For heavens sake , stop blaming it on cricket!!

Recently I read an article on ‘ Why doesn’t Indian football move ahead?’  and surprised to read that the development of football has been overshadowed by the revenue pulling cricket system in India.

All I can say to all who very passionately write about the sorry state of football in India is, stop pointing fingers at other well to do sports in India instead learn from them and that’s how football will move ahead in India.

Cricket is what it is in India popularity and status wise simply because India has won the World Cup in 1983. Now, you may wonder what I am getting at? For the successful growth of any sport in any country depends on the success of the Nations performance at the highest level in that particular sport.

In the 1950’s India was doing really well in Football. We reached the Bronze medal play off at the Olympics and we were invited to play World cup football (during those years there were no qualifiers) , this was the highest point in Indian football. But what did we do? We decided not to participate because the European press criticised us for playing bare feet football and during that year FIFA had made it mandatory for all teams to wear  footwear and play the tournament. Apparently, some official from West Bengal was offended by the press and we decided to turn down the invitation….and a chance to take baby steps for the success of football in India.

I would like to point out that India’s national sport apparently is Hockey. Why is that so? Its because of India’s brilliant medal winning performances in Olympics and World Cups  during the yester years.

So, the point I am trying to establish is that over the years sports have developed and priorities have changed and fan bases have shifted dramatically. India’s major success , possibly the biggest successes in the sporting field are the 1983 World Cup and the most recently the T20 World cup wins.

Cricket has been there at the right time in the right place and delivered results that has made it the game in India. Mind you, BCCI was not born rich but they have worked their way up to acquire the  status they enjoy, the money that is involved, the telecast it has created and the revenues that it generates. Its all come the hard way and a sustained growth over the years.

Its very easy for us to whine and moan about the football in our country, is any one doing any thing about it? No, why would any one do anything ? The AIFF themselves cant salvage the game in India. Year in Year out there are articles about projects / visions projected to take India to the world cup. In fact, I have been one of those fools who believed it will happen one day but every world qualifying year we have the same excuse and another vision program. This I s a bloody joke!!! Who is AIFF trying to fool???

AIFF should learn from other sports governing bodies like ATP/WTA and their successful Mini Tennis program and work on the similar model to build successful football structure. Another thing AIFF should do is throw out incompetent administrators who run the show. Recruit people with the right skill sets with experience in management and sound knowledge about the game.  Even better have a hybrid model of politicians and footballers to run AIFF jointly with each party playing to its strengths.

We barely make it past the pre qualifiers after so many years of FIFA membership, its funny we don’t have youth development schemes, alliances in place for training, infrastructure, management, we don’t even have registered scouts for gods sake! We don’t have transparency in management nor do we have the attitude to professionalise the game.

Many years ago when the FIFA-Goal project was launched in India, I had written to AIFF asking for details on how they plan to spend the funding we get from FIFA, the f£$%ers didn’t respond to me. That’s the reality of  state of affairs in AIFF.

AIFF should look at what other under developed and developing nations are doing with the Goal projects investments – Look at the Paraguayan Football Federations success story in building a national training centre.

Recently Sunil Chetri was in UK for trials with Coventry City FC and that was welcoming news after Bhutias stint with Bury. Unfortunately, Sunil’s dreams were cut short and he did not make it. I feel sorry for hard working players who come all the way to UK and don’t get what they want and who is to blame – no one but AIFF.

People talk about how smaller countries are doing better than India in FIFA rankings and qualifying for major events. The answer to that is very simple – the players from the so called small countries happen to play in European leagues which are enriched not only with fast paced games but enhanced technical skills and all the requirements to be a good competitive player. But Indian players to play abroad. Look at the successes of  Iran. The marquee players of the team have played in Europe in Germany and England. They take back the learnings and implement them within national teams and make a mark. Now, compare India’s iconic players Baichung – played at Bury (Division 1 outfit in England), Jo Paul Ancheri, Sunil Chetri, Mahesh Gawli – none of them have played abroad. How on earth , can we get experience on the pitch? No disrespect to the I-League, in fact the steady progression of I-League is a refreshing change. This doesn’t mean AIFF take credit and sit on their asses and bask in fake glory.

Its very easy for us to talk about the history of football clubs and boast about the worlds second oldest football tournament when we are no good at all from the root.

Its high time we tackle the problem from the roots and eradicate the problems and re lay a new foundation…..That’s how football in India will move forward!!!

