To dare is to just do it

I see there have been plenty of discussion points in my absence from London town since Thursday.

Niko

Gutted he's out for the season (ankle injury thanks to that clown Michael Brown) and played on during the Cup semi-final in agony with said injury. Along with one or two other players, he's battled on through the pain barrier and really shown that we have players in the squad that do give their utmost in the name of Spurs. Huddlestone being one of the others, who I somehow forgot to mention in my NLD match report. So I'm mentioning him now.

And Ledders. Bionic Ledders.

Barry Glendenning / The Guardian

Media in shock 'WE ARE ANTI-SPURS' sensation. One or two bias reports doing the rounds and a podcast that might make you chuckle that has Glendenning suggesting one or two rather silly things. Seems that certain chants are only relevant and disgraceful and thus must be highlighted when sang by the White Hart Lane faithful and must be ignored completely and unequivocally if sang by any other set of fans. Behind closed doors apparently. Peter Andre could possibly write us a new chant that's easier on the ears?

Judas

Can the journalists and reporters who comment on the abuse Campbell gets when he plays us as 'disgraceful' please explain what makes the player so special that he should have be granted special dispensation? Why are football supporters, you know who they are, the one's who watch the game and don't play it (clue: not millionaires, eating bagels in the stands) suddenly being criticised for hurling the verbals towards a player who committed the cardinal sin in a world where most would like to dream that loyalty is a virtue that carries substance?

He lied. He left. He deserves the welcome he receives when he returns. Can't believe it's even a talking point. And yet it continues to be one.

I'm wondering. If Ledley King was white and left Spurs for Arsenal in his prime, would the Daily Mail and other tabloids even get involved? In fact, colour shouldn't be an issue, because Ashley Cole is equally abused on his return to Arsenal's cesspit and the media commentary is of a completely different nature to the one that surrounds Campbell's return or presence for anyone versus Spurs.

It's a conundrum that doesn't need to be solved. We all know it's bullshit. So I'll draw a line under it (again).

Danny Rose goal

It's still wonderfully majestic no matter how many times you watch it and regardless of the 'he should have punched the ball better' counter-arguments from some haters.

  comic by the ever-remarkable Chris Toy...click on the image for more.

Ian Poulter

Another contentious issue is the use of the term 'yid'. It's probably worthy of an article of it's own, but it's been done many times over and I'm pretty sure there was an awareness campaign that THFC did some years ago too. There are directors/fans at Spurs who don't like the term being used and although nothing can be done if 20,000 fans are chanting it - one fan can probably be removed or warned, if someone complains. We all know the history behind the adoption of it (to defuse the word being used in a derogatory fashion by opposing fans). Hence the self-referral. In some ways we have desensitised it. But it's very much a complex issue and it's one that becomes clouded when, let's say, another fan of an opposing team refers to us as 'yids'.

Is he referring to us by the name we choose to use? Or is the connotation a different ilk? It's in the delivery I guess. If a fan across the police divide screams 'You f*cking yids' at us, then there's no arguing the tone. Chelsea have thrown out a few of their fans in their home games for similar types of pleasantries.

But Poulter (he's a gooner and golfer if you didn't happen to know) is only guilty of being stupid enough to calls us 'yids' on Twitter because the media (and anyone who does take offence) will pick up on it. Anti-Semitic taunt, is what it was refereed us. Ho hum, another over-reaction to something that is undeserving of attention.

Self deprecation and acknowledgement of self deprecation anyone? No? Okay then.

Anyways, let's not lose sight of what's important here. We ruined his night. And he's a bit of a twat.

Bale

Bale. Bale. Bale. I have to mention this lad every week now. Mainly because everyone else was mentioning him every week for completely different reasons not so long ago. You know what I'm talking about. 23 games and all that. Where's his new contract?

Chelsea at the Lane

You'll have to forgive me. I'm shattered and have written all the above in one quick swoop before I go to bed and attempt to recover from a night spent in Swansea intoxicated with work colleagues and four Meerkats. Long story. So unless I manage to write something up in the morning, this will have to do for the match report:

Question. Do we have it in us to dig deep again, days after overcoming the enemy?

