The husband that doesn’t care

They say the key to a long lasting relationship is communication. In the early days the only communicating you’re doing is tonguing and groping but as time goes on and the teenage giddiness slowly disappears, either a real solid bond is formed based on shared interests and values or things just fizzle out into a haze of occasional bored texting and then eventual parting of the ways. A lack of communication is what leaves me on the eligible bachelor lists at time of writing. My ex was a bit emotionally defunct, she didn’t like compliments and wasn’t vocal when I pissed her off. I wasn’t much better, I’d open up from time to time but was always weary of freaking her out. So we sailed along for six months before eventually it was time to stop seeing each other.

Following on from my friend Mark Butcher’s stellar piece on ENIC why, for a lot of fans enough is enough, I started to think about our relationship with Tottenham Hotspur and why it seems to a lot of people that divorce is nigh.

[authquoteleft text=”Daniel’s not communicating with us, we’re beating his chest sobbing but he’s there not saying a word, just handing us our housekeeping and going out again.[/linequote]A year ago, we were in love with our husband Daniel. He was making lots of money, defending us against those skank whores and their loaded pimps down the road. He was doing his fatherly duties watching the boys play football on a Saturday (well, Sundays), coached by his latest mate Andre. He would come home and tell us about his plans for the future; a new house for the boys to be able to run around in.

What a difference a year makes, Daniel is still making plenty of money but the house is falling apart, plus he fell out with Andre who we loved, brought in his mate Tim and has now stopped talking. He’s stopped talking about the boys, the new house and is now even letting the skanks down the road talk shit about us. And when he does speak, he does so in a language that doesn’t make sense, not really saying anything at all.

We love Daniel as he represents Spurs, he represents us, whether that be on the street, at work or with the rival families with the bigger houses. It’s left us confused, sometimes we want kick him out and never see him again and sometimes we still believe he’s the man we fell in love with. After the divorce from that prick Alan he was the man who picked us up, he was the man who built the plush new training ground for the boys, who told Roman to f**k off when he was trying to get our boy Luka in his car, who took us from McDonalds to dining with the big wigs in 2010 and since.

But until he starts to speak to us again like he used to back then, we’ll continue to feel confused and will inevitably look for fulfilment elsewhere. We’re in a competitive position in the league, the squad is brimming with talent and we’re still in a solid financial position, but there’s cracks… and Daniel’s not communicating with us, we’re beating his chest sobbing but he’s there not saying a word, just handing us our housekeeping and going out again. I almost feel like we need a good row and a sweaty shag and everything will be ok again.

It’s funny as for the first 20 years of my footballing life I was an armchair fan, watching the games on Sky and going to the occasional pre season friendly, this season is the first time I’ve gone to games on a semi regular basis. But at the same time I’ve never felt so distant from the club. I go to 1882 and sing my heart out but then go home and tweet about boxing.

[authquoteright text=”He was making lots of money, defending us against those skank whores and their loaded pimps down the road.[/linequote]For myself and many others the sacking of AVB felt like enough was enough, in hindsight Andre probably had to go, but the running of the club by Levy since 2011 has been catered more towards his ego and Joe Lewis’ pocket than it has been to building a trophy winning side. He wasted opportunities in the summer of 2010 and again in January of 2012 to go out nail down a place in the top 3 or 4 by spending the kind of money we all know the club has.

I love my football club, I have since I was 9 and I always will, but as long as Levy is in charge I think deep down, just like with the lady I spoke about at the start, I’ll want to believe things can be like they were but a time will come when I won’t want to see Spurs anymore, just to protect myself from the heartbreak.

[author name=”Callum Rudge” bio=”” avatar=”https://www.thefightingcock.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DSXIHstK.jpeg” twitter=”BCTHEGRANDSLAM[/linequote]