For heaven sake , stop blaming it on cricket!!

Recently I read an article on ‘ Why doesn’t Indian football move ahead?’  and surprised to read that the development of football has been overshadowed by the revenue pulling cricket system in India.

All I can say to all who very passionately about the sorry state of football in India is, stop pointing fingures at other well to do sports in India instead learn from them and that’s how football will move ahead in India.

Cricket is what it is in India popularity and status wise simply because India has won the World Cup in 1983. Now, you may wonder what I am getting at? For the successful growth of any sport in any country depends on the success of the Nations performance at the highest level in that particular sport.

In the 1950’s India was doing really well in Football. We reached the Bronze medal play off at the Olympics and we were invited to play World cup football (during those years there were no qualifiers) , this was the highest point in Indian football. But what did we do? We decided not to participate because the European press criticised us for playing bare feet football and during that year FIFA had made it mandatory for all teams to wear  footwear and play the tournament. Apparently, some official from West Bengal was offended by the press and we decided to turn down the invitation….and a chance to take baby steps for the success of football in India.

I would like to point out that India’s national sport apparently is Hockey. Why is that so? Its because of India’s brilliant medal winning performances in Olympics and World Cups  during the yester years.

So, the point I am trying to establish is that over the years sports have developed and priorities have changed and fan bases have shifted dramatically. India’s major success , possibly the biggest successes in the sporting field are the 1983 World Cup and the most recently the T20 World cup wins.

Cricket has been there at the right time in the right place and delivered results that has made it the game in India. Mind you, BCCI was not born rich but they have worked their way up to acquire the  status they enjoy, the money that is involved, the telecast it has created and the revenues that it generates. Its all come the hard way and a sustained growth over the years.

Its very easy for us to whine and moan about the football in our country, is any one doing any thing about it? No, why would any one do anything ? The AIFF themselves cant salvage the game in India. Year in Year out there are articles about projects / visions projected to take India to the world cup. In fact, I have been one of those fools who believed it will happen one day but every world qualifying year we have the same excuse and another vision program. This I s a bloody joke!!! Who is AIFF trying to fool???

AIFF should learn from other sports governing bodies like ATP/WTA and their successful Mini Tennis program and work on the similar model to build successful football structure. Another thing AIFF should do is throw out incompetent administrators who run the show. Recruit people with the right skill sets with experience in management and sound knowledge about the game.  Even better have a hybrid model of politicians and footballers to run AIFF jointly with each party playing to its strengths.

We barely make it past the pre qualifiers after so many years of FIFA membership, its funny we don’t have youth development schemes, alliances in place for training, infrastructure, management, we don’t even have registered scouts for gods sake! We don’t have transparency in management nor do we have the attitude to professionalise the game.

Many years ago when the FIFA-Goal project was launched in India, I had written to AIFF asking for details on how they plan to spend the funding we get from FIFA, the f£$%ers didn’t respond to me. That’s the reality of  state of affairs in AIFF.

AIFF should look at what other under developed and developing nations are doing with the Goal projects investments – Look at the Paraguayan Football Federations success story in building a national training centre.

Recently Sunil Chetri was in UK for trials with Coventry City FC and that was welcoming news after Bhutias stint with Bury. Unfortunately, Sunil’s dreams were cut short and he did not make it. I feel sorry for hard working players who come all the way to UK and don’t get what they want and who is to blame – no one but AIFF.

People talk about how smaller countries are doing better than India in FIFA rankings and qualifying for major events. The answer to that is very simple – the players from the so called small countries happen to play in European leagues which are enriched not only with fast paced games but enhanced technical skills and all the requirements to be a good competitive player. But Indian players to play abroad. Look at the successes of  Iran. The marquee players of the team have played in Europe in Germany and England. They take back the learnings and implement them within national teams and make a mark. Now, compare India’s iconic players Baichung – played at Bury (Division 1 outfit in England), Jo Paul Ancheri, Sunil Chetri, Mahesh Gawli – none of them have played abroad. How on earth , can we get experience on the pitch? No disrespect to the I-League, in fact the steady progression of I-League is a refreshing change. This doesn’t mean AIFF take credit and sit on their asses and bask in fake glory.

Its very easy for us to talk about the history of football clubs and boast about the worlds second oldest football tournament when we are no good at all from the root.

Its high time we tackle the problem from the roots and eradicate the problems and re lay a new foundation…..That’s how football in India move forward!!!

