My eyes see no glory
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 1:01PM guest blog by Chris King
My eyes are closed.
All I have is darkness. The black of darkness illuminated only by memories; of a time when peace existed in this land. It was a land where fan stood together with fellow fan, each with the same song in voice and heart. Each with a dream they held true.
My eyes are closed.
All I can hear is the noise of unrest; the incessant din of anger and hatred. We are in a battle with ourselves. No longer do we cherish those same dreams. No longer do we sing from the same hymn sheet. We are now heading in different directions, with tears and bitterness the only likely outcome.
My eyes are closed.
Open them he says. Open them and see the majesty of our plans; the glory those plans will bring. Our time here is up. The future is elsewhere. This land is dying. If we stay here, we will also die. He extends his hand. Come with me. Let me lead you to the Promised Land. We will set up home on yonder plains. This is our destiny.
My eyes are open.
But still I cannot see. I cannot see the truth. I cannot see the shared vision. I cannot see the future in exactly the same way others do. Oh eyes, poor misguided eyes. Give me the clarity this issue calls for. Give me the chance to soar high in to the sky – to look upon the dying soil, that very Promised Land and see. See for myself why this is the only option left to us.
My eyes are closed. Only my heart can see.
When it’s hard to be objective, it is always easier to be dramatic. That’s what a lot of people will be accusing Spurs fans of in the coming months; being overly dramatic. Yes we do like a moan and our board does like to install an element of drama in to our lives. But this drama is not ours. This drama need never have started in the first place.
If London hadn’t have won the Olympics, we would not be at this stage in our club’s history. If those who had organised the bid had nailed down a definite plan moving forward, from the point Boris stumbles on stage and drops the Olympic torch at the feet of the delegates from Rio, we would not be at this monumental precipice, which is forcing supporter against supporter; tearing the fabric of our beloved club apart.
I hear and read different views on a near hourly basis at the moment. ‘SAY NO TO STRATFORD’ reverberates around the stadium, outside on the streets, on WebPages and through a multitude of twitter timelines. Those who shout or type with venom and anger, do so with an unwavering passion. They know not what the answer to this mess is. All they know is that the final outcome has to rest with their club, our club, your club still residing in N17. To some this battle is just about a postcode. To others, it is all about the postcode.
Yet their actions don’t hold true with everyone. “It’s all right for them, they have a ticket… they can moan about leaving, but leaving would mean I may also get a ticket.” For the dissenters, history is unbending – we are Tottenham, we have to stay Tottenham. For the, shall we call them free thinkers or liberal minded supporter, a football club is more than just its history – it is its future as well. Mr Levy now claims we have no future in Tottenham. The NPD is dead in the water, as will the club be if we fail to secure the Stratford move.
Clearly this argument can be countered, and has been in this open letter from Martin Cloake.
The sermon appears to have changed and some, not all, are buying in to the new faith. It is a faith that appears to rely on the highest bidder taking some kind of control over the future of the club. A future existence that may rely as much on concert ticket sales as goals scored on the pitch.
My heart has been blinded.
A good friend of mine doesn’t want to move, yet he is far more objective on the subject than I am. His view is that the soil is no longer fertile. That the land is dying. Football is more than just 90 minutes of watching over paid, often underachieving stars. It is as much about what goes on between fellow supporters; before, during and after the game. We are all sold the view that the atmosphere is far better away from the Lane, but it’s surely made worse by the fact that our patch is being eroded, killing the pre- and post- game enjoyment associated with a trip to the match.
Think of the number of pubs that have come and gone, even since the start of the Premier League.
The Cockerel, The Corner Pin, The White Hart and Northumberland Arms. It’s like a roll call of fallen soldiers. All gone, replaced by expanded merchandise outlets or blocks of flats. A last game ritual for him was to finish the season off with a pub crawl along the High Road; a pint in 12 pubs. That last happened three years ago. Now there are simply not enough pubs. Instead they drink in Liverpool Street and dive in and out, spending just enough time in N17 to watch the match, before heading somewhere else for their fill of beer, stories and football songs.
