When fans want to lose: “Every time we attacked, we booed our own players”

Tottenham Hotspur fans are facing a strange moral dilemma.

Their hopes of finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League are almost alive after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Burnley. With games still to play, they are five points behind Aston Villa, who drew 3-3 with Liverpool on Monday night. Spurs face relegated Sheffield United on the final day, while Villa face in-form Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The problem? Tottenham play at home against title-chasing Manchester City this evening. Spurs have a good record of late against Pep Guardiola’s side, beating them at home without conceding a goal in each of the last four Premier League seasons. So they should have more reason than most to be confident as they face the reigning champions.

But it’s not quite that simple. If Man City drops points tonight, Tottenham’s bitter north London rivals Arsenal will be ahead in the title race.

Would Arsenal winning the title be an acceptable consequence of Spurs qualifying for the Champions League? Or do the fans want their own team to roll over and deny Arsenal their first league title in 20 years?

It’s a moral dilemma that appears to have divided fans. But it’s not the first time such a situation has occurred…

The concept of fans wanting their own team to lose may be a little more familiar to followers of US sports. Due to the closed league system, where there is no fear of relegation, it can be advantageous for teams to finish at the bottom of the table. For example, teams that do not qualify for the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs participate in a lottery system to determine who will be selected first among the top college players in the draft.

The Philadelphia 76ers won fewer than 20 of their 82 regular season games for three consecutive years between 2013 and 2016. However, it helped them select Joel Embiid (No. 3), Jahlil Okafor (No. 3), Ben Simmons (No. 1) and Markelle Fultz (No. 1) at the top of the draft. Embiid is the face of the franchise and Simmons became a three-time NBA All-Star before joining the Brooklyn Nets in 2022. Okafor has struggled to catch on and is now playing in Puerto Rico, while Fultz’s career is marred by injuries.

This tactic, known as “tanking,” allowed the 76ers to become title contenders, finishing first in the Eastern Conference in the 2020-21 season, but have not won a championship in over 40 years.

For Spurs fans, things are a little different – their focus is more on their rivals’ downfall than their own potential gain. Ange Postecoglou’s debut season at Tottenham has largely proven to be an enjoyable one for fans, many of whom have spoken of a better sense of connection between them and the team, but neighbors Arsenal, who lifted the Premier League Cup at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday winning would be a particularly bitter end.

Spurs have been in this predicament before. On the final day of the 1998/99 season they traveled to Old Trafford to face a Manchester United side who started the day a point ahead of Arsenal, who needed the favor of their rivals to have a chance of defending their title.

Tottenham manager George Graham – a former Arsenal player and coach – was relaxed about the game and even joked that 1.75 meter tall winger Jose Dominguez would start the game in goal.

Jose Dominguez, right, was definitely not a goalkeeper (Mike Egerton/EMPICS via Getty Images)

In the 24th minute, Les Ferdinand smashed the ball over United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel with the outside of his right boot, giving the visitors, firmly entrenched in midfield, an unlikely lead.

“I just thought, ‘This might go down as the worst move of my career,'” Ferdinand said The athlete in 2020. “It was definitely on my mind. I remember scoring that goal and there was a pretty muted reaction. This meant that my celebrations were quite subdued. I wasn’t one to go crazy anyway.

“My season was severely interrupted by injuries and that’s why I had to keep switching back to the team. I remember scoring the goal and thinking that would sum up my season and my time at Tottenham so far – I could score the goal that wins Arsenal the title. I was later told my name would be sung at Highbury.”

A potential disaster for Ferdinand was averted when David Beckham equalized before half-time and Andy Cole put United ahead in the 47th minute. Nwankwo Kanu’s goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, but at no point during the day were they top of the table. Tottenham finished in 11th place, and the fans were simply satisfied that their team had not helped Arsenal to the title, as their own place in Europe was already secured by winning the League Cup.

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The away team had a similar attitude when Portsmouth traveled to West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the 2004/05 season. Portsmouth had secured safety, but West Brom were still desperately trying to escape the bottom three places and become the first team to finish bottom of the Premier League at Christmas but still avoid relegation.