Blog Information Profile for nileshd1

Sports business – Status in India

“ Maybe it is just a matter of growing up. Fans do tend to be children. They try to pretend that the athlete of their fancy is out there doing what he excels at for some good or glory than a buck. That naive view is probably the hub of the problem, and the fault lies with the fan, not the athlete who always knew he was playing for dollars and not much else”

– (Late) Mark McCormack, founder IMG.

In a country of almost a billion in population the need for entertainment is tremendous and there are various entertainment industries that exist in India. The movie industry is by far the most successful industry, there are thousands of movies that are made every year enough to keep the masses glued to the screens.

The immediate following competitive mode of entertainment in India is ‘Cricket’; mark my words ‘ Cricket ‘. Despite of the numerous other games that are played in India its cricket that has excelled and become a phenomenon in India. While cricket’s gargantuan presence invites anger and jealousy, the fact remains that it is the only sport in the country that has provided superstars through its own system. Cricket, which was introduced by the British and reached the regular masses years after it was first played, and has now become a rage in this nation, there were many other games that the British had popularized in India, but failed to make it big. Football being the finest example and the biggest casualty.

Never the less, the fact that cricket rules Indian sports has to be accepted by other sports associations. There are games like Football, Tennis, Motor sports, Athletics, Golf, Hockey and Chess that have established themselves in the sports business sector and have managed to create their own identity in their own special ways, it’s a myth that India lacks in sporting talent Viswanathan Anand, Dhanraj Pillay, Baichung Bhutia, Mahesh Bhupati, Leander Paes, Jyoti Randhawa, Tarun Chandok and many more came up in spite of the system. There is lots of room for other sports to grow in India, but the main concern is that who will initiate and how will this process of increasing the potential of sports business in India shape up? Take the case of Hockey.

This discipline was up for grabs as India has had a rich tradition of Hockey performances at Asian and International levels. Indian hockey has a comprehensive league structure and tags of winning Olympic podium finish, Asian games gold’s and the title of winning the world cup at junior levels, still the game has no takers in terms of media and broadcast. The International Hockey Federation (IHF) strives hard for the development of the game but is not complimented by the government. IHF chief KPS Gill blames the government for not playing an active part in the growth of Hockey. Decreasing financial support each year is a major concern, but the efforts put in by the IHF are as good as negligible, as they can regulate their own authority to market the game well, which has not been done in the past. Chess is another sport to have witnessed a phenomenal growth rate. Grand masters are churned out by dozens, most of them teenagers. So what if it took Viswanathan Anand to trigger the chess revolution, credit must to the All India Chess Federation and its coaches for belting out champion grandmasters in early ages, but unfortunately the need to promote the game on television was neglected. The All India Tennis Association (AITA) can be termed as a successful sports federation in India besides Cricket’s national governing body.

AITA has developed champion players who have played for India and individually and managed to achieve success fairly. Indian tennis has always been brilliant at international levels, as India has not lost its rank of Asia’s numero uno nation. Despite of possessing the infrastructure and investing in national and international age group tournaments the sport continues to suffer from an inferiority complex as government grants and corporate sponsorship is not easily available.

FIFA Marketing Mutual Respect

FIFA has managed to involve many of the worlds leading companies to their family of sponsors. FIFA is very strict and happy about its sponsor policies and of the commitment of the members of the group it has generated.

This mutual respect is based upon the implementation of FIFA’s innovative marketing policies, introduced in the late 1970’s. There have been changes implemented to improve the policies and make the marketing process lucrative and beneficial to both the parties as the ultimate serve the same purpose – visibility throughout the world.

FIFA’s commercial partners are active partners, helping the organization of the world championships with supplies of football technical materials such as footballs and referees’ equipment, but also of modern office and audiovisual equipment, cars, stadium installations and other products and services. They support the event and of the sport itself by the responsible and positive projects and advertising campaigns.

The fruitful cooperation remains based upon mutual respect and appreciation of each other’s objectives, and the sponsor’s refusal to interfere in the administration of the game or in the rules by which it is played. Self evident as it may appear; it is in contrast to trends in certain other sports.

FIFA marketing ltd- Developing Partnerships

FIFA marketing ltd. is a 100% FIFA controlled company. Spear headed by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Patrick Magyar and Managing Director Winand Krawinkel, FIFA marketing has signed up five new World cup sponsors: Avaya, NTT, Toshiba, Philips and Yahoo.

