I last visited the area of London commonly known as ‘Tottenham’ about 2 years ago. It was a bit of a hole, if I’m honest, with dingy streets and dodgy shops and dirty pavements and dire transport facilities and… decadently… dependable… doggedly desirable… dastardly…

Anyway, in the middle of all this dross stood Mecca. White Hart Lane. The ‘world famous’ (both in Finchley and Seoul) stadium of Tottenham Hotspur football club. Which by itself and all alone, was a place of wonder, awe, reverence and delight. Among the kebab shops, pocket-sized supermarkets, pound shops, ‘massage’ parlours and fried chicken take-aways.

Today I returned. And a miracle had occurred. Not just that the old stadium, the one I’d loved and cherished my entire life, was now gone! But that in its place (and about 14 acres surrounding ‘its place’) stood the New Stadium. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, even though it will always be called ‘The Lane’, whatever the corporate world thinks otherwise, (terms to be discussed).

And it is a miracle. Because it is massive, magnificent and marvellous. The Spurs shop is the size of Harrods. Without all that horrible green everywhere. It’s the biggest club shop in Europe. The Goal Line bar inside the ground, at 65 metres long, is the biggest something or other in Europe, or the world, or the known universe. Doesn’t matter because the whole place is just one big superlative. As you wander round it simply amazes by not only how fabulous it all looks, but by how it all works and most importantly, how it feels. It feels like home, but a new, bright, sparkly home made to the most unbelievably high standards. And amazingly, uncommonly, for a new ground the atmosphere is just sensational. Even though big grounds generally suffer in such areas over small, intimate, louder grounds. Not here. Not at Spurs. Because the design, as well as being aesthetically beautiful, is stunningly effective. You feel like you’re right on the pitch. You feel ‘right there’.

It was expensive. Very expensive. But what are the alternatives when you desperately need more space, more fans, more tickets, more corporate areas spending money faster than it can be printed? You could build a third rate, atmosphere-free place like the Emirates. Or you could get a ‘ready made’, like the London Stadium, or better still, steal it from the London Legacy, the Corporation of London and the Borough of Newham and just hope that there’s no public inquiry. Or you do what Spurs did and give a massive injection of investment, prestige and positivity to an ugly, undeveloped area so that the local businesses and residents can thrive alongside.

And that’s it. I’m not talking about the football this afternoon, that’s fucking irrelevant to the topic under discussion. I want to remember the moment for the splendour, the grandeur, the massive ‘wow’. Not for some lowly east end scum who chose to not just rain, but to piss on my parade. Though this game was lost by Spurs rather than won by West bloody Ham. I’m erasing that bit from memory… NOW!

What game??

Happy Saturday

A xxxx