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In attendance were…

Martin Peters
David Pleat
David Ginola
Espen Baardsen
Stewart Houston
…and about 200 Spurs season ticket holders.

This was the second Fans' Forum to take place, the first being in February of this year. I attended with my wife Elaine, as I did then, and also in attendance were two friends from the Spurs-list, Paul Smith and his son Gregg. Paul writes many of the match reports on my web site.

We were offered tea / coffee and biscuits before the proceedings started, and noted that there were around 200 seats for the attending Spurs fans. And then someone mentioned that Baardsen and Ginola would be on the panel. Sure enough, just as the first question was being asked, David Ginola appeared through a door behind tonight's panel, to much rapturous applause.

David Pleat seemed to start off rather aggressively for some reason, but mellowed slightly after a while. He mentioned a few times that some questions had been asked of him many times, and he seemed to give the impression that he was fed up with answering them, but not during tonight's session, only previous to this.

So on to tonight's question and answers…

Q. The first question put to the panel was why hadn't Spurs signed Robbie Keane?

Pleat - No position could be defined for him. Pleat said that Keane was watched in a pre-season game that Spurs played at Wolves, and during the part of the game that he did play, nothing was evident enough that would help determine his position in a Spurs team. Pleat said that Coventry took a chance with him, which has fortunately for them paid off. Pleat also said that the only player Spurs spoke to in the close season was Michael Bridges. But his mind seemed elsewhere, and he eventually went to Leeds.

Q. The fitness of Tottenham's current injury list was asked about next.

Houston - Willem Korsten is back in training, and likely to play in a reserve game next week, (probably the one against Wimbledon on Wednesday). Darren Anderton will be back in training in a few weeks. So too will Steve Carr. Les Ferdinand is closer to a month away from training, and John Scales about two weeks. Ledley King has bone bruising picked up at derby, and they don't know when he will be back. Allan Nielsen is fit, and will be in the squad on Monday night against West Ham.

Q. What's the position with Moussa Saib?

Ginola - Interrupted / finished off by mentioning that Moussa Saib and Paolo Tramezzani are not part of the squad.

Pleat - Says that Ginola should handle the Q and A session on his own! Tramezzani doesn't assert himself enough in training. Then went onto say that Saib just isn't the sort of player that George Graham likes or will play. Pleat compared this to the time Ron Saunders went from Aston Villa to Birmingham, and as soon as the introductory press conference was over, he went straight up to Frank Worthington, put his hand on his shoulder and said son, "you're leaving." Simple as that.

Q. Why have Spurs played so bad in the last two games (referring to the defeats at Newcastle and Fulham)?

Houston - The Spurs management aren't pleased with the performances of the last three games. Words were said (to the players). He also said that one tends to have highs and lows, and that it can be a rollercoaster season. He compared this to Manchester Utd, for some reason! However, they were not happy.

Ginola - You can not be consistent week in, week out. We are not Man Utd and we are not ready mentally to be top of the table. The team are not focused enough.

Q. Why didn't David Ginola start the game in Kaiserslautern?

Houston - This was a tactical decision. (Didn't elaborate much further).

Ginola - Spurs are a team, and they are not about him. Decisions have to be made for the team as a whole. He then went on to say that he will be staying with Spurs for just the next three years, and that one day people will forget him and move on, but they will not forget the team. (We won't ever forget you David!)

Q. Then a question about why don't Spurs play as well as they used to?

Pleat - You have to start off with the basics, and the flair will come afterwards.

Q. Someone congratulated Espen Baardsen, and hoped that he would be a part of Tottenham's future. Everyone applauded this, but no one - including Espen - seemed to flinch. To my mind this means that he in only interested in leaving.

Baardsen - He doesn't pick the team, and can't be objective. He will have to wait and see what happens. He didn't really answer the question, and tended to avoid spilling any beans whatsoever.

