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20 Glenn Hoddle quotes

Dharmabum

Well-Known Member
Aug 16, 2003
8,274
12,242
http://www.tottenhamblog.com/2016/07/06/20-glenn-hoddle-quotes-every-spurs-fan-must-read/

20. On Spurs signing two Argentinian superstars: “It was manna from heaven for me when Ricky and Ossie came. I had someone to play football with.”

19. On youth development in England: “Until we make it the number one criteria for youngsters aged six and upwards to master the ball, we will still be in trouble, as unfortunately, the ball currently masters them.”

18. On his early days at Tottenham: “We used to train Tuesday and Thursday nights. I would jump on a train at 11, on my own, from Harlow all the way down to White Hart Lane. And that was an eye-opener at 11 years of age. You wouldn’t be able to do that nowadays.”

17. On being recognised by the best: “Cruyff said he had heard a lot about me, but until he played against me he didn’t realise how good I was.”

16. On being an ambidextrous footballer: “I was naturally two-footed, but I also put in a lot of practice. If I run at someone I have always felt more natural on my left side, but if I had to take a penalty or free-kick I would take it with my right foot.”

15. On keeping his feet on the ground: “Me and a lad called Gary Hines must have done something wrong, as we were designated to go up on the roof of the stadium and make sure that the cockerel emblem up there was cleaned. But every time I ran out at White Hart Lane, that grounded me. Every time I came out I could see the cockerel emblem and said to myself: ‘Don’t get carried away. Always remember the day you had to clean that’.”

14. On only winning 53 caps for England: “It would have been 100 if Brian Clough became England manager.”

13. On White Hart Lane: “It’s only 35,000 but it’s a throwback to the old days. The atmosphere is better than any other ground in the county when the fans get behind them.”

12. On dropping Gazza from his World Cup squad: “It was the saddest thing I’ve ever had to do, was leave Paul Gascoigne out. And that was purely because he wasn’t fit, and he wouldn’t have been fit for the tournament.”

11. On playing under Arsene Wenger at Monaco: “It was enthralling playing for him, I enjoyed every single second. He wanted me to play just behind the striker, which was Mark Hateley. I always felt that was my best position, but I never really played there for England or even during my hey-day at Spurs.”
10. On having unfinished business with England: “If I were to die tomorrow, my life would be incomplete.”

9. On being a playmaker in the eighties: “Teams would kick the s*** out of you. Creative players had the ball 60 to 70 per cent less than they would do in this era. It used to drive me mad.”

8. On his chart hit Diamond Lights with Chris Waddle: “I played in World Cups and in front of 100,000 at Wembley but nothing was as nerve-racking as Top Of The Pops.”

7. On critics who questioned his character as a player: “People talk about character, but what is character? Is it tearing around at 100 miles an hour? It makes me laugh. If I thought defending was that important I could improve my game by 50 per cent. But it isn’t.”

6. On Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’: “We didn’t blame him, we blamed the referee. I never felt retribution towards Maradona. What he did was instinctive, he probably thought he’d be booked. He was a great player, for me the greatest individual talent ever, better even than Pele. No man will ever influence a World Cup by himself as much as Maradona did in 1986.”

5. On the secret to success: “If you can take fear out of your life, you will be able to achieve far, far more. Fear blocks so much. If I had my time again, I would like to live without fear.”

4. On his time as Spurs manager: “We got to the final of the Worthington Cup, and we could have won that and maybe that would have set a different tone. It was a very political club at the time, there were too many obstacles to actually run the club. Some of the players I wanted to bring to the club were blocked.”
3. On his goalscoring ability: “I wasn’t a great goalscorer, but I scored great goals. My top 20 would be pretty interesting.”

2. On those ‘Glory Glory Nights’: “Those European nights at White Hart Lane were very special. The crowd came with a different attitude, and we responded to that.”

