San Francisco Bay Area Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Club
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ON WHEN THE SPURS WENT MARCHING IN TO SAN JOSE...
We
came, we saw, we brought Harvey right up to the Commercial &
Marketing Manager Paul Barber so as he could let him know what he
thinks of the home socks ("Bloody terrible, we won't win a game in
those bloody things!")...it was a day to savor for the newly formed SF
Spurs supporters club.
Despite a membership which spans four generations-plus of top Totty-watching, only recently did our friend and de-facto leader Steve Pritchard assemble an official supporters club. And with the help of Steve's San Jose Earthquakes connections, jet-set international traveler Harvey taking up the social reins with Spurs International Membership coordinator Kay Lovelock, and your author's relationship with International projects manager Fran Jones, we found ourselves rolling down the 101 to witness the official declaration of a pact between Spurs and the Earthquakes. We traveled in two vehicles, one chauffeured by me and carrying Steve, Harvey and Brian, the other chauffeured by Karin who was accompanied by Simon.
Despite a membership which spans four generations-plus of top Totty-watching, only recently did our friend and de-facto leader Steve Pritchard assemble an official supporters club. And with the help of Steve's San Jose Earthquakes connections, jet-set international traveler Harvey taking up the social reins with Spurs International Membership coordinator Kay Lovelock, and your author's relationship with International projects manager Fran Jones, we found ourselves rolling down the 101 to witness the official declaration of a pact between Spurs and the Earthquakes. We traveled in two vehicles, one chauffeured by me and carrying Steve, Harvey and Brian, the other chauffeured by Karin who was accompanied by Simon.
Arriving
early, we grabbed coffees before settling into the designated
conference room at the San Jose Fairmont having been given some
Spurs/Earthquakes t-shirts. The room quickly filled up with media folk,
Billy Beane, Lew Wolff (Earthquakes owner), John Doyle (Earthquakes
GM), Paul Barber (previously defined), Damien Comolli (Spurs current
director of football) and Clive Allen (Spurs reserve/youth coach,
all-time leading scorer in a season and general Yiddo LEDGE!) took to
the podium and answered a mild set of questions. The upshot of the
partnership is that it is still being determined how far it will
go/what it will embrace, there will certainly be some major youth
coaching coming over from Spurs, there will HOPEFULLY be a game sooner
than later (read between the lines and start praying) and there will
obviously be some commercial tie-ins.
The
level of approachability and friendliness towards us from everyone was
notable, lots of time being spent answering questions, and a few of our
crew got to chat with the Earthquakes manager Frank Yallop (who was
declared a great bloke) and keeper Joe Cannon who was absolutely
superb, a 'cannon' of enthusiasm if you will, and who has an open
invitation to watch games with us at Danny Coyles and drink beers
(OFF-SEASON ONLY OF COURSE!!!)...Joe, if you bring Huckerby with you,
tell him we'll gladly get him a coca-cola!!!!!!!!! Seriously, we got
the impression that if any of the Quakes happened to be in the SF area
that they'd certainly drop in for a pint, and most welcome every single
one of them will always be! And in a magnificent gesture, Fran Jones
pulled a home shirt signed by the entire squad for immediate erection
at Danny Coyle's. Top man doesn't begin to cover THAT one!
After
a brief adjournment for some refreshments, we made our way to
specialist store Soccer Pro, where we enjoyed some quality time with
Clive Allen. Yours truly saw the opportunity to discuss tactics and
various other aspects of today's Tottenham, and Clive gamely and
politely stood in the face of this torrent answering both honestly and
with enthusiasm. You'd have to say the man is absolutely 'one of the
people' and his antipathy for the red and white Puma plastic bag was
keenly noted by all present. Alas this is not the place to share the
nuts and bolts of our group discussion with him, needless to say you
had to be there, but he did tell some excellent Brian Clough stories
too and as he left to catch a flight home via Boston, everyone felt we
had had the privilege of meeting one of the most genuine pros/ex-pros
around.
We
re-convened at Danny Coyle's after arriving back in the city for what
ranks as a seminal point in the young history of the SF Spurs. It was a
day when a few of us got to know each other even better, a day when the
Club really felt 110% real, and a day when we all realized that the SF
Spurs is going to have a significant role in helping expand the name of
our beloved Tottenham Hotspur throughout Northern California. Thanks to
everyone who helped us be a part of the day, and special thanks to Fran
and Clive...
October 9th 2008:
The Club is delighted to announce the formation of an extensive partnership with MLS team San Jose Earthquakes.
The agreement will focus on football and commercial development that will see the implementation of a best practice exchange programme, with the objective of creating a lasting bond between the two clubs.
Tottenham Hotspur will invest time and resources into the development of San Jose Earthquakes on and off the pitch as well as working across charity and community based initiatives.
Tottenham Legend Clive Allen with the SF Bay Area Spurs
Thanks to Joe Nuxoll at centerlinesoccer.com