Q. The inevitable question about a new forward was next.

Pleat - Alan Sugar is slowly learning that Spurs have a great need to be a good team. It is depressing to travel and then be beaten. Spurs did lose Emmanuel Petite (to Arsen*l). Pleat feared for teams such as Sheffield Wednesday who can't not only not buy any decent players, but have great financial difficulties, being about 20m pounds in debt. Pleat admitted that things up front for Spurs weren't right. He mentioned that George Graham flew especially to South America to watch a player who got injured and concussed after only 20 minutes! The player had to go to hospital and was out for a while. When he recovered he bagged 3 goals in 4 games. Spurs are not interested in Geoff Horsfield (a scorer for Fulham the other night). Pleat said that when a player like Horsfield suddenly states that he is happy where he is and not interested in moving to a club like Spurs, then he really does want to move to Spurs or he wouldn't have said it in the first place!

Q. Someone stood up and said that Spurs should do anything to keep Sol Campbell. They should raise the price of every seat in the ground by a pound, and give this to Sol! This was roundly rejected by all the rest of the Spurs fans in the audience.

Houston - He thought this was highly disrespectful to regard Sol like this.

Ginola - Sol Campbell is a fantastic player, he is young and strong. But they are all part of a team. He wasn't sure that the club were ready to give Sol 50 grand a week! Ginola said though that the best players will always get the best money. He said that he himself could get a lot more elsewhere. The crowd liked this as it helped re-inforce Ginola's commitment to Spurs.

Q. A question about Ginola's position.

Ginola - He wants to play in the middle where there is more freedom, as he gets shackled by two or three players every time, and it would be easier for other Spurs players to find him. He didn't like being on the wing at Newcastle. But he respects the manager's decision to keep him out there.

Houston - Ginola is rightly frustrated about playing on the wing, and that it is difficult getting the ball out to his feet. And that he expects more goals from him!

Q. Why had Spurs taken on so many foreign boys this season?

Pleat - 6 out of 23 juniors have come from abroad. He explained the crazy rule that young boys can only come from within 1.5 hours travelling distance. This means that they are competing with other local sides too much, and that someone like Plymouth for example doesn't have as many local competing teams. He said that Arsen*l and Chelsea have many foreigners too. Also, Spurs had one boy who wasn't very good about 18 months ago, but they decided to keep him on, and he is now very good. But also, it is one way, with foreign players coming in, but no English players going abroad.

Q. Next was a question about Spurs progressing.

Houston - We have to be careful moving forward, and that only a few years ago we were fighting relegation, and now we are around sixth position in the league. Have to focus on where we are, and that we have progressed over the last few years. No one has a right to be in the Premier League, no one at all.

Q. Then a question about strikers.

Pleat - Thinks that one of Tottenham's strikers is unfairly having a terribly rough time (by a quick process of elimination, can only be Chris Armstrong). Spurs know that they need a front player. Cited people like Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips at Sunderland are compatible, and that's what Spurs have to look for, someone who is compatible with the current forwards. Clive Allen and Nico Clausen didn't gel when they thought they would. So they put Clive up on his own, and he got 49 goals.

Q. Paul Smith asked if Spurs were going to sign Andreas Lund.

Baardsen - Didn't know.

Pleat - He thought that this wasn't likely to develop, but he may play in the reserves next week though.

Q. Someone stood up and asked why don't we have more variation on free kicks, instead of just whacking it towards goal in the hope of scoring.

Houston - Spurs do train the players with this. Nowadays the ball moves more, the players can do more with a dead ball, and that it's far easier to shoot with a dead ball than to try an intricate free kick move that is likely to break down. Many goals are scored from free kicks.

Pleat - Ball can be bent a lot for a direct free kick, and that's why there are so many direct free kicks. It is much easier with a dead ball.

Q. Someone stood up and was roundly applauded when he said how much we all miss Steve Carr.

Pleat - He credits George Graham with Steve Carr's contribution to the team (regardless of the fact that Carr was a great asset before Graham came along!) Carr can go forward, and Steffen Freund slots in to cover the right back hole that Carr leaves. We don't have this luxury on the left. Went on to talk about Sol Campbell, saying that his contract ends next season and that he will be free leave due to the Bosman ruling. He is certain that Sol has not made any sinister agreements with any agents, or even Alex Ferguson!

Q. A co-organiser of the Spurs Ladies team asked about Ladies football, and mentioned that they get almost no financial help whatsoever from Tottenham, even though they represent Spurs. Also, would the players be happy having women playing in the same team as men if the rules were changed?

Pleat - Asked Ginola to comment on this, as he is the ladies' guy!

