Ange Postecoglou threatens to punch abusive Tottenham followers ‘on the nostril’
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has said he would punch abusive Spurs fans “on the nose” after forward Brennan Johnson deactivated his social media account.
Spurs lost the north London derby on Sunday last weekend 1-0 to Arsenal, with defender Gabriel scoring the only goal of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Afterwards, Johnson, who started the game for Spurs before being subbed off on 68 minutes for Wilson Odobert, had to deactivate his Instagram account due to the levels of abuse he received on the platform.
The Welsh international had a promising season last term following his £45million move from Nottingham Forest to north London, scoring five goals and registering 10 assists in the Premier League, but has come in for criticism due to inconsistent performances.
READ MORE: ‘Big Ange has big problems – Tottenham must win cup or Daniel Levy will send him to Coventry’
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However, speaking ahead of Spurs’ Carabao Cup clash with Coventry City, Postecoglou lamented how it had been normalised to send abuse to players on social media – adding he would punch any fan “on the nose” if they said to him in real life what they did on social media.
“I hate how we’ve just normalised all that stuff,” Postecoglou said. “You’re talking about a young guy [Brennan Johnson] who is probably lacking a bit of confidence at the moment. Things haven’t gone his way.
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“But he comes here every day, he’s working his backside off, he’s asking for feedback, he’s doing everything right, he’s trying so hard to become the player he wants to be, it’s hurting him a lot. It’s not like he’s out on the town and he doesn’t care and he rolls up late. So what’s his crime? His crime is he isn’t performing at the level that people expect of him.
Postecoglou added: “As a professional footballer you’ve got to expect that you’re going get criticism about that, that’s part of your growth. He’s still a young player and I think there is so much more of Brennan that we’re going bring out in him.
“It’s sad for me that we’ve kind of normalised that stuff. That getting abuse, and it is abuse and a lot of it personal, is oh well, that’s part of the territory. I don’t see that. I mean what kind of person writes abusive things to an individual?
“Criticism is one thing, exasperation at a game, you accept that. To sit down and write something abusive anonymously… say it in front of me, you’ll get a punch on the nose, you won’t do it again, mate. But they won’t do that. They’ll hide behind this…unfortunately that’s the world we live in. When I look at Brennan and I see a young man who is trying his hardest to be the best he can be.”
