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Your first game

Discussion in 'Tottenham Hotspur' started by Dier Hard, Jan 26, 2019.

  1. Dier Hard

    Dier Hard G'day mate!

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    Can anyone remember the first game they went too? Be good to hear some stories.

    Mine was back in 2000 I think. So was 9 or 10. My uncle came round and it was near my birthday, said he was gonna take me ice skating as a present, then said “here’s your ticket to get in” and then I noticed it was match tickets to Spurs vs Leicester at the Lane. Was absolutely buzzing. Sir Les was sort of my hero back then and he ended up getting a hat trick in a 3-0 win so capped off a perfect first game.

    Another first - my first foreign game - was Ajax vs PSV in 2012. Another game around my birthday. Me and the boys went to Dam for a long weekend, prior to the trip I was telling them how Ajax vs PSV was on whilst we were out there and that we should try and get tickets, all of them said they didn’t fancy it which I found weird as we’re all footy fanatics. On the day of my birthday, I got hit for six as I was given news one of my Nan’s had passed away. My cousin (who didn’t share that Nan with me) also heard the news and offered his condolences, then said along the lines of that although it can’t erase the memory, hopefully it’d put a smile on my face and then showed me he and the boys had gotten us all tickets for the game as a present, he said they knew about the game long before I even asked them and had to keep it secret for weeks <laugh>. My other cousin done some research and found out about the Ajax pre-match parties, so we found it and joined in, was absolutely crazy; drums, flares, bangers, non-stop chanting... A true pyro party experience. Then the game itself was great, Ajax won 3-1, the likes of Toby and Eriksen played, atmosphere was electric as the boys somehow managed to get tickets right next to the Ajax F-Side (their ultras) and at half time the whole ground sang Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. Would highly recommend to anyone if they get the chance to go there and experience it for themselves especially if - like me - they enjoy the crazy atmospheric side of football.
     
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  2. Rocky blue army

    Rocky blue army Well-Known Member

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    Good post mate
     
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  3. The Huddlefro

    The Huddlefro Well-Known Member

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    Good post DH. I’m sure there are a few on here who have longer memories to draw on that you and I!

    My first game was a 2-2 draw at the Lane with Charlton on Boxing Day 2002, my uncle took me and my cousins. I’m fairly certain we sat in the West stand. Neither of my parents are really into football at all so it fell to my uncle to give me the gift, or curse if you like, of supporting Spurs from that day onward. I never went to many games when I was young because my uncle lives abroad so I only ever got to go with him when he was in the UK. It would be more than 10 years before I saw us win a game live, away at Newcastle. I only ever went to draws up until then <laugh>

    I’ve never been to a game abroad, though I once spent a drunken few days in Milan during which Inter played Palermo in an absolute belter of a game (losing 4-3 in a match full of stunning goals), AC played Barcalona, and the Italian GP took place at Monza. We camped out in a bar and made friends with all three sets of fans who came in one after the other, at one point in the AC game some guy started playing songs on a battered old trumpet and the fans sang along. Not quite as crazy as Ajax but it was a laugh <cheers>
     
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  4. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

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    Mine was a 3-1 win against Coventry back in 1996, sat in the West Stand close to the halfway line so I genuinely had no idea who scored until I watched MOTD later (with my shins making the match highlights...)

    From what I recall the only incidents of note in the first half were Coventry going 1-0 up through Dion Dublin (as if anyone else in their team actually scored goals...), Coventry's entire warm-up routine seeming to be to jog the width of the pitch and back again (with Gordon Strachan looking like he was going to keel over doing it), and a bust-up when a bloke a couple of seats down from me had enough of the bloke sat behind him having it in for Jason Dozzell for the entire first half with every moan seemingly containing at least two racial slurs, hence being told to keep his gob shut.

    The second half initially seemed to be a test to see how well everybody's knees were holding up, as in the 51st minute everyone got to their feet thinking...somebody's shot had gone in (nobody's uploaded highlights anywhere, so it could've been anyone from Chris Armstrong to Clive Wilson) only for Steve Ogrizovic to get his fingertips to it, but as everyone was sitting down again Teddy Sheringham blasted in the loose ball, and as soon as everyone had sat down again Ruel Fox made it 2-1 almost immediately after the restart, and in the 65th minute my shins got on the BBC during the buildup to Fox making it 3-1 (which the Premier League website reliably informs me came from a Chris Armstrong assist...but **** knows if it was a pinpoint delivery to feet from out wide or a two-yard toepoke in the area, because as I said no highlights exist)

    As for my first away game, that was a trip to Selhurst Park in 1998 to play Wimbledon where we were utterly ****e and lost 3-1 in a game that is best known for being Paolo Tramezzani's debut (or, to put it another way, 1/6th of his appearances for us...) while I also had to watch Graeme Poll officiate. I was not happy that day.
     
