Camden New Journal - Sports: 2footed

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Camden New Journal - by DAN CARRIER - SPURS FAN
Published: 14 June 2007

IT makes me laugh, all this badge kissing “I’m my club through and through” rubbish players spout when the transfer window is locked and bolted.
As soon as the season ends and the escape hatch swings open, there is an undignified scramble to be the first to wriggle through it.
Long gone are the days when you had club-for-life men, forced to honour long contracts by chairmen who owned them like cattle.
It wasn’t fun for the players, but who cares? It meant your club was in charge over the destiny of your heroes. It was a case of restraint of trade for the good of the team.
Today, most pros seem to be nothing more than a bunch of greedy-guts, angling for their next signing-on fee.
Let us consider the fretting going on at the moment across parts of North London, concerning the future of Thierry Henry. Henry has in the past (last summer to be precise) gone on and on about his love for the club and the fans. Not any more, it seems.
An Emirates season ticket holder I know is furious (tee hee) with Henry’s ‘tomorrow never knows’ attitude. He launched into a rage when I asked his thoughts.
“He can take a run and jump,” was the response.
“You can’t have your captain umming and ahhing – he should be setting an example. All this ‘things have changed since Dein went’ is ridiculous. He should be getting the players gee’d up, not shrugging his shoulders when he’s asked about next season. Henry is drawing his £120,000 a week, going out on the raz with the missus and hasn’t even kicked a ball for ages.”
Obviously all said without even the tiniest trace of bitterness at the end of the affair.
I can’t help smiling. While the close season is a bore, I do enjoy the summer transfer speculation, and especially when it is about the Gooners captain.
C’est la vie: I, in the meantime, will be picking my Spurs dream team from a huge list of top targets, all of whom have professed a great love for the history and traditions of the glorious Lilywhites, have been fans of the team forever, etc, etc and none of whom will be playing up the High Road come mid-August.
Any takers for Luis Figo?

.Is he right? What do you think? To let us know your views just email us at:
sports@camdennewjournal.

CONSERVATIVE schools chief Andrew Mennear should look closer to home before he points the finger over the dearth of English players in our football teams (CNJ June 7).
Some of the reasons are local and national, not European. Successive governments – Tory and Labour – have allowed too many sports pitches to be sold off and open space encroached on. It’s important for those in power in town halls across the country, including Mennear’s own, to stand up for local sports.
Recently the CNJ revealed the massive £2.5 million overspend in just the first six months for Kentish Town Baths.
With extra damage caused by the recent fire and the inevitability of overruns, the likely cost is expected to be far, far higher than the £25 million now pencilled in.
If councillors like Mennear had their priorities right, just a fraction of this money could help youth clubs or support local football clubs, like Kentish Town Football Club.
Here in Camden we are not doing enough to support the beautiful game.
CLLR THEO BLACKWELL
(Labour)

TO Richard Osley. The repulsion at having to see that smug grin every week in my journal has finally boiled over.
This week you spout nonsense about Spurs and Chelsea having the worst fans, yet your article embodies everything that is repugnant about football’s true ignoramuses: Gooners. You don’t even attempt to hide your misplaced arrogance. You live in a bubble, along with all your little friends who can’t see anything past Arsenal.
Talk football with Gooners and no matter what aspect you are discussing they will bring it back to Arsenal because they are ultimately ignorant about the game.
No matter what, no matter how many smug, egotistical rants you spew out, you know nothing about football save what you see when your own team are playing, which was fine for The Crow as all you had to do was write 200 words about Arsenal. Well done.
I do not understand how you have the gall to submit an article on football, about which you clearly don’t have a clue.
The underlying jealousy in every mention of Chelsea and how they “bought” their success is plain for all to see, and the fear in your words when you mention Spurs, knowing full well they are closing the gap all the time while you continue to wallow in the aftermath of your “fantastic” new stadium, is pathetic.
You name check these clubs in your article for one reason: Arsenal simply haven’t done anything worth mentioning for a whole year, they haven’t won anything and won’t be remembered for anything except a silent return to the old boring, boring days.
GARY SMITH, NW1

HOW can this fool be right? He never states serious facts. Tottenham were competing in Europe long before Arsenal. Chelsea have spent no-where near the figures Richard Osley mentions. The comments he made about Peter Osgood after he died last year were diabolical.
He conveniently forgot to mention that Arsenal at that time didn’t have a player fit enough to lace Osgood’s boots (Bobby Gould ha ha ha).
Kerry Dixon second rate? That’s funny because Arsenal wanted to buy him in the late eighties. And I remember Nigel Spackman knocking out Martin Keown. That was worth an award alone! This idiot shouldn’t be allowed to write in a paper even if it is free. This is supposed to be an Arsenal column but all he does week after week is slate other clubs completely, ignoring the problems at his own club.
JAMES BELL, via email

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