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Guy Edema’s Cup Final in Pictures
Spurs through and through – Brian and Guy
Guy and Trigger
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22nd February 2008 – Cup Final Thoughts I'm like a kid looking forward to Christmas at the moment and this has certainly been one of the longer weeks of my life. Will Sunday ever come ? I cannot wait to see the west side of Wembley Stadium in the lillywhite of Spurs with the flags flying and belting out the WHL songs we know and love. My only hope is that the boys don't get overawed by the occasion and 'turn up' on the day and if they do, and we can be as clinical as we were against the Goons in the second leg of the semi, we can win 3-1. Come On You Spurs!!
25th January 2008 – 5-1, we beat the scum 5-1
48 hours on and I am still in utter shock that Spurs are looking forward to a cup final appearance, and a Wembley one at that. I am embarrassed to say that at 35 years of age, this will be my first cup final, but only just. More on that later.
You don't need me to tell you that Tuesday was simply a fantastic evening. Me and my pal broke with tradition and opted for a change of pre-match boozer by going to the Bell & Hare. We arrived about 5 and managed to quaff our pints down a lot faster than normal - it was needed to settle the pre-match nerves we both felt. However, my consumed Guinness nearly re-appeared as I caught myself watching one of the bar staff devour a box of fried chicken whilst serving customers, clearly flouting every hygiene law ever written. Yum! Honey, if you happen to read this, it's not attractive and it's not healthy - please stop it!!!
We decided to get into our seats earlier than normal and were in position and ready about 7.40 and enjoyed every minute of the build up. It was always going to be important that we all did our bit for the chaps as the proverbial 12th man, and we didn't disappoint. The rest is history. I wouldn't mind being offered a quid for every time I looked up at that clock from the 70th minute or so onwards - I actually thought it got stuck on more than once occasion.
One of the many highlights for me was being warned by an over zealous steward for foul language when I swore at referee Howard Webb for giving the enemy an undeserved corner. Seconds later, as Fabretwat is running towards us to take said corner, the Park Lane and Shelf Side give him the respect the little f**ker deserves by chanting "wa**er" at him several times and in perfect harmony and timing. "So, you gonna have a word with all this lot too then are you ?". He smiled back at me - point made. And for the rest of the game, I was once again trying to familiarise myself with what it must feel like to be a Turret's sufferer on speed.
For reasons that I will not bore you with, I would have been struggling to get a ticket for the final, had it not been for an ex-colleague of mine who shall remain nameless (but do me and my mate love him!!!). His old fella works in the industry and was able to get us 2 seats, nicely priced at £80 each, but guaranteed of a prime view, not too close, not too far and the stress is taken away. I count myself as extremely lucky. I monitor a lot of chat boards such as BBC 606 and already, there are a lot of very frustrated supporters realising that the money they forked out to Spurs at the beginning of the season to buy a card carrying only club membership was pretty much a waste of money if they thought that it would guarantee you a ticket if we ever got to Wembley for the FA or League Cup Finals. It simply won't. Their only viable option to watch the final with a large collective of fellow Spurs will be if they open the gates at The Lane and get the jumbotron's fired up - I believe that Spurs must offer this as an option and, do it for free, or price it so that operating cost is covered only (this is Levy & Co that we're talking about after all!). This is not a time to try and milk more money out of our fans. |
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I must be naive to have believed that they re-built Wembley to cater for the every day fan. What a load of Arsenal, sorry I mean bollocks. Wembley Stadium is a giant cash cow and nothing more than that. We now know that our allocation for tickets is 31,204 (where they get the 4 from is beyond me), and the Chavs have 31,700 exactly. Does this higher number represent the number of neanderthal glory hunters they have attracted since Roman the Doughman came along with his millions ? Proably so. Therfore, calculators out and we can work out that 90,000 seats (which is the quoted Wembley capacity), less the seats for us and the chavs, leaves 27,096 seats. Take 10,000 off of this number (which is the approximate amount of seats allocated to Club Wembley - a shower of over privileged twats who took an option on a seat for a 10 year term), that leaves 17,096 seats. How the hell can they all be taken up by corporate ? It's simply not fair. But, you've more chance of Wenger admitting to actually have seen an incident involving one of his shower than this ever changing. And the even sadder truth could be that the numbers for future finals could get lower still.
When the phone and online booking lines open on Wednesday morning, I give both systems about a minute or two until they crash and are out of action. Those of you that have bothered to read the ticket information for the final on the Spurs website will note that Platinum, Gold and Silver members ( i.e. season ticket holders for both home and away, or just home) can buy their tickets. In their wisdom (but I swear they've done it just to have a laugh), they have allowed the Bronze and Lillywhite members (non season ticket holders) the same timing window and media to only apply for their tickets, not to purchase them. Pandemonium is guaranteed. The only chance of a booking system getting more overwhelmed than it will next Wednesday morning, is if Barry Hearn promoted an event where you can pay a score, turn up and kick the entire Arsenal squad in the nuts - now there's a thought!
