This is a very dark and sad day for many Tottenham Hotspur supporters. I don’t have to tell you that. Nor do I need to tell you about my personal opinion on today’s appointment of Roberto De Zerbi as the newest head coach of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
But I will anyway: I hate it. I hate that it happened, I hate that it has apparently been a club priority since last summer, and I hate that despite volumes of negative reactions, including public statements from five of Tottenham’s most prominent and public official supporters groups — the Supporter’s Trust, Proud Lilywhites, THFC Flags, Women of the Lane, SpursREACH — the club has decided to ignore them and do what it wants without regard. Tottenham Hotspur is now managed, ostensibly for the next five years, by a hotheaded and irascible person who is on record not only actively recruiting, but defending a credibly-accused sexual assaulter. It really, really sucks.
I have been thinking about what Cartilage Free Captain should do as a blog in the wake of this appointment. I want to begin by saying that I respect the opinions of any supporters or readers of this blog that wish to end their support for the club, or take a “hiatus,” or whatever that means to you. I get it. I understand completely, and I would never criticize supporters for making a decision to step back from support over a sports club that fails to meet your moral and ethical expectations.
This blog is in a different situation. We chronicle news. We make a home for Spurs fans who may not feel comfortable in other parts of the club’s fandom. We try to make space for fun, for goofiness, for expressions of fandom that don’t exist elsewhere, and I want to continue to be a place for fans who want to continue to engage with the club. This place is, first and foremost, a community of fans. That will not change.
Also I feel Carty Free has an obligation to chronicle and continue to report on the club during the De Zerbi era. Managers come and go. Players come and go. CEOs and Sporting Directors come and go. The club and its fans remain, and so will this blog. I can’t force any of you to continue checking the blog, but we will continue to be here, talking about and sometimes arguing over this crazy north London club with the silly name and a chicken on its badge. To do otherwise feels like a betrayal to everything this community is and has built over the past 16 years.
That said, this is still a blog with an opinion, and I intend to exercise that opinion frequently. You may not always agree with that, which is fine. The comments are, and have always been, an outlet for free (and respectful) conversation and debate. However, I have not and will not tolerate apologia for what De Zerbi has said and done about Mason Greenwood while at Marseille, nor will I tolerate defense of Greenwood’s actions on any grounds. That is a hard red line for me and I will enforce it strictly.
We will continue to cover men’s matches as we have done, though I am planning to continue the cessation of player ratings until at least the end of the season. I also plan to further increase coverage, as much as I am able, of Spurs Women who are also caught up inadvertently in this whole drama. The chaos of the men’s team doesn’t mean you should not support the Women — in fact, supporting Spurs Women may make what’s happening right now a little easier to take. They are a good team full of likeable players and characters. They are having a good season. They deserve your full-throated and vigorous support, now more than ever.
This is a time of anger, sadness, and frustration for many. It may be a time of excitement and hope for others. The blog’s stance on Roberto De Zerbi is now apparent, but I do want to make space for those who may disapprove of the manager but still want to support the club. Please keep your interactions with each other respectful, kind, and introspective, as the vast majority of you do and have done. Exercise patience, and kindness. We need more of that now more than ever. And remember that nothing lasts forever.
For those of you who are leaving, we will miss you, and we will be here if you ever decide to return. For the rest, remember that no matter what happens with this stupid, stupid club, the community remains.
In Ledley we trust.
—Dustin George-Miller
Managing Editor, Cartilage Free Captain.