Saturday, November 17, 2012

The beautiful losers of Tottenham Hotspur FC

Support for many people relates to an office IT guy or a comfortable bra size. But not for me. Loyalty is the virtue that defines and separates the beloved and irrelevant in our lives. Too often this feels like a forgotten, almost alien, concept in modern football with its single serving fans drinking pitchers of Fosters on faux leather pub sofas and the online post-match rage, blame culture and insecure trolling from young men who have not yet known the touch of a woman.

For 90 minutes of a largely Emmanuel Adebayor-free game, I sang in the trenches. When other less hardy away fans fell quiet or filtered out of that soulless stadium, forged in the pits of corporate hell, I found empowering, Spurs-fuelled words to fill their absence. In the second half, real Tottenham supporters, the true and blue bloods, stood and joined me in song and an omnishambles of a game, punctuated by under-par refereeing, poor form and absent heroes, soon faded from view. We were back where we were supposed to be, singing and supporting, representing and validating the club that we love and cherish to the depths of our souls. The regular silence of Arsenal ‘fans’ (with their team clearly in command) was all too predictable. A hooped, old school scarf is not an indication of loyalty. It’s a statement of wankerism.

The calamity Kyles, Walker and Naughton, were thankfully withdrawn at half-time by Andre Villas-Boas and then fortunes, for the most part, improved. The hapless Naughton was, in fairness, playing out of position at left back but Walker now sadly resembles a human road sign. His best defensive moves this season have taken place on Twitter. He needs time off the field to regroup and return a better player. At the moment, he’s an accident waiting to happen. Anyone who doubts the corn-rowed brilliance of Benoit Assou-Ekotto, take a drug test now. This option does not apply to Jack Wilshere, the human equivalent of a Coke Zero.

One cannot help but feel a little sorry for Villas-Boas. There is a hefty asterisk associated with his early Spurs ‘failure’. The Portuguese is an inverted Harry Redknapp, an increasingly luckless individual whose every tactic or turn appears hampered by key injuries or Daniel Levy’s calamitous ‘everything must go’ summer squad sale. An anorexic, striker light bench will now weaken further in light of Adebayor’s suspension. We’re down to a solitary striker (as grimly predicted on this blog) for the next three league games. Lucy Pinder has greater options up front. And she could easily distract Jermain Defoe should West Ham field her next weekend. Dodgy Davids Sullivan and Gold certainly have form in this area.

The largely misleading 5-2, 10-man defeat may appear a life and death result now, but the Adebayor sending off (yellow or red?) and key injuries were mitigating factors. Spurs bossed the game with 11 men and half a team missing before old foe Howard Webb (who missed Mario Balotelli’s three-stamp on Scott Parker) rejoiced in an instant dismissal for Adebayor. Yet this is not an exceptional Arsenal team but a club in a tailspin that requires a one man advantage or the helping hand of a human billiard ball. For all Spurs’ limitations, we still have a more than decent chance of finishing ahead of celebrated heterosexual Sol Campbell’s favourite north London team.

As I zig-zagged through the shuffling red-shirted zombies on my way back to my local pub in Crouch End, I almost pitied the celebrating bug-faced hordes. Three points cannot cure personal deformity. Within a few games, South London’s finest will lose again and this brief sense of joy and entitlement will swiftly be replaced by limp-wristed threats of bin bags and those embarrassing ‘Wenger out’ protests.

Let them have their false dawn. I walked into that hellhole Tottenham and I walked out with Tottenham branded on my heart, guts and soul. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

16 comments:

pallmallpunch said...

"As I zig-zagged through the shuffling red-shirted zombies on my way back to my local pub in Crouch End, I almost pitied the celebrating bug-faced hordes. Three points cannot cure personal deformity."

Brillant. They're even uglier in America. COYS.

John said...

I saw you frantically on your phone at half time...thought I would let you get on with whoever it was you were berating!
We dust ourselves off and go again...starting in Rome, see you there Mark :-)

Anonymous said...

Lol, yeah sure we protests wenger out and all, your post makes sp*rs fans so damn innocent. Adebayor's red was fully deserved too, what if the roles were reversed? Cazorla high studs up tackle to Adebayor and you all here would be shitting yourself saying it was dully deserved. What bunch of hyprocrites. Yes, sp*rs were dominant for the first 20' but that doesn't mean it couldn't change. Remember febuary? Don't make up bullshit excuses fool

'Lust Doctor' said...

Thanks Pallmallpunch. They are an odd-looking bunch. When they smile, they resemble a crudely cut Halloween pumpkin.

'Lust Doctor' said...

Ha ha. Thanks John. Did I look like I was in berate mode? Oh no! Can't make Rome, but hopefully there will be more European adventures in early 2013.