If that picture mirrors your very own, then what difference does it make where you go to see the game? The pubs around Stratford will be no better, but at least – and this is Mr Levy’s argument, we’ll be able to leave our meeting points later with no fear of getting to the ground.
My heart is closed.
He may have a point, the mate that is – not Mr Levy – but I don’t buy it. I’m blinded by passion, by familiarity, by a need to remain true to our history. Clubs have moved in the past. We all know about Arsenal and nomadic teams like QPR, but that was in a time before I was born; before football was the beast it now is. I can’t think of any club that has proposed such a dramatic move (other than when Wimbledon threatened to go to Dublin), where they’ve adopted the almost American like franchise model. Putting pressure on their local council before moving to another, more welcoming venue – do they even want us in Stratford?
A lot will be said until a final decision has been made by The Olympic Park Legacy Company. Mr Levy will claim, in cloaked daggers aimed at the heart, that those who do not follow the exodus are putting the future of the club in jeopardy. He will wipe the slate clean, go back on every highfaluting statement he ever made about NPD and use us, the fans, as pawns in his battle against the local council and the decision makers.
Some of us will be made out as bad guys in this; accused of fighting an unnecessary fight. They will say that we will bring the honour and heritage of the club down with our protests. They will mock us – as they do Liverpool and Manchester United fans that stand up for their own causes. They are the very people who wear the same replica shirts, sing the same songs and once shared the same dreams. The club is split and it’s hard to see where the winners will come from in this argument.
But there will be winners. More fans will get access to tickets; more revenue will be made by the club if we fill a 60,000 stadium out. Bigger, better stars may be attracted to the club, bringing bigger riches with them. In 20 or 30 years time, a new legion of fans may wonder what the fuss was all about. Why we even cared that we were leaving our home, when you consider the better home that we may move to. It just doesn’t have to be in Stratford!
Yet all of that, the future, rests with a body of people charged with making a single decision that could throw the club in to turmoil either way. Move to Stratford and Mr Levy alienates a body of supporters that will turn every public outing in to a protest. Lose the Stratford bid and there is nothing. No NPD, no Plan B (Stratford) and apparently no Plan C - and definitely no answers as to why NPD is no longer viable?
This whole internal battle appears to hinge on one thing – are you for the future or stuck in the past? You can’t be for both. We all know we have to move. To move, not just to challenge for the top honours, but to potentially compete just to exist, as money strangles the life further out of the beautiful game. Our argument is not to stay in the current stadium; it is a simple request for clarity and honesty. Something we feel our loyalty as fans at least deserves. Misguided? Very much so!
The battle lines have been drawn – are you with us or are you against us? Say no to Stratford.
Say no to Stratford – but then, do we really have a say?
Chris King was a regular on the old Shelf and held a season ticket in the Park Lane Upper. He now lives in Leeds, where he spends most Saturdays trying to teach his 20 month old daughter the words to Spurs’ songs.
Reader Comments (180)
Jim, was just playing Devils Advocate on that one on the back of a few things said to me about how I should just make out that Stratford is practically in East North London.
for me staying in north london is the most important, handing it over to the arse is sickening. going to east london is sickening as those pikeys will finally think they have a rivalry with us. I live in east london and on the central line but still would rather the painful journey to the lane, than Stratford in 10 mins.
so i guess there are catagories of those who are adamant we stay in Tottenham and those who say North London. I say Tottenham would be ideal, but if it's not doable (viable) then I would compromise with staying in North London if a location was found.
Distance is a difficult thing to quantify - realistically the M25 and Waltham Abbey are the same distance away as Stratford, but then we're no longer a London club - but we'd be in our own patch.
We are back to the issue that in 50 years, 100 years, nobody will give a shit.
When Woolwich moved to NL they moved onto our patch (think 'Clapton' Orient complained about it too at the time). Can you imagine had they not moved across to NL? How many fans we'd potentially have? Would love to know what club people in Islington, Highbury etc supported before their move - because I can tell, it would not have been fucking Woolwich Arsenal.
