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Spurs 5, AS Roma 0 - White Hart Lane 10/08/2008

On Sunday 10th August 2008 we took MiniMe to White Hart Lane to see his first football match as Spurs took on AS Roma. This was the final warm-up match for Spurs before the 2008/09 Premier League season kicks off and it was the first chance to see the new Spurs players at the Lane. My usual routine of watching Spurs play consists of a train journey to White Hart Lane station then meeting some friends in the pub then heading to the ground just before kickoff but this was our first family visit to the Lane so I drove and parked just outside the match day parking exclusion zone. We walked to the Lane and were there half an hour before kickoff so we watched the players warming up and some of the pre-match entertainment.

Spurs Superleague Formula Car at White Hart Lane

Spurs have signed up for Superleague Formula so the car was officially unveiled before the match with Chirpy prancing around. I have never really paid any attention to the Spurs mascot but MiniMe enjoyed Chripy’s antics and it made for a slightly surreal sight watching a racing car being pushed across the pitch as the players lined up for the start of the match.

Both Mrs danyul and MiniMe know little about the rules of football so I spent most of the match asnwering their questions (who was the man in green? [referee], why did a player constantly play with his hair? [Gareth Bale during the warm-up and I have no idea why either]). MiniMe had a great time joining in with the crowd and really enjoyed the ‘Stand up if you hate Arsenal’ chant.

The match itself was a great result for Spurs although it was hard to tell if Spurs played exceptionally well or if Roma were just really poor. Certainly Spurs scoring twice in the first four minutes looked great but the defending from Roma was terrible and the goals effectively killed them off before they could exert any pressure.

We left the game early, again something I have never done before, as MiniMe was getting a little bored and the noise was getting to him. We left part way into the second half and as we joined the High Street there was a group of several hundred people who seemed to be Italian based on their singing and who were being tightly marshalled by armoured police on all sides with mounted police and several vans of police following behind. All the traffic was backed up as the group were escorted along to White Hart Lane station where the police kept their grouped in the middle of the road. The police directed us around and we walked back to the car just in time for torrential rain to fall.

So we had a great day and a great match to watch although it was a shame that MiniMe couldn’t last the entire match. Mrs danyul enjoyed herself, which was completely unexpected since she has no interest in football, and we’ll probably go back again as a family once MiniMe gets a bit older.

I went to visit Wembley Stadium once again to see England beat the USA 2-0 thanks to goals from John Terry and Steven Gerrard. I had the bright idea of walking from my house to the stadium but fortunately the rain started coming down as I shut my front door so took the tube instead. I met a friend outside Wembley Park station then headed to a nearby pub for a few pints and rather stomach churning hot-dog. It’s amazing what you will eat once the beers start going down.

England vs USA (2-0 Terry, Gerrard), Wembley Stadium 28/05/2008

We made it to our seats just as the national anthems were finishing and I managed to take the above shot just before the flags were removed and the players set themselves for kickoff. The stadium was far from full, which befit a match of little importance and very little to write about. Wayne Rooney huffed and puffed for a while, Beckham supplied his customary set pieces, while Fat Frank showed once again he could not function in the same lineup as Gerrard.

Even with my dodgy pub hotdog I was still hungry so gave in and ate an overpriced Wembley hot-dog while watching the second half. Again, the match did not really liven up although you could see the Fabio Capello footballing mentality in the England performance. It might not have been a great match to watch, and USA were certainly poor opponents, but at least there was some progress from England.

Hull City A.F.C.

Congratulations to the mighty Tigers for securing promotion into the Premiership after Dean Windass (what a name that is) scored the only goal against Bristol City in the playoff final. I have visited the KC stadium several times on business trips and it’s a much nicer arena than most teams call home in the Championship. My loyalties will still lie with Spurs although I may feel a tiny bit sad when Robbie Keane buries a hat-trick against Hull next season.

Hopefully playing in the Premiership will help raise the profile of Kingston-upon-Hull so it no longer appears on the top 20 list of ‘worst places to live’.