Sunday 30 April 2017
Spurs v Arsenal: The biggest game I can remember
Never mind the Cup finals, the Champions League nights or the relegation six-pointers - as far as I’m concerned, this is the biggest Tottenham game I can remember.
There is more at stake on this Sunday afternoon than any other match in recent history.
I had just about got a handle on the emotions raised by these matches in my late 20s - to the point that on derby day I could operate on a normal level around actual people. But this time round I’m struggling.
Since Thursday I have been taking deep breaths, trying to think of other things and attempting not to bite my nails in front of my impressionable one-year-old son.
First and foremost, it's a derby. Derbies always have an edge but the North London Derby more than most. It's a game with a rich history that, even as a standalone fixture, has the potential to wreck weekends and relationships.
Full seasons are known to have been remembered fondly or tinged with regret purely based on the results of these matches.
Taken on its own, without any context, this is a big game. But when you start adding in the colour, the stories and the subplots that surround it, the sheer size of it makes me feel a bit ill.
The amount on the line - for both sides - is frightening.
Tottenham are in a title race. Four points behind the leaders. That's close. But if Everton somehow take points off Chelsea, everything will go into overdrive.
It would make the dream a real, tangible possibility. A draw at Goodison will mean victory over Arsenal can put us just two points behind as we chase a first league title in 66 years. I'm starting to shake just thinking about it.
Add to that our unbeaten home league run. To go unbeaten at home for a whole season would be a mammoth achievement in any season. But being in this position to do it in the last ever season at White Hart Lane, to round off 118 years of history - success, failure, glory and agony - brings about the type of poignancy and emotion that you just cannot script.
Then there is Arsenal. This is a big one for them too.
Say what you want about a third FA Cup final in four years but the top four is their bread and butter. They are the only team in the Premier League to have been there for the last 20 seasons. Non-stop.
They are right on the brink of failing to qualify for the Champions League and we can administer an almost killer blow. That should be impetus enough to fire them up. But then, they have won the title at the Lane twice… surely we owe them for that as well.
Then there is St Totteringham's Day. Mixed emotions on that one really. I have always found any pain in finishing behind Arsenal comes a distant second to whether or not we've fulfilled our own objectives.
But the end of last season was a nasty one. To be that close and still surrender the bragging rights for another summer of stick at the hands of a club going very publicly off the rails was difficult to take.
Now, call it fate, call it coincidence, we get the chance to make amends for it with the derby of all derbies.
My legs will be jelly. And it looks like all I have to do is sit on the sofa. Because none of my friends or the people they are going with has had the decency to get ill or break a leg - or anything that might see them surrender their ticket.
The magnitude of it all means I’ve had to take the day off work regardless, ticket or not. But for Pochettino and the players, they do not have that luxury. They have to turn up, we’re all relying on it, however utterly crucifying the pressure might be.
All they have to do is think of it as just another game they need to win.
But it's not just another game. It never is - but certainly not this time.
There is more at stake on this Sunday afternoon than any other match in recent history.
I had just about got a handle on the emotions raised by these matches in my late 20s - to the point that on derby day I could operate on a normal level around actual people. But this time round I’m struggling.
Since Thursday I have been taking deep breaths, trying to think of other things and attempting not to bite my nails in front of my impressionable one-year-old son.
First and foremost, it's a derby. Derbies always have an edge but the North London Derby more than most. It's a game with a rich history that, even as a standalone fixture, has the potential to wreck weekends and relationships.
Full seasons are known to have been remembered fondly or tinged with regret purely based on the results of these matches.
Taken on its own, without any context, this is a big game. But when you start adding in the colour, the stories and the subplots that surround it, the sheer size of it makes me feel a bit ill.
The amount on the line - for both sides - is frightening.
Tottenham are in a title race. Four points behind the leaders. That's close. But if Everton somehow take points off Chelsea, everything will go into overdrive.
It would make the dream a real, tangible possibility. A draw at Goodison will mean victory over Arsenal can put us just two points behind as we chase a first league title in 66 years. I'm starting to shake just thinking about it.