Ginola - Doesn't really know about ladies playing football (seems not to have thought too much about it before).

Baardsen - Confirmed that it is big in the States.

Ginola - Continued on by saying that he would be pleased if it was mixed boys and girls!

Pleat - Accepts that this is a serious question about ladies' football, and admitted that Spurs have done little to help the Tottenham Ladies team. Unlike Everton, Doncaster and Arsen*l who have helped a lot. There will be more done though. However, would people pay to see ladies football as well as men's? Don't know if it would be popular.

Q. Questioner also asked if Spurs would buy female players if the rules were changed?

Baardsen - Seemed to not understand the question too well, and stated that women's football is big in Norway. However seemed certain that women can't compete with men, and that the crowds wouldn't pay to see it. It would have to be good to watch.

Q. Someone asked about who was easy to play against.

Pleat - Interrupted to inform us that Saib still has this season and next on his contract to run, while Tramezzani has this year and two more years left on his contract.

Ginola - Didn't say who was easy to play against, but that Lee Dixon of Arsen*l was about the toughest full back he had come across. But Ginola only needs one inch of space and then he is off like a tornado! It is useful having a player behind to help, as he is not used to getting back.

Houston - Replied to where Allan Nielsen will play / best position, answered central midfield. Oyvind Leonhardsen can play anywhere along the middle, more comfortable there. Spurs were surprised and pleased with how well he has done since he joined. Both were good buys.

Q. Someone asked about Sol Campbell.

Pleat - Talks had completely broken down between Sol and Spurs, but from what Pleat was saying it sounded that he rescued them. Sol has a nice agent. Spurs will be attending an agents seminar soon, so that clubs and agents can learn to get along better. Spurs hope for talks with Sol at the end of the season. Spurs do not need to cash in on players anymore. Even if someone bid a fortune for a player, the player may not want to go. Everyone was hoping that this meant Sol, too. A player may want to wait, and then leave on a Bosman. The good players are always in a strong position because of this.

Q. What are the plans for upgrading the stadium's capacity?

Pleat - Talks have taken place on extending the East Stand. Pleat doesn't know any more details, he just overheard people talking about it!

Q. Someone asked about the impact of foreign players.

Ginola - Very concerned about the future of young boys in England, mentioned Chelsea. He said young players need hope at 16 and 17 years of age. Things are difficult for all young players because of the Bosman ruling. Ginola said that he was at Toulon when Frank Le Beouf was sacked from there. Le Beouf then went to work in a library but managed to still get back into the game!

Pleat - Said that Spurs would desperately like to take on a small English club as a nursery side. But said that that team's fans would be concerned that they would lose their identity. Spurs want the rules changed as it would help small clubs to survive. Spurs have their eye on one club, wouldn't say, but quoted Orient as an example. (My friend Paul Smith interestingly believes that the club could be Barnet).

Q. Someone asked if Alan Shearer said anything to David Ginola during Tottenham's recent game at Newcastle, after Ginola said that Shearer was now playing on his name only.

Ginola - Answered by talking about his torrid time at Newcastle, and how he hated being an outsider, because Kenny Dalglish kept him and the Blackburn old boys of Shearer and David Batty in a higher niche than everyone else. Ginola wanted to leave Newcastle, and it was clear from what he was saying that he and Shearer do not get on at all.

Q. Someone asked about Tim Sherwood.

Houston - He has a lower stomach problem that needs a second operation. But Sherwood doesn't want to have it done, he wants to play instead.

Ginola - He would send someone else a card, but not Shearer. (I think he was referring to a get well card).

Q. A striker question again.

Pleat - Revealed that Spurs offered 7.5m pounds for Emile Heskey, but Leicester or Heskey said no. Reckoned Heskey used it to get a better one year contract with Leicester, however, Pleat said that Heskey is only interested in going to Liverpool. Spurs could raise 10 to 12 million pounds for a player if they needed to.

Q. Someone asked who were the best and worse players the panel had played with.

Houston - George Best, liked training, gave just as much in training as he did in a game. Worse, wouldn't say. None of them would.

Baardsen - Best, Teddy Sheringham and David Ginola.

Ginola - Can't say really, as forwards and midfielders are more enjoyable to watch and detract from good defenders. Best defender, Ricardo Gomez. He was a defender who never ever tackled! He just placed his body in the way all the time. Brilliant at anticipating.

