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The plan was to meet in Harrow; get the tickets off Ross;
go to Wembley; smash the Chelsea and go home for beer and pies.
Hurrah.
I left me front door about 8.30 a.m. It was a beautiful
spring morning. As I looked up at that sunny sky, I was thinking Spurs
play better when the sun is shining. Maybe, just maybe.
Got me NoTW from the paper shop ... the owner's an
Asian bloke. He knew me old man ... he's a y*d. Said he
would be going, but he's got kids and that and he asked me if I knew of
any spare tickets going. Said "Sorry mate." We had a chat
about the game. As I left his shop he says to me make sure you
come back with more than your leaving with mate. Y*DDO!
Got to the Chef's Delight cafe on Wood Green High Road.
They got a flat screen telly in there, so was watching the highlights of
MoTD as I ate me full English, but with double mushrooms instead of
beans (Sorry Andy we know he loves beans on his roast!!). When the
plate comes to me table I may be wrong, but I recall that I get a polite
smattering of applause from the other diners in the cafe as me
impressively large breakfast is brought to me table. I am aiming for an
internal island of grease upon which there will be a lake of alcohol.
I finish me brekkie about 9.30 a.m. It costs about
£7.50. I tip 'em a fiver. Why not ? Spurs are in a final today
...
anything goes mate.
Jump on a train; have an uneventful trip to Kings X, but
I can see that a few y*ds are already making their way to Wembley with
their funny hats and even one Israel flag.
I get to King's X; meet Dutch Garry and Sean S.
They are talking to some Mackem who was happy, mainly because the
Barcodes had been spanked by Manure the previous day.
Me, Sean and DG get on the train. They are wearing the
commemorative white and sky blue shirts. I remember Sean was in two
minds about wearing colours in case we lost and you have to put up with
taunts from Chelski idiots sitting there in your Spurs shirt.
Sean wearing his shirt is a real act of faith.
Y*ds who ain't making it to the game stop us on the way
to the Metropolitan line to tell us we're gonna go do it today mate !! I'm starting to get excited.
We get on the train. I get a text just after Baker
Street. I've got the Chas 'n' Dave "We're off to Wembley coz we beat the
Arsenal" ring tone. It's a text from me friend Marisa. She
finishes her text with three little words: "We Hate Chelsea."
"I'll
have to marry this girl," I says to DG. I tell them she has her
"We
Hate Chelsea" badge in her jewellery box as a prized possession and they
concur that she sounds top.
We all look out the window as we see the Wembley Arch.
A load of y*ds get off at Wembley Park. I only see one Chelsea. I
text Hairy Wael. We stay on the tube to go to Harrow on the
Hill.
Sean talks about the bloke he travels away with taking a
bible with him ... DG pisses himself between Northwick Park to Harrow
on the Hill about it.
We get off in Harrow and stumble around looking for the
Yates bar we're supposed to meet Ross in. I telephone the place, they
tell me where it is, but we go in another pub called the Moon on the
Hill as they have Sky Sports in there and so we decide to go in there and
have a swift one and then make our way to Yates when Ross gets there.
The day before Eduardo that Ars*nal player gets his leg
broke in two places after a nasty tackle from a Brum player called Martin
Taylor.
I get the first round in DG - Guinness what else ? ...
Spurs and Guinness its the only reasons he comes to England - Sean
has a pint of a brew called Dirty Tackle.
I get a text followed by a call from HW who has already
started moaning about the Victoria line and what a journey he's having,
etc., etc. He does say (and this does interest me) he can't see any
Chelsea anywhere ... its all Spurs everywhere.
The pub is filling up now ... all Spurs. Some geezer puts a
Big Spurs flag up in the window - a St George Cross with T H F and C in
each of the four white squares and "10:53 club" across the red
traverse bar.
It falls down because the geezer putting it up doesn't have
enough Blu-tack ... we all think "I hope that ain't a bad omen for
today."
