25^th March 2008 - You win some, you lose some, you win some The third and final blast of the whistle had barely sounded when the expert who sits behind me in the East Lower summed up the win over Portsmouth thus: “We were poor and they were worse” - Really? Everyone is entitled to their opinion but “We were poor”? More of the expert who sits behind me later as the original aim of this piece was to counter some of the premature mutterings against our manager in the light of some recent performances though, in my opinion, the 94 minutes against Portsmouth should have done that anyway. I have never been big on statistics. My concentration wanders too easily. And anyway, as the argument goes, they can prove anything or nothing. Still, as my mind strayed in the wake of the latest candidate for “Game of the Season”, the eight-goal thriller on Wednesday, some figures came to mind. During the Martin Jol reign, we played the top four 29 times, drew 10, won only once and yet finished fifth in the league twice - an achievement that had us believing, and many predicting, we were about to smash the glass ceiling of champions league qualification. Under Juande Ramos, we have already played three of the top four eight times in league and cups - a far smaller sample but the equivalent of one entire season in the league - and have won two and drawn three - which would have been three wins and two draws had the ref’s watch not been set to Fergie time in the home league game with MU. If you count a draw as success, which until very recently it was, that’s a better than 60% per cent success rate – unheard of in the premiership era  - and yet 10^th is looking our best hope for this year. So, are we really no better off now? Have we jumped the gun in believing Ramos the new Special Juan? Well, after the blandness of the last two and a half seasons the goals are now flying in and whilst defeats at Birmingham and Citeh rankle, isn’t that also the Tottenham Way? Would we really trade a couple of backwater wins for our glorious day at Wembley? Fifth place for a Cup? It’s a no brainer. This isn’t a Jol bashing piece. Along with the vast majority, I liked him. Knowing he was near to becoming Fergie’s number two I was quite excited when he came and disappointed it didn’t work out for him. Surprisingly, though, in view of the impact Ramos has undoubtedly had, there are those suggesting the team is very little different now in terms of personnel and that, based on those two performances and defeat in a penalty shoot-out Ramos perhaps doesn’t merit the praise lavished upon him. From being revered early on as a master tactician, it’s now being suggested by his detractors, that rather than adventurous or imaginative, some of his substitutions are well, just random – at least that was the word used by the expert behind me when Bent replaced Dawson against Pompey. True, Dawson was playing well enough but our expert - to listen to his incessant commentary, if he ever played he never misplaced a pass or fluffed a goal scoring opportunity in his life – failed to grasp that Portsmouth’s game plan of two banks of four in front of a born again goalkeeper in possibly the form of his life was working perfectly. We were running out of ideas and the match had 0-1 written all over it. In fact, had Kanu’s lob over Robinson had the pace to beat Zokora that’s probably how it would have finished - as it would have done in more years than we care to remember. Instead, with Portsmouth playing only one up front, we didn’t need four at the back and with the only support for Kanu coming from midfield we didn’t want to reduce numbers there, so a fresh pair of legs for the disappointing Lennon was designed to bolster that area whilst the introduction of a third attacker in Bent gave the Portsmouth defence more to think about with the added possibility of one of their midfielders forced to drop back in support.

. .

The result: a new lease of life, two goals in the last ten minutes – including one for each of the subs - a man of the match performance in 20 minutes from Darren Bent and a mature victory against a team, full of confidence with the third best away record in the league. Of course, you can always argue - as some have - that substitutions are only needed when Plan A goes awry, but don’t you think there is something very Tottenham about stripping an entire back four in favour of attackers as we seemed to do in the 6-4 against Reading; or even more striking, taking off a centre half and playing with three centre forwards as against Chelski. (Look, none of us know how bad the knee really is and if he isn’t training properly maybe 67 minutes is currently Ledley’s limit - unless it’s a cup final). The question has also been asked of Ramos, primarily in light of the way he reportedly dropped Robbo and his substitutions of Chimbonda and Robbie – is he a good man manager? But what does that mean? Is it just another way of asking do the players like him? The answer to that - and I’m sorry to mention him a third time in one piece – is Ferguson popular with his players? Was Clough? Or, come to that, Bill Nick? Respected, definitely. Popular? I’m not so sure.  A lack of consistency is a continuing theme but then, the double year apart, it seems to me that inconsistency is as much a part of Spurs’ history as white shirts and a cavalier style we somehow lost through the nineties but now seem to be recreating -  which is why, the stats aside, it just feels better. Many thought the club mad to ditch Jol, but to diss Ramos so soon is just plain barmy. And anyway, thanks to JR and our first cup in nine years, football is fun again. I can’t remember the last time I went to the Lane in such a relaxed frame of mind, and if you’re worried there’s nothing left to play for, don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of time to get stressed again next season.

