Hot Shot Tottenham...........

With our first round proper tie against Coventry coming up in the New Year we thought we'd take a look back to the season of '87, when The Mighty Spurs hit the road to Wembley once more........

In these days of Champions League Football and top half table finishes it's easy to forget that we weren't always doing so well. For every piece of silverware in the Eighties there was the doldrums of the Gross/Francis/Hoddle era. Arguable our last great team with a chance of glory before the days of Jol and Redknapp was in '87, under David Pleat.

Pleat had worked wonders @ lowly Luton Town bringing through a batch of young English talent who played attacking, attractive football.
And while people have been quick to criticise AVB for his one up front policy Pleat's masterstroke was to have Clive Allen as the lone ranger with Hoddle & Waddle pulling the strings in a five man midfield he was supplied with a constant stream of balls which he banged into the old onion bag with relish.

At the back we had an England goalie between the sticks in Ray Clemence and in front of him a promising back two of Gary Mabbutt & Richard Gough - Gough had all the hallmarks of becoming another great for Spurs in defence in the mould of Dave Mackay, the team had makings of title contenders - and were fighting on all three fronts......... right up until March at least.

In the run up to the Final Clive Allen had beaten Jimmy Greaves' scoring record for a season with a couple against Watford's one time bar owner and stand in keeper for the day Gary Plumley, while Hoddle had signed off in the League with a superb solo effort against Oxford United.

Inevitably for Spurs it was a season of what could have beens - knocked out of the League Cup in the Semi by the Scum and fading in the League itself all hopes rested on the FA Cup Final.
Back when Wembley basked in sunshine for these occasions and the result really mattered, the '87 was one of the best of recent times. It'll be remembered though for a mix up of sponsored shirts, Keith Houchen's diving header and Gary Mabbutt's Knee......

Where are they now?

Richard Gough - Could have been one of our greatest defenders of all time when he came in from Dundee United but homesickness (his wife's apparently) saw him move back North of the border after just the one season and have a hugely successful career with Rangers. Homesickness cured, a few years later he came back down South with Everton.

Glenn Hoddle - Left for Monaco @ the end of the season to ply his trade in Europe (English Teams were banned), played under a manager that would come back to haunt Spurs on a number of occasions a fact made even worse with the revelation that Hoddle after becoming England manager recommended the Frenchman to David Dein!

Gary Mabbutt - The term Legend may be overused but for Mabbutt - a diabetes sufferer, it couldn't have been more apt. The deflected goal from his knee and disappointment that followed would be redeemed in the '91 Final which saw Mabbs lift the trophy. To have played @  a top club for sixteen years performing at the highest level week in week out as well as gaining England caps is a testament to the man - a model professional.

Is Levy the problem

Daniel Levy, some fans love him some fans hate him, but lets look into the facts over the last 24 months.

Flash back to when we had just beaten Arsenal at the Emirates. We we're going well in the Champions League, Bale and VDV we're pulling the strings and things we're looking good. A few weeks later the transfer window opened. Yet we didn't take advantage of it, had we signed for example a Scotty Parker or an Aguero, the latter not as far fetched as you may have thought! We more than likely would of made decent progress from the season before. Instead we carried on with what we had and we ended up finishing 5th and got to the quarter finals of the Champions league, which in fairness wasn't too bad of a season, compared to recent times.

That summer there was alot of unrest, 'Arry and Levy's relationship started to breakdown over the Modric situation, add to that the sales of target man Crouch, *who played a big part in getting us to the CL! 'Captain Keane' and our number one right back at the time in Hutton and you could see that it was going to be a long season. The arrival of Parker and Ade lifted the fans and we went on up to the new year with a shout of winning the title! That January again we we're all hoping to kick on from our strong position. We were all hoping for a Kaka, or a Tevez but what happened, 'Arry wasn't backed and we sold our no 3 striker in Pav, and replaced him with a free signing in Saha, add to the mix an aging centre back to cover the injured Dawson and that combined with off the field issues ment we missed out on the champions league by one point!

The summer saw 'Arry getting the chop, with the unconvincing AVB given the job at the Lane, throw in former Cult hero Steffen Freund as part of the back room staff *Can just imaging out of all the people AVB wanted as his no two.... Freund was his first choice! Now AVB has seen 2 of his big game players sold during the summer, and it was totally out of his hands, he can't be blamed for taking a job where the Chairman doesn't really want to spend the dosh if he can help it. So is it a case of AVB being sold a dud, or has Levy got it wrong with sacking the man that gave us wins against the might of the premiership and the giants of Europe?