I get a call from HW again. He's at Harrow. I direct him
to the pub. Sean gets a round in. Guinness for HW ... another Guinness
drinker. A group of y*ds in the corner have an inflatable sex doll
with a Spurs shirt on and they are chucking it around the pub to cheers
and there's much laughter. One bloke catches and pretends to snog it .
Wael turns up and we give him his Guinness, so he can stop moaning for
five minutes !!
I get a phone call from Ross. I suggest abandoning the
Yates meeting and tell him to meet at the pub we're in. I say it's all
Spurs in here. He says yes. I say get here soon ... Hairy; he's giving me
earache.
Two Chelsea fans in their lovely blue shirts consider
coming in the pub and a chant goes up "Y*d Army Y*d Army" and they decide
against it. HW loves that.
Ross and Jean turn up. More Beer. HW takes the tickets
and puts them in his pocket. The comment is made that if he p*sses
himself later we hope it don't moisten the tickets.
Matty, Ross' sparring partner who married a Kiwi, turns
up. More Beer.
There's is footage on the screen of Eduardo getting his
leg broke from the horrendous tackle from Martin Taylor of Birmingham.
Eduardo doesn’t get any sympathy from the y*ds in the pub. He's Arse ...
he's a Gooner, so they cheer every time the footage comes on and eventually
a chant goes up:
"What's that hanging out of yer sock? Is it yer ankle?
Is it yer ankle?"
It starts off the singing in earnest. We all have a
good sing song and five pints of Magners Irish Cider later, I stumble out
the boozer and we all go off to Wembley.
At Wembley Park the sight at the top of the stairs is
great. We walk down Wembley Way, Ross and Jean take photos of the day.
The rival fans are filtered to their respective ends by
the Old Bill; at their closest point there are vituperative insults
between the fans, but we don't concentrate on that. We say goodbye to
Sean and Matty and go inside the ground, queue up for a programme £6.00.
After queuing up I see Luke Young ... he plays for Boro now, but he was
with us during the dark days of the Gooner who was our manger when we
last won this bleedin' trophy. Ross goes over and gets his picture taken
with him ... Y*d-do.
It does not seem long before the teams come out we are
all in white them in blue. Here we go ... 90 minutes away from a trophy and
European football next season. No win, no Europe. We ain't gonna win the
UEFA Cup.
COME ON YOU SPURS ....
end of part one
15:02 Referee Mark Halsey blows his Cup final whistle and
Chelsea kick off the Carling Cup final.
The Y*ds are in good voice. I am so nervous I can hardly
sing, but I suddenly find my voice:
CO-ME ON YOO SPURS COME ON YOU SPURS COME ON YOU SPURS
15:02 Juliano Belletti gives the ball away and Robbie
Keane is clean through, but his shot is deflected narrowly wide by John
Terry. From the corner, Didier Drogba clears under pressure from Ledley
King. Calamitous start from Chelsea.
Ha ha Belleti yer Chavski muppet. Go ... On Keano, Go On.
We
all stand up ... is this going to be a dream start ? Corner. Leds ... go on my
son ... OOOH!
15:07 The Chelsea forward line are pretty much bystanders
at the moment, because it's all Tottenham in the opening minutes.
15:10 Pascal Chimbonda's looping far-post header hits the
top of the bar and moments later, Dimitar Berbatov heads wastefully wide
from a Robbie Keane cross. I say again; it's all Tottenham.
Chim-BondAAA OOO! Ah come on Berba mate COME ON
TOTTENHAM !! Tottenham are running the show here they are going for it
mate.
We give them support : Tott-enham Tott-enham Tott-enham
Tott-enham Tott-enham Tott-en haaam Tott-enham Tott-enham Tott-enham
Tott- en-haam (arms out nice and wide) TOTT-EN HAM !!!
15:20 John Terry pulls back Dimitar Berbatov to give away
a free-kick. Jermaine Jenas floats it into the box where an unmarked
Jonathan Woodgate is unable to get any direction on his header. Poor
marking from Chelsea.