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26^th January 2008 - Danny would have loved it!

That’s why we do it. Why we grumble on through the same old same old. Turning up in our tens of thousands week in week out. Always hoping something better is just around the corner. Coming back for more even when we discover it’s not.

If ever you needed a match that encapsulated our double winning captain’s philosophy about glory this was it. The absolute, unrestrained, exuberance; the undiluted, nerve tingling electricity. It was better than - well finish the sentence yourself!

Never to be forgotten, I-was-there-moments like St.Hotspurs Night ll make it all worthwhile. Forget the fools’ gold of fourth place, a back seat on the Champions League gravy train; this is why we are fans long after we should be old enough to know better. This is why we follow Tottenham Hotspur. This is why we still chase the dream.

This is why we laugh at fans of lesser clubs who believe we are deluded, why we dislike fans of those above us in the world’s best league for stealing our clothes.

The paradox is you have to lose as often as we have to create the atmosphere that prevailed on Tuesday and led to such a stratospheric high afterwards. Talk about sucking the ball into the opposition net!

How good was it that Fabregas got on so soon and that even with their so-called big goons on the bench they couldn’t make an impression. Maybe we’ve heard the last of the whole “kids” fallacy though don’t hold your breath. Will they unravel now? Who cares? This site is about us and always has been.

When I sensed the first real stirrings of the Ramos era in the win over Wigan, I wrote that it didn’t matter who the opposition was, that the performance that day was the template for the future. Even so, given our recent history, who could have foreseen us reproducing such a confident, vibrant, all consuming performance against the North London Nomads in a winner takes all semi final.

So now it’s Chelski away and another wrong to be righted. The good news is there will be no hyping of our prospects and we will certainly go into the game as underdogs, which means no danger of complacency. Having beaten them at home last year, there is a pleasing symmetry to winning “away” and ending another losing streak – and what the night of Tuesday January 22^nd, 2008 has proved conclusively is that with Ledley at the back, anything is possible.

23^rd August 2007 - Martin Jol: More spinned against than sinning

So now we know. It’s Champions League or bust. Well, that’s all right then, because after all the summer investment I was worried we might have settled for avoiding relegation.

It was clear Jol was in trouble when the Daily Star splashed the claim he wanted to sell Berbatov. Up to that point I was prepared to believe the rest of it might just have been a routine meeting between manager and chairman spun out of control by a generally unsympathetic press. But for news to have leaked that Jol had allegedly told the chairman he wanted to sell his best player, the information had to have come from the highest level - a blatant attempt to turn public opinion against him and justify his dismissal.

Of course, we’ve been here before. George Graham may not have been to everyone’s taste but who really believes he was sacked for breaking some internal confidentiality rule by talking about the club’s transfer budget? No one could have argued if the then new owners had said something along the lines of "Thanks George, but you no longer fit in here", but treating the hugely popular Dutchmen with similar contempt has to rate as an own goal of Gary Neville proportions.

Sadly, this episode has not only brought the board into disrepute, but a lazy media has, once again, unfairly tarred supporters with the same brush. By branding us fickle, they have chosen to ignore not only the unanimous backing for the manager once the news that his job was in jeopardy had broken, but also the magnificent support within the ground against Derby when even before Malbranque’s first minute goal it was apparent the rank performances against Sunderland and Everton that were the cause of trouble in the first place, were forgiven. Demanding we undoubtedly are - and have every right to be - but fickle, never.