As for the final itself, this will be my first and I cannot wait. I could not make it to our last cup final appearance at Cardiff where we lost to Blackburn as I was out of work and penniless at the time. Before that, it was Leicester at Wembley. We tried for that one but couldn't get tickets and when it was Forrest at Wembley, way back in 1991, there was definitely no chance of getting a ticket. Anything prior to that and I was bit too young.
I decided that Everton were the better bet in the final as opposed to the chavs, but have been swayed by others who believe that Everton would have given us a tougher game and our players would be more up for it against the chavs than they would against Everton. It was a slow fortnight waiting for the second leg of the semi final to come round. I fancy, it's going to be an even longer 4 weeks or so until the final.
My prediction. If we can play like we did in the semi and be as clinical as in the second leg. 3-1 Spurs
Come on You Spurs!!
Guy Edema |
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30th October 2007 - Spurs Are On Their Way With Juan-de
Much (too much!) has been written about Martin Jol prior to his imminent departure from The Lane and I'm sure I'm not alone in being relieved that things are finally settled and we can all move forward and get on with trying to consolidate our rather poor start to the current season. The last few weeks have been both trying and stressful as a Spurs fan and I'm looking forward to something to smile about….
Below, I have listed my wish list for the current and forthcoming seasons. It's a mix of both serious and humorous wants (you make your mind up as to which is which)…
This season…. 1. Premiership survival – probability of – good. Even the most hate filled Gooner or Iron cannot believe that this is even a possibility 2. A new defence – probability of – good. I severely doubt that Ramos would have signed on the dotted line without assurances of some January 'mula' for the transfer window 3. Our money back for Darren Bent – probability of – poor. Clearly, we're the only mugs who would shell out serious wedge like that for a relegated player 4. Whatever route we take, secure European football for next season – probability of – fair to good. It's not beyond us to put together a run in the league or win either the Carling or FA Cup – UEFA Cup, not so sure 5. Someone to knock out Paul 'slag' Kemsley – probability of – (me doing it) poor, someone else doing it (fair). Was I the only one who wanted to re-arrange his face when he was smirking behind Levy in the Getafe game last week ? 6. Robbo to see a head doctor – probability of - good. Robbo is not a happy camper and I wonder whether his omission from the first team is really for a leg strain, or whether he's seeking a shrink trying to re-install his clearly lost confidence 7. Sign Cuddicini from Chelsea – probability of – poor to fair – every great team starts with a great keeper. Robbo does not fit this bill no matter how many times you sing songs to him about the number on the back of his England shirt. Cuddicini is a class act and is kicking his heels at The Bridge and wants out. 8. Give Jenas to Arsenal – probability of – poor. Isn't it about time we offered an olive branch to our old South London muckers ? Why all the need for this hate ? What better way to say, "we love you", than to gift wrap JJ and send him to the Arsenal with our best wishes ? 9. Jens Lehman to leave the Goonscum and reveal that Fabregas and Wenger are lovers – probability of – (Lehman leaving) fair to good. (Fabregas and Wenger as lovers) poor 10. Levy out – probability of – poor – he's one slippery little sucka!
Next Season…. 1. Silverware – probability of – good. If we don't do it next season, we may as well just give up 2. Top 4 – probability of – good. It's clear to see that there's the Goons, Manure and Chelscum and then Liverpool. They have not looked half of what they've all been bleating on about and their goatie wearing manager could soon be following Jol to the local dole office if he's not careful 3. European games on a Tuesday / Wednesday and Premiership games on a Saturday – probability of – poor to fair – that means Champions League – have we done too much damage already this season to get it ? 4. Another new limited addition kit – probability of – good – you can bet your house on this one folks!! 5. Final confirmation of our new stadium plans – probability of – f*** knows! 6. An end of our new stadium to be called the 'Martin Jol End' – probability of – poor
2nd September 2007 - God, Not Again!
I didn’t make it to Craven Cottage yesterday due to a diary clash with a golf tour in the North West of England (highly recommended!), but did keep up to date with events via a mix of Sky Sports and radio.
Nearing 35 years of age, I should have known better than to commit the schoolboy error of texting 2 pals who support the Cottagers and were at the game with “Easy Easy Easy!” when we went 0-2 up. Fortunately, they let me off lightly at the final whistle, both phoning me to confirm what I’d heard on the radio – we’d been robbed blind!
Text’s then trickled in from Goonscum pals with a common theme:
“2 nil and you f**ked it up (again)”
“3-1 and you fucked it up (again)”
I deleted them and chose not to reply – what could I say, they were right!
Now, I’m Spurs to the end – that’s without question. But I am not quite sure how much more I can take of this ? We are without question, the best in the Premier League at taking a team to bits and getting zip from it. What is it about us that allows us to do this with such regularity ? Has a curse been put on us that we don’t know about that needs dispelling ?
I’ve spent my Sunday morning reading the papers and reviewing various message boards around the web to view other Spurs fans’ opinions on what’s going on and there’s nothing conclusive. Therefore, my considered opinion is that it’s the players fault. There will be those that jump on the Levy bandwagon and will blame Jol, but I think tactically, he got it right yesterday. The players have to take responsibility for this debacle. They have been playing the game since god knows what age, and any coach would have drummed into them what to do when defending a lead in the last few minutes – every player in every position has a job to do – in our case, our players are not doing it. And with alarming regularity too!
