TOPSPURS - Jim Duggan's Spurs Site

Jim Duggan's TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR site

The Minute Of Contempt – Full Details - from Lee at FTT Spurs

21 days to go and the point of all the plotting and campaigning will, at last, be seen around the world. Yes, around the world. Premier League football has a massive global TV audience and the advance publicity that the MoC is now gaining will ensure that our message to Campbell will be a famous event……

Dear Reader, just in case this your first contact with the MoC, here's a brief synopsis of what it's all about.

After 2 years of deceit and prevarication, and a pay offer that was by far the biggest in the history of the English game, Sol Campbell walked away from WHL when his contract expired. He claimed that he needed to be playing in a higher level of competition than Spurs could provide and a grudging understanding of that ambition had to be acknowledged.

However, Sol didn't head north west to Liverpool. In fact, he had an appointment for talks with Gerard Houllier, but he didn't turn up. Sol didn't head for the airport and get on a flight to Barcelona, Madrid or Milan where Barca, Real and Inter were courting his services. He wanted to stay in London, severely limiting his choice of new club. Although they weren't in the Champions League, surely Sol would head for Fulham Road and join Papa Smurf's rag-tag collection of clapped-out mercenaries.

No! None of the above. Sol did the unthinkable. He turned left out of Bill Nicholson way, besmirching the Spurs legend which the short road is name after and undertook the short journey to Avenal Road, London N5. After talking of the club he loved, the fans who he had a special relationship with and throwing out the question, "Why would I leave Spurs?" Sulzeer Campbell went and signed for Arsenal Football Club.

All this was done after Sol joined his team mates in a lap of honour around The Lane when he took the applause of 36,000 adoring fans at the end of last season, and at a time when he surely knew that he was leaving us. The least he could have done was to have had the decency to stay out of the arena. No, Campbell actually walked around the pitch with Ledley King, a young lad who is, without doubt, a better all round player than Sol. We can only pray that Ledley emulates and surpasses Sol on the field and totally ignores his obnoxious attitude to the club off of it.

What sort of reaction did this elicit from us Spurs fans?

Off of the top of my head, I recollect running two X 3 page feedback sections per week over a period of 3 weeks and a conservative estimate is that Spurs fans wrote nearly 20,000 words of condemnation of his actions on FTT/Spurs alone. It was hardly surprising to learn that similar levels of the same type of feedback were arriving at other Spurs websites and fanzines. And that's without what the National press, TV and Radio organisations were receiving.

That, my fellow Spurs fans, is why FTT/Spurs along with spursodyssey.co.uk, thfclatest.com, spursonline.co.uk, mehstg.co.uk, topspurs.com, CaDD and OFOSH have all been asking you to join in The Minute of Contempt for the last few weeks.

Clearly, Spurs fans felt very strongly about Campbell's actions of the last two years and his final treacherous act. Well folks, the time for talking is over and it's time to put your sense of betrayal into tangible action – To put your money where your mouth is, as it were.

The idea of the MoC was first brought to my attention by regular writer, Brutal. He gave us the bare bones of the protest and between us, we've now added the flesh. Full details will follow, but first, a few words from the man who converted me from a humble website editor into a conspirator in this plot. Here's Brutal's message:

"I'd just like to say that when the Minute of Contempt campaign started I never imagined that it would grow so big and so fast, the fact that it has done so on the net, in the press, and on the airwaves is great credit to Lee and all his sterling efforts, joined by Ad for his fine work on TalkSport and finally, but by no means least, all of you loyal supporters who have spread the word.

We're certainly on a roll with this one and now the final details are being released we need to push the message home in the run up to the match to get as big a participation as possible.

As you surf around the net you'll come across the odd Gooner and the really odd Gooner and they are clearly confused and panicking - we've got them on the run folks.

I'm still hearing a few doubts from our own side who are worried that during the silence, the Gooners will have the freedom to chant away unopposed, well I say good!

Their high pitched wails will be shown to be the pathetic thing they are when the silence ends and our 90% of the stadium sends out a roar, the like of which even WHL has seldom heard before. The contrast will be stunning and should light the touch paper to an atmosphere that will carry our players on to a famous victory.

The eyes of the world are on us now people, let's show them what Spurs people are made of, ordinary people who with a show of unity can pull off an extraordinary event.

In the words of our motto Audere Est Facere

Thank you one and all."

In recent weeks, the MoC has started to get noticed in the mainstream media. It has had significant coverage in The Mirror, The Star and The Guardian. Celebrity Spurs fan Richard Littlejohn is very much in favour of the MoC and he's given it air time on 606 already, and has promised to do so again before November 17. The latest national radio station to notice the MoC is the very well listened to TalkSport Radio. Earlier this week, they contacted FTT's Ad Powley to find out what it's all about. Ad told us:

"Thanks to the efforts of a Lee at FTT and the generous help of people at other sites supporting the MoC, the campaign has been receiving plenty of publicity. This week, for example, we were featured on TalkSport Radio. A question had been posed on Richard Kaufmann's afternoon programme asking what Tottenham fans would be doing to mark Campbell's return, and there were subsequent calls from a couple of listeners mentioning the MoC.

