Do you know any fans who actively supported Spurs in the 1930s, 40s and 50s? Or are you one of those fans?

If so, Martin Cloake and I would like to hear from you. I’m working with Martin on something that’s aiming to gather first hand memories of supporting the club from all those years ago. Martin is author and co-author of the essential library for every Spurs fan including with Adam Powley We Are Tottenham, the Glory Glory Nights and The Boys From White Hart Lane.

We’re interested in the day to day experiences of being a fan, in what the club meant to people and symbolised in those days, in why it attracted the support it did, where from and how.

And if there’s anyone who goes back further than the 1930s, we’d certainly like to hear from you.

If you want to know more, please get in touch with me at tottenhamonmymind@gmx.co.uk or Martin on martincloake@mac.com we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

In the aftermath of Chel**’s Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night, the cameras lingered with voyeuristic glee on John Terry as the pain of defeat caused his tears to flow. And to think that ITV’s football coverage has been criticised.

Let’s just say I’m not a fan of the alleged racist and leave it at that. Whatever my opinion of the man, there’s no doubt that he was genuinely affected by losing. Although he didn’t play in his club’s winning final and therefore missed out on a chance to win a medal by taking part rather than for bringing his kit along, this emotional reaction went beyond the personal. He deeply cared about his club and the result.

It made me wonder. Of our current squad, in the frankly preposterous eventuality that we had reached a CL semi-final, would anyone cry for Spurs?

In contemporary football discourse, any mitigating empathy is interpreted as an excuse for disreputable behaviour and in Terry’s case there’s plenty to choose from, never mind scenes at White Hart Lane where he has taken great delight in letting us know what he thinks of Spurs fans. Therefore let me say – this is not an excuse for him or his past, it has not altered my opinion of him one jot.

So this is about Spurs. Terry cares about his team – who of our lot feels the same, and does it matter? Michael Dawson comes to mind first, interestingly like Terry a tough centre half who makes up for a lack of top-level on-the-ball skill with physical presence and unswerving commitment. Daws feels like one of ours after so long at the club, although of course Terry has been with his club all his life.

He has always had something to prove. Originally the junior partner in a deal that brought Andy Reid to Tottenham, he’s had to fight hard to be first choice regardless of several managers who had notably different preconceptions of his worth. AVB, for example, nearly sold him because (again like Terry) he didn’t suit the manager’s preferred high defensive line, yet was compelled to revise his opinion.

My contact book is as thin as a sheet of rice paper rolled through a mangle but I’ve been told by journalists who have met him that his passion and honesty is completely genuine. He really feels the heritage of the white shirt with the cockerel-on-the-ball badge.

Tissues on standby for anyone else? Kyle Walker is unfairly maligned because, one, he’s better player than many give him credit for, and two, if we are behind in a game he will fight with determination to put it right. Kaboul and Lennon too for that matter. And a surprise late entry, no one has put more into the second half of this season than Adebayor. Holtby, if we ever see him again.

A caveat again – I’m not saying that they do this well every time or that it works. For example, Spurs conceded a third against West Brom a couple of weeks ago because of Kaboul’s recklessness in surging up the field. Walker was all over the place late on versus Chel**a.

All I’m saying is that I reckon they care. From a combination of what they do and looking into their eyes, they care. But to the point of being heartbroken at defeat in a big match? Not sure. Whereas Paulinho and Chadli, two skilful players, don’t feel it, and haven’t contributed enough this season.

The real question is, does it matter? Supporters and players will always be separated by this great divide. We support the shirt and expect players to do the same, but players are professionals, with professional pride but not necessarily an emotional attachment to whatever club they happen to play for.

This may not affect their performance. Lloris and latterly Eriksen are playing extremely well, giving everything, but there’s no evidence of an undying emotional commitment to the club. In response to the accusation that modern players are so cushioned and cosseted by their inflated salaries, my response is that I don’t mind provided that they give everything when they play for my club.

The Lane has felt like a passion-free zone since Sherwood was appointed. Not his fault – that’s an uncomfortable consequence of Levy’s short-termism both in dumping managers before they have a real chance and in creating his second caretaker role. We’re marking time until the summer. The players can’t play for their place or their manager because the new guy will rate them all differently.

Playing for something more than professional pride therefore does matter in my view. For a few, Ledley King being the shining light here, it means everything and sustains a level of performance and dedication against all the odds. Others come and go. For the majority, that extra commitment to the club provides just that little bit more of an incentive, and it’s that edge that makes in the difference in a league where margins between success and failure are narrow.