Yes, yes, football is world wide now and sadly people do not support their local teams as much (unless they are born to a city with one or two clubs representing).
But there is something that doesn't sit well with me for us to just uproot and leave that part of London. Because in 50 or 100 years, nobody will probably give a shit about the North London Derby because Spurs will be busy dealing with arch rivals West Ham.
(that's if West Ham are not playing league three football by then).
You get my point.
Another emotive piece of shit to be filed under 'nobody gives a fuck'.
Hallelujah !
Anyone else notice we've got 4 days to get a striker?
Has Benzema not signed yet?
you are right in 50 years time nobody would care and we would a fully fledged east london club. and the pikeys would sing f off back , the way we do to woolwich wanderers.
but was it such a big issue when woolwich did it? football was different then right? people were different in 1913 maybe, perhaps those jolly chaps were welcome in north london? I don't know.
it feels like a big issue now. football is tribal in London, it's what you represent, and the boundaries between south, north and east are severe.
£40million for bale? I wonder how much more would make the NDP viable? I've always been willing to accept a move to the OS, but I would sell bale for the amount which would make the NDP viable.
I really couldnt give a toss about getting a striker at the moment. I cant think about much else till this is over.
5o million and not a penny less.
Yeh move to east london or sell a player = no brainer. Bale 60m easily from Real and then by Marin or that french dude for 20m
Twitter went into meltdown over the build up to that story and all they offered was a 'Inter to bid for Bale' headline.
Shocking.
Spurs could easily make up 100m in transfer fees.
Bale 60m, Jenas 8m Niko 5m Wilson P 8m Ohara 4m Keane 6m Hutton 6m Dos Santos 4m etc etc
There are other options to make this viable as levy would put it.
He seems to have a bigger 'brand' now than any other footballer. In england I think most fans would say hes good but a little over rated at the moment (although great potential).
In Italy and Spain a mention of his name sends them into overdrive like no other player ever. I think Bale would be fearful about leaving spurs under such an enormous price tag. He will be worried that he will move and not live up to the hysteria surrounding him.
Also does he really want that either. I dont think so.
N17........simple unless we want to be held in the same contempt as woolwich for stepping on somebody elses ground, N17 is who we are
Total tangent to the thread - Juventus.
Nicked from Wiki -
The delle Alpi's design was widely criticised due to the poor visibility caused by the distance between the stands and the pitch. This was because the athletics track, which was rarely used, was constructed around the outside of the pitch. Views from the lower tier were also restricted due to the positioning of advertising boardings.[4] The stadium's location on the outskirts of town never found favour with fans, and the stadium design left spectators exposed to the elements. These factors contributed to low attendances; in the 2005–06 season, Juventus' average attendance was 35,880.[5]
I'm getting used to being taxed to fuck, might as well add an Olympic Stadium to it. So bring on your 17'000 season ticket waiting list Mrs Brady, I'm sure you will fill 60k every other week.
If not some more taxes won't be noticed. West Ham tax anybody?
I've mates who live in Torino.
That stadium was woefully underused. Juventus are supposedly the most widely followed club in Italy (read Manchester United here) and they nearly always sell out their away allocation - but no one bothered to go to the home ground, bar the odd big game and UCL match.
That said, I was looking at average attendances for Italian teams last season and Inter were the highest with 56k in an 81k seater stadium:
http://www.worldfootball.net/zuschauer/ita-serie-a-2009-2010/1/
But then even with the move to the Stadio Olimpico - Juventus still can only average 23k of a 28k stadium - it is not always a case of build it and they will come.
I must admit, there is a part of me that feared West Ham potentially becoming the second biggest team in London by way of crowd, revenue etc when I first heard they were bidding to be the new stadium tenants.
It was only after we put our hat in the ring and found out more about our plans, their plans, the current stadium design, the fact the stadium has not been designed for any real long term use as a football stadium that I began to think that West Ham moving there would most probably be a very bad thing for West Ham.