The official sponsors of the World cup are made up from an impressive group of international companies, which includes world’s best-known brand names.
These official sponsors share the premium perimeter advertising positions at the world cup, with two or four boards for each sponsor at every match. This equates to thousands of hours TV exposure, reaching consumers in over 200 countries.

FIFA marketing partnership’s Worldwide

This case study was picked from sportbusiness.com a portal featuring all the news about the business in the field of sports worldwide in association with another sports website sports.com. The main reason why I picked this article is to show the readers the benefits of sponsoring a prestigious event like the FIFA world cup. This case study is backed up with an Indian perspective too.
All the facts in this case study are as per the information received from various mediums such as the Internet, magazines and personal interaction (for the Indian perspective).

Up to 40% of football fans can name at least one of the fifteen sponsors of the FIFA World Cup, according to a survey carried out by sports.com, the Internet and the mobile data provider of sports content, and market research group Net poll. The figures are a marked improvement on a similar survey carried out just two months ago when only 26% of the respondents could name at least one of the world cup sponsors.

Adidas, Toshiba, Budweiser, MasterCard and Coca- Cola were the most recognized sponsors of the competition among the 1,262 Sports.com users surveyed. But certain brands such as Nike and Pepsi still continue to be picked out as being associated with World Cup despite the fact they are not sponsoring the event – 28% of the respondents thought that Nike was a sponsor while 175 of the respondents thought that Pepsi was the sponsor.

The other sponsors for this year World Cup are:

• Gillette
• JVC
• Fuji Film
• Philips
• Avaya
• Hyundai
• Korean telecom
• NTT telecom
• Mc Donald’s
• Yahoo!
• Fuji Xerox

This article was a part of ‘Football Nexus’ written during FIFA World Cup Japan South Korea 2002.

Weekend in Sheffield

Hey Ho Sheffield Wednesday

My trip to Sheffield was absolutely fantastic. I loved the city and the learnt a lot of the sporting culture of the city. Sheffield has a lot to offer than just the steel industry it once had.

I loved the feel the city has to offer. Driving up and down the hills was brilliant, travelling in one of the finest tram networks, hanging out at the city centre, visiting meadow hall shopping centre, enjoying the nightlife, feasting on the famous Henderson’s relish and Fish cake butty…hmmmmm but two things that truly stood out were living in the same neighbourhood as “Prince” Naseem Hamed (British Boxer who is serving a jail term) and the classic championship game at the Hillsborough.

It was quite nostalgic my visit to Hillsborough to be honest. I was sitting in the south stand pretty close to the away supporters. The away stand was where the Liverpool supporters were sitting during the Hillsborough disaster.

However, my attention was drawn towards the perfect pitch and the KOP which is a great stand with all the home fans. It must be magnificent to score a goal and celebrate it in front of the KOP. Mind you Wednesday got all their goals in front of the KOP.

This was a classic game …..got to see all football could offer in 90 mins. A scrappy first half , a dodgy penalty (for the canaries), bad (pathetic) decisions by the ref and the linesman. The second half was a turnaround for Wednesday.

I really anticipated a Norwich city victory but God alone knows what Brian Law told the players during the half time. Wednesday were rejuvenated and went for the kill from the start whistle. And won 3-2 and did that in some style.

Throughout the game I had Anfield on my mind. The game had all the shades of Liverpool’s greatest come back the CL finals.

It  was so Ironic, This happened to be my second game in a stadium where Glen Roeder was the opponent manager and he was on the defeated manager that day.

FIFA On Hooliganism

FIFA -Fair Play

International Fair Play campaigns are one of the most effective means by which FIFA seeks to strengthen the ethical basis of football and for sport as a wider concept. A trophy is awarded at FIFA competitions and annually to an individual or group, to stimulate awareness of how the dynamics of football are directly related to the elegance fundamentals to all sporting endeavor. The worlds top teams and players have a responsibility as role models for young people taking up the game, and FIFA has acknowledged this fact by obliging all the players in the World Cup Finals and other FIFA events to sign a Fair Play Declaration.

Recent years have sadly seen disturbances and occasional tragedies at football matches in various parts of the world which have emphasized how neither FIFA, the continental federations nor the national associations can be primarily responsible for questions of security outside the stadium, nor the socio – economic conditions which are predominantly at the root of these problems.