Free Kick. "F*** Off Terry you ret*rd " shouts HW. An
expectant roar rises amongst the Y*ds - an acknowledgement that this
situation has potential for a goal. Woody WOOO-DEEE !!! ... Awwww !
Massive
groan. But we start applauding. Spurs are going for it and we are
responding to their efforts. Chelsea are doing sweet FA.
15:21 "I would like to see Tottenham move the ball about
quicker, if they do they'll cause Chelsea problems."
BBC Radio 5 Live summariser Graham Taylor
15:30 Robbie Keane chests the ball down for Steed
Malbranque, whose fierce left-foot shot is turned around the post by Petr Cech.
Keano's got nice control with the chest. We stand up
again. The people behind are getting p*ssed off with us - but they ain't
said anything. I'm a big bloke !! Nice control Keano.
Nice STEEEEEEED. COME YOUR SPURS ! COME ON YOU SPURS !
There is an acknowledgement of Malbranque's effort. STEEEEEED !!
15:34 A clumsy challenge by Didier Zokora on Shaun
Wright-Phillips gives Chelsea a free-kick from 25 yards. Didier Drogba
blasts it high and wide.
We all adopt the classic pose when an opposing team
blast it high and wide. We all stand up with our arms open wide - as if
to suggest that that he couldn't hit Vanessa Feltz's arse if she
was bending over three yards in front of him !! Traditionally it is
accompanied by a good natured ironic ... YAAAY !!!
15:39 GOAL Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea
Didier Zokora gets the first yellow of the game for a
foul on Didier Drogba, who steps up to put the 25-yard free-kick in the
gaping hole to Paul Robinson's left. Major question mark over the
keeper's positioning there. Major.
"Zokora ... stop giving away free-kicks !!"
shouts Ross. Drogba's gonna take it. I start to get the feeling Drogba
might do better with this one ... GOAL. Sh*t. Those Blue muppets down
the other end, who have hardly sung anything, go mental. No-one
criticises Robbo ... maybe Jean says something. They don't deserve this.
After celebrating for two minutes those Chavski mugs have all gone quiet
again. We have to bring this fact to their attention the y*ds sing:
"YOUR
SUPPORT YOUR SUPPORT YOUR SUPPOPRT IS F***ING SH*T YOUR SUPPORT IS F**-*ING SH*T "
15:46 A lovely passing move from Tottenham. Robbie Keane
slips the ball through for Dimitar Berbatov, but the Bulgarian slips,
allowing Petr Cech to collect.
Yessss ... Yess ... Tottenham ... That's it. Let's
show these !! Nice One Keano ... Berba ... AWWW! (massive groan). Same old
story these blues have done nothing and Spurs have bossed it but we are
behind !!
15:48 "Spurs' worst fears are realised as all their
pressure and chances come to nothing and Chelsea deliver the sucker
punch. Didier Drogba's free-kick has really been taken the wind out of
the Spurs fans' sails. Chelsea's supporters had, like their team, been
strictly second best until just after the half-hour, but it's the old
story - fail to put Avram Grant's side away and they will come back to
bite you. Big test for Spurs now."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley
15:49 HALF-TIME Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea
Didier Drogba's free-kick puts Chelsea ahead after
Tottenham have the better of most of the first half. Time for Juande
Ramos to earn his corn...
SECOND HALF
16:06 Carling promised to donate up to £20,000 to the
Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK if people were back in their
seats in time for the start of the second half at Wembley. It hasn't
worked. Wembley is half-empty as Tottenham kick off the second half. No
changes on either side.
Where are all those Chelsea mugs ? The stadium's
half-empty... probably drinking their lattes the bunch of plastic
fans that they are !!
16:17 Didier Drogba has picked up a knock, so he's gone
out left for the moment, with Nicolas Anelka going central. Meanwhile,
Aaron Lennon is so isolated on the right wing, he has come infield to
see if he can say hello to the ball.