'Lust Doctor' said...

Thanks for the insight, Anon! Of course, Spurs fans would have been calling for a red if the roles were reversed, but we probably wouldn't have got the decision. The difference with February was that then, against 11 men, Arsenal were completely dominant even when 0-2 down. That game could have easily finished 8-2.

Sean said...

Pretty embarrassing post mate. How old are you? Focus on spurs rather than using childish insults about the opposition.

'Lust Doctor' said...

Thanks Sean. Arsenal vs Spurs is a local rivalry and not a fixture on the dinner party circuit. This is a Spurs blog and I'm sure far worse things are said about my team on the Arsenal equivalents. That's the right of Arsenal fans and you won't find me going on there and complaining about it. Each to their own.

Sean said...

I'm a spurs fan mate. Just sick of people trying to use the sending off as an excuse to why we conceded 5.

'Lust Doctor' said...

I know where you're coming from Sean. We've seen less talented Spurs sides go to Arsenal and perform more creditably in unfavourable circumstances, but don't think we would have lost 5-2 with Adebayor. That said, there were some pretty shocking defensive errors out there.

Gooner said...

As an arsenal fan, I find it quite funny to read spurs blogs simply because your problem seem to be basically identical to ours - shit defence and lack of options in strike and chairman who sells the best players every summer. While I do hate spurs, its quite funny because neither set of supporters realises this.
Having said that adebastards tackle was definitely a red, high and late on cazorla, and calling Wilshere "the human equivalent of a Coke Zero" is completely ridiculous considering he's better than all of your midfield apart from possibly dembele. And its incredibly hypocritical to make a Sol Campbell joke considering you started with two ex-arsenal players, one an ex-captain and the other a former talismanic striker, and both who have taken almight shits on the Arsenal at some point or another.
So don't get too cocky, its been 17 years since you last finished above it and come May I would be extremely suprised if that didn't become 18. And spurs fans are the ones with deformities not us, otherwise they would have spotted that you have a chimp on your left wing.

'Lust Doctor' said...

Thanks for the comment, Gooner. I find it strange that any Arsenal fan would read a Spurs blog or vice versa. It's like a Tory turning up at a Labour party conference - common ground is unlikely. This is a humorous Spurs blog for Spurs supporters and not everything said here should be taken at face value. Irony is not a Greek island. I have no interest in winding up Arsenal fans. They do a good job of that themselves with the ridiculous 'Wenger out' debate that follows every defeat. Had Spurs won 5-2 then I wouldn't be trawling the web commenting on Arsenal blogs because every club, despite its differences, has fans good and true. Your club is your club and loyalty and love for it should be unconditional. The dislike for Wilshere is easy to explain without the aid of glove puppets; spitting at taxi drivers and being cautioned for common assault are not qualities most of us aspire to and his classless baiting and arrogance do his ability little credit. Compare him to Oxlade-Chamberlain who seems mature beyond his years. Arsenal got fantastic money for Adebayor and deemed Gallas surplus to requirements; Campbell meanwhile pledged his undying loyalty to Spurs and wound his contract down. Remind you of anyone?

IKnowAlanGilzean said...

Yes, like all of them, AVB has made mistakes, but he looked to have been right on the money with it on Saturday. I was purring for 15 mins. Though to let in 3 in such a short space of time, even with 10 was disappointing and needless.

There's been enough there this season to keep me positive in the medium-to-long haul. It has to be seen with a longer term perspective, given last season's missed opportunity, the summer ins and outs, injuries (not one or two but half a dozen, taking on new formations and ideas etc.

I can never understand fans (increasingly all clubs' fans seem to do it when being beaten by more than a goal or two)leaving en masse. Should always stay to the end, unless one has a doctor's note or one from their mum; especially at today's prices :)). It looks very bad and compounds any perceived humiliation on the pitch. Well done to those that stayed.

Unlike last season's debacle there, I've a feeling the events of Saturday may galvanise us a little. AVB needs to see that our play benefits from being positive.

Anonymous said...

Beatifully written. You put a smile on my face which is no small feat concidering the result and the opponents.

The West Ham gag had me in stitches.

Take care mate!

//jaxonville99

'Lust Doctor' said...

Thanks IKnowAlanGilzean. I thought there was real promise in that second half performance with 10 men. I liked the way AVB went for it with 3-5-1 and his bold and correct substitution of the flapping Kyles. We'll improve when key players return.

'Lust Doctor' said...

Thanks Jax. Much appreciated. The intention of this blog is to see the light side in the (all too regular) event of a Tottenham snafu! The late nerves of the Arsenal fans, with their team leading by two goals, hinted at that improved second half display with 10 men and half the first team missing.