Emmanuel Adebayor Is Right to Question Spurs Fans After 4th Home Defeat

From December 2009 to August 2011, Tottenham Hotspur lost one home Premier League game. Spurs' home record was among the best in England, and those consistently impressive results were a significant factor in the achievements during that period under Harry Redknapp. 

In Andre Villas-Boas' first season in charge, Spurs lost just three home league games and even last season, among all the turmoil, only five visiting teams took three points from White Hart Lane. 

Stoke City's 2-1 victory last weekend was the fourth time Spurs have been beaten at home during this campaign. 

Following the match, Emmanuel Adebayor questioned the atmosphere and observed its impact on his team-mates, saying, per the BBC: "I could see that nobody wanted the ball."

Spurs' home Premier League matches have become increasingly tense in recent seasons. With the dual pressures of increased expectations and frustration at perceived lack of progress, the crowd is likely to turn on the players if things don't go their way early. That is exactly what happened against Stoke.

Adebayor's comments were described as a "furious rant" by the Daily Mail and "extraordinary" by The Telegraph. Parsing the sensationalism, Adebayor actually makes a lot of sense. 

He went on to explain that his team-mates are yet to really "understand what he wants to tell us and how he wants us to play."

Spurs' performances have been terrible in recent weeks. They struggled to find a way past Championship strugglers Brighton in the League Cup and then managed to see off Asteras Tripolis 2-1. Even victory over Aston Villa was among Spurs' worst performances of the season. 

The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino in the summer was celebrated by many observers because his defined footballing philosophy would give Spurs a blueprint to play from, but the players are clearly struggling. 

Adebayor admits those difficulties and explains that "when you are playing at home and your own fans start booing you after a few minutes then it is harder."

Spurs legend and United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann was in attendance at the Stoke match and afterwards described Pochettino as a "tremendous coach with a smart brain," per the London Evening Standard. He went on to bemoan the knee-jerk nature of football and explain that Pochettino would need time to make real progress.

Much of what Adebayor says is reasonable, and he mentioned several times during the interview that he was not speaking simply for himself. Whether he simply chose to voice the opinions of the squad or was actually appointed as spokesman is irrelevant. He actually gave the fans some insight into how the players are adapting to their new manager. 

It is possible that he recognises his role as pantomime villain and understood that he had the least to lose in the eyes of the fans by making these comments. 

"At the moment we are not getting the message. To me, he is a good manager and a good man—we just have to get what he is telling us," the striker said, per HereistheCity.

Such candid comments as these would be welcomed were they coming from a more popular member of the squad. Adebayor is massively unpopular. He is playing poorly, and as such, the old criticisms emerge once more. He has often been criticised as not caring about the team and of simply being a mercenary, but his words sound like those of a leader.

"This is the third or fourth manager in two or three years so we just have to stop it now being about the manager." 

The degree of self-awareness from a professional footballer is remarkable. Adebayor acknowledges that Spurs are playing below the level that is expected but asked for more support from the fans.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust responded to Adebayor's comments with a statement saying "fans want to see that people are trying. It’s easy to criticise fans but people do know commitment when they see it" and "are players not playing well because of booing or is the booing because players are not playing well?"

The Trust is a well-respected body and representative of how a good amount of Spurs fans feel. Their statement, though, appears to miss the point. Regardless of whether the booing comes before or after the players make mistakes, it doesn't help. 

A significant amount of the frustration that emerges at Spurs games is not aimed at the players at all. Many feel that the ownership of ENIC under the direction of Daniel Levy is no longer producing results, if it ever did. That resentment manifests itself in criticism of the players and a generally negative atmosphere. 

The Europa League and League Cup fixtures at home this season have seen a more positive attitude, with the 1882 movement often making a real impact. 

Spurs have produced better performances and are yet to be defeated in the cup competitions despite generally fielding the "weaker" elements of the squad. 

Tottenham have taken several big steps backwards in recent years. After a decade or more of mediocrity, the club enjoyed a brilliant period under Harry Redknapp, but that time is now well and truly behind them. The fans, teased by a taste of the success to which they aspire, are even more frustrated than they were.

Perhaps most important is the fact that Adebayor made no attempt to criticise the fans. Rather, he was simply attempting to reach out and explain that the players are struggling.

"It’s not the fans’ fault either," he told interviewers after the game, "because the fans want to see a result, the fans want to see a response and things are not going our way at the moment. We just have to fight as a team and as a club to find a solution. The quicker the better."

Ultimately, Spurs' fans and players want to succeed. There is frustration on both sides, but Adebayor's comments should not be misinterpreted as an attempt to drive a wedge between them. He believes in the manager and suggests that the players remain a united group that are striving yet stumbling.

The players are far better than they are showing at the moment, but booing them won't help them reach their potential.