Lady GaGa/Spurs v Roma/ the Lionesses
What a weekend we have just had. On Friday night, I went with Janette to the lady GaGa concert at the Tottenham stadium; Saturday saw us play Mourinho’s Roma (a fair trial out, that was it, before the season begins) and then the magnificent win for England’s women (capturing the UEFA European Women’s Championship). The last time a National team won anything, men or women, was the World cup in 1966, 56 years ago. And ever since then, the men’s team have become more impotent, while the women have gone from strength to strength.
But let us start with Lady GaGa (Friday).
Before we start, and for those that don’t know: Lady Gaga presented The Chromatica Ball at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Her tour promised to be (and was) a full-scale Lady Gaga pop show featuring favourite fan hits and the first ever public live performances from the #1 selling, critically-acclaimed, and GRAMMY-winning 2020 album Chromatica.
With a leg in plaster (unable to put weight on it), I drove to Tottenham (I have an automatic car). Luckily, I found a parking space near the stadium (£25) and hobbled to the arena. Usually, a 5 minutes walk, but it took me 20 minutes: what an experience that was, and what a feat of endurance.
The crowds were amazing (I arrived at 3.30, and doors opened at 5 pm). People dressed in all sorts of paraphernalia; bondage, half-naked, wild makeup (men and women) etc. I believe Lady GaGa has a strong gay following.
Once there, we got something to drink, followed by queuing. The doors were supposed to open at 5 pm, but we had to wait until 5.30 for the doors to open (security issues, I believe, were the cause of the delay). Steve and his partner, Viv, joined us (they were also Premium). Once through the doors, we made our way to the third floor, where we had a table booked (part of the package).
To cut a long story short, the meal and company were excellent. The Tottenham staff recognised us from previous restaurant visits and were friendly and helpful. Hannah, our Premium representative, popped around for a chat. She is a lovely young lady and very helpful and kind to her clients.
Then we made our way to the second floor, where our seats were located (we were on the halfway line). The music was excellent, and Lady GaGa was very entertaining. She finished at 10.30.
After the show, we made our way to the restaurant to let the crowds clear, finally getting home at 2.30 in the morning.
Saturday: Spurs v Roma
We concluded our pre-season preparations by being beaten 1-0 against Mourinho’s Roma. Roger Ibanez’s first-half header proved to be the difference in Israel. We suffered our first defeat on the pre-season-friendly road.
Now we’ve got that out of the way, the serious business can start as we welcome Southampton to our ground on Saturday.
Just a word from Conte about this defeat: he said he was happy that Spurs lost the game, citing it as an excellent opportunity to keep calm and stay focused ahead of the official start of their season. “I think honestly that I’m happy this [defeat] happened because to start the season in this way, we keep calm, and then we are focused. We are not going to lose our concentration and our focus.”
Lionesses’ magnificent victory.
England women created history by winning their first prominent women’s tournament in a dramatic Euro 2022 final against Germany at Wembley.
Sarina Wiegman’s side showed they were equal to anything a solid and physical German team threw at us.
Ella Toone had come off the bench to score the opener in normal time before Germany’s Lina Magull set up a nervous ending when she equalised in the 79th minute. Substitute Chloe Kelly poked home a loose ball from a corner to send the record crowd of 87,192 into a frenzy with ten minutes of extra time remaining. She waited for confirmation of the goal before taking off her shirt and waving it around her head while being lifted by her teammates in a twinkling of pure ecstasy.
As Janette and I watched from home, we were caught up in a frenzy with the Wembley crowd and across England as everybody went wild with joy (a lovely lady).
What Sarina Wiegman did (tactically) to help the young Lionesses to lift the trophy was “consistency” and good management/ substitution. Unlike her male counterpart, Donkey Southgate, who kept on and keeps on chopping and changing the national team around (no consistency or good management sense). Under his leadership, we will never win anything.
Maybe the FA should appoint Sarina Wiegman as the new head coach of the male team and give Southgate the push. Then we might finally have a chance of winning something decent (rant over).
Congratulations to the Women’s England squad for finally bringing a trophy home to England. I should say, the UK, as Scotland or Wales or even Northern Ireland, will never bring home a substantial trophy to the UK.
Next up: the 2022/ 23 season.
COYS!
Glenn
My name is Glenn Renshaw.
I am currently a Premium Season Ticket holder (West Stand) in the new stadium. Before that – at White Hart Lane – a season ticket holder in various parts of the ground (mainly in the North stand).
Before becoming a season ticket holder, I stood on the shelf and various other parts of the ground since the 1950s. In 1987 I became one of the first to hold a Spurs Membership card. I was also a life long member of the Spurs supporters club (now defunct).
I go to all home, away and abroad matches.
I was born in 1955, Edgware, London (it was in the late 50s – as a baby – that my dad took me to Spurs to initiate me). I currently live in Berkshire.
I also collect all Spurs books (and have everyone printed), Spurs handbooks (from 1920s onwards, Spurs programmes (since the 40s).
Previously, I wrote for Spurs Fanzines: The Spur, Spur of the Moment, My Eyes have seen the Glory and various other Spurs fanzines’. I also wrote for the SpursWeb app & its website.
I currently write and work for spursnetwork.com and its website. I write its Reviews & Match reports and a lot more.
My other interests are; reading, history, social history, Politics, going to the gym, wine, going out for a meal, music (all sorts), writing, theatre, concerts, going on holidays, socialising etc.
I have been writing blogs/ articles since 1989
If you wish to read more of my blog, please click “here”
