This should make good Reading

Reading (A)

I'm looking forward to the game. Hoping Dembele starts alongside Sandro and we get to see Clint Dempsey in midfield (if match fit) and Adebayor up front. Will also be keen to see us pass and move with urgency. We were lacklustre against Norwich and wasteful against WBA. Taking our chances early on is key. Reading haven't played a competitive match (Prem) since the 22nd August. Fresh but hardly match fit. That's not to say we've been setting the world on fire either, at times looking like we've not had much of a pre-season. This has got to be the game to ignite the spark that leads to the explosion. The spark being a convincing win against Reading today, the explosion a smashing of QPR at the Lane next week. We all know how it works. Momentum builds confidence in form and style. Perfectly illustrated by the past couple of seasons of rampant winning displays (when things were going well).

That urgency has to have traits of structure, players effective in their positions - yes Gareth, that means you. Having predicted that AVB will have a better handle on Bale we've yet to see him truly take a stranglehold on the left flank. Also, the controversial centre-pairing of Livermore and Sandro will have a few people biting their nails. Would prefer Sandro doing the Parker job of sweeping up trouble and laying the ball off to Dembele (our sort of Luka replacement in terms of creativity). Sandro can also pass the ball better than Parker so it can work. Dempsey or Sigurdsson can play further up-field behind the forward, in support and linking up play. Which will be two-fold with Adebayor being able to float into the channels.

We've yet to see the high-line implemented fully. Which tells us a lot about the patient 'rebuilding' of style rather than just asking players that haven't played it before to do so from the off (even though our fullbacks do enjoy a high line when wondering into forward positions). Talking of which Kyle Walker seems to be very positive about training and the coach. But don't shout about that, just whisper it. To yourself. As for the goal-keeper situation, only a matter of time when Lloris will settle in between the sticks. Brad knows, VB knows. We know. Lloris is a vital part of that fabled high line so it's essential. In time.

So there's a few things to look out for today. But not just formation and how it's implemented but also the attitude of the players. We would have been our way to sustaining some momentum had we buried those chances against WBA at the Lane. Such is football it can be cruel first to then be kind later. Which tells you that if you place the brain surgery of tactics aside a moment, we (the players on the pitch with ball to feet) have to be bang on their game and do the basics right in front of goal. Running around a lot still won't be enough, as witnessed the last two seasons when we run out of ideas. Villas-Boas has to pull us back towards that swagger and find a middle-ground where we strengthen mentally without letting go of the characteristics that made us such a joy to watch. It's in those games where we were not a joy to watch; it's in those games where we need to find a way through, have answers to all the questions being asked.

We seem to be stuck in that place at the moment. The inherited problems are not quite improving towards resolution and mixing in well with the new instructions meaning no immediate impact (although we've seen glimpses of it away to Newcastle and early on in our first home match). Would be easy for a new coach not to change a thing but then at what point would he be able to implement his own style? Better to struggle at first building the new and waving goodbye to the old than hang onto someone else's vision for the sake of short term pretence over longevity.

There's no need to panic, no need to struggle finding a way out. Find the door, walk through it.

Composure please Spurs. The self belief will blossom.

Whether today's convincing win does end up being a lucky one instead, the three points will be gladly celebrated regardless. The other two potential outcomes cannot be entertained. If anything because attempting to be explosive next weekend against QPR will be akin to setting off fireworks during a thunder storm.

Follow @Spooky23 on Twitter

Barca at the Lane

I think it's no surprise that The Fighting Cock finds the booing at the previous two home games embarrassing. But it makes the #1882tfc event at the Barca game all the more important. Modern football is making fans obsessed with success.

We want to remove the idea that supporting your club positively isn't wholly dependant on whether or not we're playing well. We want to sing for the shirt that the players are wearing purely for that reason...that they are wearing it.

If you're against the booing this game is a genuine opportunity to be a different supporter. One that supports because they love THFC. We're going to be there singing our hearts out for that beautiful glorious Lilywhite shirt, because, after all, that's what it's all about.

If you want to join #1882tfc movement everything you need to know is here:

thefightingcock.co.uk/tag/1882/

Ticket Info:

Tottenham Hotspur vs Barcelona in the NextGen Series. Thursday 13th September, KO 7pm.

Call the ticket office on 0844 844 0102, select option 2 and quote ’1882′. At the time of writing there's around 100 tickets left in blocks 15 and 16.

Meet before the game in the Bricklayers pub around 5pm.

Follow the hashtag #1882tfc on Twitter.