I reckon as long as we don't believe any unnecessary hype and simply do as we did last time out (To dare is to f*cking do, so just f*cking get on with it and do it) then we have a chance. A fighting chance. I reckon the game will be more open. Less ball watching from us - at least that will be our intention, but the physicality will no doubt be energy zapping and it's quite possible Chelsea might try to get us chasing them, hitting us on the counter. Would prefer the final 10 minutes not to be spent chewing my arm.

Hoping King plays. Suggestion is he will. Unclear on Lennon, even though some quarters are stating he's on the bench. We've got a decent record at home against them recently, so a point would be good. Three would be faint-inducing, but - and brave this one out - if we are left empty-handed it won't be the end. Mainly because of the other fixtures being played, but would prefer our destiny to be guided by our achievements rather than the failings of others. The potential failings. Shocks can disrupt proceedings, as some have recently discovered.

Wilson still banned. Corkula a no-go. Has Danny Rose recovered from his knock? Bare bones, Harry would have you know. All I ask is for the same guile and intelligence, the same heart and desire. And some of that magic and clinical punishment displayed in the NLD. And more of The Gomes Show please.

Another London derby. Another noisy day at the office. This is the life.

COYS.

Kick it out? Sadly not

No place for racism in football. And homophobia. No place for it in any walk of life.

Read this earlier today: http://www.kickitout.org/news.php/news_id/4742

It irks me that Kick It Out have latched onto this 'story', considering that song and those charges were laughed at by a judge and thrown out of court because there was no case to answer for. You'd have missed that if you are a Daily Mail reader. In fact most of the tabloids were happy to post photos of the Spurs fans wanted for questioning but hardly reported on the fact that the two people (a father and son) who refused to accept the charges and fought on, won the day in the end. Not newsworthy enough for the agenda-obsessed media to print that as a follow-up with as much coverage as the initial witch-hunt.

Okay, that doesn't make much sense in context of the article linked above. I'm in full support of their (Kick it Out) campaign and awareness drive and I guess using the content they've used in their news article helps them raise some publicity and serves as a reminder for anyone who is stupid enough to consider doing anything stupid not to do it.

Let me explain my irkness.

It's Spurs who are saying they wont tolerate 'racist' abuse. But then Spurs and every club in the country don't and shouldn't tolerate this type of abuse, so its business as usual, no? The Daily Mail's report on this simply quotes a Spurs spokesmen talking about the NLD being high category and that there will be a police presence - no different to any other big game. Spurs are being sensitive to the potential hellmouth of bad publicity and will no doubt be relentless in removing anyone who over-steps the mark - which they have my full support of doing. No doubt one or two people might be removed for not over-stepping the mark, simply because the abuse is directed at a particular person out on the pitch. It's a thin line.

The usual propaganda rhetoric clouding the reality of the situation. There is sadly plenty of racism in football, but hardly any of it is ever directed 'him'.

Campbell is a liar, an ego-drunkard and a fantasist living in a Walter Mitty universe where he believes he has done no wrong and is above terrace chanting. I don't agree with the ambiguity 'that' particular song carries simply because its used by him and others as ammunition to deflect attention away and back on the 'bitter' fans who will never forget. It's a crude song, and it's embarrassing. You're asking for trouble if you sing it. Thankfully it's always been a minority. But ironically, a judge didn't deem it offensive. Which paints a picture of much confusion.

If you take yourself back to the very very first occasion he returned to WHL for the scum, after the game, he accused us of abusing him because of the colour of his skin. Us, Spurs fans, black and white on and off the pitch, racists - according to him. Yes, that's why we hate you Sol. Because you're black and not because you're a treacherous Judas (*sigh*). One or two radio presenters - one an ex-player and the same colour as Campbell laughed at this when it was once more repeated a few years back. But that's all nothing more than minor details lost in the sea of delusion that our protagonist is swimming in.

Somehow him swapping Lilywhite for period red was 'ok' in his books. He actually believes we owe him our blessing. He is actually angered by OUR reaction to him. Which is only going to incite our fans telling him exactly how we feel at every opportunity. Many of us have never let go. Something he hasn't done either.