TalkSport contacted us and we were able to outline the plans and clarify what the aims of the MoC were. While our performance on national radio won't exactly have Nicky Campbell worrying about his job security, we were grateful for the opportunity to confirm the fundamental aims of the MoC: it will provide Tottenham fans an opportunity to express their anger at Campbell's behaviour in a dignified and responsible manner.

Our thanks to Richard Kaufmann and those at TalkSport for giving us the chance to have our say."

Before the order of events are revealed, let's put a few misconceptions of the protest to bed.

Under no circumstances will the MoC commence or finish during the match. It will take place BEFORE the kick off!

While chatting earlier this week to fellow editor Wyart Lane (MEHSTG), he told me that he'd received an email which went along the lines of; "How dare you be so arrogant as to TELL Spurs fans what to do!"

What errant nonsense! Let's be very clear here folks. Nobody is telling anybody what to do. A collective of Spurs editors have been sent what we perceive to be a great idea and we are REQUESTING your support and participation. While we would be delighted if every single Spurs fan takes part in the MoC, this is an INVITATION to join in the fun, and like an invitation to any event, you have the right of refusal.

Many fans have expressed a preference for giving Campbell verbal grief throughout the match. Fine, if that's what they feel is called for, who he hell are we to tell them to do otherwise? My personal feeling is, by performing the organised protest, the point will be made in a dignified manner before the game gets under way. But, once the match is started, surely we owe it to Glenn and the team to support THEM in a positive way and maybe it would be best if we wait until Campbell is actually involved and on the ball before we give him a right, royal volley of abuse. I stress, that's my personal feelings and is merely a SUGGESTION (Not an order fer chrissakes!!!)

Last but not least. Following Campbell's somewhat controversial choice of clubs, there was some very nasty, X-rated stuff going around about what fate should befall the man. An effigy of Campbell was hung on the gates of WHL and various threats of violence and acts of harassment of Campbell have ensued. All participating websites and fanzines in the MoC campaign totally deplore these threats and actions and we completely dissociate ourselves from them.

Yes, we are inciting an action with this campaign – We're inciting over 30,000 Spurs fans to stand up, turn their backs on the pitch and to remain silent for 60 seconds – In other words, we're inciting you to do nothing for one minute. All of which is absolutely legal and does not infringe any rules or regulations which are stated within the conditions of our attendance at The Lane.

If you're at The Lane for the Boro match, you should see people handing out flyers about the MoC. I'm afraid that the supply is limited, but if you know any Spurs fans that are not online or who don't buy the various fanzines, get hold of one and make sure that your mates get one. If you know all about the MoC, be nice and say hello to the distributors anyway, and let them know what you reckon of the whole thing. In any event, word is spreading far and wide and it looks like there will be widespread support for the MoC – but don't rest just yet – keep talking about it and let's all do out bit to make sure it works.

OK, let's get down to business. Precisely when will the MoC commence?

Much pondering has gone into when the ideal time would be, and in truth, there is no answer to that – it's more a case of the lesser of a few evils.

When the teams come out to warm up? No good, the stadium is less than half full at that point.

When the skippers are called together for the handshakes and toss up? Getting better.

When the announcer reads Campbell's name? Absolutely useless. The teams are read in squad number order, and as Campbell's number is 23, it will be almost the last name to be read out and this will mean that the silence will extend into the reading of the Spurs team. We have no wish to receive our lads in stony silence. In fact, we want to welcome our own with the loudest cheer The Lane has ever heard.

Another 'objection' has been raised by quite a few Spurs fans. While we're all standing there, backs turned to him and keeping schtum, the Gooners will be making a fair bit of noise. Well, so bloody what? As Brutal said above, the moment the MoC is over, we'll easily drown them out, so let 'em scream their heads off. It doesn't matter!

Right. Final decision. The Minute of Contempt will commence when the ref calls the captains to the centre circle. The ref usually blows his whistle to gain the attention of the skippers. Listen out for that, and in addition, I will also be blowing a whistle myself.

At that point, rise from your seats, turn your backs on the pitch and remain silent while the 60 seconds count down. I've also received a very good suggestion that we bring along white handkerchiefs (a la displeased Barcelona fans). I fully endorse this suggestion and I will be doing exactly that.

At the end of the Minute, I will blow my whistle again, at which point, we should be hearing the Spurs lads announced. That's the time to raise a cheer that will blow the f***ing roof off of The Lane. A further reminder to Him that he turned his back on a divided club, but we're now all together behind the dawn of a new era for Super Spurs.

By Lee Benjamin

Inital page www.topspurs.com/thfc-moc(orig).htm