Like being punched in the face by God

Latest episode available, innit.

Season 2, Episode 12 - Bareback

Danny Blanchflower's grandson. Chelsea autopsy and positives. Some Crouch loving. Left-back conundrums. Sig and Demps. Rickipedia and Ricky's misadventure. Twitter, Kyle Walker and scapegoating. Bale's baby. Keeper sweeper. A couple of laughable match previews followed by the return of Pr*ck of the Week. Windy and his delicious youth update. Quote of the week. Running order chaos. Footballers sleeping with our girlfriends. Quantifying loving the shirt. Missing games. Being punched in the face by God. And we've got a welder update. We sincerely apologise for all of it. Jousting: Flav, Spooky, Thelonious, Ricky and engineer Al. Ross Blanchflower guesting.

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Previous eps: 

Season 2, Episode 11 - Fight the power

This week consists of seriousness, anger and controversy:

Safe standing and EDM, Gareth '3rd best player in the world' Bale, Andre and Chelsea, Rickipedia, racism in football (apparently there's a fair bit but don't shout about it), Windy yoof update, a variety of random questions and not so random, including 'why do some Spurs fans hate Chelsea more than Woolwich'?

Wyclef Jean approves of all of the above.

Panthers: Flav, Spooky, Thelonious, Ricky with guests Lustdoctor and Dave covering for our missing engineer.

Click on download to listen.

Season 2, Episode 10 - Married to Tottenham

Flav had a meeting with Tottenham at the Lane about 1882. If you're attending the Maribor home game and sitting in block J, you're going to want to hear the update on this. Aside from the serious real talk, we look back on our 2-0 win against Villa and the variety of story arcs that encompass our current momentum. We playa hate Noel Gallagher. We playa hate diving but also try to rationalise it. We've got the curious case of Kyle Walker and then to be honest, I'm not sure what happens after that point. Something in the air. Our collective minds wandered into the abyss, all very very confusing. Husband and wife role-play. Beastly midfielders. Cannibalism I think, not literally, that would be hideous. And trikes. I remember trikes. Rickipedia, Meat Men and Windy provide our features this week. Tripping: Flav, Spooky, Thelonious, Ricky and engineer Al.

Click on download to listen.

Season 2, Episode 9 - An audience with Micky Hazard

The lads meet up with Micky Hazard, watch the Panathinaikos game, have a few beers, get to the 'studio' (lol) and record. Organic stuff. Practically orgasmic.

We've got a show jammed and buttered up with news on the next 1882 event (get your singing voices ready) plus a brand new project in the making, the historic OTT win at OT, AVB versus the media part seven hundred and a bunch of other stuff including questions from us and from you for our guest, London's finest black cab driver and not the father of Eden Hazard. Starting line-up: Flav, Thelonious, Ricky with Micky Hazard and Greg.

Click on download to listen.

For the full archive click here.

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The only Hazard that matters

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The Fighting Cock - Season 2, Episode 9.

The lads meet up with Micky Hazard, watch the Panathinaikos game, have a few beers, get to the 'studio' (lol) and record. Organic stuff. Practically orgasmic.

We've got a show jammed and buttered up with news on the next 1882 event (get your singing voices ready) plus a brand new project in the making, the historic OTT win at OT, AVB versus the media part seven hundred and a bunch of other stuff including questions from us and from you for our guest, London's finest black cab driver and not the father of Eden Hazard. It's emotional stuff.

Starting line-up: Flav, Thelonious, Ricky with Micky Hazard and Greg.

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ASSISTANCE REQUIRED:

We need your help – ‘Memory Lane’ – is a film in the making about our home, WHL. It’s currently in pre-production and we’re looking for old footage, programmes, rare items. So get in touch please. More info on the podcast and website (soon).

"They're not supporters, they're consumers"

Civil War! - season 2, episode 5 - The Fighting Cock podcast

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Spurs in crisis! Meltdown!

We've got all the bloodshed in glorious audio. Norwich autopsy, haters hating, passionate ranting and a call for composure. We look back at the transfer window antics and Moutinho (who?) saga and the media's agenda against Villas-Boas. But it's okay, don't fret, we manage to squeeze in some positivity in amongst the misery. Rickipedia and Windy do their thang and we ask...just what is Daniel Levy like in the bedroom?

By-products of a lifestyle obsession: Flav, Spooky, Ricky, Thelonious, Engineer Al

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www.thefightingcock.co.uk/forum

Also available to subscribe to on itunes.