If fans want to shout and scream at him, they should. Not because we still have sleepless nights about his crime. I don't. It was so long ago. But if screaming non-racist and non-homophobic abuse at him 'gets him rattled' then go for it. We do it to John Terry. Lampard. Bellamy etc etc.

There are plenty more footballers out there who are victims of torrents of abusive screams. Just ask Steven Gerrard and the welcome he gets from the Everton faithful. But he just gets on with it. Just ask Arsene Wenger. And yet there is Campbell, unique and special, forever bringing it to everyone's attention when perhaps if he acted the man and ignored it we wouldn't be talking about it.

And there you go. I always promise myself to ignore this bullshit and yet still end up having to jot a few thoughts down. Soz. I can't help but react to the Daily Mail.

Kick it out? Sadly not. We have to wait for him to retire first.

Back on topic tomorrow. FA Cup semi-final preview which then takes us nicely into next week and the NLD followed by another derby against that little club from Fulham.

In other news...

Kick 'em when they're down. No I'm not referring to Liverpool and our game up at Anfield later this evening. I'm referring to the rather wonderful news item that Sol Campbell is set to sue Pompey for unpaid fees and bonuses. £1.7M in fact.

Hey Sol, Judas Iscariot wants words with you from beyond the grave. Something about image rights...

Congrats to Harry...good work fella

36 league games. 18 wins. 7 draws. 11 defeats. Scored 52. Conceded 43. 1.69 points per game average.

14 cup games. 8 wins. 3 draws. 3 defeats. Scored 34. Conceded 17. 73% won.

Trffic.

Congratulations to Harry Redknapp and reaching 50 games as Spurs guv.

We play with balance and structure. With intent and style. Players playing for each other. Players playing in their strongest positions. There's some guile in there along with plenty of pride and passion. And when we lack these virtues, we bunk up with lady-luck. We are professional when faced with lesser opposition (was that another 5-1 victory last night?) and regardless of the disappointment of the last two league games, there's no doubt we will look to make amends with Burnley visiting the Lane on Saturday.

Harry has made us consistent. More focused. Still plenty of work to be had. We have injury issues at CB. Another CM is required. Set-pieces need improving. There are players that may or may not be here cometh the end of the next transfer window. As much as we need to develop a siege mentality to get us through games against the Sky Sports elite clubs, it wont happen over night. We just have to keep working at it.

Losing to both Utd and Chelsea might hurt, but one step at a time. If we beat everyone other than those two we'd do just fine. Points won against Top 4 clubs has never amounted to much in our overall tally. Not dropping points away and at home against bottom 10 clubs is the foundation to build on. Nothing insightful here. Just the plain obvious. And that's where Harry has worked so well. Unlike his predecessor who made a mess of selection and tactics. And ex-legends who tried to play a brand of football that the players were not capable of. Harry and his 'run around a lot and kick it in the net' philosophy. Who'd have thought, hey?

Beating Arsenal and Man City however is something I'd love to see us work towards.

Roll on. More of the same please.


--


Sol Campbell. I've read some pretty ridiculous things in the past day, posted by Spurs fans trying to justify to themselves how re-signing him would actually work regardless of the 'history'. Granted these remarks were made on message boards. And there's no reason to even entertain them. But I'll do so anyway. As a general FAO to any simpleton who still harbours some demented perverted desire to see this Benedict Arnold don our colours again.

Reasons for an ear-bleeding inducing unequivocal 'no'?

Firstly, he lied and left us for them lot on a free and followed it up by genuinely believing he did nothing wrong and believed the abuse aimed at him on his first return to the club had racial connotations and nothing to do with anything else.
Secondly, he's quite obviously not quite right in his head if he's signing for a club then quitting a game later. It's a trend.
Thirdly, he's not as good as people assume he is, much like the obsession many have with Patrick Vieira. Just because you performed well in the past doesn't mean you still can today.
And finally, only the first reason above is of any worthy consequence in a discussion about whether we'd take him back. It's not even a discussion, it’s a dismissal and slap across the back of the head for person suggesting it.