Love the Shirt

Taking back what belongs to us

I'm looking forward to the summer. I can slowly work towards awakening my sleepy spirit from the narcoleptic nightmare that is modern day football. I've allowed myself to be consumed by expectation. It's not something that's happened over night. It's been a natural progression, one that I've been completely aware of. But in allowing it to play out, I've confused sentiments. Bill Nicholson would want to see Spurs at the very top of their game, competing and challenging, playing the football we were born to play without sacrificing tradition. He'd want us to aim high. Which is something I've been doing. It's something we all do. We've always wanted more, we've always believed. We even believed during dark times when there was next to no chance of our dreams coming true. There is nothing wrong with wearing your heart on your sleeve. Being reserved, bottling it in or not wishing to show raw emotion is no way for a football fan to live his or her life.

That desire drives the club forward. The supporters are the fuel.

The club you support chooses you and you follow with undying loyalty regardless of league, stature or success (although there's always been a trend with some to cherry pick a team themselves based on what will make them look good and feel good). Regardless of how it comes to be, you support the greatest club in the world and nothing will change that. Ask any fan anywhere in the world. Football at its best is beautiful and brings you joyful pleasure as good as any high you get from sex or illegal substances or more natural highs like being in love or seeing the birth of your child. Even when it's painful, it's good. It makes you appreciate what you've got, it makes you love your chosen club even more. Makes you want to fight in spirit and song and support harder. It's pride, it's tribal. It's the most glorified of all escapisms. So much so it then transcends escape and becomes life.

During those dark days we still had our moments. And when you come out of the wilderness to taste glory, be it one particular game or one piece of silverware, it's more than enough. The chase can be better than the catch if you do more chasing than catching. It's more treasured, more memorable, less diluted. That's not to say you'd turn down sustained catches. Football works in cycles, success can surround you one moment and then be a memory, a part of history the next. Much like love, you have your highs and lows, but you never give up on it and if you lose it you go in search for more. Or simply wait for it to find you. Or you just pay for it. Each to their own.

Where it's gone a little wrong with expectation is the pressures of wanting that success, obsessing about life without it before you've even fully achieved it. This has distorted how we strive to make it our own and far more importantly, how we live through that journey.

At the moment, I see fragmentation in support. More so than the past. A lack of enjoyment, a bitter nervous disposition at both home and away games. There is a difference between believing we are good enough and wanting us to achieve success compared to simply expecting it to be delivered on a plate.

There's also the issue of what is defined as success. I've been a strong enforcer of the pragmatism behind finishing top four so that we can consolidate and get stronger with each passing season. This might (might not) reward our endeavour with a genuine seasoned title push. But that would remain the ultimate goal. Modern football preaches this philosophy so intensely that we no longer rate the League Cup and even the FA Cup only becomes important by virtue of reaching the latter rounds rather than what it meant back in the days when finals would become future iconic moments. The 'big' clubs that win it often see it as an afterthought rather than the crowning jewel it once was.

Top four or silverware? I've been shouting top four from the rooftops all season along, for several seasons. I'm not going to  change my mind because of this seasons dramatics and because Champions League qualification is in the balance. I don't believe qualifying for this competition every season should be deemed as an honour. A platform perhaps for further adventures and encounters, a platform to grow stronger. But it shouldn't really be anything more than that. Unless you are proud of the fiscal and accountancy. Someone recently stated that winning the Champions League when you finish outside the top three sums up the hyperbole that UEFA and the TV companies have created around the competition. It's now more important to participate in the competition than it is to win it.

Yet having witnessed Chelsea win the FA Cup, I found myself truly underwhelmed when teasing the idea of 'how would I have felt if that was Spurs lifting that grand old cup?'. I hate the fact that it no longer has my heart pacing. It should feel more than a day out, yet that's all it appears to be thanks to the distraction of a Champions league predominately made up of teams that are not champions of their leagues.

My pragmatism is flawed.

"I don't believe qualifying for this competition every season should be deemed as an honour"

It's not an honour in the way of silverware, but it is one to participate in even if it's a creation to appease the rich and make them richer. It's still the only way to compete against the very best in Europe. When you remember our début season in the CL and the memories created off the back of our qualification and group games, how can you possibly wish to turn your back on any of it? Some of those memories are already iconic in terms of our own history. If modern football is saying this is the new bread and butter, then feed on it we shall.

But still my pragmatism is flawed.

