Thanks Willo for sending this in, good read.
I lay in my bed last night, 3am, the dreaded alarm reaching touching distance and still I was hours away from sleep. The fresh stitches in my knee from a touch of horrific-tackle-induced surgery were not helping, but it was glory I had in my mind.
With the best part of 25 years behind me as a Spurs fan, I am that generation of fan that was a bit too young at the time to have vivid memories of Gary and Gazza, as was my father for the glorious Double Winning Team. 3 trips to Wembley, 1 to Cardiff, 2 League cups and 2 sad days, and that’s it really. We have had some unbelievable nights at the Lane; Bonfire Night 2007, the 5-1 Drubbing of the Arse, Danny’s Volley and occasional 9-1 scorcher, but have we ever had a night of tonight’s ilk?
In a way, the defeat last week was a blessing. It has given us a night that I can remember forever, the night we finally stood up and were counted for. At school, my peers were mainly Scum supporters, and they revelled in silverware they picked up season after season – as if taking our rock wasn’t enough, we had to sit back and take their success coupled with our relative failures. Martin took us to the brink, and lasagna jokes aside, we nearly got ourselves into the position we sit today, without ever looking like we wanted it, or deserved it.
Today is a different picture. Harry has pumped fresh life into 90% of our squad. Not only do we want to take our place amongst Europe’s Elite, we deserve it. We are not Tottenham of old, we have strength, depth, skill and flair. In Bale and Lennon we have 2 wingers that have and will run circles round some of the best defenders the world has to offer, and we are 90 minutes away from giving them that opportunity.
Last Tuesday night, for 28 minutes I saw a team that I had watched for a decade. A team that got scared of the stage they were on and the crowd that was watching them. At the risk of tarnishing my reputation before it is born, F*ck the pitch. We were not good enough. At 3-0 down we looked like the side who bottled it against West Ham. Then Tom came into the fold and showed us all why Harry has picked him as his Quarter Back – agile and mobile he may not be, but without him we looked like a door with no hinges – as soon as he stepped foot onto the pitch belief came back and we looked more like the side who earned their place in Bern.
We are 90 minutes away from achieving something I can hold my hands up and admit that I never thought possible. When we beat them, we will go through to the biggest club competition in our game, and we will do it with a squad big enough to handle it. Our Chairman, and I say Ours because he is Ours, he is a business man yes but he runs the club impeccably, and when we qualify, a kitty will open and White Hart Lane will emerge as The Place to Be. Losing is not an option, losing is not a possibility, we have come too far and tried too hard, tonight is the night Arsenal fans wish they were Lily Whites, the night Chelsea fans regret riding the wave of success on the back of an Oligarch’s Billions, tonight is our night.
COYS.