I love pook. **edit** -- a portion of this post has been removed (though I like to think I've left the best bit). in the interest of full disclosure, however, and with respect to the opinions and contributions of our esteemed Moderator Emeritus, The Double, I will state that the remainder of its original content was the declaration of a level of dissatisfaction with Tony Gardner. Please accept this slight but crucial modification as a necessity for the possible resumption of this thread of tribute. thank you -- - pookspur
Inductee #17 STEVE PERRYMAN Spurs 1969-86 Defender/Midfielder 866 games 39 Goals 1 England cap 6 major trophy-winner (at Spurs) Quote: "Even now, when I go over to my mother's house and dig out the old tracksuit tops I wore, it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I like to think I am part of a special family. I am no longer connected with the club on a daily basis, but I'm delighted with every win and saddened by every defeat" Pook's man-love rating: 10/10 What can be said? the quintessential Spur. 866 games ... two FA cups ... two UEFA cups ... two league cups. only one full England cap, perhaps, but he could still play a bit, winning the FWA Player of the Year award in '82. absolute Tottenham Hotspur legend.
as I stand staring into the abyss of yet another off season, dreading the coming hours of tortured and fruitless ITK decryption, largely indifferent to the squad as it stands, and highly skeptical as to our abilities to improve it, yet as possessed as ever by a love for THFC that keeps all things Spurs at the forefront of my mind, and in conjunction with the fact that this forum is currently only slightly less active than Gazza's library card, I have taken the decision to give this thread the ol' Lazarus treatment. it is, first and foremost, an indulgence, to be sure; but it is a fact, too, that there are simply so many wonderful Spurs deserving of recognition who have been done a disservice by my hasty termination of operations that rectification is in order. I suppose I should divulge that, in addition to the slight modification of The Double's last post, I have deleted a number of others, all of which the thread's unlocking has rendered superfluous, some of which made me appear a technological moron, and none of which dealt with any Spurs players - legendary or otherwise. of course, deleting and/or editing posts is something that should be done sparingly, so I humbly apologize for having done so in such quantities as I have here. I thank Soccernutter, Electrickeeper, and of course, The Double, for their contributions, and I pray their understanding of the modifications that I have deemed beneficial to the resumption of this tribute. so here goes. fingers crossed this resurrection doesn't play out like a Brady Bunch reunion or the return of Robbie Keane. what I'm hoping for, actually, is a return more like that of inductee #18 ...
Inductee #18 JURGEN KLINSMANN Spurs 1994-95, 98 Forward 68 Games 38 Goals 136 (28 with West) Germany caps World Cup winner USA national coach Pook's man-love rating: 8/10 1997-98 was bad. Very bad. Christian Gross was in charge, out of his depth, and taking us down. Until, in January, Jurgen Klinsmann returned on loan from Sampdoria. He'd been writers' Player of the Year in his one prior season at Spurs, '94-'95, in which he was utterly spectacular, netting 29 times, and flourishing in Ossie Ardiles' high-octane, low-sanity five forwards system. But when he opted away back to the Bundesliga on the heels of that success, much of his considerable popularity was forfeited. Until, that is, the return. To say that he made amends in the Spring of '98 is an understatement. Scoring 9 goals in our remaining 15 games, including 4 v Wimbledon in the match that secured safety, Klinsmann almost single-handedly kept us up. And just like that, he was off again - to the World Cup and then retiring from playing for good. He may have only been at the club for a year-and-a-half, but that was time enough to establish himself as a Spurs legend. Few players of greater international pedigree have worn the shirt.
I must say, I first felt my man-love for Klinsy during the 1990 WC. That flowing moving, and flowing blonde hair, were dreamy. I watched him at Inter, and missed him at Monaco, and then my joy came full when he signed for Spurs. His partnership with Teddy was magical. Alas, our relationship only lasted a year. He teased me again for a few months in 1998, again with his gifts, but was gone too soon.
ok ... so that's how it's gonna be ... fine! The Double hates Tony Gardner. Hates him! happy now?! go ahead. have your fun. my love for these legends will withstand all the petty barbs. this shrine shall remain ... no more moved by the ineffectual jabs than is the noble cow, standing stoically erect amongst the incessant, but ultimately meaningless, buzzing of the flies. ok ... that's really bad analogy. stupid, even. but ... I shall edit/delete no further*. have your say. this Pantheon will survive and flourish. (THFC man-)Love conquers all. *assuming, of course, no one has the temerity to slate daws or mabbs. or BMJ. but I cannot imagine ... I mean, no one would ever ...
