saying that he was just, “Going to see Glenn Hoddle!” Some time later he came back home armed with a load of bags from the club shop. It was filled with Spurs goodies, one of which was an FA Cup final scarf that I still proudly own today. As I’ve said, when you give yourself to Spurs you have to accept it can lead to tears of joy or tears of heartache. Sadly, the 1987 FA Cup final ended in tears of heartache when we lost the final 3-2 after extra-time through a Gary Mabbutt own goal. It was a painful moment and I’ll never forget locking myself in the bathroom and crying my eyes out for what seemed like an eternity after we had lost. To say that I was inconsolable is an understatement. That’s true love for you. It can hurt like hell. Roll on to 1991 and Spurs had booked themselves an FA Cup semi-final spot against none other than the old enemy from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road. I cannot bring myself to type their name, but you will know the team I mean. It was the first semfinal ever played at Wembley, which added to the magnitude of the occasion. It is glorious history how Paul Gascoigne – the one and only Gazza – scored one of the greatest goals in Spurs history to inspire a 3-1 victory over that team. His free-kick hit the back of the net like a rocket, and the cheers from the blue and white side of North London could be heard on the Moon. Then the cruel side of football as we watched a tearful Gazza stretchered off in the final, with the consolation of a 2-1 victory over Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest by a Spurs team masterminded by El Tel, Terry Venables. My love for Spurs has never flickered nor faltered through all the ups and downs of the League, but it is the FA Cup that has made the heart beat fastest, and as I close my chapter I wonder if Uncle Harry Redknapp can be the latest Spurs manager to bring the genie out of the FA Cup? It is a love that burns as strong today as back when it first caught light 32 years ago, and it will never, ever die. Win, lose or draw I am proud of my beloved Spurs through both the good times and the bad. Tottenham Til I Die!
Spurs Writers' Club: The Glory-Glory Game 109