The Fighting Cock by Martin Cloake
There are some great independent Spurs blogs and podcasts being produced at the moment and I always try to make my small contribution to raising their profile when I can. Lately I’ve been picking up on The Fighting Cock and the 1882 movement. I’ve followed a couple of the lads involved on Twitter and recognise some names from back in the day on the old TopSpurs message board, and there’s a real energy to what they are doing.
I’m going to sound as old as I feel when I’m listening to the podcast now but it’s really encouraging to hear what sounds like a new generation creating something and questioning the blandification of modern football. The Fighting Cock is above all passionate about Spurs, but there’s a recognition of the bigger picture that chimes with a growing feeling that’s coalescing around the Stand Against Modern Football initiative. Having come from a generation at Spurs that, despite our fanzine experience and efforts with various independent supporter initiatives, has not really made the impression we once thought we could, what’s most encouraging is the can-do spirit that pervades The Fighting Cock crew. They are a reminder of what football supporters are capable of, and of a spirit that is, in one of the great Steve Perryman’s favourite words, “proper”.
Life, Death & Tottenham Hotspur
When Fabrice Muamba fell to the White Hart Lane pitch there were a few who perhaps felt it resonate more than most. A young man struck down without warning, bringing unwelcome thoughts of the passing of a friend, and a reminder that death is not a curse on only the elderly or sick. In an increasingly cynical age, when grief is treated as a weakness and the internet is overburdened by angry ignorance intent on disgusting the decent, when any expression of grief as likely to meet condescension as condolences, those minutes and the following days also reminded us that […]