Thanks To Poch I Haven't Got A Favourite Player Anymore
Its now just over 24hrs since Jon Moss blew the final whistle that brought to an end 118 years of football at White Hart Lane. We had the good natured pitch invasion, with literally thousands of selfies being posted on social media, people doing 'Klinsmann' dives, grown men on their knees kissing the turf and repeated requests over the PA system to 'return to your seats' so they the Gospel Choir could sing and then they could bring on the Legends.
Starting with Clive Allen and ending with Chris Waddle, forty-eight of the clubs favourite sons took the short but for some, difficult walk to the centre of the pitch for their last hurrah. We clapped and cheered like small children on Christmas morning as Tottenham greats such as Glenn Hoddle, Gary Mabbutt and Pat Jennings strolled across our sacred turf for the last time. It was a fabulous nostalgia overdose. The club are currently on a hot streak of getting things right, both on and off the pitch. It hasn't always been this way under ENIC but you know that when the message from The Chairman is played on the big screen to tumultuous applause life is going well.
The current squad then made their way onto the pitch for a well deserved lap of honour. The Legends joined in, some like Peter Crouch looked slightly awkward being there, like a workmate a wedding reception who doesn't know any of the relatives. Bringing up the rear was the man who has made it all possible, taking the applause in his usual laid back manor and looking ever so slightly embarressed as a rousing chorus of 'He's Magic Y'Know' rang around the stadium. The team looked very smart in their standard issue blue tracksuits, waving alongside their wives and girlfriends. As seems traditional now, lots of their children where present. Harry Kane carrying his daughter born only a couple of months back looked as proud as he's done at any point this season. It was almost forgotten that an hour or so earlier he'd scored what turned out to be the winner as we beat Manchester United 2-1 to confirm our highest league position since 1963 and our first unbeaten home record since 1965.
Many of those Legends had played in the intervening years. Quite a few of them in sides that had won the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup. Many of those Legends are among the best players ever to pull on the famous white jersey. Some of them had even been my favourite player whilst at the club. That all started with Glenn Hoddle, The King Of White Hart Lane. I know Gilzean was the original King but I'm not old enough to have seen him so to me Hoddle was and always will be the King. In my opinion he's simply the greatest and most talented footballer ever produced on these shores and Tottenham Hotspur were lucky to have him for so long. When he broke my heart and left for Monaco, Chris Waddle filled the void. When he was sold to Marseille, Gazza became my number one.
The trouble is that we'd now hit the 1990's. This was not good. We had the occasional ray of light. Jurgen Klinsmann came to the rescue like a blonde German knight on a goalscoring steed. What did Spurs do? We put him in a team that had Nethercott, Kerslake, Calderwood etc in it. To add insult to injury, we replaced Ossie Ardiles as manager who had his faults but understood the ethos of the club with Gerry Francis who even now in 2017 and at the age of 65, has the same hair style as the bass guitarist from Sweet circa 1973. Francis was sacked and replaced by Christian Gross whose heart was in the right place but was out of his depth. After him the nadir was reached (at least until the appointment of Tim Sherwood) when Alan Sugar gave the job to George Graham. By this time we only really had Darren Anderton (when fit) and David Ginola. Ginola was a 'Spurs' player in very sense of the word and therefore the absolute antithesis of everything Graham stood for. Ginola was eventually forced out to Aston Villa. My favourite was gone again and this time there was no-one to replace him.
Wind forward a few years, Martin Jol came along and we all fell in love with our team again. During those intervening years it was very much possible to love the club but dislike the team. Luckily this has not been the case since the big Dutchman put his marker down. A word that had all but disappeared from the Spurs fans dictionary, namely 'optimism', returned. We started signing better players, younger hungry ones with potential. I remember watching Tom Huddlestone playing for Derby at 16 and thinking God, what a talent. This scrawny looking 17 year old Welsh full back that had scored a few decent free kicks for Southampton turned up. So did a sultry, moody looking Bulgarian striker from the Bundesliga. It was possible to have a favourite again and it wasn't because I felt sorry for them. Two years after Berbatov a 'seven stone dripping wet' 21 year old Croatian arrived for £16m. My favourite player of the Premier League era was here. It comes as no surprise to me that Modric has gone on to do what he has for Real Madrid. Pure Class.