16:19 Looks like Tom Huddlestone will be coming on
shortly, as Juande Ramos looks to shake things up. Meanwhile, Didier Drogba looks OK again, but remains out wide on the left and it's raining
quite heavily.
16:22 Pascal Chimbonda is the man to make way as Tom
Huddlestone comes on. The Frenchman is seething, ignoring Juande Ramos
and stalking off down the tunnel. Childish. Steed Malbranque is at
left-back, Aaron Lennon on the left wing, Jermaine Jenas on the right
and Huddlestone in the middle.
Come on
Chimbonda ... stop acting like a berk and get
off the pitch. "That's a disgrace," says Ross. "Pathetic retard," says HW. Chimbonda goes
down the tunnel ... what that all about ? Oh, well ... here comes Huddlestone:
OH TOMMY TOMMY - TOMMY TOMMY TOMMY TOMMY HUDDLESTONE
OH TOMMY TOMMY - TOMMY TOMMY TOMMY TOMMY HUDDLESTONE
16:27 "Good change from Juande Ramos - although the
petulant Pascal Chimbonda may not agree. On comes Tom Huddlestone, but
the key move is switching Aaron Lennon up against Juliano Belletti. Spurs need more invention from somewhere because Berbatov and Keane are
now being kept in check by Terry and Carvalho - and all the time is that
lurking threat of a Chelsea counter-attack. You can sense inside Wembley
that we are now reaching a crucial phase of the cup final."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley
16:29 Penalty to Tottenham.
Wayne Bridge handles the ball as he challenges Tom
Huddlestone in the box - a great spot by the referee's assistant.
Nice one Keano ... good work on the left good cross. Go on
Tommy son ... HANDBAAAALL !!! Who handled it ? Bridge ? Wayne
Bridge's handled it in the box !! Must be a penalty ... YESSS !!!!
The ref's
given it after consulting with the Lino. F**k Off Terry ... he's trying to
talk to the ref ... He's given it you mug. He's in charge not you !! I can't watch. I can't breath. Ross and DG look like they are
praying. We are all blowing. Berba, after waiting a little while, steps
up .......
16:30 GOAL Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea
Dimitar Berbatov waits for Petr Cech to commit himself
before putting the ball in the opposite corner. That's spiced it up a
bit, hasn't it ?
GOAAAAL !!!! Pandemonium. DG is jumping on me. HW has
gone mental and we are all hugging and jumping up and down ... Berba
was so cool taking that penalty !!
16:36 "Spurs are back in it and Chelsea are furious. As
Spurs celebrated a brilliantly executed penalty by Berbatov, Petr Cech
raced from his goal to have words with the linesman, as did John Terry -
although there is no surprise there. Terry's desire to referee the game
as well as captain Chelsea is a major flaw. It's game on again. Spurs
are pumped and they must guard against over-excitement."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley
16:33 Chelsea make their first change with Shaun
Wright-Phillips coming off to be replaced by Salomon Kalou.
F**k off You Hobbit Wright Phillips!!!
16:36 A second change from Juande Ramos sees Teemu Tainio
replace Steed Malbranque.
We celebrate Malbranque's contribution: STEEEEEEED !! Now
let's win this game. COME ON YOU SPURS ! COME ON YOU SPURS !
16:42 Oh my word. I'll say it again. Oh my word. Chelsea's offside trap is sprung by Didier Zokora. The midfielder's
initial shot is well saved by Petr Cech and he puts the rebound over the
bar. Zokora has his head in his hands - as does every single Tottenham
fan, I would think.
Oh, Keano ... nice ball ... Zokora's through ... he must score, he
must score ... he shoots Cech saves with his face ... nice one ... Zokora has
the rebound ... NOOOOOOOOOOO !!! ... he's blasted it over ... we all have
our heads in our hands. I look over at Ross he looks downcast ...