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  5. Rocky blue army

    Rocky blue army Well-Known Member

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    I'm an old fecker my first game was spurs v Chelsea at the lane in 1967. I remember waking up at silly o'clock I was only 7 and was so looking forward to the game and it seemed ages before we set off for the match buses and train journey seemed to take forever I can vaguely remember turning the corner and seeing white hart lane for the first time is was magical and looked so big.when we got in the ground I always remember the smell of fags and beer on the terrace and the noise was deafening from the spurs fans I'd never heard anything like it as a 7 year old it was a lot to take in spurs scored and the place went mental I ended up about 20 yards away from where I was standing and it took what seemed ages for this happy but frightened little boy to get back to where I was .spurs won and I was happy as a lark and I always remember when I was asked on the way home if I had enjoyed my day out I said Yeh it was great I'm coming back tomorrow to watch another game <laugh>.I went to the infamous game at feyenoord a few years later and couldn't believe the hatred and violence at the game nothing like dh experience I got a black eye and a few cuts and bruises but I was still a young teenager then and soon learnt to wise up be streetwise after that.it's been a magnificent time supporting spurs over the years and I wouldn't change anything once a yid always a yid we used to go to games knowing we were gonna.lose by 4 .5.6. Goals but it still remained the focus of the week and Saturday at 3 o'clock couldn't come soon enough.COYS
     
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  6. KingHotspur

    KingHotspur Well-Known Member

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    My first game was against Everton in 1993 with my uncle and his mate, we were 2-1 down after 87 mins. Darren Anderton scored to make it 2-2 after 88mins and then Darren Caskey (remember him) scored the winner in the last minute, the whole place went mad.
     
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  7. remembercolinlee

    remembercolinlee Well-Known Member

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    I remember that Charlton game...we were 2 down...I was taking my eldest (then 5) out for a pizza and my youngest was a day overdue! She eventually arrived on new years eve!
     
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  8. Alfie Conn

    Alfie Conn Well-Known Member

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    1960 home to Burnley , I was 4 yrs old and stood on a collapsible plywood box that dad made for me , I can still remember the feeling as we walked to the ground after parking , crowds of men in overcoats hats, mostly smoking ,got a rosette and program which I still have.
    That feeling ,the noise,smell will never leave me .we stood at the front by the players tunnel and I remember I had to look through the looped railings that surrounded the pitch
    We drew 4-4 and don't remember much about the game but that first game will never leave me.....COYS
    P.s. I just rememberd standing in the corner of a pub on the way home while the old man and his mates had a sneaky beer before opening time in the Orange Tree in Totteridge lane
     
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  9. Rocky blue army

    Rocky blue army Well-Known Member

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    I forgot to mention being crammed in on the shelf at the end of the game my feet never touched the floor going out. oh what great times .....now I'm sounding like my grandad
     
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  10. Alfie Conn

    Alfie Conn Well-Known Member

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    I took my son to the Lane for his 1st game in 1999 and we lost to Leicester 2-3 Iverson score both for us but pleased to say he didn't stop pestering to go again and one of my proudest days was taking him and my 2 yr old grandson to the lane for a tour before the demolition,grand- daughter is going first chance we get at the new Lane
     
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  11. "Thanks for that Brian"

    "Thanks for that Brian" Well-Known Member

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    27 September 1969. I was 7. It'll be 50 years for me this year. I'm hoping to go to the home game nearest to that date with my dad and brothers, so anyone with spare tickets, you know who to contact...

    I don't remember too much about the game, except Jimmy Greaves was dropped (to my enormous disappointment). However, I was very impressed with the young debutant, Steve Perryman, who immediately became my favourite player. We sat in the East Stand Upper.

    I never saw it at the time, but Peter Cook did a piece on Grandstand about how appallingly bad the game was - the full transcript is in Jimmy Greaves' biography - Greavesie. I recall him calling it the worst game of football in history. Still, it didn't put me off, even though we remained wretched for most of that season, finishing 11th and losing 8 home games.

    I recall the sheer shock of how big the pitch was and it was the most people that I'd ever seen by a huge margin. I don't think that you ever lose that impact. A couple of years later I went to the League Cup Final against Villa (another poor game) and well remember being sent flying when Martin Chivers scored. After that, I always wanted to stand and to this day, don't like sitting at football.
     