1. On his love for On Tottenham: “This is the club I joined when I was eight years of age, signed for at the age of 12 and didn’t leave until I was 28. Spurs is in my blood.”
 

hellava_tough

Well-Known Member
Apr 21, 2005
9,429
12,382
5. On the secret to success: “If you can take fear out of your life, you will be able to achieve far, far more. Fear blocks so much. If I had my time again, I would like to live without fear.”

Love this quote
 

shelfmonkey

Weird is different, different is interesting.
Mar 21, 2007
6,690
8,040
Hoddle was sadly born 20 years too early, but on the flip side, I got to grow up as a kid watching him grace the hallowed turf of White Hart Lane! What a fucking player, such unbelievable natural talent!! My favourite footballer EVER!!
 

BringBack_leGin

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2004
27,719
54,929
Imagine being 2 when Hoddle left, and spending your childhood watching an awful 90s Spurs side where you keep faith only because your father retailed you with tales of Glenn’s genius.
 

punky

Gone
Sep 23, 2008
7,485
5,403
Crazy how he only has 53 England caps. He was one of the most gifted players of his generation. He has less caps than Emilie Heskey and Glen Johnson
 

daveduvet

Well-Known Member
Oct 6, 2008
5,610
15,214
http://www.tottenhamblog.com/2016/07/06/20-glenn-hoddle-quotes-every-spurs-fan-must-read/

20. On Spurs signing two Argentinian superstars: “It was manna from heaven for me when Ricky and Ossie came. I had someone to play football with.”

19. On youth development in England: “Until we make it the number one criteria for youngsters aged six and upwards to master the ball, we will still be in trouble, as unfortunately, the ball currently masters them.”

18. On his early days at Tottenham: “We used to train Tuesday and Thursday nights. I would jump on a train at 11, on my own, from Harlow all the way down to White Hart Lane. And that was an eye-opener at 11 years of age. You wouldn’t be able to do that nowadays.”

17. On being recognised by the best: “Cruyff said he had heard a lot about me, but until he played against me he didn’t realise how good I was.”

16. On being an ambidextrous footballer: “I was naturally two-footed, but I also put in a lot of practice. If I run at someone I have always felt more natural on my left side, but if I had to take a penalty or free-kick I would take it with my right foot.”

15. On keeping his feet on the ground: “Me and a lad called Gary Hines must have done something wrong, as we were designated to go up on the roof of the stadium and make sure that the cockerel emblem up there was cleaned. But every time I ran out at White Hart Lane, that grounded me. Every time I came out I could see the cockerel emblem and said to myself: ‘Don’t get carried away. Always remember the day you had to clean that’.”

14. On only winning 53 caps for England: “It would have been 100 if Brian Clough became England manager.”

13. On White Hart Lane: “It’s only 35,000 but it’s a throwback to the old days. The atmosphere is better than any other ground in the county when the fans get behind them.”

12. On dropping Gazza from his World Cup squad: “It was the saddest thing I’ve ever had to do, was leave Paul Gascoigne out. And that was purely because he wasn’t fit, and he wouldn’t have been fit for the tournament.”

11. On playing under Arsene Wenger at Monaco: “It was enthralling playing for him, I enjoyed every single second. He wanted me to play just behind the striker, which was Mark Hateley. I always felt that was my best position, but I never really played there for England or even during my hey-day at Spurs.”
10. On having unfinished business with England: “If I were to die tomorrow, my life would be incomplete.”

9. On being a playmaker in the eighties: “Teams would kick the s*** out of you. Creative players had the ball 60 to 70 per cent less than they would do in this era. It used to drive me mad.”

8. On his chart hit Diamond Lights with Chris Waddle: “I played in World Cups and in front of 100,000 at Wembley but nothing was as nerve-racking as Top Of The Pops.”

7. On critics who questioned his character as a player: “People talk about character, but what is character? Is it tearing around at 100 miles an hour? It makes me laugh. If I thought defending was that important I could improve my game by 50 per cent. But it isn’t.”

