Two Paths, One Mentality: What Spurs Fans Still Don’t Understand About Winning

Winning Mentality vs Losing Mentality

 Good morning folks, let's rip apart another comment from the Limited Capacity Thinkers.

The article it was posted to: What Spurs Fans Could Learn From The US Masters Golf

The Comment: 

"Wouldn’t this mean that every manager that is failing is just going through “part of the process” to be coming and a winner and as a result it means that no managers are bad and no managers should be sacked? Have you actually considered that maybe Ange isn’t actually that good and his tactical vision of the game works well against second rate plate in third rate leagues but not against good players in the best league in the world. This would also suggest that if Daniel Levy sacks Ange then he too doesn’t understand the words of a winner because he has a loser mentality. You’re potentially tying yourself up here. Look forward to you berating COYS Daniel if he sacks him like you’re with the fans who aren’t happy with losing 20+ games a season."

The Response: That comment exposes the limitations of your thinking, I'm afraid.

You're confusing “a structured process towards long-term winning” with “blind loyalty to failure.”

Nobody’s saying every failing manager is secretly a genius...

That would be ridiculous.

Winners keep going, losers complain and call for change

But here’s what separates real winners from the reactive crowd:

They don’t abandon a bold, long-term vision the moment short-term results wobble — especially when the underlying foundations are being transformed.

Ange isn’t trying to survive the Premier League like many do. 

He’s trying to redefine how Tottenham Hotspur plays football.

Daniel Levy isn't making Ange Postecoglou's position rather untenable...

You are and those like you.

Which, of course, means we have to start again.

A new manager...

A new style...

New adjustment time...

And fans are basically doing exactly what you are complaining Daniel Levy is doing...

Changing managers too often!

That's hypocrisy.

He took Celtic from chaos to dominance.

He won in Japan.

He has proven he has a winning mentality...

Unlike our fans who have proven they don't...

Especially those cheering on Manchester City to beat us last season...

Especially those booing a substitution in the stands...

Especially those singing "You don't know what you're doing"...

Right before his substitute scored a stormer of a goal...

Only disallowed after 5 minutes of replays.

Especially those wanting Eintracht Frankfurt to win...

And especially those like yourself who only support Spurs for less than 1% of the week.

None of that is constructive...

It's destructive...

And destroying something isn't support.

He didn’t inherit billion-pound squads like Pep or Klopp.

And yet...

His side did play some of the best football we’ve seen in years...

And we were 5th before injuries and players playing at 40% kicked in.

Supporters understand that...

Losing mentalities don't.

We had no defence, it was all injured.

So when someone says,

“Maybe Ange just isn’t that good…”

…what they really mean is:

“I can’t see beyond this week’s result and I’d rather tear down a rebuild than endure short-term pain for long-term gain.”

That’s loser mentality 101.

Now, let’s deal with your Levy line.

“This would also suggest that if Daniel Levy sacks Ange then he too doesn’t understand the words of a winner because he has a loser mentality.”

Now we’re getting into a strategic-level mindset...

And your biggest problem is that you seem to only be able to think in literal terms...

Hopeless for anyone running a major business.

Even if Levy sacks Ange...

It doesn’t automatically mean Levy has reverted to a failure mentality...

If it’s done for the right reasons.

Winners change for strategic reasons, losers just change for change's sake in hope

Now here’s the part where real thinking separates from reaction.

Let’s say Levy does sack Ange.

Would that instantly prove he has a loser’s mentality?

Not necessarily.

It depends entirely on why he makes that decision.

If he sacks Ange because fans can’t handle the short-term pain of a rebuild…

If he folds to pressure from people who boo substitutions and want Frankfurt to beat us…

Then yes — that would be a massive relapse into the failure mentality that’s plagued this club for years.

That would be Levy ignoring the very foundation of what winning looks like:
Patience + Process + Principles.

But there is another scenario.

A winning mindset can also accept that a bold hire didn’t pan out...

If the reasons are footballing, not emotional.

If Levy looks at this and says:

“I gave him the tools.
I gave him the structure.
I let him lead.
But after two full seasons, the football has become confused, players aren’t improving and the vision isn’t delivering…”

That’s not failure.

That’s evolution.

Was Thomas Edison a failure when it took him 10,000 attempts to invent the incandescent light bulb?

You would have sacked him as a failure.

But he had a positive mindset.

Take his quote:

"I have not failed 10,000 times. I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work."

The framing is positive.

You see a negative (failure)...

A winner sees a positive.

Until you start seeing things in that matter you don't have a winning mentality.

And that is not helpful to the club.

Winners don’t just cling to an idea blindly.

They track progress. 

They assess reality.

They change...

But only when there’s a stronger path forward...

Not because the crowd got twitchy.

So here are the two winning paths available:

🟢 Path 1: Back Ange 100%

• Sign players who fit his style

• Let him finish the rebuild

• Trust that short-term setbacks are part of building something elite

• Accept discomfort while the system embeds

🟢 Path 2: Change — But Upgrade

• Only move on if there’s proof the project has stalled long-term, not from one poor run

• Replace with someone who shares a similar footballing identity (not a complete reset)

• Keep the same club structure, recruitment philosophy, and momentum

• Don’t blame Ange — build on what he tried to create

That’s what winning mentality actually looks like.

Not chasing perfection.

Not panicking under pressure.

Not pretending there's only ever one answer.

It’s knowing when to hold your nerve…
And knowing when to pivot with purpose.

Levy will be judged by which version of this story he writes.

And so will we, as fans.

So the real question is:

Are we going to be part of the solution...

Or the reason we stay stuck in the cycle?

So let me leave you with this:

I have no doubt you read the article with scientific proof...

That 80-85% do not think like winners...

And I'm sure you saw the X poll in another post...

Which rather backs those figures up.

Fans show it.

The panic...

The boos...

The blame-game thinking...

All backed it up.

But here’s the part you missed:

If you recognise that…

You can choose to be in the 15–20% who think differently.

You can stop feeding the loser cycle.

You can stop demanding comfort and start embracing challenge.

You can be part of a fanbase that actually helps build something...

Not tears it down every time it creaks.

That’s what this whole debate is really about.

It’s not just Ange’s test.

It’s ours too.

The article to read if you haven't already: Postecoglou emulating Bill Nicholson

The last article: Forget Talent – This Is Why New Zealand Wins and Tottenham Doesn’t (Yet)

Proper Supporters Support Bill Nicholson Style

Readers' question answered:

What kind of "winning mentality" thinks losing league games doesn’t matter?

COYS