The incidence of occurrences bringing football into disrepute has, however, been successfully reduced as a result of close cooperation with the respective authorities and strict guidelines for match organization and stadium design.

Football cannot accept the fact that multicultural societies do not always engender racial harmony. Applying this awareness to football spectators and teams, FIFA remains true to anti discrimination ethics of its statutes by lending willing support to the efforts of various organizations working to combat the racial allegations in football.

Aswell as rewarding its various world champion teams with cups and diplomas, FIFA also presents titles to individuals: the FIFA Fair Play trophy is for the best team with the best behavior. Special acts of Fair Play are also recognized by an annual award goes to an individual or a group who otherwise enjoy little share of the spotlight.

FOOTBALL VIOLENCE – A case study of hooliganism culture and intense rivalry between England and Germany

Hooligans play out familiar scene in Munich
– Vivek Chaudhary in Munich.

The 5 – 1 result may have been extraordinary, but away from Munich Olympics stadium it was all too familiar picture of violence, drunkenness and xenophobia involving England fans. The victory overshadowed a day of continuing violence.

• Munich police arrested 47 fans out of which 35 were Britons, they were drunk and out of their heads.
• One day prior to the match, another 135 people were arrested, 43 Britons and 90 Germans, were taken into preventive detention and released after the match.
• 6 English fans were held and were to appear in front of the examining magistrate the charges being- illegal drug possessing, robbery and violence.
• Eberhard Roese, VP Munich Police said “ around 400 hard core hooligans from England and same number from Germany were behind the problems, while there were another 1000 more waiting to join the fight.”
• Clashes before the match were witnessed in Frankfurt, which is miles away from the Olympic stadium, Berlin. A group of over 500 fans of England and Germany into the early hours, smashing up several Bars
• The police intelligence said that these two groups had arranged to confront face to face via the Internet.
• Mr.Roese also said “ the trouble was due to an excessive consumption of alcohol. Some hooligans drank until they lost consciousness.”

By the time the final whistle blew in the Olympic stadium, the center of Munich was deserted. Most of the bars were closed, and those that stayed open refused to admit English fans. For England fans it might have been a victorious night to remember, but it was certainly a violent day to forget.

Avoiding Hooliganism

Hooligans create an atmosphere of disharmony and disturb the game, which is liked by the millions of people in the world. The fact that the fights and other disturbances not only spoil the image of the fans but indirectly the club and the F.A also gets dragged in and compulsorily have to face the music from critics and the media.

There are ways of combating the so-called hooligan threats and if the below mentioned points are considered seriously, there can be a positive result to some extent for sure.

• Fines should be slapped on the clubs and fans involved.
• Imprisonment to involved fans – the Italian government has imposed tougher penalties against violent football fans. Under the new law,
• people who throw dangerous objects at the players or the referee will be subjected to three to six months.
• After match detentions.
• Stricter visa policies for the hooligans – THE NOTORIOUS hooligans trackrecords should be compiled and the involved hooligans shouldn’t be allowed to leave their respective countries prior to big matches.
• Maximum hooliganism is caused due to excess of alcoholism and drug usage, the hooligans identified as the most notorious must be sent to rehab centers for overcoming their bad habits.
• Security checks and confiscation policies should be implemented at the stadiums.
• Use of teargas, rubber bullets and pressure water.
• Introduce a special FAIRPLAY award scheme for the best behaved fans of a club, maybe this could prove to be a mean to minimize violence.
• Stricter ticket selling policies.
• Police watch on opposition fans and total police guidance right fromarrival, stay and after hours of the match.
• Limited time zones for entrance at the stadium – this can help the F.A’s to prevent pre match hooliganism.

Womans Game

The infamous comment by Ron Atkinson, the former Manchester United manager that ‘women should be in the kitchen, the boutique and the disco but not in football’ is what comes to my mind when I think about the world of women football, this project takes a look on the introduction of women football and how it has developed over the years and has increasingly seemed to be a part of the games ancient history.

HISTORY

Organized women’s football in England was recorded in the year 1895,when a northern representative team beat a southern side 7-1 in London. Matches were also played in Scotland. In 1902,however, the Football Association banned its clubs from playing ‘lady teams’. This injunction was briefly lifted during World War I with a mixed English team competing against a mixed Canadian team in the year 1917 – the men had to tie their hands behind their backs. Because of the war the status of women in the society rose, and accordingly their involvement in football increased.