Now we're heading into the final few weeks of 2012 and we are now looking more like a mid-table Spurs team from the mid 90's than a Champions league team of 2010!

Early doors.......

Never to go about things the easy way we @ Spurs have had to deal with another upheaval this Summer.

Harry's departure had happened and fans had had plenty of time for it to sink in, whether AVB was wanted or not by most fans was irrelevant he was installed and after all we support the team and don't necessary have to agree with appointments made by the club.

So we expected a few comings and goings in the transfer window at least, the Modric saga had reared it's ugly rat faced head again and would surely be done with enough time to spend some of that filthy lucre on a replacement............right?

A couple of fans favourites had also been touted for the off, Huddlestone on his way back from injury looked to be on his way to Stoke on loan (which made sense to me) and Micheal Dawson had been in talks with QPR after AVB now said he wasn't part of his plans (which didn't), Dawson was club captain with the imminent retirement of Ledders and played with an enthusiasm unmatched by no one else in the side, but in the cold light of day was he good enough to help Spurs go to the next level?

Of course this is Spurs so and it rumbled on and still wasn't resolved by the time our away game @ The Toon took place.
This game for me was witnessed via ESPN and we looked pretty solid I thought, maybe a lack of creativity, but the line up and formation worked away from home, we could be disappointed not to come away with a point. If there were any more cause for concern it would have been no Dawson at all not even the bench and VDV not starting or new signing Vertognhan

Obviously things would be different back @ The Lane......

West Bromwich Albion - 25th August

A proper Spurs fan will always approach a new season with caution, even when things are going well it's better to expect the worst, after all it's happened so many times in the past. And so the rumblings and murmurs around the pub beer garden were of the norm I guess on the verge of a new season @ WHL.
But this was only West Brom, a nice easy start, we should get a few today! Yeah they thrashed Liverpool the week before but that was fluke...........or so we hoped.
So as AVB, Ade, Siggurdson and Vertognhan were paraded on the pitch before the start, there was an apprehensive optimism.
As the game went on, we looked disjointed, not flowing as we had done before, five in the middle meant we were in danger of having to pay a congestion charge in midfield! We had chances, maybe not clear cut but we were on top, but when Benny's goal went in it was more of a relief than celebration.
We all know how it ended, one of AVB's old guard came back to haunt him (maybe we should have tried cheeky bid for Lukaku?). We've had games like this before, we are Spurs after all and not much changes. Should we panic? Blame the manager, the players or the Chairman. This was one game @ home, it's still early doors........

Norwich - 1st September

Okay, so we'd decided not to panic, but we did have a damn good moan on messageboards and social networks up and down the internet.
Everyone's an armchair manager, whether that chair is inside the ground or @ home in front of the box, we all know what needs doing and we're not afraid to share our wealth of footballing knowledge gleaned from Championship Manager whether you want to listen or not!
Like every loyal masochistic fan, we take the punishment week in, week out and come back begging for more, so another trip to The Lane was on the cards.
But there were added murmurs over a pre game Carlsberg this time round though, Luka had finally gone and we'd managed to squeeze blood out of the proverbial stone that is our Chairman and actually buy a few more players! Ok, maybe not all the players we originally set out to buy but still, it was a start.
So there I was, sat in front of some bloke who insisted on coaching the team throughout the game from his seat in the North Upper as it all unfolded again.
Friedal kept us in it early on and with the threat of an incoming Lloris looked to be staking his claim to keep up his consecutive appearance record. But still we played five in midfield! Yes it worked under David Pleat but we had arguably the most creative midfield in the league @ that time, why were we playing two defensive midfielders..........at home!
Bale was our main outlet but elsewhere we weren't exploiting the width of the pitch with neither full back getting forward much. Livermore who I thought played a nice simple game last time out had suddenly turned into Vinny Sideways!
It came down to one of our new boys to get us ahead, Dembele livened things up and with his first attack put Spurs one up. Now the floodgates could open...........but of course they didn't and again the game ended in frustration and an equaliser. Two games @ home two draws, maybe not the start we'd hoped for.

Maybe Reading away will give us that first win we crave?



AVB it's easy as one, two, three

So we've all been brought down to earth after the start we have made to the season, but have we got a cause for concern? Or are we just after instant success, like the coffee we get served at the local Starbucks? Let's go back to last season, City stuck five past us at the Lane, Luka wasn't sure if he wanted to stay or go and Parker was going to be the new Dave Mackay.