Add to that our unbeaten home league run. To go unbeaten at home for a whole season would be a mammoth achievement in any season. But being in this position to do it in the last ever season at White Hart Lane, to round off 118 years of history - success, failure, glory and agony - brings about the type of poignancy and emotion that you just cannot script.
Then there is Arsenal. This is a big one for them too.
Say what you want about a third FA Cup final in four years but the top four is their bread and butter. They are the only team in the Premier League to have been there for the last 20 seasons. Non-stop.
They are right on the brink of failing to qualify for the Champions League and we can administer an almost killer blow. That should be impetus enough to fire them up. But then, they have won the title at the Lane twice… surely we owe them for that as well.
Then there is St Totteringham's Day. Mixed emotions on that one really. I have always found any pain in finishing behind Arsenal comes a distant second to whether or not we've fulfilled our own objectives.
But the end of last season was a nasty one. To be that close and still surrender the bragging rights for another summer of stick at the hands of a club going very publicly off the rails was difficult to take.
Now, call it fate, call it coincidence, we get the chance to make amends for it with the derby of all derbies.
My legs will be jelly. And it looks like all I have to do is sit on the sofa. Because none of my friends or the people they are going with has had the decency to get ill or break a leg - or anything that might see them surrender their ticket.
The magnitude of it all means I’ve had to take the day off work regardless, ticket or not. But for Pochettino and the players, they do not have that luxury. They have to turn up, we’re all relying on it, however utterly crucifying the pressure might be.
All they have to do is think of it as just another game they need to win.
But it's not just another game. It never is - but certainly not this time.
Wednesday 19 April 2017
Whatever you do Spurs fans, just don't mention the "D" word
It's here. That wave of enthusiasm is building again, just like it did last year, and I’d forgotten just how absolutely brilliant it feels.
The moment Ander Herrera's deflected strike hit the back of the net against Chelsea on Sunday, the mood changed.
As 70,000 Manchester United supporters celebrated a victory that reignited their top-four hopes, the expression on the faces of thousands and thousands of Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham followers said one thing: "F**k."
To Spurs fans, it represents just a small window of opportunity. But for our London neighbours, the realisation that this title race might not be done yet was enough to spoil their weekend.
And it was quickly followed by a crushing sucker punch... Spurs are still in the FA Cup.
In the space of a few seconds, we had gone from Wembley semi-finalists to fighting for the Double. It seems a ridiculous notion at this stage - but you will be hard-pushed to find a rival fan who can take it in good humour.
"Don't mention the D word" I said jokingly in a post-match message to a fellow Spurs fan. His response was beautiful.
"It's happening mate, believe."
A lot of folk may still be trying to keep their feet on the ground but, if you're lucky enough to have inherited Tottenham as your team I encourage you to forget your feet, forget the ground and start clutching at as many straws as you can.
Even if you can't bear the thought of calling it wrong or you just don't want to tempt fate then, at the very least, try to enjoy the next three days.
For that time, and possibly beyond, we are unlikely “Double contenders”. And our rivals absolutely hate it. It is their worst nightmare.
The jokes, the banter and the backbiting have turned to straight faces and silence. This is the worst it could get. And it will last until at least Saturday evening.
One West Ham fan in our office now won't talk football, an Arsenal fan is cancelling Sky. The Chelsea fans...? Well, there are no Chelsea fans but you can rest assured they are sh*tting themselves and trying to work out where best to hunker down if their doomsday scenario actually comes to pass.
I'm just smiling. It really is a beautiful time to be a Tottenham fan. For the next few days, anything's possible. All those years we’ve watched Arsenal lift titles and trophies while our season was falling off the tracks, this is a taste of what it felt like from the other side.
So make the most of it.
I don’t mean be a dick about it. It is, after all, a delicate situation. It always is with Spurs. So I’m just saying you have to take the opportunity to breathe it in and enjoy it. Apart from anything else, this group of players have earned the right not to be lumped in with generations of underachievers.
All Spurs fans know in their heart of hearts that we are still a long, long way off turning around this four-point gap and coming out on top. It would take a miracle. But then what's the harm in believing in miracles?
To Dare is to Do? Do it, I dare you.
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