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WHITE HART LANE - 'THE FINALE' |
They say that all good things come to an end and that was certainly the case on Sunday 14th May, 2017 when the majestic Spurs played their very last game at the historic White Hart Lane Stadium.. 'THE LANE'. It was way back in the early 50’s
in the days of Arthur Rowe’s famous ‘Push and Run’ team that my Dad first
took me to White Hart Lane. You don’t forget your first visit to your team’s
home stadium do you. Just how big and green the pitch looked. The noise of
the fans cheering and struggling to see the match when everyone around you
appeared so tall. |
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The
Match Programme for the final game to be played at 'THE LANE' Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United 'To Dare is to Do'. |
Throughout the game, and in keeping with
those few hours you can spend every couple of weeks, and like nowhere else
you ever go - shouting like you can't shout anywhere else, feeling both
totally immersed yet horribly powerless, singing in unison with people whose
names you will never know. And Sunday took us to greater heights as it is
many years since I last experienced such a passionate and overwhelmingly
noisy crowd. So we can now look forward to our new stadium. One only hopes that we retain some of our traditional names within the new stadium and the fans can continue to shout for ‘The Shelf Side’ - ‘The Park Lane’ and ‘The Paxton’. Of course it is exceptionally sad to say farewell to the old stadium although it is also time to say farewell to the cramped concourses, small and reeking toilets and, in the case of the ladies, very limited toilet facilities at all. |
![]() THE FINALE - CROWDS CONGREGATING PRE-MATCH ON THE CORNER OF PARK LANE |
![]() THE TEAMS WARM-UP PRE-MATCH AT 'THE FINALE' |
![]() WAVING 'THE FINALE' FLAGS |
![]() POST MATCH PITCH INVASION 'THE FINALE' |
![]() 'THE FINALE' - INTRODUCING FORMER SPURS STARS |
![]() 'THE FINALE' - A MOST FITTING FAREWELL IMAGE OF ''BILL NICK' SUPERIMPOSED WITHIN THE RAINBOW THAT MAGICALLY APPEARED OVER WHITE HART LANE AT THE END OF THE DAYS PROCEEDINGS. |
THE FINALE - SPURS MERCHANDISE
What a
wonderful experience to be there at ‘The Finale’ to witness such an
exhilarating match that Spurs thoroughly deserved to win, despite what
appears to be a narrow scoreline. The icing on the proverbial cake was to
see so many of our former Spurs heroes paraded on the pitch. There were so many who you thought might have been there Steve Perryman, Alan Mullery, Frank Saul, Gary Lineker, Gazza, Brad Friedel etc. Unfortunately Les Allen, and indeed Terry Dyson, looked very frail but great that they were there. They said that Maurice Norman and Jimmy Greaves were obviously too ill to attend. Jurgen Klinnsman was there at the previous Arsenal game and was interviewed on the pitch. He announced then that he was sorry he would be unable to make the final game at WHL
It's these
memories, and it's the things that you have always done and become part of
your matchday procedure. Parking at the same place, walking the same way,
visiting the same Pub. Like ourselves many people have moved away from
Tottenham, and the only time they come back now is for the game to a
Tottenham nowadays that is so different to the place you knew as a kid. The
only thing that has remained constant is your love of Tottenham Hotspur and
long may it continue. |
Alan Swain - May 2017