Only a very small minority are whispering their opinion on what would be their theoretical approval of welcoming back 'Mr Tottenham Hotspur'. The reality is altogether different. Harry knows he'd ruin what he has with us if he attempted to bring him back. Levy wouldn't even consider it. But the greatest fail-safe is that the player himself is probably telling people he'd never return to Spurs because of the way the fans have treated him since he's left.

I'd rather we sell Modric to Utd for £2M and re-sign Gary Doherty and play him in central midfield as our playmaker.

Stand up if you like a song

In response to a couple of emails I’ve received, let me clarify once more that I do not condone racist or homophobic chanting.

If you and your friends bullied and victimised someone in the street, whether it’s racial slurs or digs related about sexuality it would not be deemed anywhere near socially acceptable. If a complaint was made you’d probably be arrested and prosecuted, and deservedly so.

But where would you draw the line? If you and your mates picked on someone for being fat and sang songs about pie eating or laughed out loud at somebody’s dodgy haircut... is that worthy of police time? Probably. If it was all in jest, it would be ignored or laughed off. But gangs don’t necessarily go around picking on people in quite this way. Can’t remember ever seeing a group of hooded teenagers singing you’re gonna die in a minute to a pensioner crossing the road. Victimisation is quite obviously evident in every walk of life. And a person could complain about whatever to the police about their troublesome neighbour if they suffered a continuous relentless verbal onslaught.

Football is (was – can you feel it change with every passing season?) a different animal altogether. It has a pantomime type quality about itself with deeply religious and tribal undertones. It might be perceived more and more as a family day out, but it’s a working class game. Was. Any many hold onto the past which basked in unbridled passion and loyalty, on and off the pitch. A man could be a man at a football game. Get drunk, mug himself off, sing songs with his mates. Even kiss and hug them if the goal was worthy of it. Absolute unrivalled expression all from watching a ball being kicked about. It’s a beautiful emotional game. And the way you behave in a football ground is nothing like walking down the street or going shopping in Tescos.

The terraces and stands are also full of comedians. Thousands of them. Chants and songs range from the simplistic to the insightful, sharp and brilliant and many of them birthed in the pubs pre-game or in the midst of the game. It’s the code that exists, whether its fans screaming at fans or fans screaming at players. Within those 90 minutes of play you have your fun. Everybody knows that even if it feels like a matter of life and death, it’s only a game (cliché overdose, sorry).

Racism isn’t acceptable. And from personal experience, it’s uncommon. Although there is plenty of casual racism (although it’s debatable its casual, as something is either racist or its not). By casual racism I’m referring to calling Arsenal fans pikeys or making jokes about West Ham being full of Indian takeaways or washing elephants. Its bottom of the barrel stuff and the majority sing far better songs than stooping to this type of boring level. And obviously, there’s the term ‘yid’. Anything stronger than that you’ll likely to be arrested/ejected and banned. Which is fine in my book and probably yours.

As for homophobia, well this is quite obviously a massive issue within football. How many top players have come out? Can’t think of many, if any. Likelihood, statistically, is that there are several homosexuals within the game. And considering the image that football has from a fans perspective, it’s an obvious target by the men on the stands. Again, we can do without a lot of it. The point here is that people, generally heterosexual men, do like a joke about a gay. It’s juvenile. So if you’re going to joke about it in the pub, you’re likely to do the same at a football game – especially with the lads together vibe and the over the top heterosexuality and plastic hooligan vibe some adopt. Brighton fans are probably bored of hearing ‘Does your boyfriend know you're here?’ and yet everyone laughs at that chant. But then, that’s possibly deserving of the casual tag, no? There’s plenty more that leaves a bad taste in the mouth (ooh, oh stop it...is that joke bad taste?).

Ok, so where am I going with all this?

One on one, in the street, if you abuse someone about their sexuality, you’re likely to get done for it much the same if there’s a racist element to the abuse. Any abuse really is unacceptable. But if it’s name calling the police, if called, are more likely to defuse the situation and calm things down. If it’s ongoing it will be investigated.