Although there is nothing wrong with wanting to play against the elite of Europe there is plenty of hypocrisy that you can easily disguise behind that pragmatism that ends up confusing what football should be about. But then what is football? It's always going to be perceived differently depending on the individual. To you want to be entertained or do you want success above all things? Our priorities as supporters have shifted because football has shifted. Some want success no matter what at any cost whilst others look at long term progression and a cup win every so often. We might fall into different categories here but I'm sure (as Spurs fans) we want to see our side play the football that is synonymous with our history. It's important to hold onto one's identity. So how do you compliment one's identity?

By winning things.

Of course I'm going to be underwhelmed to see Chelsea win the FA Cup. I'm reminded of when we beat them to claim the League Cup. How can any cup final win be discounted? Surely it can't? It goes down in history forever. You have stories on and off the pitch associated with the occasion, with the football and the support. It's meaningful, it's tangible, it writes another chapter into your clubs life story. It's a true honour. And yet my flawed pragmatism still pushes me back and away from it as the shadow of UEFA casts down on me from above.

Football is not the same beast it was decades ago. But we are still aiming high. Bill Nicholson would possibly adopt to a similar outlook we're embracing now. Top four > Champions League > title push > champions > European Cup final. That's what every club at the very top of the tier would find agreeable as targets, even if very few are currently in that position to achieve it. That's just the way modern football has been set up to work. We don't care for the fiscal but our owners do because it's the only way to sustain such an ambitious challenge. In fact it's the only way to compete for any ilk of silverware, such (has been) the power of the dominant clubs in England in the past decade or so. I'm sure Bill would still not have frowned at the cups on offer. Unlike I have.

Glory can't be measured. As stated, it can be a one off game, a piece of silverware or sustained success. We have always believed. When we sat in mid-table, we wanted Europe, when we got Europe we aimed for top five, we then pushed for fourth and we continue to strive for more. You're hardly going to be this grand olde swashbuckling side whilst stuck in the middle of the league table. But that doesn't mean you'll turn away the cameos or support the side any less if you are.

Do you love Spurs any more now than you did when we were abject? Does your love depend on the success on the pitch? Of course it doesn't. It shouldn't. Perhaps deep down winning something every so often makes you feel more alive. Not knowing if you're going to win or not, punching above your weight or playing the role of the underdog. Perhaps being fatalistic is a better comfort zone than possessing a sense of entitlement. But then all fans are fatalistic at heart regardless of stature. And if you take entitlement and ever so slightly strip it of it's arrogance you are left with simply wanting the very best for your club. Every underdog can have its day.

The epiphany is simply this; why do we have to ask theoretical questions about what matters more? Why do I feel the need to be pragmatic? Why does football have to be dictated by what others dictate to be acceptable standards? Is it really necessary to be so complex and analytical, dissecting every second of football played? Whether it's that one piece of silverware in ten years or ten years of winning silverware. With regards to the team its self, there might be a lack of consistency due to rotation, tactics, injuries which means they can't treat every game the same, they can't treat every game like a cup final. It's unavoidable for them. But my excuse? Our excuse? We have no excuse. We can be consistent all of the time and support the club unequivocally. That's not to say you smile and take everything on the chin without question or criticism. Doesn't mean you can't complain or disagree or object to something you feel strongly about. Like in any relationship a good bust-up or argument is sometimes required to clear the air. You shout because you care. As long as Tottenham is Tottenham, does it matter what everyone else thinks and does?

I've allowed the thought police to tell me what to think. It doesn't have to be so complicated. You might prefer it to be like that. But not for me.

What you have, outside of win, lose, draw is the ability to love Tottenham and show that love without reservation. Players come and go, the ones that matter are the ones that leave their mark on the club and your heart. Custodians of the shirt. Our shirt. I don't want to spend another second fretting about who might sign or leave. What will be will be. If x player doesn't want to wear the shirt, then why would I want him to stay? Why have I wasted so much time trying to fool myself that loyalty exists and money hasn't consumed the game? Loyalty shouldn't be something you need to prove. The role of the custodians is to honour the traditions that the fans live and die by. Supporters are often criticised for having a detrimental influence on clubs, pressuring the board and chairman. Surely that's our right? It's our money and our loyalty that has built the club to what it is now alongside the footballing innovators in the dug outs and in Lilywhite shirts that birthed push and run and everything that followed.

I don't expect modern day footballers to love the shirt like we do, but I do expect them to play like they love it when they wear it. The ones that do this are the ones more likely to succeed.