The most famous team that time was Dick Kerr Ladies, formed in 1917 by a group of female munitions working at Kerr’s Engineering Works, Preston.
Their earlier games were played at the waste grounds outside their factory gates, but their fame grew, they found themselves playing in front of large crowds at League grounds. One match in Ireland attracted 38,000 fans.

The dick Kerr girls also played teams from France, but in 1921, the side was barred – along with all other ladies teams – from playing on football grounds.

The FA council edict read: ‘ the council feels impelled to express their strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.’  The Dick Kerr side still continued to play football for a while, raising an estimated 70,000 pounds for charity, but women’s football steadily declined in England. Elsewhere in Europe there was a lot of improvement and by 1960, there were instances of UK players moving to Italy as professionals, unsurprising in the domestic climate.

Years passed by and football developed at a very fast pace and the future of women’s football moved into another level.

CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR WOMEN

In 1969, in the wake of England’s (male) 1966 world cup win, the Women’s FA was formed, within 44 clubs. Two years later the FA recognized the organization and lifted the ban on women playing on member’s grounds. This followed the first unofficial, women’s world cup, 1970, Italy.

Since few schools catered to women’s football, and to this day some actually prohibit it, the female game was very much a minority sport. In 1983, though, FIFA instructed the national governing bodies to take greater responsibility in women’s game.

TAKING OVER THE WORLD

Attitudes in countries other than England were more progressive, as was evident when the English team reached the first ever UEFA women’s championship, 1984.

The first leg was shown live in Sweden and the second, in Luton attracted a Swedish TV crew and 36 journalists, including representatives from Scandinavia, the USA, France, the Netherlands and West Germany. In that case there was less popularity in the English press.

While the English women players moved on to Italy to play professional football.

By 1991, when the WFA launched a national league, there were 9,000 registered women players from England; the number considerably had risen to 14,000 by 1997, compared to 700,000 in West Germany. That year the USA beat Norway in front of a 63,000 strong crowd in the finals of the first FIFA women’s world cup finals in China. Four years later Norway beat the hosts Germany 2-0. In 1996

76,000 fans watched the USA beat China in the Olympic Finals, so emphasizing the status of women’s football across the Atlantic.

The effort by FIFA to encourage women’s football around the world has been felt in India just like any other nation in the world. Indian women do play football but the level of play is below par and cannot be compared to the European and American soccer levels, unlike China, which is a Footballing super power nation
Indian women’s football has a lot to learn and will take some time to make a mark in international football.

Valuable contributions by AIFF (All India Football Federation) can navigate Indian women to a top class international squad; the only question, will the AIFF take the initiative?

This article was written in 2001 for my research titled ‘Football Nexus’

Scott Hammerton on Spurs mad run!!!!!

Totenham vs Arsenal’s EPL game which ended in a mammoth scoreline 0f 4-4 created quite a frenzy here in London, considering the rivalry the London clubs have. It was undoubtedly a tough task for Harry to take over a team in shambles and group them together and start their campaign for survival (from what it looked then).

Harry Houdini , proved once again why he is called that name and he is doing it in some style. I personally think this run of his is better than how he miraculously saved Pompey from relegation a few seasons ago.

I remember chatting with Scott (my office mate) who is a spurs fan and season ticket holder before the game. He was not very upbeat about the game and feared for the worst result because of the slump in spur’s form.

I remember he was so nervous…. he was shaking while we were chatting in the train post work. All I could say to him was ‘all the best, hope you guys do well’ and I set off to Central London for dinner.

While I was havinf dinner i was keeping a watch on the score and each time i saw the score I was seeing Arsenal taking a comfortable lead and a point I even told my Mate at the table that ‘ it’s all over for spurs’ and decided to focus on my tagine.

However, when we were done and set off to walk around central london, I happened to see the score again and was shocked to see the final score . It 4-4 , it was a draw and Spurs had escaped the game which should have been sealed by Arsenal.

I immedietely texted Scott and coudnt wait to see his reactions!!!!!!

The next day I left for work picked up my daily dose of The Sun and saw crazy pictures of Spurs fans celebrating with the players on the pitch.

Scott had his own story…..he had actully left the ground when they were 4-2 but managed to get back in to see the 4th goal…..I dont know how he managed this…..but he did it….

He then went on to sky sports news and shared the exp. with them

Some of his mad pictures post Liverpool drubbing are to follow soon!!!!!

SCOTTIE BOY – ur a legend!!!!!! LOL!!!!!