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    Last edited: Jan 26, 2019
  12. The Changing Man

    The Changing Man Well-Known Member

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    11th February 1989 Tottenham 1 Charlton 1, Paul Stewart scored our goal I don't recall who scored for Charlton. Erik the Viking was in goal, Chrissie Waddle and Gazza played, I am fairly sure that Mabbutt was captain. It was a poor match and I don't recall much more if I am honest.

    It had taken me 18 years to finally get to the lane after becoming a Spurs fan in 1971 aged 7 by virtue of the Big Chivs exploits on the Big Match, living in deepest Kent with a Dad who hated football (its not his fault he was born in East Ham!), I also worked every Saturday when I left school and that was when matches took place. I actually remember my 2nd game better, it was the first match of the 1990-91 season v Man City, Lineker and Gazza led us out it being our first match since Italia 90, and we were excellent that day.wining 3-1

     
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  13. remembercolinlee

    remembercolinlee Well-Known Member

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    My moron mother married a child beating piece of **** who supported Liverpool. My cousins lived in Wood Green near Turnpike Lane Tube and when I was 6 ish there was a NLD and when the goons scored some of the people on the opposite side of the road cheered and when Spurs scored some on our side cheered so in my head we were on the Spurs side of North London.

    By time I was 7 I called myself a spurs fan (around 1974) so as well as the threats and beatings the piece of **** rubbed my nose in the fact we were ****. We nearly hot relegated a couple of times and the first year I followed us properly on a Saturday afternoon was the 76-77 season and we went down.

    I used to listen to games on the radio on a Saturday afternoon and midweek and no matter where I was I took a little radio with me to hear updates and reports.

    We moved flats in October 1977 and the ****wit laughed when my radio got lost so I did not hear the Spurs result..the next day I got a look at his paper and saw we won 9-0 and Colin Lee scored 4 on his debut.

    I started collected cuttings from then on to make scrapbooks and was reading as many spurs books as I could that I got as presents from my cousins and mum.

    I was 10 by now and on bad days used to act out matches using subbuteo pieces that I had (used to by them from a junk shop with the money got from returning empty lemonade bottles to shops...used to get them from neighbours).

    I was such a stubborn kid that from 12 yrs on I stopped going in the front room cos I was given a second hand portable tv so I never went in the front room.

    I carried on following on radio and tv until I was 14. I was staying at my cousins over Easter after a bad one at home and listened to our semi final with wolves. My cousins were 5 years older than me and one of their boyfriends took me to the replay at Highbury (she dumped him the following week so never even got what he wanted as a reward <laugh>)

    I was determined to savour every second. I remember the noise walking to Highbury, the smells of the burger and chip vans, hearing "we are Tottenham from the lane" and "que sera sera" for the first time live.

    The singing before the game, it being rammed full 45 minutes before kick off and the explosion of noise when Perryman led them out were a joy but nothing to the joy of complete strangers jumping all over each other when Crooks scored the 1st in a 3 nil win.
    But most of all I remember the dilerium that greeted Ricky Villas 25 yarder for our third goal.
    Being with spurs fans felt like belonging somewhere and from then on I saved whatever money I could so I could go to WHL as often as possible.

    All my spurs scrapbooks, subbuteo stuff and my programmes were all thrown by them so I have spent the past 10 years collecting them again on eBay. I have all the programmes back and have bought old papers and scrap books of the years 77-84 ... but can't find the UEFA cup run and final of 84 <grr>


    These experiences are why I
    A) Love going to spurs (and have inflicted them on my girls) and this site
    B) love my Job
    And most of all
    C) appreciate Mrs RCL and my girls

    PS ... sorry if this has bored you all rigid but you sad bastards deserve it <laugh>
     
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  14. "Thanks for that Brian"

    "Thanks for that Brian" Well-Known Member

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    Not bored, at all.

    The Arsenal semi-final game was a really weird one. I was on the North Bank when Gooners outside the stadium started lobbing half bricks in from outside the ground. The Police seemed completely unfazed by the whole thing, despite people being hit. By the end of the game, despite winning, tempers were running high.

    After the win, I was determined to get on the pitch with the players and celebrate (my one and only time). I was climbing up out of the terraces when a senior copper in a flat hat decided he was going to to stop me. I don't think he had clocked the size of me, because when he went to grab me, I went straight through him and knocked him over. There were hundreds of us digging up the turf with our heels........I don't condone it now, but this is "Do what I say, not what I do...", okay?