The true essence of the epiphany is that I have to accept football is no longer this sweet innocent girl with a shy smile. She's now a flirtatious woman in hot pants seductively teasing and rarely allowing you to reach out and touch her. But when she does, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. So all we do is follow. Because that's all we can do. Follow. The dream is to see those hot pants on our bedroom floor. And if it doesn't happen a touch once in a while will have to do.

Top four, silverware, last game of the season dramatics. Every second of every game, win/draw/lose, it all matters because it's Tottenham Hotspur. I want us to be the very best but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend my time dreaming about it with ample nervous bites at my fingernails. There is no club like our own and for all our faults and fragmentation I would still not change a single thing about it.

Echo of glory. Never forget that. If desire drives the club forward and the supporters are the fuel, then emotion is the fuel that drives me.

Play the Spurs way. That's all I need, all I want. I'm not having people who don't love my club dictate how I should feel about it. The FA, UEFA, the Premier League, the media, television. I don't want to be constrained and contained. I don't want this relentless want for success define me, I want us to define it. I want to believe and I want to follow and I want to support.

Tottenham is my club. I'm taking it back.

Come on you Spurs.

Tottenham Ultras official video

On the 16th February 2012, The Fighting Cock invited Spurs fans to come and support the youth team in their FA Youth Cup game at Charlton Athletic. Here's the video...

Note: Once the video starts, use the settings control in the bottom right to switch to High Definition (HD).

You can find photos and other videos from the away day in the forum here.

'Follow'

by Flav

We: The Yid Army

For many years the atmosphere in modern football has been on a steady decline. Sky Sports took over the broadcast rights of top flight football, the Premier League was formed, and we have seen the type of vocal support, once synonymous with football clubs, suffer ever since. Football had become sterilised, the fan experience less important. The key was money, and making lots of it. Football in England became a commodity, and the fans with it – easily taxable for a chance to see players of ‘world’s most exciting league’ in the flesh. Clubs would hire expensive branding consultants to redesign and re-launch the badge – it should be sleeker, advertiser friendly, free of symbolism that would confuse potential fans from far off lands, the latin slogans translated into English or dropped altogether.

Sky Sports pumped vulgar amounts of cash and launched news channels; the Premier League allowed them to reschedule football matches to make them easier to market. We had Grand Slam Sunday and Monday Night Football. Supporters suffered, while players, club owners, agents, and television stations reaped the reward. And so, fans sick of paying money out only to see their team perform with mediocrity (as they had no doubt always done) would sing and support less, and moan, mutter and boo instead. Winning became all-important, and to many club’s fans, the only thing that mattered.

One part of the reason why I love Tottenham so much is that for years our supporters bucked the trend. We would, win or lose, sing for the shirt and the players within in, loudly and proudly without a moment’s thought. The atmosphere at The Lane was heralded across the land by our own fans and the media alike:

Journalist Kevin Palmer of ESPN once said: Tottenham fans deserve credit for injecting the most electric atmosphere in London football. Chelsea's Stamford Bridge, a***nal's Emirates Stadium and the rest are muted compared to this enclosed bowl.

But eventually, the inevitable happened. You’ll find some Spurs fans that still regard the support we provide the players as something to behold. And in certain games this remains fact. But the more honest of us will admit that over the last few seasons certainly, the volume at the Lane has been somewhat muted.

It’s a difficult thing to remedy. You’re attempting to stir the inner passion of 36,000 people. You’re up against everything that Sky Sports has instilled in your everyday fan. If your team wins they’re amazing, and if they lose they’re nothing. Tradition and love dissolve to nothing when your players have their backs against the ropes.

But then The Fighting Cock had an idea. The Tottenham Ultras. We wanted to find a fixture we knew would be poorly attended. White Hart Lane sells out every home game that the first team plays in. The academy team obviously doesn’t have such a luxury. We decided upon a FA Youth Cup fixture scheduled for 16 February 2012 against Charlton at The Valley.

Forget the word ‘Ultra’. When we decided to use that word we knew exactly what it meant. But we chose it so people instinctively knew what we wanted from those that attended: come along, support the young players who are as much part of the club as Gareth Bale or Luka Modric, and sing as loud and for as long as you can. Show them players, and more importantly, the shirt their wearing, what they mean to us. But the Tottenham Ultras was and is certainly nothing to do with violence. We only harnessed its proper meaning:

Ultras are a type of sports fans renowned for their fanatical and elaborate displays of "support". They are predominantly European and followers of football teams. The behavioural tendency of ultras groups includes the use of flares (primarily in tifo choreography), chanting/singing in large groups and the displaying of banners at football stadiums, all of which are designed to create an atmosphere which they believe encourages their own team and intimidates opposing players and supporters.