After an unbelievable mid season we then decided to go on our summer holidays a few months too early, resulting in the premierships most unlucky team in its history to miss out on the Champions league due to a rule that should never of been written in the first place! And it to make matters worse It was Chelsea that took our place!

So during the summer cult hero 'Arry had been sacked and AVB had walked through the newly fixed revolving door of White Hart Lane. Out that door went a fair few of 'Arrys favourites including VDV and so nearly Dawson.

Rewind a few weeks and off we went to Newcastle, a game where we wanted 3 points but would of settled for 1.... We ended up with none!

Not to worry the White Hart Lane faithful chanted we've got WBA and Norwich at the Lane that's 6 points in the bag...... Ok we didn't lose to them but 2 points from them 2 games hasn't really gone down well, with even the most pesimistic of fans couldn't of predicted this start!

The signings of Dembele and Clint are a master stroke, although was it down to the board or did AVB have his say? One things for sure Lloris ain't too pleased with his new manager! With no one really sure what is going on at the Lane at the moment are we in for a transitional season? Or is it a case of the summer time blues?

So with our next game against Reading a must win can the players rally round AVB and kick start this slow horse into motion?

Through the Spurs window.......

So with our new boss confirmed and some signings begining to come in it's an ideal time to look forward to next season. Here we present our hopes for The Mighty Spurs under AVB......

With so many 'squad' players unable to gain any playing time under 'Arry, theres a good chance that they've forgotten how to tie there boot laces let alone kick a size 5 football! It would be good to see the likes of Bentley, Gio, Rose and Kane given a chance. After all we learnt last season that squad rotation is important

How about attempting to win the Europa League*? We started on a vicious circle of not wanting to be in the thing so not really bothering only to qualify for it again! What about setting out to win the thing? Get another trophy on the honours list and give our players the chance to actually feel like champions........it's a start in the right direction.

*or any trophy for that matter

It would be nice to hit the ground running for a change! We always seem to start the season terrible and end up having to play catch up! Just think if we had took just a point from our opening two games we would of ended up 3rd!

Consistancy - from our players and manager. Ok so we all have off days but how many times have we struggled in games that on paper we should have dominated and won.........Norwich, Swansea, Wolves anyone?? Some straight talking from the boss would also be nice, let's hope AVB doesn't attempt mind games with all the others and just get's on with the job in hand.

A 30 goal a season striker, AVB why not go for a cheeky bid for RVP? Defoe hasn't been up to scratch for a long time now! with Ade expected to sign and VDV expecting to move on, nows the time to get a top notch striker in.

Plan B, or even C or D. If things aren't working on the pitch.......change 'em! Having said that, let other teams worry about us, let's not pander to them and while we're at it let's not roll over @ home to Man U like we do every season!


Let's not change our support though eh? The best in the country, get behind the team @ WHL or on the road we out sing them all!

Arry for England?

Cast your minds back to start of the year... Everything was looking spot on, challenging the Manchester duo for the title, The Scum and Chelsea were in free fall and England still had FAB! 'Arry was tipped to take the England hot seat after the Euros and Spurs were going to do the double and 'Arry would get the blessing of the mighty Spurs fans has he went on his way to bring the World Cup trophy back to England! Former Lane hero Robbie Keane had just arrived back in the Premiership on loan @ Villa park and all the press wanted to do was ask him about Spurs possibly winning the title!

As 2012 started to unwind, the wheels started to wobble. Spurs played a blinder away to City yet lost to a last minute pen! If only BAE had let that ball run out for a throw and more to the point if the ref had spotted Bad boy Balotelli's stamp on Parker earlier on in the second half! Meanwhile 'Arry was clearing his name in the courts regarding TAX issues.

An unfortunate sequence of events then unfolded in a matter of hours... 'Arry got the all clear from the big wigs in court and then FAB held a meeting @ F.A head quarters and then shortly after a few cups of tea it was decided that England and FAB were no more! Rumors started to circle that 'Arry would walk away from the Lane! With no official approach from the F.A the media served up a storm in a tea cup! All the fans wanted to hear from 'Arry was that he was committed to the club.... what we heard via the press was he had a job to do @ the Lane. Although in fairness, All 'Arry was saying was that "he hasn't been approached!" @ first it didn't seem to cast any negativity around the club.... A 5-0 win against Newcastle pushed Spurs further away from the scum! and gave us are biggest league win since 'Arrys boys stuck 9 past Wigan a few seasons back! The top team in London had a nice ring to it and with shouts of Mind the gap, there wasn't a chance they could catch us!!

