Gazza

There's a DVD being released this week, it's the story of - for those Spurs fans of a certain age our last great player.
Gareth Bale may have shone on the pitch in recent years but this man attracted more adulation and genuine love from a White Hart Lane crowd like no one seen before or since.
Arguably the greatest talent to come out of the British Isles since George Best, Gascoigne had the advantage of playing for England. Meaning a place on the world stage eventually beckoned and it was @ Italia '90 that he came of age, with him England's dreaming almost became a reality, close but no cigar. But it was in his failure and resulting tears for souvenirs that Gazzamania was truly launched, scenes reminiscent of a boy band concert at White Hart Lane the following season were witnessed and he was everywhere from chat shows to Top of The Pops.
From the streets of Newcastle - and eventually starring for his boyhood team, he played the game with the same schoolboy enthusiasm throughout his career moving on the Tottenham after being scouted by the legendary Bill Nicholson. He could have gone elsewhere as recent stories reveal but a promise of a house and a car for him and his family* saw Gazza head down south and whisked away from that man Fergie's sweaty grasp.
From then on, we all know how it ended. He took us single handedly (or should that be footed?) to the FA Cup Final of 1991, providing us with tears of both joy and sadness along the journey and helped enable the club that we all love to survive - a movie script ending sacrificing himself so that others may live.
Though his career briefly peaked with a trip North of the Border @ Rangers and proved to be the Scots undoing with that goal @ Euro '96, from then on it was the decline, less appearances for lower teams, eventually lower leagues as well as abroad, someone really should have had a word with him.
It was obvious he was having trouble walking away from playing the sport he loved.
With his demons off the pitch that we couldn't possibly try to go into or solve on this blog, we see him now as a shadow of his former self with a tinge of regret of what might have been, but with hope that he is at last happy in himself that although he can no longer entertain on the pitch he can at least try to off of it as a pundit and storyteller.

*remember this was the pre-Levy years!

Is it just me?...... I don't love Stefan Freund

Jimmy Greaves, Dave Mackay, Danny Blanchflower, Gary Mabbutt...............all Tottenham Legends through and through.
Stefan Freund? Not so much.......not in my opinion, now I'm all for Cult Heroes and we have plenty of them but how Mr Freund ever got inducted into our Hall of Fame before true heroes such as our record appearance holder and twice trophy lifter Steve Perryman is beyond me.

Is it a sad indictment of our own club that a player who really didn't achieve much with/or for us should be so revered?

My memories of him mainly involve him running around the midfield like a headless chicken, bottling it when it really mattered against Roy Keane and not scoring in any competitive games for us.....oh and nearly being strangled by Duncan Ferguson (but that was for Leicester....but still made me chuckle!)

Does he really deserve that song when there are far  more important members of the Spurs set up going without?
Even poor Ledders had to make do with a song that mentions that scumbag John Terry!
The original song of course was first sang to Martin Jol, who I did incidentally love - albeit in a big fat dutch clown uncle type of way.

But Freund, I'm sure he's a pleasant chap and seems to be a bit of a laugh......but love?? That's a bit too much of a leap for me.

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?

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!