Saturday, March 01, 2008


BACK FROM WEMBLEY.... AS WINNERS
I have just returned home from London and have now started to recover from the big hangover. I finally have some time to update this blog...this time as a winner. Yes- as Gus Poyet put it...we are now winners. No more "we played very well BUT...". No more BUTS- We faced Chelsea in the League Cup final and outplayed them. We swept them off the park to come from behind and WIN.

What a day it was. There was a nice group of Maltese yiddos in London. The majority of them had to pick up their tickets from Wembley stadium so they left the hotel a bit early. Me and Simon, had our tickets in hand and could take a more "relaxed" approach to the final. At about 11.00am we left for Baker Street where we had agreed to meet some fellow yids. Hoswever The Globe Pub had been taken over by Chelsea fans and the yids had sought alternative "warming up" venues.

Another Spurs fan informed us that a large group of yids had taken over The Torch pub near Wembley. We didn't need any convincing and quickly made our way to Wembley. As soon as we got out of Wembley Park station we were met by the impressive and fantastic view of Wembley Stadium and the famous arch dominating the North London skyline.

But Wembley could wait...our planned first port of call was The Torch. We did not take long to find it..."just follow the white shirts" we were told and we duly obliged. We will never regret it. The Torch was swamped with Spurs die hards drinking and singing on chairs, tables and other makeshift platforms. We soon joined in the fray and spend the best part of three hours singing our hearts out. It was like one big family...a proud Tottenham family.

We made our way to Wembley about 30 minutes before kick-off. The walk along Wembley way makes your heart beat faster so imagine what we felt when we stepped into the stadium to be greeted by a sea of flag-waving and chanting Spurs supporters. The scene was surreal and became more so when the players came out on the pitch....COME ON YOU SPURS, COME ON YOU SPURS, COME ON YOU SPURS!

What a game! We out-paced, out-classed and out-witted Chelsea to emerge 2-1 winners over a supposedly much stronger side. All the boys deserve special praise but most of the credit has to go to Juande Ramos. His game plan and substitutions made the difference and, thanks to the Spaniard, we are back amongst the winners. JUANDE RAMOS' BLUE AND WHITE ARMY!

The final whistles brought tears to my eyes...and thousands of others. I couldn't believe it...when Ledley and Robbie lifted the cup I finally understood what the word "heaven" means.

After the game we met our fellow Maltese yids and made our way to the Bricklayers near White Hart Lane. There we celebrated till very very late but it was not over yet. When we got back to our hotel we found a group of Norvegian Spurs watching a repeat of the game in the hotel lobby. I don't think I have to say what happened then. Let's just say that the hotel staff were not very happy with the not so silent and tranquil atmosphere...but very happy with the beer sales.
The memory will be with us for ever. There were so many proud moments- approaching Wembley, Berbatov's "COME ON! COME ON" after he equalised, Woody's goal, King going up for the cup, Zokora doing his dance routine, Keane crying his eyes out with joy, Keane and Boateng showering Ramos with champaigne, invading Liverpool Street Train Station and singing TOTTENHAM TILL I DIE...I could go on for ever.

But one last thing I want to say is THANK YOU MR LEVY FOR GOING FOR THE BEST AND GETTING THE BEST- JUANDE RAMOS YOU ARE ALREADY LEGEND.

Here are some pics and a video...more will follow later on:




MIKE KING WRITES FROM THE UK
Dear Mark,
Thanks once again for another interesting edition of The Cockerel. I have been an International member of the club for many years and although I have not been able to visit in recent years, I always cherish some great memories of my times at the club. .
In December last year my Father Vic and myself were treated as guests of the club for a match day feast and hosting for the match vs. Birmingham. We were celebrating my father's 90th birthday and it was fantastic to shake hands with Pat Jennings, Cliff Jones, Martin Peters and many others. We had a great day, I will try and send a photo sometime, though I am having problems downloading them at the moment.
I hope you all have a wonderful day on Sunday for the Carling Cup Final, have a drink for me!. An old work colleague of mine, Nick Creak, may be calling in to say hello. Despite him supporting that other lot from North London, I assured him he would receive a warm welcome, let's face it why should we hold a 5 . 1 win against him!! He is running in the Malta Half Marathon, real fans run a full marathon!
Please say hello to everyone at the club for me.
Best Wishes,
Mike King