A Lifetime Passion, Part 2

In the mid 70s Spurs weren’t a great side. 

There are many parallels with today’s struggles.

The late great Bill Nicholson had left and the club made the ludicrous decision to bring in Terry Neill as manager. 

For those too young to remember, Neill had never managed in the top tier of English football. Even worse, having played for that lot down the road, he was a staunch Arsenal man. It was a poor decision which set Spurs on a downward spiral and he jumped ship to become Arsenal manager.

Thankfully there was some good to come out of it as he left his coach Keith Burkinshaw behind, who took up the reins of Spurs manager. But it was too late to turn the ship around and Spurs were relegated to the second tier, called Division 2 in those days.

Irrespective of Spurs travails, it was a great time to be following my club up and down the country. I got to know Spurs fans in Lincoln. We joined up with lads from Sleaford and Grantham. Sometimes travelling by car, for Midlands games we organised coaches and more often than not we would pile into the back of a transit van.

On many occasions, there would be over 20 of us in the back of a transit van drinking copious amounts of alcohol. We would meet up in pubs with Spurs lads from Notts, Derbys, Warrington, Worcester and Gloucester as well as lads from London.

The terraces weren’t for the faint hearted. “Taking the home end and their pubs” was always the challenge.

There weren’t mobile phones in those days. Meet ups had to be pre-planned the week before. Spurs fans would mingle in the home pubs. Three songs were always played on the jukebox including “The boys are back in town” by Thin Lizzy. The start of the third song was the signal for Wild West brawls to kick off! 

They were crazy, high octane days. The adrenaline rush of for example taking the Northbank, Highbury for the first time was almost palpable. 

Friendships through Spurs led to meeting up for events away from watching Spurs. 

We arranged a Lincs and Notts lads bus down to play an end of season 11 a side match away to the Gloucester and Worcester lads followed by a night out afterwards. This turned into end of season 5-a-side competitions, variants of which still take place today.

Lifelong friendships were forged and many of us still meet up at games some 50 years later. 

On the way to games, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel albums were always played on our car cassette decks. Many of us would meet up at Cockney Rebel concerts where Clockwork Orange gear was worn. The venues did well to survive a Cockney Rebel gig! 

Best years of our lives was a favourite song of the band and in many ways they were the best days of our lives!

With relegation having been confirmed in a 5-0 drubbing at Manchester City the week before, Spurs final game was a dead rubber at home to Leicester City which we won 2-0. After the game, we invaded the pitch and sang and sang for the players to come out for what felt like an eternity.

They had no option but to eventually, reluctantly and sheepishly, come out into the old West Stand Upper to be hero worshipped, as if they had won the league! 

So different to what we experience today.

One of my friends Lee Fletcher, who is sadly no longer with us, threw his scarf up to Ralph Coates to put over his shoulders.

Steve Perryman later said having relegated this great club, they were embarrassed to come out but when they returned to the dressing room, they vowed, come what may, to come straight back up the following season…And they did and what a season that was!

Bringing us back to today. I write this article on the plane home  from our Atletico Madrid game with the club fighting relegation.

Steve Perryman’s words show the difference we as fans can make, both positively and negatively. 

Let’s put all our differences and angst with the owners, board, manager and players to one side. 

Let’s unite as one and make the difference in these final games!

Come on you Spurs!