Football Days

White Hart Lane - Tottenham Hotspur FC

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Aston Villa

07/10/12 - Premier League

Att: 35,802

Despite living in close proximity to London I had never previously visited White Hart Lane, so I was looking forward to finally ticking the ground off and I always enjoy it when Villa come to London as it's as close to a home game as I'm likely to have.

Travel to these types of games is usually quite straight forward; usually involving a train to Waterloo and then an onwards trip on the underground which gets me to wherever I'm going within an hour or so. With the game being on a Sunday due to Tottenham's Europa League involvement I double checked the train times to see if the service was any different. It's a good job I did check as it turned out there were replacement buses between Farnborough and Weybridge, meaning the journey to Waterloo would take over two hours. I couldn't be bothered with that, so I got in the car and made the thirty minute drive to Richmond before jumping on the tube and heading into central London. After about an hour on the tube I arrived at Seven Sisters and embarked on the trek to the ground, which took around half an hour. In total it took me longer to reach White Hart Lane than it usually takes me to reach Villa Park. Not a good start to the day.

I had arranged to meet a few friends at the Haringey Irish Club before the match, but by the time I finally arrived at the ground I was pushed for time so I had a look around before going in. From the outside I found the ground to be quite a bland affair, with no real centre piece on the exterior. One thing I did notice was the abundance of club shops, with a "Spurs Shop" being located on every turning. There were also a number of unofficial merchandise stalls set up in the surrounding streets which were already selling t-shirts commemorating the previous week's win at Old Trafford. For a club that sacked it's manager for not winning the league last season and seems to think it has a divine right to play in the Champions League every season after one appearance it did seem incredibly small time.

After having my ticket checked and being searched at the turnstile, where I had to undo my coat and prove to the ~~bouncer~~ steward on the gate that the rolled up programme in my inside pocket was actually a rolled up programme and not an offensive weapon I had my ticket scanned and made the walk up the steps to the upper tier. I personally prefer to sit in the lower tier if possible, but unfortunately it had sold out by the time I could stake my claim for a ticket.

Once inside the ground it's an impressive sight, with four separate stands all coming together to form an enclosed, intimate venue with plenty of character and charm. The Paxton Road End is the newest stand in the ground, with two tiers and a large video screen on the roof it's almost identical to the Park Lane End in which the more vocal Spurs supporters gather, along with the away supporters who are tucked away in the corner. On the left was the West Stand which is another two tiered stand of similar height to those behind the goal. It was renovated in the early 1980's and is the side that has the tunnel and the dugouts. Opposite that is the oldest part of the ground which is the East Stand, designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1934. Despite it being a very modern ground the capacity of 36,000 doesn't meet demand and the club have been wanting to move to a new stadium for a number of years. Rumours of a move to Wembley proved to be unfounded and the club failed in a bid to move into the Olympic Stadium in Stratford - A move that the Spurs supporters were very much against. Plans have been drawn up for a new stadium to be built within the local area, but there's been no timescale set in stone. One thing that is for sure is that White Hart Lane's days are numbered.

After a stuttering start Spurs seem to have clicked into gear and won 3-2 at Old Trafford in their last league outing, although they had to settle for a point in their last match as they drew 1-1 with Panathinaikos in the Europa League. New manager Andre Villas-Boas seems to be winning over the supporters, despite radio phone-ins being bombarded with Spurs fans calling for his head after just two home games. I'm glad for him that he's getting people on side as I don't feel he was given a chance at Chelsea and he's a man that the tabloids have it in for, for whatever reason, in their eyes the poor bloke can't do anything right. Given Villa's shaky start Spurs were odds on favourites to win the game.

As the ground started to fill I bumped into a familiar face as the Welsh bloke (whose name escapes me) that I sometimes speak to in The Adventurers pre-match was sitting next to me. On the other side was an Irish lad who'd set off from Tipperary at 5am for the match. An Englishman, a Welshman and an Irishman... It was like the start of an awful joke. Anyway, the teams came out and the match got underway, with Spurs looking very bright early on as Villa struggled to cope with the pace of Lennon and Bale on the wings. There was an early heart-in-mouth moment when Guzan rushed out to clear a ball with Bale giving chase, but as the American cleared it, Bale went down despite clear day light between the two players. I thought at that moment he was gone and Villa would have to play on with ten men, but thankfully the referee saw there was no contact and didn't give anything, which makes the mind boggle as to why the Welshman wasn't booked for diving. It's an absolute disgrace to see a player deliberately try and get a fellow professional sent off and I couldn't believe it when it was just laughed off on Match of the Day, while they crucified Suárez for doing something similar. I guess they're trying to keep the myth that only foreigners dive going eh?

Anyway, back to the match and once Villa settled down it was a fairly even first half with Spurs being contained and Villa having one or two chances themselves. Neither side made the breakthrough and at half time it was goalless.

There was a bright start to the second period as both sides created chances to score. New signing Christian Benteke should have put Villa in front when Agbonlahor's pass found the Belgian right in front of goal but his shot was put straight at Lloris. It was at that moment I began to wonder how long Bent would stay on the bench, as it was a chance he would surely have taken. A few moments later a cross from Albrighton was met by the head of Benteke but somehow he put a free header wide. Bent was still on the bench. Villa should have been 2-0 up. The score remained 0-0. Moments later, inevitably, Spurs got a chance and took it. A corner came to the back post and Defoe's effort was diverted past Guzan by Steven Caulker. It prompted Paul Lambert into action as he bought on Bent and N'Zogbia, leaving five attacking players on the pitch as Villa went for an equaliser, but before the changes could have any effect on the game Spurs added a second through a smart finish by Aaron Lennon. That killed the game off and when Joe Bennett was stretchered off with 13 minutes to play Villa finished the game with ten men and rarely threatened.

It was disappointing to lose having missed two golden opportunities but on the whole the performance wasn't bad and this is a very, very good Spurs team and a venue that not many teams will get anything from. In these types of games you have to take your chances, which Villa didn't do so I think it was a more than fair result and one that sent the Spurs fans home happy.

I'd expected to be sitting here writing about what an enjoyable time I'd had visiting a real traditional English football stadium and how I'd recommend it to anyone before Spurs eventually move away, but I have to say I found the experience somewhat depressing. Looking at the plans for the new stadium it looks very similar to The Emirates and I can't help but feel it will have a similar vibe as Spurs look to cash in on the middle class, modern day spectator. With some seats at White Hart Lane costing up to £82 for certain matches it would seem that process has already began and with sky high prices on everything around the ground, including the programme which (along with West Ham) is the only one I've seen that's regularly more than £3, you can see the sort of audience that they're trying to attract. The attitude of the stewards inside the stadium during the game is another example of this, as they made it their business to make every single person sit down throughout the game, with a steady stream of Villa fans being lead away during the afternoon for the crime of standing and chanting. It's a shame as there was an excellent atmosphere from both sets of fans before they waded in and decided to throw their weight around. I have to say that I found the experience to be quite a let down and it's not a ground that I'll be rushing to visit again.