Inductee #19 GUSTAVO POYET Spurs 2001-04 Midfielder 98 Games 23 Goals 26 Uruguay caps Assistant First Team Coach 2007-9 Pook's man-love rating: 7/10 I'm not 100% sure how Gus came to be a favorite of mine ... he just did. Chelsea used to put out those really hateworthy 'continental' sides in the late 90s under Gullit and Vialli; but there were two players there who I couldn't help but like (or, in the case of Gianfranco Zola, love) and Gus was one. He came to us at a time of when we seemed to get no goals from midfield, whatsoever, and promptly added 14 in his first season at The Lane, in addition to helping each of the striker partnership of Sheringham and Ferdinand to double figures, themselves. a knee injury early in his second season diminished his productivity in his remaining time at Spurs, but he played some tidy stuff and seemed to have touch and vision beyond what we'd been getting from central midfield. I desperately wanted him to takeover for Juande Ramos when it was clear that he'd lost the locker room in the Fall of '08, and was hugely disappointed by the eventual appointment to the post. worked out ok in the end, though, I guess.
Inductee #20 CLIVE ALLEN Spurs 1984-88 Forward 135 Games 84 Goals 5 Engand caps Tottenham genes Pook's man-love rating: 7/10 Two things made me think that Clive Allen was special; A) his heraldry (his dad was Les Allen, of the Double winners, as we were constantly reminded), and B) 1986-87. That was a very special year for me, Spurswise. In the past, I had got most of my information from occasional trips to the downtown library, where I could peruse the (previous) Sunday's Times. But by '86, I was back in college where I would do the same at the University Library ... only now religiously - every single Monday (I also saw a few [mostly Cup] matches on tv). It was the first Spurs season that I was able to follow on a weekly basis - and it was easily the best until the Redknapp years. Looking back, it's Hoddle, Ardiles, and Waddle - Spurs legends all - that stand out; but at the time, the name that came to represent that Spurs team to me was Clive Allen. I recall one dark day in September of '86 when I read that Mark Falco had gone to Watford on the same day that I'd first heard it suggested that the Orioles wouldn't likely re-sign Rick Dempsey at season's end (don't ask me why I remember this shit). Naturally, you can understand my duress. Who could fill those shoes (to say nothing of how Floyd Rayford would handle the Os pitching staff)?! Well, that was answered quickly enough. Netting a staggering 49 times that season (with 33 in the League), it seemed like every week C. Allen was in the scoreline. By season's end, I was convinced that even in Argentina, there was broad consensus that Maradona had been surpassed as the world's greatest footballer. Of course, by the end, we'd fallen out of the race for the League title (finishing 3rd), had that horrible League Cup semi loss to the Arse, and lost the FA cup final to Coventry off that tragic Gary Mabbutt own goal - but still, what a team it was! Unfortunately, Clive couldn't maintain that form, and in a year was off to Bordeaux (where he scored 21 in 30 games). Worse yet, Spurs didn't maintain that form, either, as Hoddle was sold (with Ossie and Chrissy to follow), and a slow decent into the dark ages began.* *and the Os signed Terry Kenndy - dark days, indeed. edit: intestingly enough (or not), in trying to remember whether it was August or September that Mark Falco moved on, I (after posting) decided to google it. Turns out it was actually in October (which makes more sense regarding Dempsey). Falco actually played six games for us in '86-87, scoring zero, which I don't remember at all. Hell, Allen had already scored ten times before Falco was sold! Maybe it was just because I liked Falco ... but in retrospect, I guess I shouldn't have been concerned for goals.
Inductee #21 EDGAR DAVIDS Spurs 2005-07 Midfielder 44 Games 1 Goal 74 Netherlands caps Bitchin' dreads Goggle pioneer Pook's man-love rating: 7/10 It was all too brief, but wonderful all the same. Over the previous 5+ years, Spurs had somehow become the regular target of utterly ludicrous transfer rumors - Rivaldo, Morientes, Figo, and countless more. The world's best players would be linked with us, without the slightest chance of actually happening, and we'd become a laughing stock for it. So when word started circling that our Dutch manager was talking to the former Milan/Juve/Barca legend who was wanting out at Inter, it seemed like just more of the same. Then it happened. World class Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids posing with BMJ holding a Spurs shirt! Are you kidding me?! Then skepticism set in ... had a combative attitude driven him out at Inter? ... was he past it? ... was this just a last big paycheck on his way out of the game? ... Lordy, no. Where the season before we'd had the likes of Michael Brown, Sean Davis, and Johnnie Jackson, we now had Edgar Davids, running tirelessly, commanding the center of the pitch, winning ball after ball, and tidily moving it around to teammates - Tottenham Hotspur teammates. Edgar Davids of Tottenham Hotspur! It doesn't sound as much now - we've had better since - but at that time ... surreal. I remember being at the Lane for West Ham in the Fall of '05, and just being transfixed upon him. I'd seen Man U at The Valley the day before, I had to admit to having been a bit starstruck watching Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy, Scholes, et al., running around. But this was even better - far better. That '05-06 season was, of course, the one that finished with 'lasagnagate', and will always be lamented for it. But the truth is that this was the season that saw the return of Tottenham Hotspur as a respectable player in English football. And like '86-87 - which also ended with disappointment - it is one of my favorites. It didn't last long, of course. By January of '07 he was gone, back to his home at Ajax. But in the meantime, we'd made the transition from bog-standard midtable shite to what we are now, which is ... er ... better than that. If you don't remember it, trust me.
