spud
Well-Known Member
- Sep 2, 2003
- 5,850
- 8,794
A question for you: what do John Pratt, Mark Falco, and Jake Livermore have in common. Answer: they were, or in Jakes case are, all the target of a section of our fans' displeasure. Thay have all, at some point, become the scapegoat for some perceived failing of our team. Plus they are all home-grown players.
I don't know if this is common in all clubs, but we Spurs fans seem to have a habit of targetting one player, usually one of our own, and criticising everything that he does. I first saw this with Pratt. Every mistake that he made was siezed upon by the crowd while if another player (Perryman, for example) made those same mistakes they would pass largely without comment.
This dubious mantle was then passed to Mark Falco. For those of you who don't remember him, Falco was an old-fashioned type of centre-forward. The purchases of Crooks, Archibald, and later Brazil, meant that he was never going to be a first team automatic choice, but - like Pratt before him and Livermore today - he always put in a shift. He also scored goals; quite a lot of them. But he wasn't as technically gifted as the others I've mentioned, and was never allowed to forget it.
I almost had a fight over Falco on the Shelf during the '84 UEFA Cup final. A nearby neanderthal shouted 'Falco you ****' when a shot missed. I asked him to desist (albeit not very politely) and pointed out that it was in fact Tony Galvin who had taken the shot. The shit-for-brains was offended by this and it almost came to blows. I can't remember why it didn't, although it's possible that my brother beat me to him. But it's a good example of the attitude that I'm talking about.
Jake Livermore is the latest. I have seen him described on one forum (not this one) as 'shit' and the same poster said that he 'does nothing'. (My response to these comments might get me banned from that forum). If he was 'shit' and 'did nothing' he would hardly be a member of a squad that sits third in the PL. In fact, he wouldn't be able to make a living from the game.
While he is not the most technically-accomplished player on our books, he has ability and he does a job - often well. He doesn't beat people like Dembele, he doesn't scuttle around everywehere like Parker (scuttling, by the way, being exactly what Parker does), and he doesn't dominate like Sandro. It doesn't make him a bad player; he's just different. He has a part to play, or AVB would have shipped him out - either on loan or permamnently.
Can we please lay off him? He's our player, and it's our job to support him. It's not his fault that he came through the ranks instead of being bought from a foreign club. He's not the best player we have, and some of you might think he's the worst; you're entitled to that opinion. But please don't treat him in the same way that Pratt and Falco were treated. We should be better than that.
Thanks for your time.
I don't know if this is common in all clubs, but we Spurs fans seem to have a habit of targetting one player, usually one of our own, and criticising everything that he does. I first saw this with Pratt. Every mistake that he made was siezed upon by the crowd while if another player (Perryman, for example) made those same mistakes they would pass largely without comment.
This dubious mantle was then passed to Mark Falco. For those of you who don't remember him, Falco was an old-fashioned type of centre-forward. The purchases of Crooks, Archibald, and later Brazil, meant that he was never going to be a first team automatic choice, but - like Pratt before him and Livermore today - he always put in a shift. He also scored goals; quite a lot of them. But he wasn't as technically gifted as the others I've mentioned, and was never allowed to forget it.
I almost had a fight over Falco on the Shelf during the '84 UEFA Cup final. A nearby neanderthal shouted 'Falco you ****' when a shot missed. I asked him to desist (albeit not very politely) and pointed out that it was in fact Tony Galvin who had taken the shot. The shit-for-brains was offended by this and it almost came to blows. I can't remember why it didn't, although it's possible that my brother beat me to him. But it's a good example of the attitude that I'm talking about.
Jake Livermore is the latest. I have seen him described on one forum (not this one) as 'shit' and the same poster said that he 'does nothing'. (My response to these comments might get me banned from that forum). If he was 'shit' and 'did nothing' he would hardly be a member of a squad that sits third in the PL. In fact, he wouldn't be able to make a living from the game.
While he is not the most technically-accomplished player on our books, he has ability and he does a job - often well. He doesn't beat people like Dembele, he doesn't scuttle around everywehere like Parker (scuttling, by the way, being exactly what Parker does), and he doesn't dominate like Sandro. It doesn't make him a bad player; he's just different. He has a part to play, or AVB would have shipped him out - either on loan or permamnently.
Can we please lay off him? He's our player, and it's our job to support him. It's not his fault that he came through the ranks instead of being bought from a foreign club. He's not the best player we have, and some of you might think he's the worst; you're entitled to that opinion. But please don't treat him in the same way that Pratt and Falco were treated. We should be better than that.
Thanks for your time.
