#THFC – Page 5 – Lilywhite Rose

‘We Go Again’ – Champions League Final reflections

This week’s Last Word On Spurs was a Champions League Final special where we looked back over a disappointing 90 minutes.

Just mere hours after stepping off the plane from Madrid, I joined host Ricky Sacks, Tottenham Hotspur legend and UEFA/FA Cup winner Micky Hazard, and acclaimed broadcaster, TV presenter and (most importantly) massive Spurs supporter Nihal Arthanayake.

We discussed the Champions League Final against Liverpool including; the controversial decision to award Liverpool a handball after 25 seconds; individual performances; team selection; and what the future holds for Mauricio Pochettino.

You can listen again here: www.audioboom.com/posts/7278946-we-go-again

Keep The Faith – #COYS x

‘Left Seeing Red’

This week, I joined host Ricky Sacks, Jason McGovern, Ian Gunn and Abbi Summers to reflect on the defeat against Liverpool in the Premier League.

We also discuss the ‘Spurs Legends’ match from the weekend, ahead of our first ever Premier League game in the new White Hart Lane against Crystal Palace.

You can listen again here: www.audioboom.com/posts/7219658-left-seeing-red

Watching a game next to two Spurs legends

Wow! What a day yesterday was. Spurs win, win without our talisman, 10 home victories in a row and our rivals dropped points. We also went nine points clear of that lot down the road.

However watching yesterday’s game was slightly different for two of us at Lilywhite Rose. We were not chanting in the shelf nor watching on from The Two Brewers.

Thanks to ESPN’s Iain Macintosh & Grosvenor Casinos we had the absolute privilege of spending the afternoon in the company of two Spurs and England legends. Clive Allen who both played and coached for the club (scoring 49 goals in the 86/87 season) and our record premier league appearance maker Darren Anderton.

Both men are proper Tottenham and we heard an array of stories from handshakes with Arsene Wenger to Stephen Dalmat’s numerous misdemeanours. Clive gave a real insight into what it was like playing with Hoddle and Waddle and then coaching Berbatov, Van Der Vaart & Bale. He was a member of the first team coaching set up for Martin Jol, Juande Ramos and finally Harry Redknapp.

Darren having played for the club over ten years was well placed to answer our questions about our favourite’s of his era (Teddy, Jurgen & Ledley) and the less popular Sol Campbell and Paulo Tramezzani. Darren, when not looking after his two daughters, does punditry work for several channels in South East Asia on Premier League games and plays legends football game’s in Dubai with Teddy. What a life!

Watching the game actually sitting next to an ex-player is a once in a lifetime opportunity and not one I will forget. As Dele was fouled in the box and the penalty awarded in the lead up to our second goal, Darren smiled and nodded his head in approval saying “clever Dele clever” an appreciation from one player to another.

After the game, the good people at Grosvenor Casino kindly provide all of us with some free chips to try our luck at the Roulette table. If you thought watching a game in the company of two Spurs legends was surreal imagine playing Roulette with them.

This was a truly special day for anybody of a COYS persuasion. Credit to Grosvenor Casino, Clive, Darren and Iain for making it such a brilliant day for us. The ex pro’s arrived two hours before the match and stayed around after to answer our questions and pose for pictures. It was great to also put some faces to names from Tottenham Twitter. All worth a follow – Talking Tottenham Tactics, Spurs Fanatic, Real Football Man & Kat Lucas.

Up the Spurs.

John Wenham

Goalscorers

Our two goalscorers, Son and Ben Davies, celebrate. Spurs 2- 0 Villa.

Second player flees the nest

This week has seen the news break across twitter, that Dean Gary Parrett, has left spurs and has already played in a competitive match for Crystal Palace U21’s against Bolton Wanderers following his release. Reading a few reports it seems as though Dean impressed, this will be the second young English player to be confirmed as leaving White Hart Lane this close season, after i revealed last week that Nathan Bryne had agreed to leave Tottenham on the expiration of his contract and join loan club Swindon Town on a permanent deal this summer.

Dean whose contract expires this summer, and had expected to be released by spurs albeit some impressive performances for the spurs u21’s side campaign, especially netting twice at the Hawthorns in a 0-4 victory.

Dean celebrating netting at the Hawthorns with Bentaleb.

Parrett has represented England at many youth levels and made his Spurs debut shortly after joining in a Europa League tie against Ukrainian side Shaktar Donetsk on the 19th February 2009.

Dean who joined spurs at the age of 15 from Queens Park Rangers, also had a host of Loan spells whilst with the club with mixed response at Swindon, Yeovil, Charlton, Plymouth and Aldershot.

Dean follows another English youngster who was tipped for big things when moving to Spurs for more than £1 Million in Leigh Mills, hopefully Dean has a brighter further in the game that Mills did, now 25 he is currently unattached following his release from conference south side Eastleigh.

Dean comes from a family of spurs fans, his mum Kalitsa regularly interacting on Facebook and Twitter with updates on Deans career and pictures of the spurs youth team, matches and tournaments they have participated in. Dean is engaged to Nikki Pritchard the sister of young spurs player Alex Pritchard.

We at lillywhiterose wish Dean all the best for the future and hope to see him and his family of spurs fans at White Hart Lane in the not to distant future.

John Wenham.

First one out the exit door

We can expect many departures at the lane over the summer with a host of players either deemed not good enough, dead-wood or in the ‘will never make the grade” at Tottenham Hotspur bracket, one of these is young English Right Back, Nathan William Bryne. Bryne who has come through the youth ranks at Chigwell, has been on loan at Swindon Town in league 1 when he joined as part of a triple loan swoop to the County Ground on the 28th March 2013 along with young Aussie Massimo Loungo and Dean Parret who was subsequently sent back to Spurs.

Bryne has impressed for Swindon after initially starting on the bench he has now played in his natural right back birth as well as on the left side of the defence. Out of contract with Spurs in the summer it has been reported that he has now agreed a three year deal with the Wiltshire club and will move on the expiration of his contract, Tottenham will however be entitled to a development fee for the youngster as hes under 24.

Nathan was always going to find it hard to break into the senior squad at the Lane, with Kyle Walker, Kyle Naughton and Adam Smith impressing on loan at Millwall this term all in front of him in the pecking order, and young Jack Barthram impressing for the U21’s this season.

Its a shame that he never managed to make a first team appearance for Tottenham, having impressed in the youth teams since signing professional terms in 2010.

We at lillywhiterose wish Nathan luck at Swindon and in working his way back to the top of the football pyramid.

John Wenham.