plays dangerous game with gestures to Tottenham’s disgruntled fans
- Postecoglou was asked about his actions after Sarr’s “goal” and, in his unique style, said “I wanted them to be happy, mate”
- “We’d just scored a cracking goal,” he said. “I wanted them to cheer because they hadn’t had a lot to cheer about”
Djokovic launches latest bid for record 25th Grand Slam title
- A former world number one, now ranked four, Djokovic is the undisputed king of Melbourne’s hard courts, having won a record 10 Australian Open crowns
MELBOURNE: A defiant Novak Djokovic launches his latest bid to win a record 25th Grand Slam crown while title contenders Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek are also in action at the Australian Open on Monday.
A bumper second day at Melbourne Park sees three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev, home hope Alex de Minaur and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova also enter the fray.
The 38-year-old Serbian great Djokovic faces Spain’s 71st-ranked Pedro Martinez on the final match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.
A former world number one, now ranked four, Djokovic is the undisputed king of Melbourne’s hard courts, having won a record 10 Australian Open crowns.
He has won 24 major titles, equal for the most ever with Australia’s Margaret Court, but a 25th has remained agonizingly out of reach.
With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now dominant, Djokovic’s last Grand Slam victory came at the US Open in 2023.
Despite age and injury catching up with him, Djokovic said on the eve of his favorite tournament: “I know that when I’m healthy, when I’m able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together on a given day, I feel like I can beat anybody.”
He added: “I like my chances always in any tournament, particularly here.”
Russia’s 11th-seeded Medvedev, runner-up in 2021, 2022 and 2024, warmed up for Melbourne with victory in Brisbane and believes he could be hard to beat.
“I know that when I’m playing good there are not that many players that can beat me easily or at all,” he said.
He meets Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands.
Australia’s De Minaur, the sixth seed, will have the Rod Laver Arena crowd roaring him on against 113th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald of the United States.
De Minaur has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam.
Title contenders state case
The 21-year-old American Gauff opens proceedings on Rod Laver Arena against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova.
The third seed won the US Open in 2023 and French Open last year, but her best performance at the first Grand Slam of the year is the semifinals.
Another firm contender for the women’s title is Poland’s Swiatek, the second seed, who has also never gone beyond the last four in Melbourne.
Like Alcaraz, Swiatek is pursuing a career Grand Slam of all four major titles, having triumphed previously at Wimbledon, the US Open and French Open.
Swiatek plays Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue while the American Anisimova, runner-up last year at Wimbledon and the US Open, meets Switzerland’s Simona Waltert.
The 18-year-old Russian talent Mirra Andreeva — fresh from winning her fourth title — takes on Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
Other notable names in action include the 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, who was handed a wildcard aged 40 in his last Australian Open before retirement.
Top-10 seeds Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Jessica Pegula of the United States also feature on day two.
