i certainly feel the same way,for me London derbies are alway's big,more so this year because you won the C/L and we are rebuilding under your ex manager,so this is a chance to see how far away from a P/L winning team we are.Looking forward to it,just hope it's a good game!.
It's equal. Spurs hate us as much as we hate them. Arsenal are their biggest rivals but it's a different kind of rivalry. Spurs v Chelsea is far more partisan, same with Chelsea v West Ham. Whilst The NLD is the biggest London derby (or at least biggest North of the river) it's kind of different in the sense because clubs are so close to each other the rivalry is different. Most Spurs fans will have best mates that are Gooners as their stronghold (fanbases) are in virtually the same area. Chelsea v Spurs is: South London v North London and Surrey v Hertfordshire. It's like chalk and cheese. The violence between the clubs past and present doesn't help matters either. It's as big a game for them as it is for us. It's not like West Ham v Spurs/Chelsea or even Arsenal v Spurs where it matters slightly more to one team than it does to the other. I'd guarantee we are the 2nd if not 1st game Spurs fans look out for when the fixture list comes out. For most traditional Chelsea fans it's the same (newer fans tend to lean more towards United and Liverpool fixtures). For me it's always Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham I look out for first when the fixtures come out then obviously Liverpool and United. I don't at all see Liverpool or United as rivals.
all my mates are chelsea fans,as for the violence,when i was younger i used to go to the top rank suite in Croydon with my mates,when the liquidator was played alot of the time by the end of it the was fighting between the Chelsea fans & the gooners,i've never seen violence between Spurs and Chelsea,buy won't deny it happening.
I think with the North London Derby, due to both clubs being so close, they are both obliged almost to hate each other whereas the Spurs v Chelsea games is a rivalry which grows and adapts over time. As the fans have chosen it to be a big rivalry, there is much hatred etc. which we have seen over past seasons. I can't think of a Spurs v Chelsea game of as great a magnitude than the one on Saturday tbh...
Agree. This season any game involvng 2 of Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs is huge, wouldn't suggest any game is bigger than the others.
Hate's different to rivalry. I hate West Ham and United fans but they're not proper rivals. West Ham, like Chelsea have created most of the hatred between the sets of fans. Spurs/Chelsea is bigger this year for me because you're European Champions and have spent a **** load of money again. In short it's a big challenge. Otherwise I'm about as bothered about the Chelsea game as I am the West Ham game. I'd far rather lose to Chelsea than Arsenal because losing is losing face to a rival, on the otherhand I'd rather beat United away, or Chelsea than beat Arsenal for reasons other than rivalry. It's a huge match this year but lets not mistake it for a big rivalry.
It is a big rivalry. Tottenham and Chelsea are big rivals thus making it a big rivalry. It probably matters more to us than it does to you as we see you as our number 1 rivals...
This game is huge for me, as I live south of the river most of my mates (90%) and my entire family are Chelsea fans. I will be watching the game in a local pub that will also be probably 90%/10% in chelsea's favour but that just adds to the atmosphere. I think it will be an absolute cracker.
I do hope so.... It would be a shame for this match to be a dull one given the hype and anticipation surrounding it... I would love for it to be a good game... and for a Chelsea win of course
It is to the majority of fans of those clubs although there are sentimental differences amongst almost every fan. One of the reasons why for me London Derbies are not as big as Northern derbies is because the number of clubs and catchment area of fanbase. I know many Chelsea fans that don't hate Spurs or have any ill-feeling towards them at all. That doesn't mean they aren't rivals and vice versa for Spurs. Most Arsenal fans I know also don't hate Spurs and hate Chelsea. It's all very complex and dependant on where you live/matchday experience. Rivalry Fades. Hatred Doesn't.
The thing I love about the Spurs, Liverpool's and West Ham's of this world is that it's as if the last 20 years or so don't count or are less significant than the first 20. They go on and on about our relegations and being bought for a £1 and some stupid attendance at home to Coventry yet when we win things, smash every attendance record to boot and become the 4th most popular club in the world (based on shirt sales) they turn a blind eye. They go on about history and Chelsea's apparent "lack of it" but once we turn the tables it apparently doesn't count, but everything they've won in that time frame does I thought about 25% of that article was decent up until the bit where he started comparing the clubs. A club is only as big as it's reputation. There is nobody outside the UK and not many in it that would consider Spurs a bigger club than Chelsea RIGHT NOW. Spurs were a bigger club many moons ago and arguably the biggest in London but heck.... **** happens
No hassle in Burnley if you go to the Cricket Club or the Spoons nearest the station. Leeds is a different story for Chelsea... although there are away-friendly pubs like the White Rose in the train station and the Drysalters near Elland Road where you won't get shards of pint glass embedded in your face.
