Thanks to all you Spurs fans. Thanks even more if you recognise our greater need for points (just now) and grant us an away win on condition you still finish much higher.
The response to my launch of Who Are They? has been tremendous, with articles lined up for future games and a great bunch of postings for more immediate use.
Sappers’s witty offering is already up there and further pieces from Logan Holmes and “Paxton Lee” will appear over the next 24 hours, with yet another, from Greg Meyer, also promised.
Three is obviously too many. Four is absurd. It will never happen again. But this is a launch after all and how can you turn away such kind and compelling stories of and reflections on the history, recent and less so, of our two great clubs? There is truly fascinating reading in these essays.
I will find a way of making the multiple Spurs pieces easily viewable without cluttering up the main postings column. If I can. But with mentions of Raich Carter, Chris Waddle, Paul Stewart, Jimmy Greaves and Ben Alnwick to come, it’s worth sticking around whatever my struggles with blogosphere technology.
With the exception of my very good friend David Sapsted’s words, already posted, these items appear thanks to Jim Duggan, who runs the Topspurs site. And no sooner had I thanked Jim for being such a gent than this arrived (from Jim):
Was out in Saudi when I got your mail earlier in the week and with work and whatnot could not put together anything useful but glad to see that your cup overflows with pieces from some of my regulars.
One little titbit you may want to add, there have been plenty of great memories up at your place from a 3-2 a couple of years back and the Klinsmann cup game but my most memorable Sunderland game at WHL was in the spring of 1978 when Spurs unbeaten at home all season needed just three points from the last three games of the season to get promoted faced Sunderland at home.
In the reverse fixture, Spurs had won at Roker 2-1 and no expected anything other than a Spurs win with eyes not just on promotion but championships
Sunderland scored early and scored again to go a couple up – Bob Lee is a name that has appeared in my mind as the goalscorer – and although Spurs pulled a couple back, a third Sunderland goal sank the unbeaten home record and nearly put the skids under what had seemed a certain promotion for so long.
Fortunately a jammy win 1-0 win against Hull with dodgy goal and a just as dodgy (ask a Brighton fan) 0-0 at also promoted Southampton in the final match saved the day.
Not sure what Spurs will turn out this weekend – if Sunderland go for Spurs you’ll have a chance as that defence is far from sorted and you lot are overdue a win down here. Equally the forwards are pretty sharp and are likely to bag at least a couple. Its safe to say Spurs will turn up this time unlike on the opening day and although you lot have a better chance than the bookmakers suggest, I think Spurs will win 2-1 or 3-1.
btw – full record of sunderland-spurs games: can be found here and just looking through the list, probably my second most memorable Sunderland Spurs game was another home defeat, this time when Chris Turner held of Spurs almost singlehandedly in a league cup tie in the mid 80s.
The much maligned Roly Gregoire got a goal that day, the only one he scored for us. Bob Lee got the other two. I wasn’t there but I remeber it being on Shoot on the Sunday with a Big Match commentary by Brian Moore instead of the idiotic Roger Tames.