There is supporting the players and there is sticking your head in the sand and pretending everything is ok and as a fan base we have done a hell of a lot of the latter. It's not ok and it hasn't been ok for years.
It doesn't matter who is criticised or how valid that critique is there is always someone defending them, making excuses for them and explaining how in perfect scenario z all of their failing are actually positives and how we have to get "behind them," as if pure positivity will change the limitations of their abilities.
There is a point at which you actually need to stop pretending all is well because if you never admit you have a problem how can you possibly address it?
I agree with all of that.
I was extremely critical of our failure to properly support Pochettino several times during his tenure, and was especially aggravated that so many were prepared to give up on him at the first sign of trouble. To me, THAT was the capital moment of failing to address a major problem at our club, and he also represented the last chance (as I saw it) of somewhat organically-created supremacy. I said it at the time and I'll say it forever; he was grossly under-appreciated.
I think if I'm brutally honest, everything since (for me) has been a case of accepting the situation rather than challenging it...until the whole Ange/Frank debacle. I think you know where I stand on this, but when I saw that Lange was behind stacking the squad with young guns and punts when Ange came in, and that we clearly had no intention of even trying to replace Harry Kane with anyone close, then I started to get tinkled off again.
Hiring a manager in Frank whose first words were then 'we are going to lose football matches' and consistently downplaying us was absolute, total sacrilege, and showed me that he was not the man to change the way we operate on or off the pitch.
As to your last sentence..."
There is a point at which you actually need to stop pretending all is well because if you never admit you have a problem how can you possibly address it?
...I absolutely see what you're saying and wholly acknowledge the merits (and, indeed, necessity of such), however where I have found myself drawing the line in the case of Spurs is that I have no control over it whatsoever, I have repeatedly been let down by a boardroom which has consistently fudged the football side of things, and I therefore choose to simply support what is on the pitch to the very best of my abilities; they are the players who are wearing the shirt. They will have my support. Do I think Solanke is the answer? Not even close, but he's the only answer we've got right now, so I support him. You can apply that to anyone who steps onto the pitch for us. I even try to support man agers without prejudice, however I admit that by late October I was absolutely done with Frank, and had it been me, I'd have 'Santin'd him' pronto.
As ever with you, a good and provocative discussion mate.