Inductee #22 LEWIS HOLTBY Spurs 2013-15 Midfielder 42 Games 3 Goals 3 Germany caps German skills English attitude Pook's man-love rating: 9/10 He's officially gone now, so in he goes. I loved Lewis Holtby at Spurs, even if, in the end, he was seen as surplus to requirements. Frankly, I find the notion that Ryan Mason fits better into Pochettino's system better than Holtby somewhat difficult to swallow, but I guess the gaffer would know better than me. He seemed ideally suited to the pressing game, and brought good vision and a decent shot along with his high workrate. He had the misfortune to come to Spurs at a time when three consecutive managers failed to develop any kind of cohesion from a slew of talented attacking mids (take a moment to count them), making the likes Holtby and many others spend far too much time looking far less than their abilities should allow. Of course, that three consecutive managers - however lame (and time will tell for the third) - saw fit to leave him out can be seen, I suppose, as an indictment against him. Rumors circulated that he wasn't seen as taking his position seriously and/or lacked maturity. True? Dunno. At the very least, he ran a bit and looked up enough to play the odd pass forward, which is more than could be said of his contemporaries. Besides, I make no pretense toward objectivity here, anyway. So long, Lewis. Even if there's no longer a place for you in our squad, you'll always have a place in the thread-of-fame.
Inductee #23 MARK FALCO Spurs 1978-86 Forward 236 Games 89 Goals 1984 UEFA Cup winner Quote: "Everyone knows it's my club - always has been, always will be." Pook's man-love rating: 9/10 Sandwiched in between the more illustrious 'Archibald & Crooks' years and Clive Allen's big breakout season was the less heralded Mark Falco. Falco was a product of Tottenham's youth system, from a family of Spurs supporters ... one of our own, it could be said. Frequently forgotten amongst the trophies of the early 80s and the 'nearly' year of '87, the '84-85 season saw Spurs in the hunt for the league title until well into the Spring, ultimately finishing 3rd. And the star of that season was, arguably, Mark Falco. Hoddle and Ardiles both spent considerable time out of action with injuries, so too Clive Allen; but whilst Mabbutt, Perryman, et.al., kept it tight (by Spurs standards) at the back, Falco made sure that we still had plenty of bite in attack, scoring 20 in the league and 29 overall. By the time David Pleat had led us far into that fortuitous '86-'87 season, Falco had been moved on to Watford, and would continue on to Rangers, QPR, and Millwall, where he finished out a more-than-respectable career. But I'm guessing he'd agree with me that the best bits of it were during his time at The Lane. Highlights include coolly slotting home in the penalties that won us the UEFA Cup final v Anderlecht, and 'that' volley in our 5-0 tonking of the Arse in '83; but the whole '84-85 is what I'll remember Mark Falco for. unfortunately for him, I think his stature at Spurs suffers due to the quality at his position that came immediately before and after. But Falco was solid ... and solidly Spurs.
Gems like this are why this thread is so great! I really did not know Falco...apart from singing Rock Me Amadeus, though I think that was someone else.
That Falco is in my Austrian techno pop icon man-love thread. but this Falco was even better. to be fair, there is a reason that he's less remembered than some others. no one's going to say he was as good as Archibald or Crooks, and no sooner was he gone than we had Allen scoring 49 ... then Lineker ... then Sheringham, etc., etc. To be brutally honest, not only did we often have better, we usually had better. But he really was my kind of player ... honest, hardworking, ok-not-world-class-but-certainly-good, and (perhaps most importantly) 100% Spurs. in fact, I've gone back in and upped my man-love rating for him by another point as I consider how well he fits into the mold. he really should have been in here sooner.
Odd ... I went in and changed it from 8/10 to 9/10 last night, but the edit left it blank. What's weird is that I put quotation marks around the quote with the same edit, and that showed up. ... At a push, I'd guess 'user error'.
Falco was just brilliant at the 1982 World Cup, all those amazing long-distance goals. Him, Zico, Eder, Socrates. And you just call him 'solid'. Damning with faint praise, sir.