    As me and 2 of my brothers were walking away from the ground, we watched Spurs fans smashing up one of their pubs and trying to heave a pool table out of a window. It was pretty full on in those days. I ended up in hospital after both games in '78/79 (once with my brother and once having my lips sewn back together) and it was going off in A&E between the walking wounded. <laugh>
     
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  15. Spurf

    Spurf Thread Mover
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    This was the league table when I saw my first game at White Hart Lane (I think! it was along time ago)


    Tottenham Hotspur 10 24 5 0 0 23 6 3 0 2 14 12
    2 Manchester United 11 21 5 0 0 14 2 1 3 2 13 10
    3 West Bromwich Albion 11 21 3 2 0 11 2 3 1 2 7 6
    4 Nottingham Forest 10 20 3 2 1 10 4 3 0 1 6 5
    5 Sheffield United 10 19 2 2 1 9 4 3 2 0 10 6
    6 Blackburn Rovers 11 18 2 2 1 13 8 3 1 2 9 7
    7 Arsenal 10 18 4 0 1 13 9 2 0 3 10 14
    8 Burnley 11 17 4 1 1 12 6 1 1 3 6 10
    9 Liverpool 10 16 2 0 3 11 7 3 1 1 8 6
    10 Everton 9 16 4 0 1 13 7 1 1 2 5 8
    11 Leicester City 10 15 3 0 1 12 3 1 3 2 7 10
    12 Fulham 11 15 4 0 1 10 7 1 0 5 2 14
    13 Aston Villa 10 13 1 0 4 6 10 3 1 1 8 5
    14 Blackpool 11 13 2 1 3 5 9 2 0 3 6 14
    15 Wolverhampton Wanderers 11 13 2 1 3 9 14 2 0 3 8 15
    16 Sheffield Wednesday 10 11 3 1 1 12 7 0 1 4 4 11
    17 West Ham United 10 11 1 1 3 7 9 2 1 2 4 7
    18 Chelsea 11 11 2 2 2 5 7 0 3 2 4 9
    19 Birmingham City 11 10 3 1 1 6 3 0 0 6 5 18
    20 Stoke City 10 8 1 2 3 8 11 1 0 3 5 8
    21 Bolton Wanderers 10 7 1 1 2 8 5 1 0 5 9 15
    22 Ipswich Town 10 5 1 1 3 7 13 0 1 14

    Spurs 6 Birmingham 1 I remember seeing Greavsie in person for the first time and he scored a hat trick. Brilliant.

    I didn't go regularly until the early 80's in Burkinshaws time. with the crowd constantly moaning when the ball was played out from the back instead of being booted upfield. I used to sit in the West Stand.
     
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  16. BluefromBridgend

    BluefromBridgend Well-Known Member

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    I was at the Leicester game too. My annual visit to the Lane. Great to see Sir Les' hat trick.

    Not been to Ajax but they came to Cardiff for a pre-season friendly at Ninian Park about 10 years ago. A 0.0 bore draw but the Ajax fans made the night more interesting, firstly by thinking they could attack our Grandstand Block A gang, the old Soul Crew. They soon realised that was not a wise idea.

    Secondly, at half time a lot if them lit up spliffs with the exotic cloud and smell drifting across the ground. No one really cared the second half football was crap.
     
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  17. Alfie Conn

    Alfie Conn Well-Known Member

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    The pub was the Highbury Tavern I seem to remember,what a night that was our small group were making our way back to the station when we got jumped by 4 gooners , one of our lot was a nut job and ended up throwing one of the gooners through someone's front window , he dined out on that for a couple of seasons
     
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  18. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

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    For me it was (tries not to set fire to Premier League website's hideous programming...)
    1 Manchester United +29 67pts
    2 Newcastle +26 64pts
    3 Liverpool +34 62pts
    4 Aston Villa +16 56pts
    5 Arsenal +16 54pts
    6 Spurs +11 54pts
    7 Everton +15 51pts
    8 Blackburn +8 48pts
    9 Nottingham Forest -1 47pts
    10 Chelsea +2 45pts
    11 West Ham -5 45pts
    12 Leeds -7 42pts
    13 Middlesbrough -12 39pts
    14 Sheffield Wednesday -8 35pts
    15 Wimbledon -16 33pts
    16 Manchester City -23 31pts
    17 Southampton -18 28pts
    18 QPR -19 27pts
    19 Coventry -21 27pts
    20 Bolton -27 26pts

    Funny where a couple of clubs were sitting before their billionaire owners showed up, isn't it?
     
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  19. Spurf

    Spurf Thread Mover
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    City weren't even in the first division when I first went and Chelsea were struggling down at the bottom.
     
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  20. Spurf

    Spurf Thread Mover
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    Burnley & Wolves are back up, they were the main men when I was a lad then Spurs happened.
     
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