Good players can be made as well as born. This is yet another reason why any summer appointment must look to the medium and long term, to build continuity that includes a strong attachment with the club. Don’t just tell them their future is with Spurs, keep them and build a team where their talents can blossom. Explain the heritage. Let them come into contact with the fans regularly and in relaxed, ‘real’ situations not a Q&A, where they can absorb what it means for us.

There’s nothing of John Terry’s that I envy, he can even keep his money, but I wish for a few Tottenham players who feel the pain of defeat as much as he does.

 

Two intrepid Spurs fans are trekking in Wales this summer to raise funds for the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust. Go on, give them a couple of bob, good lads both. Click here for more info

 

 

Once again Spurs have waded through a stodgy game and come away with three points without playing well. Let’s enjoy it. Not the football itself – flashes of brilliance from Eriksen, Adebayor and Chadli stood out because they were so rare in a staggeringly ordinary match. But we’re winning so let’s freewheel to the end of the season, whistling a happy tune.

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Not much happiness at the Britannia, oh dear me no. Both teams struggled to get going, working hard but lacking cohesion. I checked my stream – thought it must be running slow but that was just the players trudging through treacle. Then in a flash of inspiration, Adebayor touched the ball past the defender and Danny Rose, um, rose at the far post to decisively head home his inviting cross. Shouldn’t have been so far forward – disgraceful!

Then Rose was victim in an incident that exposes another element of watching Premier League football these days. Prem fans are cosseted and privileged yet apparently carry a massive sense of simmering injustice. Fans of many clubs seem to think their players (Spurs are like this sometimes too) are never in the wrong. It’s always the opposition and the ref, usually both. It’s part of the culture of criticism that has enveloped the modern game. The real game, watching in the flesh, is faster than ever but not on television where everything is slowed down and analysed into oblivion. Refs make mistakes. Players go over the top. Players dive. But they don’t always do that. Nevertheless there’s now an element of doubt in every tackle, every time a player touches another.

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Late in the first half, Shawcross went in high on Rose. The ball was bouncing a foot or so off the ground. Both players were entitled to go for it. Rose got there first, Shawcross was late. He was rightly booked but because he had been yellow-carded already, he was sent off. Ref completely right.

Cue Stoke apoplexy and Spurs ineptitude. Not a hint of blame for a defender’s daft challenge? Not a jot. I think Rose, my player, was extremely stupid with what he did next. Not a question of bias. He stupidly pushed a defender in the chest having been cynically late-tackled. Ref booked him. I’ve not seen a player dismissed this season for raising his hands to chest height. Head height is different. Players often push each other and get booked. Ref was right but in this case Rose was foolish as he had been successfully wound up by Stoke players and crowd.

Now a liability, Rose was rightly substituted by Sherwood. I can’t be arsed to listen to either manager post-match but as Hughes is in a state of permanent indignation, I guess there was no room for doubt in his mind.

Stoke with 10 men were a far more formidable proposition than Stoke with 11. At least, they were because of our reaction. It’s a measure of our fragile collective team psyche and lack of on-field leadership that we played poorly from this point onwards, until the final minutes when finally we grasped the fact that if we hold on to the ball and don’t constantly give it away, we might hang on for the points. We sat back, looked dismal in possession and generally waited for Stoke to score.

Obligingly they missed the chances they made. Lloris was admirably solid, a tonic as gaps opened up in front of him. Dawson and Kaboul helped out with a couple of finely timed interventions. Hughes did the right thing in boldly attacking when he went to three up front but his forwards let him down.

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Last week I severely criticised Nacer Chadli’s lack of application and effort. So it is only fair that I compliment him this week because at last he realised that his central midfield role involves working back as well as starring on the ball. He overcame a niggling knee problem and often appeared in between the two centre backs to help out at the back. Credit where it is due – well played sir.

At the end we could have had another – Kaboul irresponsibly charged upfield – if only we knew where the keys to that bus are, if only – but in the event his cross could have been turned in by Kane, while Paulinho, who was poor throughout, missed another opportunity.

Sherwood can’t find the bus either so we’re unable to park it even if we want to. We could have done with some solidity at the back but we turned out winners in a forgettable end of season stodge memorable only for the reaction to two bookings. See – I’ve reached the end without mentioning Charlie Adam.