In a football ground, by virtue of the culture of the game and its fans, some things are acceptable without really being socially acceptable if sang outside the ground on a normal day. Once upon a time, some fairly Neanderthal stuff was sang, but thankfully it’s no longer the 1970s and 1980s. But as noted, it’s rare to ever hear opposing fans hiss or sing songs about Auschwitz. If ever. And as for singing and chanting at players, this is as common as buying a match day programme or taking a sneaky cigarette break in the cubicles.

We take the piss. The players just get on with it. Some of them, their reply is to score and celebrate and slide in front of the away fans in a show of defiance. Others will snare at the opposing fans when the ref isn’t looking, and wind them up.  If you’re earning £50K + per week, then don’t be a pussy about it. You might not like it, but everyone gets it in the neck. And most players are confident and arrogant and simply don’t care, and even love it.

And most of the time it’s tongue-in-cheek. But football is still littered with personal jokes about not being the father of your son or what your wife likes in bed. It’s usually stuff that we all know and we all like to laugh at. Why give them an easy ride? It’s tradition to sing.

When does it over-step the mark?

I guess it becomes embarrassing for many when Munich and Hillsborough are brought into the equation. Or wishing people dead, hanging from a tree or being shot or dying from a brain tumour. I’ve heard some God awful stuff at football games, from home and away fans. Footballs fans are like the Borg Collective with a demented sense of humour, all as one, exerting their power. Be it a verbal one. And in unison. There’s an air of the untouchable about it. But sometimes fans are plucked out of the stands for it. Whether it’s because of a complaint or the police being pro-active, supporting the law and club policy.

I do not condone the Sol Sol song. It’s crude. Have no intention to re-visit the argument as to whether it’s racist or not. The point that’s argued about the remaining content is obvious to all. And why it’s sang is also obvious to most. And it’s a shame that we waste our time singing this to him (be it again a minority).  But it serves its purpose to get back at him and it obviously works because he mostly always struggle to come to terms with the level of noise aimed towards him. It’s relevant to state that before he had his half-time troubles in the Arsenal v West Ham game, the abuse he got was the usual type of abuse a player gets. No ambiguous or obvious undertones other than a disliking for the man.

Then he made it all an issue which saw the start of the Tottenham 16 story. He’s always tried to play the race card. He first did this years ago after (I think) after his first visit to WHL after leaving. Nobody ever took any notice of this pathetic attempt.

I also believe that the reason he pushed for prosecution on the Tottenham 16 was not so much because of what was being sang but the fact that many Spurs fans are so insistent in abusing him (note that he didn’t want anyone charged with calling him a c**nt). He can’t not expect abuse considering he’s a liar and a Judas. Some Spurs fans have moved on. Others want to remind him because he strikes them as a man who still believes he did nothing wrong. Why give him an easy day out? But still – if the police want to set an example and been seen to stamp out homophobic chanting then do so – but don’t do it as part of a witch-hunt.

Anyway, I find him and everything about him tedious. Much like many other players who get similar types of abuse. The difference is, they don’t go crying to the police. Most understand and take it on the chin.

You can get away with a lot when 10,000 people are singing the same song. And 98% of the time, it’s no less offensive than watching a stand-up comedian take the piss out of whatever, whomever.

I’m not saying, cross the line, it’s ok because it’s a football match.  But if someone high up in the police force is going to knee-jerk again just because a footballer with a fragile ego complains about being victimised then best to make sure that it warrants the time and effort of the CPS and the court room and that there is actual evidence of abuse that is way beyond the normality of terrace banter.

ITK rumours hit a new low

He's been whoring himself in the media talking about being out of contract and willing to listen to offers.

"You want a good chairman and a great manager – it doesn't matter if he is coming into the game or is vastly experienced. You want stability. I'm aware [of interest] and it's nice to know that. I'm sure people come back from their holidays and have a week or two and start to see what they've got and hopefully deals can start moving." - Sol Campbell

The ridiculous is being suggested. Judas. Back to Spurs. On a free.

What next? Benedict Arnold being crowned the 'Greatest American in history'?

It would appear the sun is melting minds as well as ice cream. The ITK rumour suggests we are interested because we wouldn't have to pay a transfer fee. The irony of this...it burns, it burns. All we need now is Sky Andrew to get involved and we're set to go.