Of course signing better players doesn't always work and more managers have come and gone. Even when we were qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, and then playing in it we had Modric so picking a favourite player was easy again. Bale took on the mantel after Modric was sold and then when he followed the little genius to Madrid we brought in 'The Magnificent 7'. Of those only Eriksen and Lamela are left and poor Erik has been absent through injury since last October.
This brings me nicely onto my 'Poch' created dilemma. In this season that has seen records set by some very good Spurs sides tumble like Jamie Vardy in a light breeze, it has become virtually impossible to have a favourite player. It should be Harry Kane, he's one of our own, but what about 'Super' Jan Vertonghen ? Oh, its Dele Alli, after all 'he only cost £5mil and he's better than Ozil'.Hang on, I've forgotten about Toby Alderweireld. But what a signing Victor Wanyama has been. He's the one who has made the difference. Although he couldn't have done it without 'Oh' Mousa Dembele or Eric Dier, who we love and who loves us, alongside him. Then there's Hugo. And 'Whoa' Danny Rose. Christ. And I haven't even mentioned Christian Eriksen, 'He's our number 23' again voted the Spurs Members Player Of The Year. For once I'm glad I'm middle aged and not inclined to buy the team shirt with a name / number on the back. I'd either be in the Spurs Shop all day trying to decide or I'd be leaving with about £500 worth of kit.
I nearly died laughing earlier in the season when I read in the press that one of the reasons Poch is doing so well with this team is that there 'are no stars'. I didn't think it was possible for someone who gets paid to write about football to be so wrong. If anything, this year has proved that they're all stars. Some have found playing time hard to come by, most have had injuries at some point. Ben Davies has improved week-on-week since coming into the side after the injury to Danny Rose. Apparently, we were really going to struggle without Harry Kane but we were unbeaten in the League matches he missed through injury. Poch has improved every player that he's had control of for over a season. This is what makes me think that both Janssen and Sissoko (if they both stay) will be better next year. Wanyama had the advantage of working with the Boss before so I think that's why he's settled here so quickly.
So to sum up, this fan is happier with the team than he's been for years. As well as being a good side they're a likeable bunch. I'm certain that Poch drills into them the importance of the relationship with the fans. We know we're not going to win every game, although we almost achieved it at home this year, and that we desperately need to win a trophy as its been too long. But I trust the club from the top down these days. Everyone is pulling in the same direction and that's what makes all of them my favourite.
Spurs Stewards didn't have the easiest of days
Starting with Clive Allen and ending with Chris Waddle, forty-eight of the clubs favourite sons took the short but for some, difficult walk to the centre of the pitch for their last hurrah. We clapped and cheered like small children on Christmas morning as Tottenham greats such as Glenn Hoddle, Gary Mabbutt and Pat Jennings strolled across our sacred turf for the last time. It was a fabulous nostalgia overdose. The club are currently on a hot streak of getting things right, both on and off the pitch. It hasn't always been this way under ENIC but you know that when the message from The Chairman is played on the big screen to tumultuous applause life is going well.
A desperate fan showing Toby a picture of his unmarried sister
The current squad then made their way onto the pitch for a well deserved lap of honour. The Legends joined in, some like Peter Crouch looked slightly awkward being there, like a workmate a wedding reception who doesn't know any of the relatives. Bringing up the rear was the man who has made it all possible, taking the applause in his usual laid back manor and looking ever so slightly embarressed as a rousing chorus of 'He's Magic Y'Know' rang around the stadium. The team looked very smart in their standard issue blue tracksuits, waving alongside their wives and girlfriends. As seems traditional now, lots of their children where present. Harry Kane carrying his daughter born only a couple of months back looked as proud as he's done at any point this season. It was almost forgotten that an hour or so earlier he'd scored what turned out to be the winner as we beat Manchester United 2-1 to confirm our highest league position since 1963 and our first unbeaten home record since 1965.
The proud Father
Many of those Legends had played in the intervening years. Quite a few of them in sides that had won the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup. Many of those Legends are among the best players ever to pull on the famous white jersey. Some of them had even been my favourite player whilst at the club. That all started with Glenn Hoddle, The King Of White Hart Lane. I know Gilzean was the original King but I'm not old enough to have seen him so to me Hoddle was and always will be the King. In my opinion he's simply the greatest and most talented footballer ever produced on these shores and Tottenham Hotspur were lucky to have him for so long. When he broke my heart and left for Monaco, Chris Waddle filled the void. When he was sold to Marseille, Gazza became my number one.