Always look on the bright side of Spurs

Made to soothe those post season blues and warm your lovely Tottenham hearts…

There’s always next season after all…

Written by Charlotte ‘Peachy’ Hamilton @charlottepeachy and tehTrunk @tehTrunk

Further credit and thanks to our wonderful cast Rakesh Makwana, Matt Slocombe, Sarah Gallen, Tim Grigg, Thelonious Filth, Tom Fisher and Eric Dahms.

tehTrunk - Someone like 'arry

tehTrunk TV

thefightingcock.co.uk

This drum has no beat

You might or might not be aware there's been a campaign recently to get Spurs to allow back a drummer + drum into the corner of the Shelf Side.

There will be no return for the drum at the Lane. The club have finally responded and there are two reasons given why we wont be seeing it at matches.

Firstly, the infamous rhythm the original drummer used encouraged the 'systematic chanting' of the word "yids" and the club do not want to be seen as endorsing this as to avoid being slapped on the wrist by the football authorities and anti-racism campaigners. So basically no chance of an instrument being used to orchestrate this chant, although it would appear that football supporters can still use their mouths to achieve the same thing. That's until the time when said mouths will be surgically removed on entry to the ground as per the small print you didn't read.

The current drummer would be happy NEVER to play that particular rhythm. I guess the club still believe it's a risk to allow it back in even if they stipulated rules concerning the removal of the drummer and the drum if they deviated from the agreed song sheet. To think once upon a time all this was good enough to be featured in the clubs Opus.

The second reason given is a joke. Probably an exaggerated excuse. The club are saying that they received complaints from other supporters about the noise generated from the beating of the drum. Really? The noise? Is it that ear-bleedingly loud? Is it that annoying? That persistent? Can I officially complain about the knee-jerking t*ats in the Park Lane Lower that mouth off garbage all game? Can we have them banned too? Who exactly goes to a football match and complain about noise? Is this the same ilk of person that remains seated even if a player is about to run through and score a goal? The same that gives a dirty look towards fans who dare to stand up and sing for Tottenham? I wonder how many people complained? A thousand? A hundred? Ten?

Apparently:

"We are firmly of the belief that White Hart Lane is a unique stadium, with a fantastic atmosphere organically generated by the crowd without the need of additional instrumentation"

Fantastic for category A games, sure. For other games, I guess I can agree that the atmosphere is organically generated at times, say based on say a poor home performance and the resulting boos echoing around our stadium proudly.

The fact that loyal supporters who frequent Spurs every game want the drum back speaks volumes about this illusion that the atmosphere is always buzzing. But then we're back with the same arguments relating to modern football and the fact that we are continually conforming, from free to express ourselves football fans to nothing more than a client reference number. This shouldn't be and isn't about needing a drum to inspire the fans (although it would help). There's a far bigger problem in football these days in that people turn up to sit down as if they're watching the game from the comfort of their home on the sofa. The way football is policed and packaged, you are made to feel guilty for daring to achieve genuine organic atmosphere. From the heart.

Some fans are stuck neck-deep in the pressure and want for success they forget what it means to be emotive. There's also the new breed of modern football supporters that prefer to sit and watch in silence. The club are doing their very best to appease this particular group (the family with the money to spend spend spend). Keep it clean for the kids. Then to top it off there's a hefty slice of the home support that would happily have sung their hearts out when we were mediocre but now expect victory without wanting to voice their passion. They tie into the ones that can't handle the pressures of competing at the top.

Fragmantation aside, the crux is we not trusted with a drum. It's also a cultural thing what with this country being a complete mess with its politically correct overload. I'm not suggesting they let us walk into the ground with a pigs head or a moped, but come on, please treat the ones that are responsible like adults. This is about the freedom of expression, more than it is about some bloke and a drum.

There's a contradiction with what Spurs are saying. But then this is about politics and about the word 'yid' more than anything else. Which is fair enough and its probably appreciated by most that the club has shown transparency here. But the middle ground is being ignored for far more controlling reasons. At a recent game (Spurs youth team) at Charlton we had a drum taken off us because apparently the home supporters were required to be informed in advance about the potential noise we would generate from it so that they could be prepared for it on the night. Ridiculous. The club (Tottenham) gave our support that night a mention on the official site/official Facebook page.

There is no valid reason other than the powers that be wanting to control your experience.