I have pals that reckon we’re just unlucky – I don’t subscribe to that in the slightest – you make your own luck in my book. In the case of Spurs, it’s our players that have got to go out there and make it happen. There are some that are just not doing enough. They are not putting in the work rate to get the reward.
I’m worried about Martin Jol – he’s looking a very tired man indeed. He can say all he wants about having been given the full confidence of the Spurs Board – we all know that he’s on borrowed time - it’s just a case of how much time he’ll be given. Like other TopSpurs columnists, I would like to see Jol given the opportunity at seeing this season out before any changes are made – surely we owe him that ? I don’t need to remind you of where he’s taken us for the last 2 seasons against how his predecessors fared. If Jol is not the right man to take us up to the next level, then we will know for sure by the end of the season. If he hasn’t delivered, there will need to be changes, I think we can all live with that.
I’m glad for the International break – hopefully, it will allow enough time for the coaching and playing staff to collectively re-group the mind set and put behind them the poor start. I think that mentally, Jol should be telling the squad to forget about the first 5 games and when we re-group to prepare for the Goonscum match, that is where our season begins.
I must be totally deluded, but I’m convinced that we’re going to beat the Goonscum – what fabulous optimists we Spurs fans are!
COYS!
28th August 2007 - Early Season Blues
Taking my seat for the final game of last season against Manchester City, I could not get into the usual spirit of the day as I had such a heavy heart – knowing that this would be my last game for some time was one thing, but it was my sense of optimism for the 2007/08 campaign that was causing me the most stress – something brilliant was finally going to happen, and I was going to miss it! You see, for this season only, I have had to give up my beloved season ticket whilst I get my life back on track after a bit of a rocky period – I’ll be back next season, but what am I going to miss !?!
As the summer dragged on, and I taunted Gooner pals and colleagues about how we were finally going to leapfrog them into the Champions League spots, I grew increasingly concerned about our transfer comings and goings. Mido looked like he would never bugger off and it seemed that we were unwilling to offload some of the players that never looked like getting a chance in the first team, and are just an unwanted burden on the bulging wage bill. More concerning for me though, was the lack of cover purchased in defence. It didn’t take a genius to work out last season that we’re clearly most vulnerable in this area of the field, yet Jol has done nothing to counter this and at time of writing, and with 72 hours left in the transfer window, he looks unlikely to do so! So, step forward Messrs Gardner and Rocha to cover for King and Dawson! Lord, help me!
Get behind your players I hear you cry, but results speak louder than words and after 4 games, we are sitting 17th in the Premier League Table – not the start any of us anticipated. I won’t micro-analyse each game – just to say that watching the Sunderland match, as full time neared, you could smell what was going to happen – and it did. Everton was no shock – a well organised unit who die for each other, know exactly where we’re vulnerable and exploited it to perfection. Derby , well, it’s Derby and if we’re all honest, we should have had double figures. The only positive for me so far this season is the performance at Manure, where once again, a referee was too cowardly to make a big decision. OK, we have seen a thousand different angles that prove that Wes Brown has pulled off possibly the best bit of defending that will happen this season, but my point is that the referee could never have seen this and with the remonstrations of all the Spurs players up there to view the incident, I don’t see how it was never given – still we never have any luck at Old Trafford and it don’t look like changing anytime soon!
But, positives must be taken from this game – we took it to them and gave them real cause for concern and at no time did they ‘batter’ us – Fergie even admitted that he was relieved to get through the game unscathed.
Looking forward, I believe that if we can show the same spirit as we did at Manure, we can get a result at Craven Cottage and carry some momentum for the visit of the Gooners – we really need this to happen to belatedly kick start our season and get some momentum.
Much has been written about the Levy / Jol saga and I was surprised to find so many Spurs fans who were split – I thought the support for Jol was stronger. I am delighted that he’s staying, but I’m with the majority in that I feel he’s on borrowed time. The only thing I would do differently if I was Jol would have been to protect my integrity a bit more. We don’t know the full facts of what’s going on there, no matter what your colleagues mate who knows Ledley King’ milkman’s brother tells you – all I know is that if my employers had treated me that way – once they gave me the public thumbs up, I would have jumped ship straight away – and let the masses know what awaits you in the White Hart Lane hot-seat. Still, glad he hasn’t as I, like you all, always want the best for the Spurs.
One debate I will comment on is Robbo – last week I was at England v Germany with my best mate and fellow Spurs fan, Brian, and we had the joy of listening to two Japs coating Robbo non-stop after he was beaten from long range once again. Robbo is clearly suffering a dip in form and I think it’s good that he’s finally being challenged for the Number 1 shirt for England – he has been way too comfortable as the incumbent of this position for too long. Am I alone though in wondering whether we should get the cheque book out and head to Stamford Bridge to the SOS calls of Carlo Cudicini?
All the best
COYS!
Guy Edema
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nothing to do with Tottenham Hotspur Football club PLC. Just a supporter
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