Are the ITK moles this desperate to claim prediction gold? He'd never come back. We'd never take him back. It's bullshit. There's more chance of me making made passionate love to Daniel Levy, on a bed made up of copies of the Opus in the centre circle at White Hart Lane wearing nothing but the yellow-streaked home shirt with 'WEST HAM ARE A BIGGER CLUB THAN US' printed on the back.

(To clarify...zero chance. Sorry Dan).

In other related news.

O'Hara is on his way to Fulham and Adel is set to stay and fight for his place. Far more realistic sound-bites, but this is now the 3rd or 4th time the deep throats at the Lane have passed on this information.

The only factual news relates to Zokora, as Sevilla once more (apparently) pull out of a deal.

The perpetual waiting game drags on...

Respect Sol Campbell? Thanks, but no thanks

I said I would not refer back to this, but it seems that Sol Campbell and his chums in the media won't let go, so here we are again. It's a reflex of mine to react like this even when I know in my heart of hearts that my time is better spent drinking from a bottle of rum and grooming my Ricky Villa beard. But the tabloids are at it again.

The Daily Mirror yesterday run a story entitled 'Why Tottenham Fans should respect Sol Campbell as a true servant to football'.

The story initially concentrates on promoting a campaign he has set up (Kids Go Live) which aims to get children aged from seven to eleven to experience more live sport (football, hockey, horse riding - are examples listed). Its a campaign which has government backing and is personally funded by the player. Good luck to him.

But rather than just concentrate on the campaign itself, the author of the piece (John Cross) can't quite decide what the article should focus on. He starts digging his hole with some rather oh so obvious Solesque friendly statements which turn the article into yet another pro-Campbell is Great propaganda piece that paints the player as a humble, quiet man who is the paradox of modern day PR obsessed footballers. Bit like Paul Scholes. Although he's ginger and therefore not newsworthy.

The irony is of course laughable. Campbell and his PR machine are masters of the subtle touch.

The piece includes some info about what he likes (photography) and his love of films and market stalls and a couple of iconic name drops (Spike Lee and Denzel Washington). All wishy washy soundbites that contain not an iota of insight. It's like reading a textbook profile from a online dating website. But it serves its purpose in promoting Campbell.

He still harbours a desire to play abroad and live a different culture and venture into management after he's retired from kicking a ball about. Apparently this makes him 'a bit different' because he isn't falling out of a club smashed out of his head. He is then compared with Graeme Le Saux and that players who don't have a WAG and a Bentley are singled out for abuse by fans.

I work with a couple of pretentious people who read broadsheets. They get singled out (I just did it by calling them pretentious), in the same way they single out The Sun readers in the office. Welcome to Planet Earth and the bullyboy culture. Maybe Le Saux was singled out because he was a git regardless of his reading material?

Football might be this big bad brash heterosexual its a mans man game, but we all know different. It's not the 70's and 80's anymore. We just conform to a stereotype and just about get away with it. It's easier to box things up in black and white (excuse the terrible pun). Football stands are not quite an intellectual forum of discussion and discourse, are they? Even if they do manage to birth some splendid moments of comic genius in the way of non-offensive chants and banners. I guess that stereotype for many of us is acting the caveman when in fact we all take a cheeky look at a broadsheet from time to time.

Of course, there is still an element that is stuck in the past and take themselves far too seriously, with no grasp of what is right and wrong.

The article obviously does the unsurprising thing of dragging back the 'racist and homophobic' story that caused such a stir in the aftermath of the chanting that took place at the Pompey v Spurs game that led to several mug shots of Spurs fans appearing on the Most Wanted list.

Which is the reason for my reflex and this blog article.

This (the racist and homophobic chanting), according to Cross, is punishment for leaving Spurs on a Bosman. We are then given some trivia about his England career and that just because Campbell isn't spotted with a Page 3 bird doesn't mean he should be subjected to mindless chanting.

'Family man' Campbell should not be singled out for this type of abuse. And I agree. But lets not lose sight of the facts. A minority sang those chants. The majority don't include racism and homophobic chanting when telling Campbell what they think of him.