Then like a plague disaster struck! We were tipped to put the final nail in the Wenger coffin, with a 2-0 lead within the first 20 mins and new boy Saha on the score sheet it was supposed to be how many can we score! Then before we knew it we were 5-2 down and doom and gloom started to set in! 'Arry called it a blip! But then defeats to a struggling Everton team and a home defeat to Man United followed! Stoke then almost left the Lane with 3 points only a last minute header from VDV sparing our blushes! The media then threw into the mix that talk of the England job had took 'Arry and Tottenhams focus off the task in hand! 'Arry rejected their claims and Spurs then played a blinder against Chelsea @ the Bridge only to be denied by a series of great saves and the wood work! Meanwhile the red half of North London had gone on a mini revival and had leaped frogged us into 3rd!

A 3-1 win over Swansea then followed, and the players and fans a like all believed we were right back on track! Even Lawro predicted maximum points from our Easter schedule! A boring 0-0 draw away to Sunderland Failed to dampen our top 4 hopes, after all the scum had to play City! By tea time yesterday the scum had beaten City and today's game against Norwich became a must win! Norwich @ the Lane! What could go wrong? 'Arry shuffled his pack and made a few changes, 90 odd minutes later Spurs had lost their 3rd home game this season! (last season we only lost one @ home) Meanwhile the surprise package of the season in Newcastle had won their game and found themselves only out the top 4 on goal difference!

So for all the highs we've had this season has 'Arry been a victim of his own success? After all every team hits a blip! Look @ City! So with our league form looking more like relegation standard than champions league standard, can the lads regain their form for the remainder of the season and put some breathing space between ourselves and the chasing pack? But more importantly can the lads regain their early season form for the weekends FA cup semi final tie against Chelsea?

Now Although a top four finish would be great, a trophy in my view would be better! Look@ the scum, they ain't won a bean since 2006! And how we love to rub that into their scummy little brains! Don't they know it! How great would it be if we brought the FA cup back to North London! After all... the history books don't care who finished 2nd, 3rd or 4th! Can anyone without going on a stats site name the teams that finished 2nd ,3rd or 4th in 1999 or 2003? What i can tell ya is that the Champions league didn't do Leeds any favors!

History books care about winners! And a bonus to that is a cracking day out @ Wembley! COYS

Dave Mackay - True Tottenham Legend

There isn't much (if at all anything) that Spurs can thank the Woolwich Wanderers for........but maybe one thing that we could give them the ever so slightest wafer thin slice of credit for is the signing of Tottenham legend Dave Mackay. The story goes that back in the day Bill Nicholson had his eye on a young welsh centre half called Mel Charles, but with the Scum stepping in to seal the deal our manager was left to look elsewhere for a new signing and that's exactly where Dave Mackay fitted in.

And what a stroke of luck that was.

The term legend is banded about far too easily these days and in my opinion it should only be used looking back on a career on a player who has left legacy through success and performance. In Spurs history Dave Mackay is one such player, he'd already had a successful stint in Scotland with home town team Heart of Midlothian (where he won every trophy going) before the bright lights of London came calling. Sir Bill would later maintain that he wanted Mackay all along, but either way he came to epitomise a Spurs side made up of grit and flare.

The iconic image of him grabbing Billy Bremner by the throat* (an image that Dave himself disliked) has given Mackay the hard man reputation in that great team of '61 but he had so much more to his game - threading passes through the midfield and scoring the odd hat-trick here and there he was in no way just a clogger he had class.

His presence and aura inspired his team mates, willing them on with a never say die unflinching will to win. Back in the days when tackling was still allowed in football George Best was quoted as calling Mackay "The hardest man I have ever played against – and certainly the bravest" and Old Big 'ead himself said that Dave was "Tottenham Hotspur's greatest player" and he should know after signing him for Derby County where the success story continued from player into manager.

Comparisons are inevitable in football, with a youngster coming through or a new signing arriving there are those that will hark back to a former player that the new acquisition is similar to just to add an extra burden on their shoulders. But while we look at today's team for a inspiration or a link back to our greatest ever team through Scott Parker I truly believe we will never see the like of Dave Mackay again @ White Hart Lane......

