Bolton Evening News Article (stolen from FTL)

Dublin Spur

This will brighten any Spurs fan's Day...........


GOING to a game at Spurs is like attending one big love-in.

Every ground tries to create an atmosphere of unity, but none manage it quite like Spurs.

It's not the biggest ground in the Premiership, but it's by far the best stage.

advertisementThat's got a lot to do with the fact that it is one of the oldest, and, while it has been modernised, it has never lost its traditional feel.

It is also the most compact, it's stands hugging the touchlines and rising almost perpendicular so everybody feels part of the action.

Spurs say they have to move to a bigger ground to accommodate their many fans who cannot be a part of their guaranteed capacity crowds.

If they do, they'll lose more than they'll gain. Gone will be the unrelenting buzz and hair-raising atmosphere whipped up up in an instant, and in will be the hollow feel of every new ground.

Watching a game at White Hart Lane is like taking a step back in time in a good way. The noise is constant and electric and the passion is tangible.

Schadenfreude is more obvious than at any other ground with expression of their rivalry with Arsenal never far away.

Indeed, the biggest cheer of their 4-1 victory over Wanderers last weekend was reserved for the 88th minute stadium announcement that the Gunners had gone 2-1 down in the Carling Cup Final.

What is your favourite ground? Add yours to the Comment box at the end of this report

The pre-match entertainment is by far the best anywhere, with highlights of their last two games and previous meetings with that day's opponents beamed out on two huge screens with the loudest and clearest sound system.

So good is the coverage that many fans get into the ground early to watch it, as do the Spurs players during their warm-up.

The most striking thing about Spurs is how much those inside believe their team is the best.

Every fan is entitled to talk their side up, but Spurs do it so convincingly that you're tempted to check the record book to remind yourself it has, indeed, been a very long time since they last won anything.

The engaging trait was shown by former player, Martin Peters, when he told fellow Spurs legend, Glenn Hoddle (peace be upon him), during a pitch-side interview before the game on Sunday: "It's Braga in the next round (of the UEFA Cup). That's not too hard."

This is the same Portuguese Braga side who beat Italy's Parma home and away in the previous round.

Then, minutes before kick-off, the stadium announcer described the game's stage as: "Here, at the world famous White Hart Lane," before the club song began echoeing around the stadium with the deafening line: "Tottenham are the greatest team the world has ever seen."

A neutral might be tempted into offering a sarcastic response along the lines of Spurs just needing a bit of confidence, but nobody could argue that White Hart Lane possesses a fanaticism that most, if not every, other club can only dream of.

On the basis that the most important criteria for a good football ground is atmosphere, passion, looks, comfort and pitch, then the ultra-compact and always full White Hart Lane is the greatest stage in the country.

My top 10 football stages

1 White Hart Lane. 2 St James' Park. 3 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. 4 Villa Park. 5 Goodison Park. 6 Anfield. 7 Emirates Stadium. 8 Upton Park. 9 City of Manchester Stadium. 10 Old Trafford.

yiddo

Great read. I love our stadium even if it is too small! Its a proper stadium where you are very close to the play wherever you are sitting.
Slightly o/t but on the same general theme there was a guy on Newstalk last night (jurno Man City fan) and he was speaking about the low crowds at City of Manchester Stadium. He maintained that new stadiums lead to decreasing crowds for teams outside the top 4. Supporters are not in the same routine and if things are going bad on the pitch supporters will become disconnected easier from the team in a new unfamiliar ground rather than in the old ground. He said that Everton's crowds had held up well even though they weren't doing great because of the fact that they were still playing at Goodison. He maintained that when they move to their new stadium at Kirby their crowds will drop if their performances on the pitch don't improve.