"We've
lost this," he says. I ain't convinced, but I say nothing. We can still win
it in normal time. Chelsea ain't really doing much and they seem there
for the taking.
16:44 "Tottenham are looking the more likely. That was a
great opportunity for Zokora - he should have put the ball in the net
when the ball rebounded to him."
BBC Radio 5 Live summariser Graham Taylor
16:45 Petr Cech to the rescue again as Dimitar Berbatov
turns sharply on the edge of the box and shoots. This is a pulsating end
to the game. Six minutes remaining.
Nice ball to Berba ... OOOOO ! ... Good turn and shot applause
from the y*ds !!
16:47 Michael Essien floats a long ball over the
Tottenham defence to Didier Drogba, but the striker is just caught on
the back foot and can't stretch out a leg to bring the ball down. That's Essien's last contribution as he comes off to be replaced by Michael
Ballack.
16:51 Three minutes of added time start now...
The Yids are hoping we can nick it and we get the SPURS
in the final minutes of the game "We are Tottenham, we are Tottenham,
Super Tottenham, from the Lane, we are Tottenham, Super Tottenham, we are
Tottenham from the Lane !!"
16:52 "Spurs are in the ascendancy, backed by a support
that senses a great chance to knock Chelsea off their perch - fans were
holding their heads in their hands all around Wembley as Zokora took
several touches when one would have done before firing straight at Petr
Cech. And yet, like a great champion keeping back on last knockout blow,
Chelsea are refusing to give way to Spurs' supremacy."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley
16:54 FULL-TIME Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea
Another chance for Tottenham goes begging at the death. It was a difficult one though, Robbie Keane firing an overhead kick over
from a few yards out. Into extra time we go.
It is looking like extra time. Unless we nick it
... Come on Keano !! OOOh !! Didn't he have time to take that down
?? Why try
an overhead kick ? "His back was to goal," says
HW.
Full time whistle blows ... I tell 'em I had a full English
this morning and that they are responsible for carrying my bulk down the
escalators of Wembley if I prematurely expire before the end of extra
time.
End of Part 2
As players move from the huddle around Ramos, I’m thinking
it can be cruel following Spurs. It would be cruel if we were to lose
this now. But I’m trying to stay positive ...
A roar begins to rise as the push for home begins:
17:00 We're under way in the first period of
extra-time...
17:03 GOAL Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
Disaster for Chelsea. Petr Cech was the Chelsea hero at
the end of that second half, but he's undone all that good work. He comes
to collect Jermaine Jenas' floated free-kick, but punches it straight on
to Jonathan Woodgate's face and the ball bounces over the line.
Free kick. "Come on JJ," says Ross. He floats it in
... Woody ... WOOOODEEE !!! He’s only GONE AND F**KING SCORED !!!!
We are going
mental. DG, Hairy, Ross and Jean and me are in a group hug, jumping up and
down. DG is shaking the hands of the people behind us who we were p*ssing
off in the second half
Tott-en-ham, Tott -en-ham, Tott-en- ham
Tott-en-ham, Tott -en-ham, Tott-en- ha-am
Tott-en-ham, Tott -en-ham, Tott-en- ham
Tott-en-ham, TOTT-EN –HAM!!
CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP – CLAP -CLAP –CLAP Y*DS !!
The y*ds are getting behind the lads now and those no
mark Chavski fans are as quiet as church mice ... not a dickie bird from
those mugs ... just encourages us to keep on singing our lads home to
victory.
The only time they make any noise is when that ex-Iron
Cole comes on.
17:06 "When the ball was played in, there were only three
Spurs players to Chelsea's seven. Cech came for the ball for some
reason. He didn't need to come for it. He created the chance for
Woodgate."
BBC Radio 5 Live summariser Mark Lawrenson
17:08 Here comes Joe Cole, replacing Jon Mikel Obi. A
bold substitution from Avram Grant. "Chelsea's fans give Joe Cole a
rousing reception as he comes on - reflecting the fact that he should
have been on about 30 minutes ago. If Chelsea win, Grant will be praised;
if they lose, that decision might come back to haunt him."