*The story behind that photo is that Mackay had just came back from his second broken leg (something that would have finished the career of today's lesser mortals) and was quite justifiably miffed with the little ginger tosser. Incidentally Sir Alex Ferguson has the exact same image hanging on the wall of his office, maybe the secret behind his success right there?

The Pride of North London

Let's get one thing straight we haven't won anything yet, but my word we are only a few steps away from changing that! With the possibility of a title and an FA cup, memories of 61 maybe updated to the class of 2012!
With the other side of north London crashing out of the cup and getting a good old fashion hiding by AC Milan earlier on in the week (a team we knocked out of the CL last season) things are looking great for the original boys of North London and their following. Ask any fan who has been the out standing player of our season so far and you could pick anyone from 12/13 players. From King to Kaboul every player has played their part! And with the second North London derby of the season only a matter of days away, it's unusual for us to feel like we could really batter them on their home soil! Last seasons win there shows that we have nothing to fear! And the A*****l team of today is miles behind that of recent seasons! Watching them crash out of the cup against Sunderland brought a massive smile to my face, that idiot of a boss they have looked like a dead man walking! Has the golden bubble around Wenger finally burst? Let's hope we can stick another nail in that ageing coffin!
So with uncertainty surrounding 'Arry beyond this current campaign, wouldn't it be great if he could leave on a high! Over the last few seasons we have pushed on! With the additions of VDV, Parker and Sandro we have finally added quality depth to the middle of the park and with young Livermore looking better with every game played. The likes of Tom Hudd and Jenas will have a hard time forcing their way back into the squad next season. (Thats if Jenas is welcomed back from his loan) Meanwhile the red side have been selling off the crown jewels like there is no tomorrow, I wonder if we could tempt RVP  to cross the divide... a bit like Sol did all them years ago? What comes around goes around springs to mind! but in all fairness would you swap any of our players for theirs? For the first time in ages we can turn around and stick two fingers up @ them! The highlight of their season? The return of that 30+ past it icon.... How quick that past, 3 goals scored against the so called lesser teams, doesn't really sound like a story book ending. I've just heard he has landed back in New York ready to play in that part-time league called the MLS!
What ever happens come the end of the season, we have had more highs than lows and we have been playing some of the greatest football man has ever seen, just ask Sir Alex.
With Bale telling everyone he has no intention of leaving The Lane for Real Madrid or Barcelona it's a great time to be part of a Spurs revolution!
It's been a long time coming but we have finally taken back that title of Pride of North London. After all Spurs are on their way to Wembley!

Modern day hero

In an ideal world!

A cracking performance by the mighty Spurs yesterday, fast moving - slick football, pass and move, the way it should be! Not bad considering two of our most influential players were missing! VDV watching on from the stands as he celebrated his 29th birthday! With Saha making his home debut it was written in the script that the talented Frenchman would find the net against one of his former clubs! So with a 10 point gap between us and the scum the possibility of us finishing above them is looking more a reality with every match played!
Now the only concern is that all this talk of 'Arry and England could knock us for six! If the players or the manger take their eyes off the ball we could end up going on a winless run like we did @ this stage last season! It would be great for both the FA & 'Arry to decide what the plan is regarding the vacant position and then that will allow us to concentrate on finishing as high as we can and hopefully we can bring back the FA cup for the first time in 21 Years!
Now if 'Arry decides to move on, we can't sit about and moan, after all every Englishman would love to represent their country! But who would be the ideal man to replace him? Under 'Arry the likes of Dawson, Kaboul and BAE have gone from average squad players to world beaters! Somthing the likes of Jol & Ramos failed to recognise during their time @ the Lane! Calls for the special one to take the reins have been heard from Everyman and his dog! The problem is we can't afford to pay the wages to attract the players he would want! Plus the way he plays football isn't gravy! Under 'Arry we have been playing some wonderful stuff! So who else is there? Well Poyet has worked wonders down in Brighton got them playing some cracking footie but he is relatively unproven in the top flight and only he knows how Levy treated him when he was part of the coaching staff during the Ramos period!
Other managers mentioned in the same breath as Spurs include Moyes, Capello, Hiddink and Benitez. Although Rafa didn't really do that well @ Inter! He did work wonders for Liverpool!

So in an ideal world what would be the best outcome? Simple 'Arry to stay with us and maybe do a bit of freelancing on the side for the country in the shape of The Euros! COYS!