The club owns us. We are consumers. We are replaceable. We are a walking wallet. Football is sports entertainment and standing up when you've got a seat is unacceptable.

I'm looking forward to seeing the clubs plans for 'the wall' (the massive kop end) pencilled in for the new stadium. You'll remember it from the illustrations, it looked majestic in size in illustration. The noise emanating from it will probably be lunch-boxes open and closing whilst everyone tucks into their prawn sandwiches.

In the mean time, don't be afraid to show your love for the club. Otherwise...To dare is to be told to do.

Chicco 'dance' Nare

Following up from this:

Just before Christmas 2011, a small group of Tottenham Hotspur supporters decided to start an appeal that would affect the lives of a few good people in the southern African country of Botswana. Whilst the logical thing to do would be to set up a charity account to raise money to build a well or to help underprivileged children, the members of The Fighting Cock Podcast (www.thefightingcock.co.uk) decided to buy 3 members of Botswana Meat Commission F.C. their very own personalised Tottenham home shirts.

Quite how this came about was completely random. The decision was made by The Fighting Cock forum members to support a second, foreign based, team, and so they begin scouring football teams from around the world to offer their support. There was one team name that stood out – The Botswana Meat Commission F.C. – a football club started and owned by a company responsible for overseeing the slaughter, marketing and export of beef from Botswana. If thousands of people around the world can support Manchester United for no other reason than they like the red kit, or David Beckham used to play for them, then why couldn’t a group of men from London support a team in the African continent. To seal the deal BMC FC’s main rivals are the ‘Extension Gunners’. It was a logical choice for group of Tottenham fans.

After a few months of following the antics of the Botswana Meat Commission F.C., the members of the Fighting Cock forum started an appeal to purchase some shirts for 3 people who represented BMC FC. The first was a member of the clubs Executive Committee, who had been keeping TFC updated with the results from the club. Another was Motsholetsi Sikele, BMC FC’s centre midfielder. Both of these men had been contacted via Facebook and were interested and excited that a random group of people at picked their team to support. They were surprised that people had even heard of their club outside their native Botswana. The third was the team charismatic manager, Daniel ‘Chicco’ ‘Dance’ Nare. Chicco is a man not to be messed with. Last season he chased a referee around the pitch at the end of the game to protest about a decision.

It took just a few days to raise enough money to purchase the three shirts, each customised with recipients name on the back. Nearly a month later the shirts arrived at the Botswana Meat Commission office in Lobatse, Botswana, around 8000 miles from where they started in London.

Thanks to you and all members of THE FIGHTING COCK podcast for the lovely present sent to Sikele, Chicco Nare and myself. We are very grateful and will wear the shirts with pride. I will get you a photo of Chicco in his shirt too and send it through. ~ Modiri

Obviously the three men were delighted by their late Christmas present and The Fighting Cock supporters were delighted to put a smile on their faces. It’s a nice feeling knowing that their are three people in Botswana proudly wearing Spurs shirt and hopefully following Tottenham in the same way that they are following the efforts of the Botswana Meat Commission Football Club!

Love The Shirt!

- Sibs

...we now have the Chicco pics in.

Oh yeah.

The Official Botswana Meat Commission FC Thread - Facts, history and updates on BMC games from the Botswana Premier League.

BMC FC Christmas Appeal - Spurs fans from around the world donate to raise the money to get the shirts out to Botswana.

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Randoms

Late lunch break. Chance to share some random gems from The Fighting Cock forum.

via ZoC

Click here for the thread.

"to dare is to do". 

don't want to come across as an old-fashioned, pedantic linguistic **** but if i do i don't give a sh*t anyway.

the original spurs battle cry, in Latin, is "audere est facere". now "facere" is the root word for "faire" in French, which we all know from our o level French is translatable as "to do/to make". this demonstrates the word "facere" is imbued with a far deeper and noble meaning than simply the one-dimensional "to do".... ie. do the dishes or do the shopping.... "facere" in this context is more properly translatable as "to achieve". ie, simply the act of daring is an achievement in itself.

"to dare is to do" is such a poncy way to translate "audere est facere". the **** who did it for sh**** marketing purposes on the basis that fans are too ignorant to appreciate Latin should be shot.

i'm willing to do anyone who dares to disagree.

a far more appropriate translation of the original battle cry - something the fighting cock has managed to encapsulate in just a few short months is this:

DARING TO ACHIEVE

Via S.L.R

For the thread click here.