Chelsea have just woken up and now realize they
are losing to Spurs.
17:10 Frank Lampard whips in a free-kick from the left
which is tipped over by Paul Robinson. Nothing doing from the corner. I
think that's the first time I have mentioned Lampard in this game.
Aww ! Come on Robbo, you've got to catch that one.
"There’s
not a lot he could have done about that," says Hairy, as if he played at
international level for years.
17:12 A defensive move from Tottenham boss Juande Ramos
as fans' favourite Robbie Keane is replaced by defender Younes Kaboul.
What take Keano Off .. !? We are all astounded ... what
happens if the Chavski equalize ? Whose gonna take the penalties ... KEAN-O,
THERE’S ONLY ONE KEAN-O, THERE’S ONLY KEANO, THERE’S ONLY ONE KEAN-O
As Spurs fans, we have been trained to think
pessimistically. Ramos is going to win it in extra time. He’s protecting
our lead.
17:15 Jermaine Jenas is left breathing heavily after a
barnstorming run down the right. He wins a throw-in for his troubles. Great work from the England man.
17:17 HALF-TIME (extra-time) Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
Tottenham must hold out for 15 minutes if they are to win
their first silverware since 1999 ...
I tell Ross my heart can’t take much more of this!! COME ON YOU SPURS, COME ON YOU SPURS
17:20 Gus Poyet gets a warning from the referee during
the break for some back-chat directed at the fourth official. We're up
and away in this second period of extra-time.
17:22 Tottenham have five at the back while Chelsea are
playing 4-4-2, with Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba together up front.
17:26 As you might expect, Chelsea are dominating
possession and their fans are calling for a penalty when Didier Drogba
goes down under a challenge from Jonathan Woodgate. Drogba is offside
anyway.
F***ING ‘ELL Woody that was close. It looked like you were
fondling Drogba’s tits mate !!
17:27 Salomon Kalou cuts the ball back to make space, but
Paul Robinson saves the shot with his feet. Brilliant save.
Kalou has just fired one in and Robbo’s only saved it
magnificently with his feet. He gets an instantaneous standing ovation
from the y*ds : "England’s, England’s No 1. England’s No1" !!
17:32 From a long ball, Joe Cole has a shot on goal, but
it's easy for Paul Robinson. Chelsea have three minutes to force
penalties.
The Chelsea mugs are starting to leave. That just
encourages the y*ds to get more vocal. I am looking at the clock
and think
"Why isn’t that going any faster ?"
17:33 Didier Zokora gallops forward from midfield once
again, but this time, instead of shooting or passing or doing something
sensible like taking it to the corner flag, he passes the ball to
absolutely no one.
We are whistling … Come on that must be three minutes
17:35 After a spell of possession, Chelsea eventually
work the ball to Juliano Belletti, who balloons a shot high over the bar. Terrible. Three minutes of added time remaining.
Hands wide apart ... YAAY
17:36 Chelsea have a corner ... Paul Robinson comes and
doesn't collect - but a desperate barge from Joe Cole means he gets the
free-kick. Into the last minute at Wembley.
Catch it Robbo !! ... Whew !! Free Kick for us … come
on blow up ref !!!
17:38 FULL-TIME (extra-time) Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
Oh MY GOD. We’ve won !! Hairy jumps on me, knocks me on me arse,
me glasses fly off ... we are hugging each other in turn. Hairy jumps on me
again and me glasses, which had just managed to keep hold of go flying
again. We all end up jumping up and down.
"1-0 and you F**ked it up !!" we sing to Chelsea. We have
come back from being 1-0 down to win 2-1 against Chelsea and prevented
them from winning it three times in a row.
I’m a little shell shocked and a little overwhelmed. I
have been wanting this for years.
OT 2001 ... beaten by the Scum in semi ... the long trip home.