6. On Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’: “We didn’t blame him, we blamed the referee. I never felt retribution towards Maradona. What he did was instinctive, he probably thought he’d be booked. He was a great player, for me the greatest individual talent ever, better even than Pele. No man will ever influence a World Cup by himself as much as Maradona did in 1986.”

5. On the secret to success: “If you can take fear out of your life, you will be able to achieve far, far more. Fear blocks so much. If I had my time again, I would like to live without fear.”

4. On his time as Spurs manager: “We got to the final of the Worthington Cup, and we could have won that and maybe that would have set a different tone. It was a very political club at the time, there were too many obstacles to actually run the club. Some of the players I wanted to bring to the club were blocked.”
3. On his goalscoring ability: “I wasn’t a great goalscorer, but I scored great goals. My top 20 would be pretty interesting.”

2. On those ‘Glory Glory Nights’: “Those European nights at White Hart Lane were very special. The crowd came with a different attitude, and we responded to that.”

1. On his love for On Tottenham: “This is the club I joined when I was eight years of age, signed for at the age of 12 and didn’t leave until I was 28. Spurs is in my blood.”
Thanks for sharing this. Without doubt for me the greatest footballer at spurs I’ve had the pleasure to witness. Scored on every debut he made. I was bereft when I read the headlines that he was being sold to Monaco. As a kid I practiced with both feet to emulate him, and wore my shirt over my shorts to copy his style. What a player...
 

Dharmabum

Well-Known Member
Aug 16, 2003
8,274
12,242
Crazy how he only has 53 England caps. He was one of the most gifted players of his generation. He has less caps than Emilie Heskey and Glen Johnson

Imagine, back then Hoddle was considered a "luxury player" due to the style and mentality of the English game :banghead:

“Hoddle? No, it’s the bad players who are a luxury.”
- Danny Blanchflower
 
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daveduvet

Well-Known Member
Oct 6, 2008
5,610
15,214
Another memory - at Danny blanchflowers testimonial, he came on in the second half and his first pass was a 40 yarder, on a sixpence, to (we’ll take more care of you) Archibald. Sublime. He got the biggest reaction amongst all the players that day
 

JimmyG2

SC Supporter
Dec 7, 2006
15,014
20,779
Much maligned for non football matters
Much underated for football things.
Spurs through and through.
Football through and through.

Gave Spurs its elegance and style reputation.
 

TheChosenOne

A dislike or neg rep = fat fingers
Dec 13, 2005
47,874
49,707
Crazy how he only has 53 England caps. He was one of the most gifted players of his generation. He has less caps than Emilie Heskey and Glen Johnson

Bryan Robson was always the preferred option. Broke my heart.

No England manager would start them together. Hoddle was the luxury option.
 

cookiemonster

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2005
2,715
5,834
Bryan Robson was always the preferred option. Broke my heart.

No England manager would start them together. Hoddle was the luxury option.

Robson was needed as the grafter

The 2 that started above him are Ray the crab Wilkins and Trevor the clever Brooking
 

TheChosenOne

A dislike or neg rep = fat fingers
Dec 13, 2005
47,874
49,707
Robson was needed as the grafter

The 2 that started above him are Ray the crab Wilkins and Trevor the clever Brooking

True enough but built up by the media as must haves. Other 'enforcers' at the time could have been Peter Reid and Steve Macmahon ?
 

WorcesterTHFC

Well-Known Member
May 4, 2016
1,777
2,545
Crazy how he only has 53 England caps. He was one of the most gifted players of his generation. He has less caps than Emilie Heskey and Glen Johnson
I thought you meant Heskey and Johnson combined, so I did a quick check. Heskey got 62 caps, and Johnson 54. Hod ought to be a member of that exclusive group of players with 100 or more England caps.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
33,987
81,925
“The atmosphere is better than any other ground in the county when the fans get behind them.”

WHL best in the county, not saying much.
 
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