The thing about a***nal is their manager is bigger than their club. More important to the club than the club itself. He was able to walk into their club and mould it in his image. Couldn't have done that unless the club was a blank canvas. Now all the scum talk about their history of playing the a***nal way. They don't even seem to know their own history pre-Wenger. Boring, boring *****.

Also check out the Hollywood Spurs thread for more gold like this:

thefightingcock.co.uk

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The Fab Five

A casual conversation online leads to a pub meet-up in the North of London, a nervous recording or two...then a big bang in the way of a website, the birth of a community, an iphone app and thousands of weekly downloads.

Welcome to The Fighting Cock universe and thanks for your support.

Here's our Top Five choice picks from The Fighting Cock podcast season thus far. Click on the episode titles to listen. Enjoy. Especially if you've not done so before.

Episode #05 - Hayley McQueen Loves Us

This is episode 5 of The Fighting Cock podcast, this week recorded (Wed 24th) at a secret location (ooh, hush hush) which wasn't a pub. Usual suspects present. We talk Tori Black, Hayley McQueen, Joey Barton (again) and Luka Modric (again, boo hiss boo). Spooky feebly apologises for last weeks Robbie Keane stat debacle and we've got a Utd defeat post-mortem and a City preview/hating session. There's also a shocking result in this weeks game of killer and the début of Nananalysis.

Emails too. Someone wins a book for the best answer re: What is the Tottenham Whisper? (although we still don't actually know what it is). Barry Glendenning gets slated and we slag off modern football and ask 'top 4 or trophy?' It will make you crymax.

Episode #07 - Don't Make Us Destroy You

It's Episode Seven. No Spooky this week, Thelonious Filth deputises, gentle applause please. Part I kicks off with a colourful round-up of what the Fighting Cock team have been up to. It's massively off-topic, so deal with it. We've got tall tales and blatant cheek from engineer Al, the defending of the C-word and a transfer deadline review. We also ask; What does Rafa van der Vaart do exactly? Part II sees a surprising head to head finale in a game of killer. We've got feedback, including an email that asks the poignant question: At what point does glory and success meet? And there's a NextGen report (via WindyCOYS). If that isn't enough, TehTrunk provides comedy voices aplenty. We end with a Twitter re-tweet mission update (come on Tommy, you've been warned). Also THANK YOU to Case. Listen in.

Episode #08 - Tottenham Is A Glory Hole

It's Episode Eight and it's an orgy of podcasters. Part I includes seagulling, a re-tweet update, we review a quality result up at Wolves including Scott Parker's début, Bale on the right (why?), preview Liverpool at the Lane, forward tactics and ask the question two trophies or 4th place finish? Part II is jam-packed with a masterful edition of Killer and two BAE terrace songs (majestic vocals) sent in by listeners are sang by the team. Emails/feedback includes: Who will captain us going forward? Should Luka have been sold? Does Levy have a post-Redknapp managerial plan? We also discuss Ledley King and his knee and can success ruin the football experience? Also: Flav makes a nude threat and we slate Stratford lovers. Just because.

Episode #11 - North London Is Ours

It’s Episode 11. We discuss the North London Derby. Then we follow it up with the North London Derby. And then we sprinkle the pod further with the North London Derby. Part I includes: Favourite moments, Bell and Hare fight club, overall thoughts on the 2-1, van der Vaart's impact, we applaud the GIANT that is Scott Parker and Chicago Dan shares an amazing stat. Flav has some gooner quotes and Ricky gets bothered. We preview Newcastle with ample irreverence and predictions. Part II covers Forum Affairs with chit chat on Carlo Ancelotti, other potential hot seat suitors post Harry to England and White Ace cider. Engineer Al then has to go into bleep mode. We end with a discussion about the abusive chanting. Where do the authorities draw the line? Where do we draw the line? Controversial.

Episode #21 - Off The (Cycling) Tracks

It’s Episode 21, a much more sober and sombre one this week. Our glorious unbeaten run was brought to an abrupt end by a cyclist who referees in his spare time. Kaboul’s fire has been put out. Flav is on the brink of immortality in the POTW stakes. Windy goes Pearl Harbour wiv da knowledge. Dan Louw’s fantastic Away Days series makes another appearance. The FC crew remain full of confidence for what will be a pivotal 6 weeks for Spurs. Thelonious does Botswana, not literally obviously. And we’re having a party, bring your vodka and your…

For the full list of eps click here. For itunes download and subscription you need this link.

