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The tragic events of
the 11th of September have overshadowed everything that has gone on in
the game of football over the last month. Or at least they should
have.
With the prospect of
a players strike because of the PFA not getting their cut of the
improved television funding, players fighting on the pitch and drinking
off it, referees making decisions which they later change and chairman
of big clubs refusing to talk to others, you might truly believe the
world has gone mad.
When there are
thousands of people lying dead under tons of rubble, it makes you
realise how trivial the game that we all love really is. Yes, it's
escapism. It's fun and a chance to scream and shout, but at the
end of it, it is not going to change the world.
The PFA strike call
is perhaps one of the most worrying things. The players seem to be
pulling together as they are all balloted for industrial action, but
this will not be against the employers, but their organisers. With
the days of players on a minimum wage and now having freedom of
contract that allows them to do what they want, I feel that there will
be precious little sympathy for them from fans. Those who should
get sympathy are those in the lower leagues, who are reportedly on
£20,000 a year. Still a good wage for doing something you love,
but there would be few Premiership players who would give up a Ferrari
or some of their weekly wad to help out their less well off
comrades. The money does go to help those ex-footballers who need
assistance after leaving the game, but where is the concept of ability
to pay when it comes to their subs. £75 for a player of any club
or level means that it is not even approaching small change for the top
stars.
With the awful
behaviour of the Chelsea Five who disgraced themselves and the game with
their inane antics following the New York/Washington/Pennsylvania
horrors, football's standing took another dive. Much like the one
that Hasselbaink took against Spurs, which just provoked more bad
feeling at a time when there should have been some honesty shown.
The ref's decision defied belief and they are now earning good money,
but for what ?? Their decisions seem even worse this season than
before. It will be a long time before anyone at the FA is brave
enough to enforce referees losing their match fees for costing teams
points with rank bad decisions or that the FA will take any action over
those who frankly cheat to win games. Fair Play - Don't make me
laugh !!
Spurs have done OK
without picking up many points so far. There is a need to start
getting some points behind us, especially as the next few games are
mostly winnable and Tottenham should win if they play as they have been
doing. A fine away victory over Sunderland (despite having to hang
on a bit at the end) was achieved with an imperious first half
performance which deserved more than the 1-0 lead we had. The game
at Liverpool was closer than the 1-0 suggested, although our cutting
edge was missing up front; a factor that was also evident against
Chelsea.
The Man U match, as
we all know, was a classic. Whatever your opinion of the end
result, it was a great match and for half of it Spurs were the best team
in the land, because we had taken the best team in the land apart.
In the second, we were probably as bad as SCBC, but there you go.
The midfield capitulated and the defence was left to try and deal with
the raging red hordes coming towards them. The plus points should
give the side confidence as they will rarely be pegged back in such a
fashion in the future. The mistakes of the second half must also
be learned from. The older players ran out of energy and the time
to bring on younger, fresher recruits was when we went back to
3-2. The momentum was lost as the changes that United had made
exploited the gaps opening up in the Spurs side. Even with their
legs gone, nobody in the Spurs side seemed able to hold on to the ball,
something that they had done so well in the first half.
The benefits of the
new signing Dean Richards was obvious from the first half of that
match. His ability in the air was a dominating factor, just like
Mike England used to do in the old days. Unfortunately, it was
only in an attacking sense in the first half. The second half was
a disappointment in losing three headed goals and the fact that the
defence became stretched out and Deano looked all at sea, as did the
others. I am pleased that we signed him in the end as Rupert
Lowe-Self Esteem was starting to behave like a very foolish man.
Refusing to speak to someone who you were about to do business with ...
what was that all about ?? How did he ever get on in business in
the first place ?? I think he is getting the picture now that SCBC
are not the big club that he thought they were and that if he makes
enough headlines, that will make them into one. Sorry, but that
ain't the way it works Wupey. With a shiny new stadium and the
best player departing, his side could be in for a struggling season,
just like the old days and in a brand new shiny stadium too !!
There have been a
number of rumours about Rebrov's unhappiness, but he will surely be used
sometime soon. Les has worked well and seems to be Ted's preferred
partner, but his touch an finishing ability are not what they were and
Sergei should get an opportunity soon. Now that we have lost the
option of Willem Korsten after he has had to retire at 26 with a
persistent hip injury, there are fewer changes Hoddle can
implement. We hope that Willem enjoys whatever he does in the
future, as although he didn't show us what he was capable of, Hoddle,
Graham and O'Leary must have seen something in him to pursue him and
play him.
With the latest news
over the Picketts Lock stadium showing the Government considering it too
expensive, I wonder if this will leave Spurs to move in and contribute
to the cost ?? Having got planning permission for the East Stand,
but not willing to start on it until Haringey Council show the club
their intentions for the next 10 years in respect of the local
environment and transport links to the area, a lever was gently being
applied to the Local Council's policy makers. Now the Lock is not to go
ahead, the only option would be for Tottenham to buy into it, but the
intended Victoria Line extension to the stadium will probably not be
built now that the Athletics stadium is not to be built either.
The debate has rumbled on for a while and will run for a while longer as
the club are not happy about the way fans get to and from the ground at
the moment. We will see how things pan out.
Anyway, the main
thing is to enjoy your football and to remember those who are less
fortunate than us who can go and shout our heads off at the Lane and
elsewhere. But it is only a game.
Keep the faith.
Keep the peace.
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON.
BRUCE
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