The cyber-noose

Last night as I attempted to live up to my first New Year’s resolution of not throwing strops on a 5-a-side pitch, somewhere out in Twitter-world a man made a remark in less than 140 characters. It was a remark I wholly disagreed with and, judging by the reaction, so did everyone else. But with no opportunity to U-turn or not enough strength to apologise, he stood his ground.

We have all been there; you make a proclamation, a prediction, you air a thought, suddenly you are in invisible handcuffs and there is no escape as you are pushed slowly along the plank by each shrill whistle from your notification bell.

The remark was along the lines of: “I would rather we lost this than have to face a replay.” The gentleman was referring to last night’s fixture against Burnley that no one bar the 10,500 people in the stadium saw. It was by all accounts a miserable game. The bits I listened to on 5 Live Sports Extra were tedious, and maybe if he had been there wallowing in the cold and contemplating a long journey home he could have been forgiven – but from the comfort of his own home? No chance.

[linequote]Even that day when we played Man United away – and if we had won the Premier League may have gone to Arsenal – I didn’t want us to lose[/linequote]

The reasoning, perhaps in some warped parallel universe, may make sense. Why risk our whole season by having to replay one game? No, actually, even in a badly-genetically modified parallel universe it still doesn’t make sense.

Think about it. The reason for wanting Spurs to lose and not draw would be to relieve the physical stress of having to play another game against Burnley. The stress would be so great that it would throw us into a downwards spin to rival Maverick and Goose’s last day as partners. By losing we were actually winning.

Spurs losing is something I can truthfully say I have never hoped for. Even when I lacked faith in a manager’s ability, or I wanted a player to play so badly he never touched our kit again, I never wanted us to lose. Even that day when we played Man United away – and if we had won the Premier League may have gone to Arsenal – I didn’t want us to lose. It is not something in my make-up, just allowing oneself to lose because of the repercussions that may or may not come to pass is ludicrous.

[fullquote]I do not pay good money or spend valuable minutes of my life witnessing a group of fabulously rich individuals give up, roll over and present themselves to the opposition[/fullquote]

I am not a martyr and I do not expect Spurs to be either. I do not pay good money or spend valuable minutes of my life witnessing a group of fabulously rich individuals give up, roll over and present themselves to the opposition just so we don’t have to endure the jibes of our rivals, or heaven forbid, another game.

Going back to that dreadful game in Burnley, had we thrown the game to avoid an extra 90 minutes just what would we have gained?

Would we have benefited from the rest?

By losing the possibility to reignite our connection with the FA Cup, would we reap the benefits in our quest to be the third least rubbish team in the league?

By failing to beat Burnley, the same team we dispatched historically in 1962 when we invented glory, would we gain millions of pounds that would finance the life of our board/directors/execs and of course convince one or two player to perhaps grace us for another year?

There is no and never will be a rationale to justify Spurs losing.

The truth is that the tweet was a throwaway comment. One that, perhaps, in an age where we used to talk to each other face-to-face would have passed unnoticed or unremarked. Now, however, our views are tattooed onto us and we have to live by them. Our opinions do not fade away – they remain chiseled into cyber stone, ready to be used against us at a moment’s notice.

In an age where we crave instant success, gratification and access, it is quite apt that everything apart from forgetting has sped up. This comment will live long in the memory, should Spurs make it all the way to Wembley and claim the FA Cup for the first time since 1991, heaven forbid should he celebrate. I can imagine the Twitter warriors rubbing their hands in delight, making a note to check what his reaction is should Lamela rabona a winner in the last minute under the arch.

However, saying something stupid isn’t something radical or new. We live our lives surrounded by stupidity.

“Sherwood is our future. ENIC has to go and be replaced with something. Stratford is an amazing plan. Paulinho is good. Harry is our greatest manager. Bale he plays on the left. Kane will never make it. Lennon will develop a final ball.”

[linequote]In an age where we crave instant success, gratification and access, it is quite apt that everything apart from forgetting has sped up[/linequote]

These are just a selection of statements and comments we have made (not all mine by the way) which perhaps we should have been to keep to ourselves and not air publicly. However, the difference between that nonsense and what happened last night is big. The young man on Twitter made the mistake of airing his thoughts that it would be better for Spurs to lose.

You should have known better. You have created a cyber-noose for yourself which certain people will happily pull over your head at any given moment. It is a mistake, but in the grand scheme of things in life, where a real actual mistake can get you squashed by a bus, it doesn’t really matter, so the next time you are used as an example of everything wrong with modern football alongside selfie-sticks and Stub Hub, let it go.

Let he who has committed no sin or said/did/tweeted something stupid cast the first cyber stone. Just next time think a bit harder.