How Wigan Has Come to Define Us

Sat in the Park Lane the temptation to run out on to pitch and boot the ball away almost took over. Had I not been holding my head in disbelief, perhaps I would have done it. It may not be the glamour game of any Tottenham season, but the fixture against Wigan always serves as an omen of what’s to come.

The Wigan games over the years have come to hold some resonance with me. Like the day MJ died, or Diana stacked it in a tunnel I can pin point exactly where I was each time we lined up against them.

The 9-1 High Five JD

After returning from a four month stay in Colombia, I found myself working for a Turkish billionaire teaching his eldest son and heir how to speak English. Sat in his Baker Street penthouse, both of us wished we were somewhere else. He was thinking about a VIP booth at a South Kensington night club surrounded by cosmetically enhanced ladies, although tempted would have preferred to be watching Spurs.

Keeping an eye on the clock at half time I snuck into the toilet to cast a glance over BBC mobile sport, a 1-0 at half time score line settled me down. We were winning but not at a canter, perhaps I wasn’t missing much, if it stayed like that MOTD2 would more than make up for missing it

Switching my phone to vibrate, I sat down to finish the last hour of our lesson trying my best to ignore the constant stream of vibrations from my phone.

Leaving his apartment I immediately went through my texts, starting with the last one received: Why are you not responding!!! Do you know what just happened? Get to a tv/radio now!!

After recounting the story of my total ignorance of the White Hart Lane events to my friends, they immediately demanded that from then on I had to ensure my lessons clashed with Spurs games. We didn’t win any of the next three and I immediately changed my lesson times to suit the Spurs fixtures. My change of tactics, possibly in part helped us claim 4th place and a Champions League berth.

Spurs 0 Hugo Rodallega 1

From the moment the tickets dropped into my hallway, alarm bells where ringing. My friend and I had a spare ticket but none of our fellow Spurs friends could make it, we ended up taking his Spanish Real Madrid supporting buddy.

It was like taking a rich kid to a toy shop, for him our best players were at White Hart Lane on loan.

As Gareth Bale darted down the wing, the Madridista turned to us and said: “You know, he would make a fine acquisition for Madrid.”

“Why would he want to go there? We have Champions League football! We are going places.” I replied.

I was correct, in part. We were in the Champions League but we weren’t going anywhere. A scuffed Rodallega shot went under Carlo Cudicini and right in front of me in bobbled into the net. We had lost at home to a team we had scored nine against a year before. We should have seen Redknapp’s inadequacies that afternoon, but like a virgin who has just lost her flower, we were smitten.

A day later the Madrista text me: I Sky+ the highlights, if I freeze frame it I can see you holding your head. Good game, nice stadium, nice players we should go again.

My buddy and I have never taken him since.

0-0 The beginning of the End

Every Spurs fan had only one game on their mind as Tottenham travelled to the DW Stadium, Real Madrid away. Watching the game on a bad internet stream, with my girlfriend trying to hassle me out of the house, I realised quickly that everyone at Spurs felt the same way. Like paying the entrance fee into a strip club, this was a boring piece of admin to get out of the way before the real fun commenced.

Unfortunately this small piece of admin went wrong; Spurs were abject, coming away with a lucky point. Wigan claimed four points off us that season; effectively we kept them in the Premier League.

Forget Wigan we told each other, Redknapp will have us in the right mood come Tuesday.

We were wrong again, the Wigan game started a run of results that saw Spurs claim only one win in their next eight fixtures. Our dreams of winning or re-qualifying for the Champions League ended that day.

3-1 He Pays What he Waaaaants!

I was never a major Redknapp fan, I appreciated what he had achieved but I understood that Spurs for him were just a stepping stone; however as we were in 3rd place, above Woolwich and beating Wigan, I admit, I was caught up in the love in.

It was at this time that Redknapp was up to his nipples in a tax evasion court case, the England job was on offer that summer and we still had the chance of winning the league. Bale and Luka Modric had sliced the northerners apart and even a late goal from Wigan couldn’t dampen my spirits.

As I walked down Seven Sister I was still humming a song about paying taxes and thinking of what to say to every Woolwich fan come May. Unbeknown to me though, forces of evil were joining together to ensure that this victory would go on to be only one of two in our next 11 league games. Woolwich would finish above us, again, Chelsea would lift the CL and UEFA would relegate us to the Europa League.

This Saturday?

Some may consider games against the Sky Four as season defining, but for me it’s always the Wigan fixture.

The way in which we play, the points we earn and the atmosphere around the club quickly defines how the season will progress. On Saturday a quick bright opening 45 minutes with a couple of well constructed goals will undoubtedly kill them off.

Spurs are about to enter a run of fixtures that will start to shape the AVB era, the performance and attitude of the players needs to be right.

After Saturday we have the 1882 Fighting Cock Block J backed Europa League game against Maribor, then three away games to Manchester City, Woolwich and Lazio, three points and a return to winning ways at White Hart Lane on Saturday is essential.