I've a mate who's a ST holder there at the moment and is always complaining about the atmosphere, add a running track I can't see that improving it. Add 20k odd empty seats definitely not. Add Championship football..... the list goes on.
It's the only reason I can think we have been allowed to put in our own crazy bid.
Which is why we are probably on course to win it.
Scary isn't it. London Hotspur.
Will be purchasing my Barca shirt in due course.
Jacob Steinberg who writes for the guardian (amongst other sources) questions the validity of anyone at West Ham buying a season ticket next year.
He goes regularly, and often finds that the closer they get to the game, the cheaper the tickets become. If you have a season ticket, you may get to sit in the same seat with the same view every week, but the reality is that your ticket could costs as much as double the person next to yours - who picked it up through a resale agent the week before the game.
It all ties in with this myth that 60,000 seats will instantly make you a team to follow. West Ham would have to borrow big time two seasons before they move in to the stadium, to accumulate a squad to fill that stadium - which means they would forever be borrowing, adding, borrowing and adding to overdrafts and squads before they started to ensure they were getting big enough crowds to start making the money back - from football activities alone.
Chris
Am I beginning to discern a new, pro-E15 altruistic sub-camp along the lines of "Lets Save the 'ammers from themsleves"?
Seem to remember a number of people purchasing Barca shirts before a West Ham game a few years ago.
Sorry, been a Spurs fan and sometime ST holder for 30 years, and I don't see any alternative to moving - it's good for the club, for most fans (given transport links and demand for tickets), and it's good for the taxpayer too (Simon Jenkins wrote an excellent article on Stratford in the Standard). Unless Haringey gets rid of its stupid Labour council and MP, nothing will improve there. But would be willing to consider elsewhere closer to WHL (e.g. Enfield) if it's feasible.
Frank,
Not at all. Let them rot. Let the Olympic lot grow some balls and keep the stadium for this massive legacy they keep talking about. Turn it in to a 25k seater athletics stadium - let them charge an extortionate amount of money to see Usain Bolt run in under nine seconds once a year. It will become the familiar post-Olympics white elephant that Athens has, or Montreal was. Just wish they'd have the courage to do it and not waver over demands for cash.
Chris is right, the fact they have not been able to stick to their original legacy promise is what has led to this mess.
We can hope they have a Brewster's Millions moment and vote for "None of the Above", and go back to plan A, which is now their plan C.
Let's also remember that we were chosen, we were shortlisted. They knew the details of our bid and they shortlisted us!
We have come in with a bid that seems to stick two fingers up at everything and everyone, and I find it remarkable we are in this position. If West Ham weren't such a mess it would be theirs, no doubt.
So I still think we were asked to bid, AEG could have gone with West Ham, but came to us when that went became a no-go.
I don't know how much of the costs AEG are planning to pay for, if any? Has that information been made public?
And maybe our naming rights enquiries were not going the way we had planned. Maybe AEG came and said we will guarantee you so and so are interested in naming rights at x£s. We just don't know.
One things for certain until we are told No by the OPLC, us staying in Haringey will continue to be non-viable. Levy has to say it, anyone remember Hoddle saying we were 100% not interested in Robbie Keane? It's all part of the game.
@Diaz
Yep, until the bidder has been chosen, there really isn't much point in getting to involved. The anti-Stratford campaign is so weak at present that it barely registers with the board; they'll take no notice.
Make no mistake, Levy wants to move to Stratford, it's no bluff. Why on earth would he agree to team up with AEG if not? They want it and he wants it. If he gets the vote, we're gone. He couldn't give a shit about what Tottenham means to the fans if there's more money on the table elsewhere.
The only question that really is in the balance is, if he doesn't get the vote, is he using his threat to move out of Tottenham to make the NDP more 'viable', or is he being an utter cunt and taking Tottenham away from Tottenham in spite?
I have a spare ticket for Fulham v Spurs. Family section £30. Email me yidual at yahoo co uk