"Hands up if you own a copy of 'Diamond Lights'"
The trouble is that we'd now hit the 1990's. This was not good. We had the occasional ray of light. Jurgen Klinsmann came to the rescue like a blonde German knight on a goalscoring steed. What did Spurs do? We put him in a team that had Nethercott, Kerslake, Calderwood etc in it. To add insult to injury, we replaced Ossie Ardiles as manager who had his faults but understood the ethos of the club with Gerry Francis who even now in 2017 and at the age of 65, has the same hair style as the bass guitarist from Sweet circa 1973. Francis was sacked and replaced by Christian Gross whose heart was in the right place but was out of his depth. After him the nadir was reached (at least until the appointment of Tim Sherwood) when Alan Sugar gave the job to George Graham. By this time we only really had Darren Anderton (when fit) and David Ginola. Ginola was a 'Spurs' player in very sense of the word and therefore the absolute antithesis of everything Graham stood for. Ginola was eventually forced out to Aston Villa. My favourite was gone again and this time there was no-one to replace him.
Clip taken from an early episode of 'Strictly Come Dancing'
Wind forward a few years, Martin Jol came along and we all fell in love with our team again. During those intervening years it was very much possible to love the club but dislike the team. Luckily this has not been the case since the big Dutchman put his marker down. A word that had all but disappeared from the Spurs fans dictionary, namely 'optimism', returned. We started signing better players, younger hungry ones with potential. I remember watching Tom Huddlestone playing for Derby at 16 and thinking God, what a talent. This scrawny looking 17 year old Welsh full back that had scored a few decent free kicks for Southampton turned up. So did a sultry, moody looking Bulgarian striker from the Bundesliga. It was possible to have a favourite again and it wasn't because I felt sorry for them. Two years after Berbatov a 'seven stone dripping wet' 21 year old Croatian arrived for £16m. My favourite player of the Premier League era was here. It comes as no surprise to me that Modric has gone on to do what he has for Real Madrid. Pure Class.
Daniel, bring these two back. I can organise a whip round
Of course signing better players doesn't always work and more managers have come and gone. Even when we were qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, and then playing in it we had Modric so picking a favourite player was easy again. Bale took on the mantel after Modric was sold and then when he followed the little genius to Madrid we brought in 'The Magnificent 7'. Of those only Eriksen and Lamela are left and poor Erik has been absent through injury since last October.
Christian & Erik. What a lovely couple
This brings me nicely onto my 'Poch' created dilemma. In this season that has seen records set by some very good Spurs sides tumble like Jamie Vardy in a light breeze, it has become virtually impossible to have a favourite player. It should be Harry Kane, he's one of our own, but what about 'Super' Jan Vertonghen ? Oh, its Dele Alli, after all 'he only cost £5mil and he's better than Ozil'.Hang on, I've forgotten about Toby Alderweireld. But what a signing Victor Wanyama has been. He's the one who has made the difference. Although he couldn't have done it without 'Oh' Mousa Dembele or Eric Dier, who we love and who loves us, alongside him. Then there's Hugo. And 'Whoa' Danny Rose. Christ. And I haven't even mentioned Christian Eriksen, 'He's our number 23' again voted the Spurs Members Player Of The Year. For once I'm glad I'm middle aged and not inclined to buy the team shirt with a name / number on the back. I'd either be in the Spurs Shop all day trying to decide or I'd be leaving with about £500 worth of kit.
Spurs celebrate yet another goal
So to sum up, this fan is happier with the team than he's been for years. As well as being a good side they're a likeable bunch. I'm certain that Poch drills into them the importance of the relationship with the fans. We know we're not going to win every game, although we almost achieved it at home this year, and that we desperately need to win a trophy as its been too long. But I trust the club from the top down these days. Everyone is pulling in the same direction and that's what makes all of them my favourite.
I'd just like to finish with a note about the bravest player of the forty eight Legends that appeared on the pitch on Sunday. What our former striker cum midfielder Paul Stewart went through as a young teenager trying to make his way in the game is as unimaginable as it is unacceptable. For him to have carved out the career he did, culminating in playing for his country is testament to his mental fortitude as well as the ability he had as a footballer. I hope that after having kept all of that bottled up inside for so many years he can now find some peace within himself and that in his as the many other similar cases, justice will be done.
I wish him all the best for whatever he chooses to do with the rest of his career.
"SIX FOOT TWO, EYES OF BLUE, PAUL STEWART IS AFTER YOU."
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