The article then mentions one or two other high profile players as examples of professionals who are also subjected to similar chants. Not that you will ever hear any of the players complain about it in casual newspaper articles or proceed to bang on about it for years and years. Cross highlights an example of an Arsenal fan calling a Fulham player a 'f**king poof'', yet the article still manages to end with a reference to Tottenham fans. But then the whole article is an exercise in the Campbell is good, Spurs fans are bad agenda.

You can read the piece in it's entirety here and make your own mind up. Cross ends it with the following: "Boo him, hate him, whatever. But don't abuse him".

Ok. Thanks for the permission and clarification. Can I quote you next time Spurs play Pompey? Try taking the average football supporter aside and define what constitutes the difference in hate and abuse when being actively vocal at a football match.

I don't condone racism or homophonic chanting. The Lunacy song that caused so much unwanted publicity was distasteful, but a court of law did not deem it either racist or homophonic. Possibly because its so ambiguous and impossible to prove one way or another. The Spurs fans arrested and charged were done so (in the end) for singing more simple and crude chants. The type that police and stewards and players and the media have not deemed newsworthy in the past. Although if the intent is of a certain over the top and vindictive nature, then you deserve to get done. Whether they would have got done if the player had not made an official complaint is altogether another thing.

Not suggesting by the way that the Lunacy song is now ok to sing. It isn't. Spurs and the police act on it if they witness anyone stupid enough to burst into song. But the song is not what its made out to be by Campbell and some quarters of the media. I'm referring to the insulting and ridiculous suggestion that Spurs fans are aware of racist connotations relating to having black people from trees in 'racist America' a number of years ago. And that we are singling out the player because he is black and that's the reason we hate him.

<--- Insert tumbleweed here --->

Bullshit. Regardless, a way for us to avoid these accusations being made in the first place is to not sing the song full stop. Hum it. Don't sing it.

As a simple note to Cross and Campbell, even though I think Spurs fans should move on and forget about him, the majority won't because they know that the booing and hatred still gets to Campbell on the pitch and affects his game. And for that reason, it's justified to boo and scream non-racist and non-homophobic chants in his direction.

The Pièce de résistance however is when Cross calls him a footballer with a conscience. Comedy gold right there from our Mirror journo.

All I see is a former Spurs youth player and first team captain, Mr Tottenham Hotspur (that's the name he gave himself) who couldn't keep his mouth shut about wanting to stay at the club and wanting to sign a new contract because he loved the club so much. A player who loved the club so much he left on a free transfer screwing us out of millions and then walked up the Seven Sisters and joined Arsenal, picking up a nice signing on bonus and then genuinely expecting Spurs fans to forgive and forget.

Do I sound bitter? Maybe I do. But I'm just sticking to the timeline and facts. Campbell would have still been hated if he had joined Arsenal but not as bad had he left like Carrick did for a massive fee and without the lies and deception that came before his departure. I say 'not as bad' but you know what I mean.

There is no integrity to be found in his soul, and it doesn't matter how many times he attempts to prove otherwise via the tabloids.

Remember his first return to WHL after he joined Arsenal? Remember the level of noise aimed at him every time he went near the ball? No homophobia or racism. Just 30,000 or so Spurs fans screaming hatred. It rattled him. However his response post-match was to call Spurs fans racist and thus that was the sole reason why he was being booed.

"What did I do?" has been the look on his face since his move away from N17. He honestly believes he has done nothing wrong.

As for Spurs fans being racist? No wonder Ledley King hardly ever plays for us. And that Lennon, we hate him too, lucky he can run so fast. And as for Jenas, it's not because he's so bloody inconsistent that we scream out expletives when he loses the ball or misplaces a pass - its because of the colour of his skin. Exfoliate damn it Jermaine, exfoliate!

<--- insert family of tumbleweed here --->

Do one Campbell. You too Cross.

Campbell is an absolute melter of the highest order and as much as Spurs fans bring it on themselves for living in the past and singing songs about him, he needs to stand tall and look the other way and just ignore it instead of constantly attempting to justify why we are the guilty ones.

Sticks and stones.

I should probably follow my own advice and look the other way too next time a red top runs a similar non-event article.