So, Did Ramos turn us down? Did we ever offer him the job? Well, in the PR world of smoke and mirrors, conducting your business through a third party means everyone can claim to have right on their side. What it means now, though, is that with the Sevilla manager running down his current contract, Jol’s season has turned into the job application from Hell – now where have we heard that before?

Every bad performance, every defeat that sets us back in our quest for fourth place will see him depicted as a dead man walking, a prophecy that could ultimately become self fulfilling to the detriment of the club and its immediate future. It will also stifle legitimate debate on Jol’s performance for much as we recognise the excellent job he has done so far and know instinctively that sacking him after three games under the current circumstances was wrong, even his most ardent supporters must accept there are questions still to be answered over his team selections and tactics. Directors, too, have every right to raise these issues but not now and in such a ham-fisted manner. Their timing was crass and has left them appearing opportunistic and incompetent.

26th July 2007 - Sod’s Law Part ll

I have never met Topspurs Columnist Colin Ashby Monsieur Ashby's Topspurs column , but I have always enjoyed his articles and often found his views on Spurs broadly in agreement with my own. So it was with some sadness I read of his impending departure to France (Sod's Law, 10th July), just as our club is on the threshold of a new era of glory.

And yet, sympathetic as I am, could this accident of timing be the missing piece in our jigsaw for who needs a left winger when you have fate on your side?

Call it reverse psychology or the opposite of tempting fate, but can you honestly say there haven't been times when you wondered whether the team might play better if you weren't there, as if by staying away you would exorcise some mystical curse that has been holding us back all these years? A real dilemma but if the answer to that question was yes would you really be prepared to make what many of us would consider the ultimate sacrifice?

It's to the great credit of our "fickle" support that the Lane - and away ends - have been pretty much sold out throughout our decade of dross. Now, though, if things do go to plan then thanks to his accident of timing, Colin can claim his share of the credit in much the same way that I claim a small part in England winning the World Cup in 1966.

It was during that very tense and ill-tempered quarter final with Argentina. I was watching at home on television and needed to take a bathroom break. Now, it wasn't just the fact that I was out of the room when England scored the goal that smoothed their path to the final, it was because I made a conscious decision to invoke the law of sod by walking away from the set in the expectation it would produce a goal. Within minutes Martin Peters had picked out Geoff Hurst for 1-0 and the near post cross was born - sod's law with interest eh Colin!

Ever since then, whenever Spurs are on the box, no matter how strong the call of nature, I can never leave the room when the other team is in possession. And it's the same if I am listening on the car radio for I have lost count of the times a goal has been scored in the time it's taken to park and go into the house. 

As for other superstitions, I can't see a magpie (barcodes excepted) without saluting and there's a toilet on the Oxford bypass I favour, not because it is particularly elegant, but because back in 1977, having stopped there en route to the match the first time ever, I went on to see us beat Luton 2-0. Thank God I failed to make a note of the underwear I was wearing!

Obviously, it doesn't work all the time otherwise we would be reflecting on thirty years of unbroken success and Colin would be heading for France with a completely different mindset, but then again if you can’t have hope in pre-season when can you?

By the way, this summer I committed to a holiday in Portugal in September expecting only to miss an international break. Well, have you seen the fixture list? Silly question, of course you have. 

Hopefully, I will soon be able to update my part in England's world cup triumph with how I helped beat the Goons!     

1^st June 2007 - Standing up for Spurs

A second fifth place finish, the signing of Gareth Bale with the prospect of more to come, reports that Berbatov will soon sign a new contract – there can’t have been a better close season since the “Summer of Love”.

Back then football had its Big Five and Spurs were fully paid up members. The fact that it’s shrunk to a Big Four indicates a vacancy and one that many pundits are now making us favourites to fill. But if we are to make it back to the top table, a decision has to be made about the ground - especially now that Wham have announced they’re planning to join the 60,000 set.

Maybe it’s time to stand up for Spurs? Certainly, the Football Supporters’ Federation is cranking up the campaign to restore safe standing areas at major football grounds.

First of all, let’s be absolutely clear about this. No one should go to a football match in fear of their well being for despite the popular contention that the game is more important than life or death, we know it is not.

