WHITE HART LANE LEGENDS VOLUME ONE

Tottenham shirt. Apart from the fans, the Spurs logo is the most treasured asset of the club. It should be marketed to a wider audience and pushed in the same way that Manchester United did with theirs. Arsenal winning the League does our cause untold damage.

Do you think it’s the same for the players? Seriously, I’ve actually got a very high regard for for his loyalty to Arsenal. He was apparently offered the chance to go to twice and turned it down because of his love and affection for the outfit and their fans. I’m the same. Once a Spurs man, always a Spurs man in my book and I just couldn’t be seen in red. Crossing the great divide is not an option. I just can’t understand why anybody would want to do it.

Tell me about ‘that’ tackle on ? To be honest, I actually saw it as more of an accidental nudge, but his momentum took him high and fast over a hoarding. It looked much worse than was actually intended, and to be fair, it was Tottenham versus Arsenal at Highbury, not some Mickey Mouse game that didn’t matter [smiles]. Given the same situation now, I’d probably challenge the same way as I did then, although the funny thing about it was getting punished twice. As Charlie ran towards the ball I slid in to dispossess him, then ended up on the ground. Their physio ran over to me, landed on top and proceeded to punch me in the face. Then I got booked. I don’t know how many people noticed that, although I bet Arsene would have missed it! I had a nice shiner the next day I know that. Like I said, it was a Derby. I took my punishment and got on with the game.

How did Charlie take it? Charlie and I have worked together for SKY TV. We often share a laugh about that day. Let’s be fair, as much as that tackle is brought up from time to time, he had the last laugh in the amount of goals he stuffed past us. He knows the score, and took it as an occupational hazard. I was recently doing a commentary on a Ranger-Celtic game and the subject of that tackle came up yet again. As Charlie’s face came on screen, Jim White said in the background ‘’Well, at least he’s still sitting in his chair at the moment’’. Those incidents never leave your life and Charlie and I have laughed about it on many occasions. Once the on-pitch rivalry has gone we all remain good friends afterwards. I loved the ‘derby’ games. They bought out the best in me. I hope the fans realize that those games meant as much to me as they still do to them. I wasn’t just a player; I was also a fan.

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