For The Fighting Cock iphone app, check this out.

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the fighting cock podcast team

@Flav_Bateman @Spooky23 @tehTrunk @RickyTFC @ChicagoDanTFC @TheloniousFilth  

@Alex_Prole @CaseTFC @jodmitchell 

@WindyCOYS @SibsTHFC

@lovetheshirt

This changes everything

It's The Fighting...it's The Fighting...it's The Fighting...APP!

Tottenham Hotspur faithful, immerse yourself into The FC world with a nonchalant tap of your finger and a smug smile. You've heard the pod, browsed the website, interacted in the forum and tweeted the re-tweets and hashtags. Now you can do all of that from your iPhone in one slick looking sexy app. Oh yeah. So what have we got for you?

• Easy access to the latest pod downloads + snazzy in-built podcast player
• Background Playback - you can play the pod whilst checking your mails/browsing/giving us a 5 star rating in itunes
• The Fighting Cock blog + Dear Mr Levy dot com article feed
• Pulsating Fighting Cock forum navigation (full or mobile version)
• Team profiles (so you can stalk us on match-days at the Lane)
• Sound-bites from the pod
• Easy access to contact us (we want your feedback/suggestions/recordings)
• Push notifications - get informed the minute the Pod is released
• Integrated Twitter updates from The Fighting Cock team + our hashtag assaults
• Ability to configure settings so you can control how and when you download updates

All for just £3.99 £1.49!

Please download this app so we have money to spend on booze and record the pod. Search for "the fighting cock" within the app store or click the button below.

 

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For support or any enquires please email us at thefightingcock [at] gmail.com

Screenshots

Harry Redknapp > Brad Pitt

Tottenham 'Money Ball' Hotspur

by Sibs

Ok, stick with me on this one, as I know the title of the post implies I'm about to chat away about baseball and maths for a while.

For those that aren't familiar Money Ball is the latest Brad Pitt film that will no doubt win an Oscar or two. It is based on the story of Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletic baseball team. No, I haven't seen the film, read the book, or claim to have any knowledge of baseball, but I do know the basis premise of the film/story.

Beane set about building a competitive baseball team, based not on conventional thought about how the game should be played and the statistics that should be used, but on a new series of stats and analysis. This led to him fielding forgotten about players, and drafting players based on numbers, rather than the advice and thoughts of scouts.

The results worked.

There was a program on BBC 5 Live the other night, about Money Ball, and relating the story and working methods used to football. It was interesting that they used Scott Parker as a typical example of a Money Ball player...

Read the rest of the article here.

Movember Day 22

Movember Update (day 22)

Movember update.

Visit The_Fighting_Cock 'My mo space page' and my page.

We've also been updating the page and the thread over at The Fighting Cock forum with weekly photos on the growth and (lack of) styling of our majestic moustaches.

To donate or join the team, click on the link and ‘donate to my team’ or ‘join team’. Rejoice the 30 day journey of moustachery.

What a mess. Talking of which...Mo Bro's, get yourselves looking good for the end of the month.

PENHALIGON’S POP UP BARBERSHOP

For the second year running, Penhaligon’s is joining forces with Movember to raise awareness and funds for men’s health charities in the UK. Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache throughout the month of November.

It’s been over 140 years since the doors of Penhaligon’s first barbershop opened on Jermyn Street and now exclusively for Movember we’re bringing back our gentleman’s shaving service. For one month only Mo Bros will be able to experience a complimentary Mo Trim at our flagship boutique in London’s Covent Garden.

Penhaligon’s
41 Wellington Street
London
WC2E 7BN

To book online visit: www.penhaligons.com/shop/movember or call 0203 040 6120

Throughout November, Penhaligon’s will also be donating 20% of sales of their shaving products, both online and in their UK boutiques, directly to Movember.

Penahaligon’s is an English perfume house, founded in the late 1860s by William Henry Penhaligon. Established as a purveyor of fine fragrances and luxury gifts.

It's the fighting...

It's not a six year old bottle of Kentucky Bourbon whiskey, it's not an adult pay site for men and it's nothing Peta should be worried about. The Fighting Cock is a THFC podcast. Our aim is to bring you truly genuine opinions on all matters Spurs. We hope you enjoy our efforts.

Visit thefightingcock.co.uk to stream/download, read our blogs and sign-up to the forum. You can also subscribe to the pod on itunes or via RSS.

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