Parker for England

Tonight saw another outstanding performance by our 'old school' central midfielder Scott Parker, throwing his body on the line, covering the centre backs, along with some last ditch sliding tackles! This pint size likeable fella has been a revelation since putting on that Lillywhite jersey of the mighty Spurs! A key figure of the England set up and with that knobhead Terry stripped of the captains armband for country, would it not be fitting for a true gentleman in Scott Parker to be named next England captain? Respected by pundits and fellow professions Parker would be my choice all day long! Mopping up anything that gets through, he is one of the most consistent performers in the top flight of the English league! So that's my quick shout @ why Parker should be the next England captain! COYS!

The futures bright

It's been a few days since the transfer window shut, and I know most of us felt a little disappointed with the comings and goings @ The Lane. After a few cups of tea and time to reflect, maybe we have missed the bigger picture? We all know that we are in the midst of developing The Lane, it's taken a hell of a lot longer than many expected, but there's no doubt it's gonna cost a few hundred million! The last thing Levy wants to do is put the club in debt, so maybe the message is that all funds need to be ploughed into the redevelopment of The Lane? In the summer Scott Parker ( who has been our best player this season) cost a modest £6 million! The summer window before that Rafa was snapped up for less than we sold Pav for! So maybe the signings of Saha & Nelsen are a sight of the times ahead!

Now before we go all doom and gloom and start reading too much into other theories the question we should be asking is 'who could we of signed that would have made a difference to the team?' Tevez would have disrupted the harmony of the squad, Ba wouldn't of worked in the formation we play and I really can't thing of anyone else that we could of got in that would be happy to warm the bench?

With the likes of Smith, Kane, Townsend & Mason out on loan in the championship, there's only so many players we can fit into the squad! When they return in the summer, they will want to be part of the set up again, so maybe the fact we ain't going out and buying up the likes of Kaka or Lampard breeds hope for the younger players!

So with us currently sitting third in the league and with a good chance of Making it to the final of the F.A cup the future is looking bright @ The Lane. With talk that 'Arry could be heading to either Jail or filling the void that Fab will be leaving behind as England boss, my only concern is that the guy that Levy wants to bring in will undo all the hard work the cockney sparrow has done!

So with that in mind and the fact that you can never really predict anything in football! Make sure u mind the gap! COYS!

The Rise & Fall of Paul William Robinson

England's number one, so went the not most complicated of chants. Spurs history of 'keepers has been a slightly chequered one, from the greats of Ditchburn and Jennings through to the lesser well remembered Mimms & Keller.
Since possibly Ray Clemence Tottenham never again had a solid reliable stopper between the posts, this coupled with our then legendary dodgy and ever changing defence hardly helped matters.
If anything our goalies have been.....well....just above average....what they lacked in ability they made up for in crowd interaction (Erik the Viking) or an of the time trendy middle parting (Ian Walker)
Sure Walker was England's number one briefly but the way he smiled to himself every time he let a goal in didn't help but make him less than convincing.
Every top club had a top 'keeper, 'build from the back' is the saying isn't it? But it wasn't until the signing of Robbo that we felt at last we had found our missing piece.

I remember hearing of Robbo early on, Nigel Martyn was number one @ Leeds Utd at the time and was considered to be up there with David Seaman as far as goalkeepers went (he was even voted Leeds Utd's Best Goalkeeper of All Time by the fans), but some midweek cup heroics started to get Robinson noticed and when Martyn upset the then Leeds Boss El Tel  he stepped up and never looked back.

Robinson's last season up North wasn't the best - after all Leeds were relegated, but Spurs had obviously been keeping tabs on him, for the sometime maligned David Pleat was quick enough to snap him up for just £1.5m pounds.

Being between the sticks @ White Hart Lane makes a player the closest relation to the hard core support - both emotionally & geographically, we ask him the score, to give us a wave even, he throws his gloves into the crowd & a bond is built - I was there when the Park Lane faithful sang 'Happy Birthday' to him even unfurling a banner in his honour (sad but true!)
To have a decent 'keeper again was a novelty as a Spurs fan and how good was it to sing to any travelling set of supporters that we had "England's Number One" in goal?

Inevitably though confidence plays a huge part on a player's form and goalkeeper is a position where every mistake is magnified and analysed. Robbo just never recovered from his mishaps and it was a shame to see his decline. In a world of 'If onlys' a Paul Robinson in his prime could have given us that extra push we needed when Harry first took over and with our new number one Brad Friedel still going strong in his forties, who's to say we won't see Robbo's return?