Guardian journalist Jonathan Liew’s agenda against Ange Postecoglou – crystallised in his recent cheap shot of the Australian manager’s Tottenham tenure – is a textbook case of how the media seeks to control the discourse by diminishing the success of others.
It seems Liew’s career has been characterised by a sustained campaign to discredit Postecoglou but his latest spiteful missive, laced with cynicism and projectile envy, reads less like analysis and more like a personal score-settling masquerading as commentary.
“Perhaps his departure from Tottenham really can be a kind of springboard: to one of these prestigious, equally demanding leagues he keeps talking about,” Liew wrote.
“Maybe the struggling Gamba Osaka. Perth Glory could well have a vacancy soon. Motherwell are still looking. A step down? That’s just your old-world, Eurocentric, Prem-brained snobbery showing right through there, mate.”
The personal nature of the piece is something that didn’t go unnoticed in the UK.
So what drives this type of behaviour, which has caused a complete decay in trust of journalists and the media?
Pulling back the curtain
This animosity appears to go back to a pivotal 2023 press conference where Postecoglou playfully rebuked Liew’s flippant remark about “imagining holding trophies,” a moment that exposed Liew’s lack of credibility and appears to have ignited a personal grudge.
Since then, Liew, seems to have been burning with revenge, waiting for his chance to write Ange’s obituary, dance on his grave, and ruin his reputation.
Specifically, Liew’s use of class-based rhetoric is telling.
It draws from an age-old technique of power and capital: to project onto others the very means by which you maintain control.
Simply put, putting down others in order build yourself up.
Liew, a self-declared bullshit artist, labels Ange’s ability to motivate players, unite fans, and win trophies as the “art” of bullshit.
Liew’s perspective is a perfect inversion of the reality that borders on delusional. His tone reveals more about his own standing than Ange’s, and that he completely fails in the core purpose of his job: understanding that football, and even sport, is about: bringing out the best in ourselves and others.
Welcome to the modern media, where the emperor has no clothes and you’re at fault if you call it out.
The rot in the media
Is Liew himself to blame? Not entirely.
He’s a devious, opportunistic guy trying to get ahead and, by his own admission, understands the power of rhetoric. His skill is being able to deflect this away from the media itself and project it onto those who challenge his authority.
You’ll notice that Liew himself isn’t active on Twitter and the comments on this piece weren’t open, demonstrating this isn’t a two-way conversation but an opinion to be rammed down the public’s throat.
Liew’s admittance into the gatekeeping elite of UK football journalism depends on his ability to toe the party line by defending its territory.
His approach reveals a deeper strategy to preserve a hierarchy where only their “official” version of history is sanctioned.
To put it in Liew’s own words, he has to bullshit with the best of them, he does, and the readers eat it up – coming back for more slop.
Despite doing what he said (winning a trophy in his second year) and having a legitimate excuse in an injury crisis (which he downplayed), the UK media’s fixation on Ange’s legitimacy, branding him “naive” or “unorthodox,” is straight out of the elite’s playbook: prioritising power and distorting truth.
This is symptomatic of a broader cultural rot, where the media is obsessed with controlling narratives and whipping up frenzy, keeping people in a rage-fuelled haze.
It distracts from facilitating thoughtful discussions and celebrating diverse achievements, which might lead to some sort of social cohesion or productive consensus – something Ange achieved in his playing group and follower base.
The end of discourse
The media elite derives its power from the stated belief that they are reporting in the public interest. Nothing infuriates them more than being exposed for abusing this power to protect their own interests.
This was never about tactics. Never about results. It was always about power.
When someone like Ange kicks down the front door and holds a mirror to their hypocrisy, exposing their lack of knowledge and control, they panic. His success undermines their status. His independence reveals their dependence. He proves they’re not needed.
Ange is a builder and brings people together. Though unorthodox, his journey to the Europa League cup – via Australia, to Japan, and Scotland – spoke directly to players and fans and they in-turn, using social media, voiced their support, shared their joy, and celebrated his success.
However, in the process he exposed journalists’ fragility and proved the media’s authority was illusory – which they couldn’t stand for.
Ange pulled back the curtain and showed us the wizard for what he really was: a gatekeeper exposed, lashing out as his relevance fades.
Ange didn’t con anyone, he just told the truth with conviction. That’s what they really couldn’t handle.