Why should Tottenham Fans respect Sol Campbell as a true servant to football? Don't ask the Daily Mirror. They don't quite have the answer.

Politically Correct Chants for Spurs v Pompey

You can stick that cowbell up your a*rse
You can stick that cowbell up your a*rse
You can stick that cowbell, stick that cowbell, stick that cowbell up your a*rse
Sing we've got the drummer in the shelf
Sing we've got the drummer in the shelf
Sing we've got the drummer, we've got the drummer, we've got the drummer in the shelf

Sol, Sol, wherever you may be
We don't really like you that much no we don't
And we don't care if you don't like us
Because we don't really like you at all

He's tall, he's human, he doesn't play for us, Sol Campbell, Sol Campbell

Campbell, you're an ex-player, Campbell Campbell you're an ex-player

Stand up if you don't consider yourself to be a friend of Campbell, Stand up if you don't consider yourself to be a friend of Campbell

Sol, Sol
Whatever they may say
We don't care if you're black or gay
But we'll still hate you till your dying day
Cos you're a Judas ****
Is that okay?

Allegedly

I'm sure we'll know in time, but there are rumours suggesting that the 11 Tottenham fans charged for you-know-what against Sol Campbell have been pretty much stitched up. Not to go over old ground (for the millionth time) I have no gripes about people being prosecuted for racist chanting or homophobic chanting (although this one is a bugbear for many people who frequent football games - as discussed in earlier posts).

Apparently, of the 11 fans arrested, only 2 have been charged with singing the 'Lunacy' song which has been deemed offensive by the Police and media via Campbell (bite me yeah). The remaining 9 fans (three of which are juveniles ) have been charged with singing one of the following songs:

You can stick Sol Campbell up your arse, Singing we've got Ledley at the back

or

Gay Boy, Gay Boy

Again, I have to stress, this post is simply about this rumour and I'm not suggesting it's fact and will be interested to see what the charges amount to once the guilty appear in court. The 'gay boy' chant is crude but is hardly worth prosecuting people for. Seriously, its ridiculous. Songs about gassing the Jews (can we retrospectively bring charges against thousands of Chelsea and West Ham fans dating back to the 1970's?) and Harold Shipman, Munich, Ronaldo dying in the tunnel and a ton more with homophobic connotations relating to several Prem players sang by most clubs that never appear to fathom complaints from the targeted footballers are completely ignored because as wrong as they are, they are right in the footballing stadia arena (although that appears to be changing. No more common mans muck for us).

Apparently the following is from an e-mail sent by Spurs to a fan. Again, pinch of salt, as it's just an extract, but if you remember the Trust meeting from a few weeks back, Spurs did make it clear that they did not think the charges against the Spurs fans were fair.

We do not believe our fans to be guilty of racism and believe that the media organisations that originally carried the story under that misapprehension have now amended their copy. We have actively promoted our stance that the song is not racist within the media.

If anyone has e-mailed the club, feel free to share the response.

Christ only knows how volatile and intense the atmosphere will be on Sunday. Personally, 3 points and a good performance is all I care about. We need to rise above it, but you get the feeling the police and stewards will be very active and fans (both sets) will exchange colourful words - but nothing more than the usual for a game that includes former players/managers up against the club they left.

Campbell, will no doubt have unbelievable abuse (I'm talking about the level of noise) aimed at him. I can guess already the four letter word on everyone's lips (it's neither racist or homophobic, well, not until Campbell complains and the Daily Mail run the story).

Rod Liddle

What a great article. A far more general view of the state of modern day football and chanting at games than I could offer (as I don't tend to move outside the boundaries of all things Spurs). The argument over 'yid / yiddo' has always been a tricky one, but I guess we are not too far off from a future where this will be deemed an arrestable offence. Like Liddle says, it will end up with an almost empty ground if the authorities arrested one, they have to arrest all .

So, who's going to define what's right and wrong? It's always been socially acceptable within the realms of a football ground for some below the belt banter. Not anymore. I expect the comedy clubs to be hit next with SWAT teams and CS gas. Zero tolerance. Michael McIntyre, you have been pre-warned.