We thought that 100 would turn up. Actually we desperately hoped that 100 would turn up. On the morning of the game I had images of just 30, and you know what, we would have been happy with that. What we were not expecting is the Yid Army in force. 250 Tottenham Hotspur fans turned up and did not let up, it was a cacophony of noise, it was everything we had hoped it would be, and more. Neigh. It was the one of the best moments of our Tottenham supporting lives. Passion. Pride. Energy. Everything that following football was once about. And it was fiver on the door.

We sung our hearts out. Every minute flew by as the passion carried us through a tight and scrappy affair. Tightly packed in the corner of the stand, in front of a Blue and White Banner that simply stated ‘FOLLOW’, surrounded by cowbells, horns, and flags, we sung. Not even the confiscation of our marching drum – ordered especially from Germany at no small cost – could quell the tide of Tottenham euphoria. It was truly an amazing thing to be involved in, and no doubt bare witness to.

We lost 1-0. A quality free kick in the 94th minute to smash our dreams. But we were defiant. We would not be crushed. And responded with yet more song, louder than before. The final whistle went and the young players were crushed, many of them slumped to the pitch. But we cheered, and slowly they rose, and they came to us, looked at us, and saw the passion in our eyes. For that moment, we were one together. Tottenham Hotspur, player and fan, a unit, the Yid Army.

-

For the brand spanking new-look Fighting Cock website click on the below image.

You can access the forums by clicking here.

It's about the shirt

Just remember people. Its about the shirt. What will be will be.

Can't deny Redknapp of the England job. Would make more sense for him to take it at the end of the season. Harry made a point of citing the support he's had from the club during the court case. I hope that counts for something but its hardly the end of days either way. I guess my gut instinct is there's no immediate need for him to replace Capello. It's dependent on how England approach Tottenham. One thing is for certain, I do not believe for a second that Levy has not planned a contingency or two for this scenario. Probably earlier than most expected (the summer being the prudent window for movement) but he'll have our backs covered. Managers, they come and go. We should be grateful that after a decade of mistakes we found swagger and consistency with one that was quite unexpected.

Like I said, it's really in the hands of the FA now. If they request to speak to Harry and want to offer him the job and want him to start it now then we get to see that contingency play out. I will love to see how they deal with the pay-out. If the offer is for the summer, then I'm hoping the distraction does not unbalance the manager and players - even though the sensory overload of news and opinions has already flooded all areas of the press (who adore him and will be relentless in their pursuit).

This is the job he wants more than anything. He simply won't say not to it. If asked.

Best to remember we're not a one-season wonder. We've been on the up for a few seasons now. We're in fantastic shape and the next man in will have one of the best sides in the country to manage.

I'm getting ahead of myself. All that's happened for the minute is Capello has gone. Until the next chess move, we wait. Many seem to have brushed aside the possibility that the FA might look elsewhere.

Newcastle on Saturday. That matters more than anything else at the moment.

COYS.

Tottenham Ultras: The Fighting Cock Project

16 February 2012 - Charlton Athletic v Tottenham Hotspur FA Youth Cup


Meet between 4:30pm and 6:00pm at The Bridge Bar in London Bridge Station.


We've done Botswana.

Now we're planning something a little closer to home.

On the 16th February 2012 Tottenham's youth side take on Charlton at the Valley in the 4th round of the FA Youth Cup. We want them to have a taste of what it might feel like to play for the Spurs first team. We want our young developing players to feel some of the passion that, we, Tottenham's magnificent supporters can generate as a way of spurring them on to greater things for our illustrious club.

We want you to join The Fighting Cock in creating an atmosphere on this night that these players will never ever forget. We want to create something that will go down in Tottenham folklore. And all you have to do is turn up and sing your heart out.

We're going to be contacting the club about tickets etc. so you don't have to. All you need to do is spread the word, round up your mates, and join us at The Bridge Bar pub in London Bridge station from 4:30pm before setting off at 6pm to head for the Valley to let the yids out.

For one night be one of the #tottenhamultras

The whole evening will be recorded and made into a short film to be released through The Fighting Cock website


Please spread this around to any Tottenham related forums you frequent. Reply in the comments section to get involved or better yet - visit this thread and sign-up.

Love the shirt.

@lovetheshirt

#tottenhamultras