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Age is just a number

3 min read
by Vass Koni
Vass Koni is feeling optimistic even if the players are making him feel older and older.

When I was growing up I used to look at players like Martin Chivers, Cyril Knowles, Alan Gilzean and Mike England and I used to look up to them as giants. I was only a boy at the time of course and these were grown men representing Spurs in their pursuit of glory.

As I grew older and by the mid/late 80’s and early 90’s I was watching players don the white shirt that were a similar age to me, yet I never thought them to be anything other than men playing a man’s game and still I looked up to them as players representing me and other spurs fans. Their age never came into my consciousness.

The older I became the younger the players seemed to get, so much so that players wearing white shirts today are young enough to be my sons. (No I’m not at the granddad stage just yet thank you. I can still hang with the hipsters …well for a little while yet anyway). And despite the fact that the players are getting younger whilst we all age, I still look at Spurs players in the same light as I have always done. Age doesn’t even compute when I am cheering the team on or when they occasionally start making me swear and pull my hair out.

[linequote]I still look at Spurs players in the same light as I have always done. Age doesn’t even compute when I am cheering the team on[/linequote]

So when we literally over ran the Gooners from South London at the weekend, the average age of the starting XI was a mere 23.8 or thereabouts. One of the youngest starting line ups in the Premier League ever. Which tells us what?

Well for one it tells us that age really is just a number and at Spurs right now we have a Head Coach in place that believes that if you are good enough then you are old enough. And this is encouraging to see not just by us as fans but for the players too; what a motivator that must be for those still working their way through the lower age groups in the Spurs Academy.

It also tells us that to play the modern game a player needs to be fitter than he has ever been and youthful exuberance is now potentially a strategic element in a stat fueled game run by sports scientists. Perhaps younger players show less fear and somehow in their refreshing approach for the game they are more energised than someone that has been conditioned through experience. Whatever it is, it seems to work.

What is clear is that the young players at THFC right now appear to have an appetite for the game, an aptitude for the intricacies of Pochettino’s tactics, and a willingness to do what is required after buying in to his new philosophy and whilst they grow together they can of course improve together. And the signs of the team we are seeing now could become the foundations of something far better in the future. Here’s hoping so.

[linequote]Whisper it quietly but we may just be reconnecting again thanks to the kids at White Hart Lane. There’s something stirring in N17 again[/linequote]

Most importantly though we are seeing a team emerge. We are seeing unity, a fight for the cause and for each other and this has filtered into the stands and unified everyone so that “everywhere we go” Tottenham boys are making a hell of a noise.

I wrote in Mid December after a drab goalless home draw with Palace about the disconnect that I and many were feeling for the club brought about in the main by the direction modern professional football had taken. What a long time two months are in football.

I’d like to say that my December post inspired the team but I know that would be wishful thinking and certainly wouldn’t be true. Instead whisper it quietly but we may just be reconnecting again thanks to the kids at White Hart Lane. There’s something stirring in N17 again.

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

Vass Koni

1 Comment

  1. victor67
    14/02/2015 @ 12:43 am

    Yr comment is very good n encouraging.
    1 outstanding point is d young lads R FEARLESS. N having Fun .
    Kane says it all ” just wanna play on d pitch, with my mates. Play with a smile ”
    N they r playing for each other, protecting each other.
    They want to just grab most of d balls, pass to their mates, n not give up, n shoot when opportunity is there.
    Kane shoots ( most ), Erik is awesome, mason tries, Bentalab tries, Walker steals.
    Dembelle , Lamella n Soldado all have d potential, but holding back,,, bit shy. Just DO IT, YOU 3 can.

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