West Brom had to win and hope Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Southampton – Portsmouth’s south coast neighbors – all dropped points. To add a little more drama to the mix, Southampton were managed by Harry Redknapp, who had left Portsmouth at the start of the season and took charge of St Mary’s just over two weeks later, taking his loyal assistant Jim Smith with him.

Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Gary O’Neil started for Portsmouth at the Hawthorns on that fateful day. “That game was unique because of the noise and things you could hear during the game – it’s not often you make a good tackle and have your fans booing you,” O’Neil says The athlete.

Portsmouth’s defeat at West Brom sent Southampton into the Coca-Cola Championship (Neal Simpson – PA Images via Getty Images)

“When you’re in the crowd you can worry about your rivals, but on the pitch we really wanted to beat West Brom. It never gets through to the team. Tottenham’s players will be ready to help themselves so I don’t think there’s too much in it, but it’s a strange experience when you hear the fans cheering against you. You just have to understand why.”

In the end, West Brom won 2-0 and achieved “The Great Escape”. Southampton lost to Manchester United and were eliminated from the top flight for the first time in 27 years, much to the delight of Portsmouth fans.

“All we wanted from this game was for Southampton to go down,” said Portsmouth fan Wayne Denton, 69, who was at West Brom that day. “It was a big day for us because of the rivalry between the two cities, not just the rivalry between the two football teams. We didn’t mind losing at all. We were more than happy and every time we attacked our fans booed our players and told them to go back and not shoot. It was a strange experience. We went crazy when West Brom scored.

“Before the game all the fans mingled and afterward it was the same. They kept coming up to us and patting us on the back because we had been behind West Brom the whole game. It was a strange feeling because normally you never want the team to lose. But if you ask me again in a situation like this if I want us to lose, definitely.

“I know some people went to Trafalgar Square in London and celebrated because they were so happy.

“I have been following Portsmouth for 55 years and have never wanted them to lose another game in that time. You’ll be lucky if you find a Portsmouth fan at the Hawthorns who wants to win.”

On the final weekend of the 1994–95 season, Liverpool hosted Blackburn Rovers at Anfield. Blackburn, managed by legendary former Liverpool player and coach Kenny Dalglish, held a two-point lead at the top of the table and would be crowned champions if Manchester United failed to beat West Ham.

Alan Shearer gave Blackburn the lead after 20 minutes, but John Barnes equalized in the second half. With seconds left, Jamie Redknapp curled a free-kick into the top corner at Anfield, which left both fans feeling uneasy.

“When I stood over the free-kick it just felt right and I caught it beautifully,” said Redknapp The athlete last year. “After I scored you could see my reaction. I thought, ‘Oh no, what have I done here?’ I just gave Man United the title!’ I thought the fans would never forgive me.

“It was a double whammy for me with my father, who was West Ham’s manager at the time. We heard they held on against United. We really wanted United not to win the league, but we also wanted to play well and win our last game of the season.”

Redknapp’s long-range strike secured a 2-1 win for Liverpool and after a tense wait everyone in the stadium learned that Alex Ferguson’s side had drawn 1-1 with West Ham.

Blackburn won the title at Anfield despite a last-minute defeat (John Giles/Getty Images)

“Kenny is a god to us all,” said Redknapp. “He had signed me for Liverpool and I could see all the emotion he was going through on the sidelines. There were no cell phones back then. I could see all the Blackburn fans at Anfield looking worried at the end, their radios to their ears.

“I wanted Kenny to win the league. Blackburn deserved it. They were the best team. Blackburn were champions, we won the game – everything worked out perfectly.”

Fans may have conflicting feelings about the desired outcome, but does the thought of intentionally losing or underperforming ever cross a player’s mind?

“There is no player I know whose mentality is to go out and lose a game,” Ferdinand said. “You want to win every game, so there was no talk in the dressing room beforehand about, ‘Oh, Arsenal could win the title if we win today’.”

For his part, Postecoglou takes a similar stance as he prepares his Spurs team for their game against Manchester City.

“I don’t want to think anyone thinks we’re going out there (to do anything) other than try to compete with a top team and maybe win a meaningful football game,” he said before the game’s press conference. “How are we ever going to be a winning team if we shy away from it in the big games?”

Whatever happens on the pitch tonight, it promises to be a strange atmosphere in the stands.

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(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)