Wheres the drummer gone??

Theres something that has been worrying me this season. Something that has never before been an issue to me but is slowly becoming more apparent when watching our beloved Spurs play at The Lane. This is going to be quite controversial and may really frustrate some people but I believe it has to be said.

Our support is not what it was.

I went to my first Tottenham game on 17th April 1993 against Oldham Athletic, we won the game 4-1. Since that day I've been to The Lane more times then I can remember and one thing thats always been a constant (the football certainly hasn't been) is the support. Ive said it time and time again that Tottenham have some of the best fans in the country and the atmosphere at The Lane is second to none. I still stand by this but this season its taken quite a noticeable dip.

A recent example was the morgue-like atmosphere for large parts of Saturdays win over Bolton, it wasn't great at times and Spurs really didn't do themselves justice. However the fans really didn't help. As always there were those in the Park Lane trying to get the songs going but they just didn't catch on and at times it was like going to the cinema for the evening.

I tried to get some songs/chants going with my friend and although a couple caught on the vast majority were ignored. The man sat next to me didn't so much as cough for the entire 90 minutes, using half time to have a conversation with his mate but other then that deathly silent. The man behind me continuously moaned to his kids that I was shouting and standing to proclaim my hatred for Ars*nal. Seriously when did this start??
I want to get it clear that many other were trying to get songs going but met similar problems.

And it wasn't just the Bolton game, I had the same issues for a number of games this year. Sunderland at home was the first time I noticed it, for this particular game I was in the East upper and those around once again made no attempt to get the team going but instead used their time to moan and groan - a few even repeatedly slagged off Bale because he wasn't terrorising down the left! Half and full time were both met by boo's from large portions of the crowd.

Fulham at home was the big one for me, barely a song was sung for 90 minutes. Fulham, yes FULHAM out-sung the stadium the entire game. I accept that this was on new years day and most people in attendance were probably worse for wear but its not an excuse, I even heard people coughing from the other side of the stadium!

Quite frankly it was embarrassing.

We all know that The Park Lane is the best for atmosphere and The Shelf also give a great account of themselves, The west stand has always been pants but this year The Paxton end has been terrible. Frankly I expect better from the north side of Tottenham - apart from joining in to 'Come on you Spurs' and occasionally 'Yid Army' you rarely hear a peep from them.

It never used to be like this though! So how has it come about?

I'm guessing a number of reasons. Since Harry came on the scene the football on show has gone up several levels, we are seen as one of the best in the league and also had the tag 'title challengers' for large parts of this season. Obviously our qualification to the Champions League has increased our profile at home and abroad a great deal as well and as such new and exciting players seem to be on there way (excuse the January transfer window!).

With all these great things happening at Spurs a lot more people want to come and watch a game, this brings out of the woodwork a number of different people. A) Those who support Spurs but haven't been for years B) Spurs supporters who make very infrequent visits and C) Neutral fans who want to watch a good game of football.

One of my theories is that this new influx of fans/spectators are simply not the loud singing type - Category 'A and B' - or to use a Cliché 'not the die hards'. This can be backed up by the large amount of foreign spectators at The Lane these days. Don't get me wrong I'm not moaning about them being at Spurs - many of them are Spurs fans and have every right to be there. I have many international readers who would all love to go to Spurs and I hope they all do!

However many of these spectators fall into the 'C' category and are simply there to watch a game of football, fair enough, but it does have an adverse affect on match atmosphere. This is part of gaining a broader reputation though and I suppose is to be expected. I just hope they start joining in with the songs!

My second theory is down to the opposition. Games against Chelsea, Ars*nal, United, Liverpool, West Ham etc. Are always going to have an extra buzz about them. Our recent Champions League games just add to that and the atmosphere at these games has been electric. I fear however that we are seeing games against Bolton, Fulham, West Brom etc as 'below us' and therefore the atmosphere dips. I know these games aren't going to have the same excitement as Inter Milan at home for example but they are still integral games and the team still need the full force of The Lane behind them.

Not only that but we have a reputation to maintain amongst rival clubs! Someone I recently spoke to (a Birmingham fan) said that White Hart Lane was her least favourite ground to go to because of the atmosphere - I tried to argue our case but someones opinion is their opinion.

I frequently talk to people on the 'Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur' facebook group - at over 26000 members its a great way to talk to fellow yids, get the inside info, peoples opinions and to also get a broad idea on fan feeling at various issues. One thing I've noticed recently is that our fans are getting very angry very quickly these days - It seems that we've tasted success and want more of it, a fair enough request but one that causes some unwarranted bad feeling at times.

He would do the job!

However one thing i noticed on this group recently was a comment that asked what had happened to the Tottenham drummer. (Sorry if this was you but couldn't remember who posted it).

I had completely forgotten about him! For years he directed the various chants and songs. When things got slightly quiet the drum would ensure the crowd picked up voice. 

But i haven't heard him there for ages and I am fairly certain this is what we miss! One lone man in The Park Lane can get some song started but not the stadium wide levels that the drum used to bring. So does anyone know where he went? Leave your comments below if you do!
One thing we need to sort though is this issue, if our own drummer isn't going to return for whatever reason then someone needs to take his place. I would do it in a heart beat but my lack of a season ticket means that i would be in varying locations every week - maybe this would be a good thing??

So if you want this illustrious job then please bring a large drum to the next home match!

As I said at the beginning I'm sure I will have a lot of angry fans saying that the atmosphere is always great - but is it? The answer is this season - no it hasn't been. When the big boys come to town it has been fantastic but all too often its been far too quiet.

I really appreciate you reading this and it would be great to hear any comments or views that you have on the issue as I know I'm not the only person with these concerns - just leave them below and ill try my best to reply.

COYS!