If you’re in any doubt, you only have to read the accounts of survivors and relatives of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster – as I did when researching this article – to correct any misconception.

That sick to the stomach feeling of defeat might seem like it at times, but you get over that. As for the other state, well, there will be those who believe otherwise but most would argue it’s pretty final - which is why we should never forget those who lost their lives at Hillsborough and Heysel.

But we also know that terracing was not the sole reason for those and other similar tragedies, for example, those who died at Bradford were seated in a grandstand. Venue was a common thread but there were other, arguably more culpable factors and in any case if standing is allowed in other sports and at other stadia, why can’t we have safe standing areas at football grounds?

From a purely partisan perspective, it would not only transform the Lane, but would be a much more cost-effective solution to our long-standing capacity issue.

Imagine part, or even all, of the Paxton and Park Lane adapted for safe standing. Even with reduced prices to stand, the extra capacity would at least maintain but most likely generate more income. If there were any danger of lost revenue, a middle tier of executive boxes at either end would surely keep the board happy and there would still be scope to redevelop the East and West Stands depending on demand.

Not only would it raise our capacity to where we want it to be and provide an alternative cheaper means of watching than currently available, it would turn the Lane into a truly distinctive venue that would make us the envy of every other club – and just think of the atmosphere! Even without the spin, it would be a huge PR coup for the world famous home of the Spurs.

Can we do it?

Although converting to all-seater stadia was one of the main recommendations of the Taylor report, and one that seems to have evolved into a condition of membership of the Premier League, it has never been enshrined in law. Indeed, as the Football Supporters’ Federation points out, the continued ban on standing at premiership grounds is contrary to the Government’s policy that regulation of any activity should be proportionate and related to the potential risk and that the Football Licensing Authority has so far failed to produce any hard evidence that standing is more dangerous than sitting at football matches.

Standing is allowed at Rugby Union, Rugby League, horse racing and further down the football pyramid. And if, say, Elton John played the Lane, standing would be allowed - as it would be for all other rock/pop concerts held in football grounds.

When fans with tickets apparently tried to force entry to the Champions League final after the gates had been locked, some newspapers offered it as evidence against re-introducing standing. They argued that had terracing still been in use, the chaos would have been greater and could have resulted in a loss of life conveniently ignoring the fact that no one inside the ground was involved or the even more fundamental issue that the hopelessly inadequate ticket allocation was at the heart of the problem.

Safe standing is permitted in the Bundesliga. At the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen where Schalke 04 play, you can stand for the equivalent of £6.25; at Iduna Park in Dortmund, the home of Borussia Dortmund, it costs £8.00 to stand. So why not in the “best league in the world”?

Both Germany and The UK are in the European Union and we’re both members of UEFA so what’s permissible for one must surely be okay for the other?

The Football Supporters Federation argues that as more spectators can be safely accommodated in safe standing areas, it provides an opportunity for clubs to lower ticket prices whilst maintaining income – though lower prices in the Premiership would probably equate to anywhere between £15-30! But then since the majority of supporters in the lower Park Lane paid £27-39 last season for the privilege of not using their seats, they might consider it’s a price worth paying.

A poll of football fans conducted on behalf of the BBC recently found that 92% wanted clubs to bring back safe standing areas and a number of high profile politicians from all parties are starting to see the potential for votes in at least advocating a rethink on the issue.

Just as important, I believe, safe standing is also supported by some survivors of the Hillsborough disaster.

No one wants a return to the badly built terraces that were a feature of football watching for most of the 20^th century, but now the expertise and experience is available to provide those fans that prefer to stand with what they want. And even in an industry notorious for a blatant disregard of its customer base, perhaps the notion that safe standing areas could be a much cheaper solution to the problem of expansion and won’t put the club in hock until the next millennium might appeal.

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Disclaimer: Please note the words on this page are the opinion of the topspurs columnist and are just that, opinions, not facts and are nothing to do with Tottenham Hotspur Football club PLC. Just a supporter having his say nothing more nothing less. Any commentary on betting is meant for discussion purposes only and does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation.