The Crow – Stop patronising a team that’s beaten a bigger club
Published: 4th November, 2010
COME on, be fair. Stop patronising poor old Spurs.
They win one match at home, against a team managed by Rafa Benitez, and everyone congratulates them like they’ve found a cure for scurvy. If you make your congratulations too obvious Spurs’ sappy fans will work out what you are really saying when you say “oh, well done” to them this week.
You are not saying “oh, well done” (best said like Nick from The Apprentice) because Spurs are a fantastic team. You are saying “oh, well done” because none of you really thought that they could actually beat Inter Milan.
And in one stroke, you are relegating them back to the small club status that they find so hard to shirk.
When Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea beat Inter, nobody really bats an eyelid. Why would they? The Gunners thrashed Inter in the San Siro 5-1.
Yet, when Tottenham get a win against a struggling Italian team, the reaction is as if the Earth’s crust has fractured,
unicorns have been spotted on Hampstead Heath and Chris Moyles’s Quiz Night has topped the telly ratings.
That reaction says to me: very small club beats big club.
You get those kind of results in football every now and again: Grimsby knocked Spurs out of the League Cup not so long ago. Yet, by and large, the small club stays small and the big club stay big. It’s just the way of the soccer world.
If you don’t like it, stop patronising our Spurs chums.
RICHARD OSLEY
OH what a beautiful morning. Oh what a beautiful day…
I was going to talk about the ridiculous decision made by referee Mark Clattenburg at the Theatre of “Horrors” on Saturday where Spurs lost 2-0 to Manchester United.
I also wanted to question the courtesy extended by the said official to Rio Ferdinand as he was allowed to give his opinion to both ref and linesman as they discussed their options surrounding Nani’s goal: an astounding sight especially as all the Tottenham players had been waved away!
I was going to unequivocally support all that Harry Redknapp said in the interview after that defeat and his subsequent threat not to do any more interviews if the FA decided to charge him for his comments.
But instead, I will talk about the Lilywhites’ performance against European Cup holders Inter Milan on Tuesday. I don’t want to say “I told you so”, but I have to ask all of the doubters what they’ve got to say now we’re sitting pretty on top of the group? Spurs were tremendous,
dissecting a European outfit revered by many. Gareth Bale’s virtuoso performance, mesmerising reputedly the best defender in the world in Maicon, is how heroes are made. A special shout out must go to the fans at the Lane, for even when Samuel Eto pulled a goal back they never stopped singing.
What an adventure!
What a team!
TONY DALLAS