I’m 35, been a Spurs fan since my brother gave me his ‘old shirt’ and I was 5 but really became a true supporter after my first game; the 1991 Fa Cup Semi Final.
In that time I have seen some real great players play for us, from Gazza to Ginola… Anderton, Sherringham and then there were my favourites like Nicky Barmby oh and of course to this day Gary Mabbutt is still my captain.
Since 1991 then I have been a fan and a supporter. I have watched players come and go, seen us stutter and I have seen more false dawns than I care to remember but since Pochettino became our manager I have felt more connected to the team and the club than I have since I was a kid.
This of course is in a large part to him and they way he has built a team / almost family environment but also I believe its been helped a lot by the emergence of talent from our academy. There are many who have broken through and still are but of course the main example is Harry Kane.
Three seasons ago it was a shock seeing this young English striker take the league by storm. A humble guy, who was happy at home with his family not out partying every night and someone who has a role model all young professionals or kids starting out could and should look up too.
Fast forward and we have a striker who is still as humble despite the global plaudits and is as hungry as ever to keep improving and be the best he can be. He is quite literally one of our own and he is world class. It is true Roy of the Rovers storytelling ….. however does anyone else remember the Roy of the Rovers when his own fans turned on him?
So, a little background. Recently Christian Eriksen whipped in a free kick, Kane went for a header but instead it glanced his shoulder and went in. By every definition in the game its a goal to Kane just as if it had glanced his head (hilarious people think a goal is more or less legit depending on the body part you put it in with).
However, as it was not clear during the game live or clear during replays the goal was wrongly awarded to Eriksen, despite Kane telling everyone he touched it. The club made the decision to correct the over sight and sent the ball tracking evidence, which was used to show Kane did get the final touch on multiple TV shows (Goals on Sunday being the first, thank you Kammy) and the Premier League agreed – goal marked down for Kane.
So I must admit, it is here that I have become confused. Fans from other teams have made a lot of jokes out of it, its fine, that is their job in a way – to other teams. A few weeks back it was diving and cheating, in a few weeks more it will be something else. We are a team now that is a threat so therefore we are a target for this kind of stuff.
What has confused me is our own fans. Playing into the joke is one thing but I am seeing on a regular basis actually hate towards Kane and not just isolated in our one Facebook page I am seeing it across all social media platforms and I simply cannot believe what I am reading.
“He is only out for himself” / “Great, the club values Kane more than Eriksen, will lose him this Summer!” / “Selfish Harry showing his true colours..” / “Well who cares about us winning as long as Kane got his goal, we know he doesn’t.”
Harry like many young football players is on all forms of social media and like any human is reading stuff like this. He is a Spurs fan, from a family of Spurs fans and so I am sure he would be expecting abuse from Arsenal but Spurs fans turning on him? REALLY?
The same fans who will slam him and claim there is no loyalty in the game should he decide to leave us ever as here slamming him for claiming a goal he scored. Is anyone but me seeing this as a seriously fu**ed up situation!?
I am lucky enough that there are people I have met through watching the academy side on a regular basis and just through contacts at the club that I can get some insight into certain things. I am in now way an “ITK” and I will never claim to be – if someone tells me something I will often share it with my fellow admins on the page but not my place to go public HOWEVER I will say this.
Eriksen after the game asked Harry; “Did you touch it?” and Harry said “…yes, 100% came off my shoulder.” so THEY told club management. You see, here is something I have not seen reported. Eriksen gets a goal bonus. In his contract he also gets an assist bonus which works out as more for him (bonus goes up based on accumulative assists) and finally, here is a key thing. All of the players deemed it a complete non issue and were laughing and joking about it – in training they were all trying to score with their shoulders and on social media Harry was making jokes with fellow professional strikers (Shearer etc) about it as he felt it was a non issue.
So the players are happy, Harry was happy and then everyone turned on him. Was he naive to think people wouldn’t … I don’t think so. I think he sadly just felt that Tottenham SUPPORTERS would SUPPORT him and believe in him. I personally believe he had every right to think that.
Even Pochettino came out and said how it has affected him and suddenly the “behind scenes issues” so many fans claimed there would be because Kane ‘stole a goal’ is happening because of those fans getting at Harry. Did he look his usual sharp self? Match fitness be damned, Harry looks distracted and I wonder why? No I do not wonder why, I know why, because he no longer feels that connection with our fans he did a few weeks back.
Time can heal this and I hope it does because Harry no longer feeling the same love, loyalty and therefore leaving Spurs would be an awful day for everyone.
-SJ
