NORMAN GILLER’S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 369
Submitted by Norman Giller

How ironic that Tottenham’s magnificent opening-day victory over Premier League champions Manchester City has increased the probability of Harry Kane moving to the Eitihad in a British record transfer deal.

The bottom line, whether you like it or not, is that Harry WANTS to go. I reported here weeks ago that his brother Charlie, who runs the CK66 agency that handles Harry, had opened the door for a move to City.

I got trampled on by the keyboard warriors on line who did not like to read the truth. The insults were so deeply personal that I decided to say nothing more on the subject until the deed is done.

But there is no disguising the fact that City will be keener than ever to sign Harry after their shot-shy performance at Tottenham yesterday, when our Sunshine Man Son Heung-min showed them how to find the net.

It is a battle of Daniel Levy’s willpower against the wallet of the multi-billionaire Arabs who own City. Levy, so maligned by the keyboard warriors, is their best friend in this stand-off. He is determined to try to keep Kane for another year at least. But, as I’ve said, the fact is Harry wants to go and that gives City hope. It should all soon be resolved. Meantime both Spurs and the Kane camp need lessons in PR. So far, it has been handled appallingly, with both sides failing in the vital area of public relations.

Let’s be honest, if Harry had been playing for City he would almost certainly have banged in a couple of goals during the opening 15 minute blitz on the Tottenham defence when we all feared a spanking for Spurs.

In my last blog on June 1, I revealed that Arab-owned City had Harry and Aston Villa entertainer Jack Grealish in their sights as they prepared to make an all-out assault on the Champions League.

Grealish is in the bag … and was kept under lock and key by Tottenham’s man of the match Japhet Tanganga, who also found time to help out with the taming of danger man Raheem Sterling.

And how about Lucas Moura, a workhorse but with thoroughbred skills. He ran his legs off for the team, linking from midfield and galloping through to join Sonny and Steven Bergwijn in raids on a City goal that was often left as open as a barn door. Should City be spending their money on Our Harry Kane or an anchor man in defence?

Another big plus was the mature performance of Oliver Skipp, who played as if he belonged on the Premier League stage. Everywhere we looked we saw outstanding individual performances, all married to a great team effort, and you could warm your hands on the spirit in the side … the Espírito of Santo! There was something of the Pochettino calmness and control on the touchline.

You can read our guru Paul H. Smith’s eyewitness account of the match HERE, and how lucky he was to be there to not only hear but feel the passion and pride of the Tottenham fans. How we’ve missed them during the pandemic.

A wonderful start to the era of Nuno, who goes home to Portugal this week for Tottenham’s debut on Thursday in the Uefa European Conference League against Paços de Ferreira. A competition too far? All according to how we perform. Who knows, it could be the spark for Spurs to start winning silverware (heard that anywhere else before?).

Nuno has a comforting aura about him and is extremely likeable, so refreshing after the arrogance of Jose Mourinho. He knows that (as Bill Shankly used to say) the League championship is a marathon, not a sprint. But the way Spurs came out of the blocks yesterday has put a bounce in all our steps. I’ve got a good feeling about this season … whether Our Harry is with us or not.

Since I last bored you, I have written two books. Modesty forbids me to tell you that the first, My 70 Years of Spurs, has been described by the discerning Mike Leigh of the renowned Spurs Show as “the best book I have ever read on the history of the club”. If you Google the Spurs Show or get their app, you can tune into an interview I gave Mike at the weekend. The 80,000-word book is available on Amazon, at all good bookshops or – a signed copy – direct from me at www.normangillerbooks.com.

I am sharing profits with the Tottenham Tribute Trust, who quietly help our old heroes who missed the gravy train. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

The second book has been compiled in collaboration with a household name and will be on sale in the Autumn. I cannot shout about it yet until the Publishers reveal my famous writing partner, whose autograph alone should be worth the price of the book. Watch this space.

This is our 2021 Spurs Odyssey Quiz League champion Peter Lawton, with his framed certificate that proves he is our new king. Born and raised in North London, Peter is now based in Israel from where he never misses a second of Tottenham Hotspur action thanks to the world-wide television coverage. Don’t you just love that vintage pre-sponsors Spurs shirt.

He will be defending his title against all comers, anybody out there who thinks they have a better than average knowledge of Tottenham’s post-war football stars.

The rules are the same as in the previous seven seasons. I ask a two-pronged question with three points at stake – two for identifying the player and one for the supplementary question. In the closing weeks of the competition I break the logjam of all-knowing Spurs-history experts with a tie-breaking poser that is based on opinion rather than fact. That’s when I become as popular as Sol Campbell in an Arsenal shirt.

This year’s prizes for the champion: A rare out-of-print book from my Greavsie collection with autographs from Jimmy Greaves, Steve Perryman and Dave Mackay, and, most im-portant of all, a framed certificate announcing the winner as SOQL champion 2022. Plus a signed copy of My 70 Years of Spurs book and a special bonus prize that I will announce later in the season.

Question 1 in our 2021-22 season:-

Who wore the No 25 Spurs shirt in a Wembley final, played 21 times for England and from which club did he join Tottenham in 2005?

Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 1. Deadline: midnight this Friday. I will do my best to respond to all who take part.

See you back here same time, same place next week. COYS!

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