Heartland

When Chelsea won their second League Title in 2005, fifty years after their first, Sky Sports News cameras followed the victory parade the next day, where the plastic flags were out in force on the streets of Kensington. The reporter spoke to fans, including a bloke well into his forties, in one particular interview that sticks in the mind. The fan explained he had been there through the hard times, since he first started going under Vialli…

Earlier this week, ESPN’s enjoyable football magazine programme Talk of the Terrace had as a guest David Schneider, a comedian and Arsenal fan (separate entities on this occasion). Schneider also explained how he only became an Arsenal fan in more recent times, coinciding with Arsene Wenger taking charge. And Schneider is not alone in only have supported Arsenal through the thick and thick; the voluble criticism about Wenger being trophyless from some Arsenal fans last season can’t just be put down to the modern age of half-baked opinions on radio phone-ins – there are a sizeable number of Arsenal fans who don’t remember pre-Wenger.

Now there is nothing wrong with people coming late to football, and the two anecdotes above are no evidence alone that Chelsea and Arsenal have a large number of fair-weather fans; however, it is very questionable whether the Emirates will be full when Wenger has gone, especially if they revert to playing the “brand” of football that was associated with them from Herbert Chapman to Bruce Rioch, via Don Howe and George Graham; and it is also doubtful that Chelsea’s matchday revenue will hold up if they slip out the Champions League, and further down the Premier League, something Roman Abromovich probably recognised with his recent big money throws of the dice in the January transfer window.

Both Arsenal and Chelsea are in the top ten of Deloitte’s guide to the income of football clubs released today, but Spurs remain in the top 20 and despite the differences in stadium capacity and years of Champions League investment, the gap is less than three over-priced strikers. Of course that gap accumulating season upon season will affect Tottenham’s bid to compete in the transfer market, as UEFA rules will ensure money can only be spent from matchday income, broadcasting revenue and commercial deals, which is why I would expect the Northumberland Project (NPD) to become financially viable again, if, after any legal challenges, West Ham are confirmed as having won the bid for the Olympic Staduim.

What we at Tottenham do have is a very large and loyal following, which won’t be wavered while the Club’s history and tradition remain intact. When we were in the second division in the seventies there were thousands locked out at away games; there are many Northern fans that started following Spurs as youngsters under Bill Nicolson that still travel to see Spurs all over Europe; there are current Tottenham season ticket holders that travel from South London, the Home Counties and the Midlands to White Hart Lane for every home game and have done so for years; there are countless Scandinavians who grew up watching the Spurs team of the eighties live on television on Saturday afternoons rather than go to their own local games (and like all Spurs fans who grew up watching that great football of that time, have continued following Spurs through the grey days of Gerry Francis and beyond); but most of all Spurs have a hardcore following in North London – in Enfield, Edmonton, Southgate, Broxbourne, Harringay and of course Tottenham itself. Even Barnet, where Arsenal play their reserve games has a large Tottenham fan base.

A move East would have meant that Tottenham would have lost that last natural geographical heartland to future generations who will grow up with their only local team being a red one originally from south of the river. And while Arsenal would have been handed a catchment area to them on a plate, Spurs would have had a new home in a territory where most local allegiances lie elsewhere.

Tradition is a big factor in Tottenham’s fantastic following – both in style of football, and the famous history of the club, which includes its home; leaving N17 after what would be at least 130 years by the time of any suggested move to Stratford would have affected that. And in a few years time, Spurs, like all clubs, will also be directly competing against live football that will be even more readily available on the television and internet then it is now, in times that are likely to be financially tougher for the paying punter after years of savage public service cuts that will inevitably lead to a downturn in spending and disposable income for the many, rather than the few.

There is little doubt Spurs could fill a 60,000 seater stadium in N17 week-in, week-out, but there is no guarantee of that in a new area, with the tradition dented, no local goodwill to draw on in the future, and more reliant than ever on form on the pitch, which for all teams is only temporary to varying degrees of extent; a wholly owned stadium with an increased capacity, in its own heartland is the only solution that accounts for Tottenham’s long-term future, with the look ahead to forty years, rather than to ten.

The Board were right to look at a Plan B when considering the NPD; however, while not putting all its eggs in one basket while working on the NPD made good business sense, it seems a converse position where the Olympic Stadium is now the only option, if all public pronouncements are to be believed.

It is entirely possible that the recent positioning has been taken in order to win the bid – if it was known the Club had other alternatives (including a viable NPD), it would have been another negative factor in its Olympic Stadium bid, which clearly became the Board’s preferred option on financial grounds.

It has been speculated that a reason for Tottenham’s initial interest in the Olympic Stadium was the fear of another club growing to be a competitor with increased matchday revenues; but West Ham’s ticket pricing model for the new stadium, which recognises the need for widespread ticket reductions and concessions, is not the same as Tottenham’s plan.

Daniel Levy has been an excellent chairman up to this point, being decisive on footballing matters and not only running the club on a sound financial footing, but investing heavily in the team, with the recent transfer window being unusual due to poor execution, rather than lack of ambition. But while there is sound reasoning in benefits of a move to the Olympic Stadium, those benefits alone didn’t make it the right decision for the Club as a whole. 

It’s not relevant at this point to look at the reasons why it looks like Spurs won’t be awarded the bid – from the outside it looked a technically competent bid, while apparently compelling from a footballing view for neutrals (echoed by the whinging in tweets of certain broadsheet football correspondents today as well as the Football Supporters Federation); but two factors that weren’t on the criteria against which the bids were measured were the Social Responsibility to the area of N17, and the long-term interest of the club in deserting it’s local fanbase. And they are the two key reasons why a rare win at anything for West Ham tomorrow morning may be seen as a victory for Spurs in years to come.  

MG

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after 49 seasons is available on Amazon and Smashwords.