There’s too much filthy water under the bridge – all of it generated by Spurs – for tomorrow afternoon’s game at White Hart Lane to be anything other than a really serious grudge match.
It probably started way back when such as Paul Allen and Martin Peters swapped the claret and blue for the Spurs white – a history which David Gold once told me: “I hated it as a fan and I hate it as an owner.
“I’m fed up with selling players to Spurs – we are no longer a selling club and Spurs are off our radar.”
However, it was hardly a surprise that when one of our most influential players Cheik Kouyate was linked o a move in the summer, Spurs were the club he was linked to before ClaretandHigh was told by entirely trustworthy insiders he was going “absolutely nowhere.”
There’s much more and The Telegraph’s Matt Law recalls in a piece this morning Karren Brady’s mobile phone bills and bank statements that were accessed by a private investigator.
That resulted in three men, one of whom worked for a company hired by Tottenham, being fined for spying on West Ham’s bid for tenancy of the Olympic Stadium. Spurs repeatedly insisted they knew nothing of Howard Hill’s illegal behaviour.
Tottenham’s seeming ‘jealousy’ has know no bounds with suggestions of ground sharing or using the Boleyn arising as the scuttle around looking for premises next season. Brady had placed a covenant on UP to ensure no such occupation could take place.
ClaretandHugh knows from the best possible sources that the possibility of allowing Spurs access to anything connected with West Ham is pure anathema to David Gold and David Sullivan.
On top of all that unpleasant posturing came the Adebayor’s incident when chairman Daniel Levy would not agree to West Ham’s proposed deal of paying half the striker’s salary as a loan deal collapsed.
Levy refused to pay a single penny of his wages and eventually forced the Hammers to pull out following DG’s famous: “Don’t go to bed comment on deadline day.”
The dislike between the two clubs is very real and entirely justified on our side although the Hammers chairmen have made it clear in a website statement on the official site that the behaviour of our fans tomorrow is seriously important and they will accept no ‘cross the line behaviour.’
I can’t imagine that any of us will be hanging around in that unpleasant part of north London after the game – least of all David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady.
Spurs fan here. Loathing? I don’t get it. Why? There is nothing in your article to justify it other than wild speculation. There is no evidence to support the allegation that Spurs did anything illegal in spying on whams bid for the Olympic stadium. Just the same as there is no evidence that wham were party to a bidding process held to be lllegal by the high court. Either or both clubs may be equally guilty. We shall never know.
Directly it was eventually confirmed that an athletics facility would have to be provided at the stadium, Spurs pulled out. So they weren’t beaten, Karen. The only evidence in recent years of any unacceptable behaviour between the two clubs was the anti Jewish chants and gas chamber hissing carried out by wham fans at WHL 3 years ago. I think your club has felt it necessary to remind supporters that anti Semitic and racist chanting isn’t acceptable. Really? Don’t they already know that?
So why do your two Chairman and Karen conduct a steady campaign of anti Spurs comments through the media? You will have noted that Spurs do not respond or react to the provocative comments. Could it be a lack of class from the club that has produced some of the classiest players we have seen in my 60+ years of watching the game! Shame on you WHAM. Let’s hope for a decent game tomorrow.
So Levy’s last-minute let down over the Adebayor loan didn’t happen, there weren’t any convictions of blokes hired by Spurs for spying on Brady’s (and others’) mobile phones and the unnecessary intervention on the stadium – a non-starter anyway because of the proposal to demolish – wasn’t just an attempt to extort better planning terms from Boris and Haringey for your own stadium redevelopment?
Rebekah Brooks and Harry Redknapp are great examples of ‘lack of evidence’, but we all know that innocence was technical, not actual. You might be over sixty, but you haven’t acquired much in the wisdom stakes, have you?
Hey jeff, were you one of the spuds who smashed up arsenals stadium last week ? I should think spud fans should know that its not acceptable to be hooligans & vandals
LOL