2006 ... last game of the season losing Champions League footie to the Scum by losing at West Ham.
2007 ... Last season at Emirates those Gooners singing
"2-0 and you f**ked it up," as they knocked us out of this competition.
The humiliations at Burnley and Grimsby and defeat by
Birmingham at WHL, when the crowd which was about 20 thousand sang "Stand
up if you hate Sugar" ... the incessant piss-taking by Spammers, Chavskis
and Gooners. The false dawns … I’m tired of seeing other
clubs excel. At last today we are getting ours. Brilliant. I’m
welling up now.
The Tottenham celebrations begin after Jonathan
Woodgate's extra-time winner from a mistake by Petr Cech. Didier Drogba,
John Terry and Cech run straight to the referee to have a pointless moan,
which is all very unseemly.
There’s a mature fella in his 50’s in the row in front
and he shakes our hands and he is crying and wiping his eyes.
"Sorry mate,"
he says. I say "It’s alright fella, I’m crying meself."
17:42 "Spurs win the Carling Cup and deservedly so. It
was a victory for Ramos' ambition over the caution of Grant. And the
Spaniard, with two UEFA Cup wins on his CV, shows his pedigree again. Questions will be asked about Grant's team selection and tactics, while
White Hart Lane has a new hero in Ramos."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley
17:43 John Terry leads his team-mates on the slow trudge
up the stairs to collect their losers' medals.
There is no-one left in the Chelsea end. "One-nil and you
F**ked it up !!" the y*ds sing as Chelsea go up to collect their medals as
runner-s up. Ha Ha ha ha ha "One-nil and you f**ked it up."
The cockerel is
singing again and it is beautiful, beautiful. Best bit is
Terry’s face he looked like he’s been asked to swallow bucket load of sh*t.
Terry is hurtin’ and I’m loving it. Hurry up and pick up your pony
medal. You ain’t invited to this party. We beat you fair and square.
17:44 The Tottenham team are shaking hands with well
wishers as they make the same journey up the Wembley steps. Skipper
Ledley King is limping as he makes his way towards the trophy. He kisses
it once before lifting it high to an enormous cheer from the Spurs fans. Jonathan Woodgate is handed the man of the match award. And deservedly
so.
YEEEEEEEEAAHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!
17:49 Tickertape, champagne, fireworks... you know the
scenes. Tottenham begin the long night of celebrations. The Chelsea fans
are long gone.
THE FIREWORKS are quite spectacular and then and the over
the PA:
GLORY GLORY TOTTENHAM HOSTSPUR
GLORY GLORY TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
GLORY GLORY TOTTENHAMHOTSPUR
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON…
17:50 That was the first victory in an English Cup final
for a team outside the 'big four' since 2004. Robbie Keane congratulates
Juande Ramos by tipping a bottle of champagne on his head. Lovely stuff.
Look at
Keano’s face. He is ecstatic. None of these young players have won
anything; they are hungry for more I’m sure of it. Berba won’t give the
Cup to anyone else. They were excellent ... well played Y*ddos.
We
eventually leave about half an hour after the game. We walk down the
stairs singing as we go. I say to Ross and Hairy "One down one to go" … "We’re all going on a European tour
- AGAIN, a European tour - AGAIN, a
European tour - AGAIN !!"
I feel
exhausted, but happy and still a little dumbfounded. When we leave the
stadium it is raining, but I can’t feel it. I sound like Andie McDowall in
"Four weddings and a funeral." We see faces of
other y*ds we have seen as we have journeyed home and away following
Spurs in Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Manchester, Bolton,
Blackburn, Mickey Mouse land, etcetera.
It feels
as though we are walking around aimlessly in a daze, but we do have a
plan.
We are
looking for a boozer to hole up in until the crowd dies down and then
back over to North London ... Tottenham to party until dawn.
We go in
the Quality Hotel Wembley. More Magners and Guiness mate. We watch
footage on the screen in the foyer once Jean’s got the beers in.
We cheer to see Woody’s goal. Cech hits it back onto Woody’s nose and it
goes into the goal.
Matty
turns up. More Beer.
I speak
with Sean and text him, but he’s on his way back to Maidstone. I receive
a text from my mate Joe. He says he was in the Chelsea end and it was
agony, but him and his brother had a pint in the Ricky Villa bar which
was in the Chelsea end beforehand for luck. We are both still buzzing
from the experience of seeing the Spurs win their first trophy of 21st
Century.
After we
watch the highlights on Sky Sports news in the foyer we walk to Wembley
Park.
At WP Matty is going Northbound or on the Jubilee, so we say goodbye to him.
As we are standing on the southbound platform there is some handbags between some mature Chelsea and some Spurs yooth.
A
Metropolitan train comes in and the Old Bill take an age to come down
and sort out the shenanigans.
We don’t
worry about that ... we want to get back to Tottenham before the pubs close.
We go to
Kings X and take the Piccadilly to Manor House, then take a 259 down
Seven Sisters to the Beehive. Hairy has got the word his mate Chris says
there is a post Carling Cup disco going on down the Beehive. We stop off
at some ropey fried chicken place in Tottenham High Road. I buy meself a
burger, but I don’t know if I can eat it all ... feeling a little tom.
Me and
Jean wander over the Beehive. I have an orange juice, as I have not had
any vitamin C all day, but would have thought there was loads in the Magners I was drinking.
Its got apple in it don’t it ?
At the
Beehive, Aussie James and Hairy’s mate Chris, who used to work in the Pat
Jennings Lounge at WHL is there with Chris’ flat mate the enigmatic Fitz.
Anyway,
I ain't feeling good enough to dance, but we have a good old sing song to
some old pop hits and soul classics and then the highlights are shown on
the flat screen TV in the pub. We watch the highlights again and cheer
again when Woody’s goal goes in. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of
seeing that go in ... Nope. We still won that cup.
There’s
a nice barmaid in the Beehive called Toni – who I kissed once at the end
of the season. [What's a bird’s season look like ?] "How can you kiss
that Gooner ?" DG chided me. He always scowls a little when he sees
her; he can’t stand Gooners.
She was
asking us why we hadn’t been in for such a while. I said Hairy thinks
there are too many Gooners in here and he don’t wanna drink with Gooners
on match days. Toni asks me to ask Ross if he would give her his Carling
Cup flag for her son who she is bring up a Y*d ... very commendable. Ross
has already promised it to someone else.
Ross and
Jean are taking photos of Hairy dancing to Phil Collins. There’s a wiry
Asian bloke with a long ponytail and a goatee who takes photos of us
holding the flag. A bloke called Simon, who is p*ssed, keeps on saying he
likes me .. . I buy him a pint of Guiness. Why the hell not ? We won the
Carling Cup anything goes. Everyone keeps on asking me if I am
alright. I guess because I look nauseous or because I didn’t buy a half
a chicken in the fried chicken shop or I blubbed like a little girl at
the final whistle.
The
vitamin C in the orange juice I’m drinking helps and although I can’t be
arsed to dance, I do get in the mood for a sing-song. I get a second wind.
I have
work the next day and so I, with Ross and Jean, leave the pub. Hairy, James,
DG and Chris are gonna cane it ‘till the early hours. But before we
leave, we get DG to hug Toni the Gooner. DG needs a lot of urging,
as if the pictures may be used against him in Court or something. But he
hugs her for about two seconds after refusing strongly.
Ross,
Jean and me go to the cab office opposite the cop shop and I get a cab
first. Home. As I undress see the highlights again shed more tears
not a lot though - just touched by the unbridled joy of Spurs fans and
players after years of choking frustration.
Excellent mate f**king excellent.
Ah, Bed.
I did come back with more than
I went with: European football three years in a row.
I love you Tottenham Hotspur.
COYS.
BARRY LILYWHITE |