Pleat - He said the best and worse was Ginola! Pleat said Ron Charles never fouled anyone, Danny Blanchflower (applause) always thinking, best midfielder was Glen Hoddle (more applause) and Raddy Antic, who played for him at Luton Town. Always scored and made two goals in every game! Jimmy Greaves the best finisher. Clive Allen always knew where the 'keeper was, and Mick Harford was a good old fashioned centre forward.

Peters - Pele, and the 1970 Brazilian World Cup team. Then he named Jarzinho, Rivelino and three others, and then mentioned that he was glad it wasn't a five-a-side tournament, which got a big laugh! And also Geoff Hurst and Martin Chivers too.

Q. Someone asked about players conduct, what with Tottenham players recently been reported to the police.

Houston - Too much media information, giving all the wrong information. It makes the players having to behave "executively".

Ginola - The press coverage players receive is unbelievable. They try to know everything. But he says the most pressure comes from the fans, and the manager. The press will one day forget him. He says fans' pressure can be so much, that he didn't want to go out after the Fulham game, even though he was due to go out for a meal afterwards.

Q. My wife Elaine then asked about the players applauding fans after some recent games. When we went to Moldova and Kaiserslautern, very few of the players came over to acknowledge the Spurs crowd after the game. Especially after the awful journey we had getting to Moldova as well, we felt ignored.

Ginola - Explained that the players can be shy about coming over to their fans. And also felt bad about coming over after the Fulham game. They do appreciate the fans though. I asked him if they feel scared about coming over, and he said yes, especially after a bad performance. Elaine then re-iterated about how we spend thousand's watching the team and the players don't seem to realise. Ginola then told Elaine that he will make sure that the players will come over to the fans after the next away game.

Pleat - He interjected about a Luton player, Mal Donaghy, who was so shy that one day he didn't even want to go onto the pitch at three o'clock! All he did when at Luton was get on the pitch, get off it and go home. Also said that often when players win a sponsor's man of the match award when they've lost, they are so embarrassed about facing the camera that they do not want to appear. Pleat said that he has sometimes had to force players to do this!

Finally, at about 10.15 p.m. Martin Peters called the evening to an end. It was very successful, and highly enjoyable. Peters had kept a nice firm control on things, although without any humour, always asking for the next question and sometimes delegating it out when no one would take it. He did try for a goal-keeping question for Espen Baardsen to answer, but no one asked one. Peters hung around at the end for a long while, very patiently speaking to anyone and everyone who wanted to have another word with him. I got to speak to Martin at the end, and he is a perfect gent. Peters also told me that the Fans Forum event planned for last May was cancelled due to lack of interest, but that they do hope to do more in the future.

David Pleat started off aggressively for some reason, and mellowed somewhat during the next half hour. He has such an understanding of all things football that you really feel he is wasted behind a desk, and should be managing football teams. He knows things about things that some people didn't even know exist. Pleat disappeared straight down the tunnel at the final whistle, in the best traditions of Mal Donaghy.

David Ginola was undoubtedly the star of the show. He waved his arms about, threw his hair back, and made the ladies sweat when he took off his chequered over-shirt to reveal his popeye-esque bulging muscles exposed by a white t-shirt. He was so at home for this event, with everyone sitting on the edge of their seat listening intently to every word, every inflexion and pronouncement of what he had to say. He is a genius on the pitch, and a personality that brings great warmth to every room he enters. At the end he stayed a long time, signing autographs and happily posing for photographs. While I chatted to Martin Peters I noticed that Elaine was talking to Ginola. He was leaning over the table and had gently taken hold of her jacket, and was happily explaining that her he was really determined to make sure that the players applauded the fans after the next away game. The look on her face was pure pleasure, to be so close to Ginola, and talking so directly with him. I also got to speak to Ginola at the end, and he really is easy to talk to when your nerves steady down a bit. He really is a wonderful, wonderful guy.

Espen Baardsen only spoke during about four question and answer instances. The only time he really expressed a point of view was about ladies football, the rest of the time he came out with things like "we'll have to wait and see," and "I don't really know." Peters tried to bring Espen into the proceedings a few times, and although he could have interjected a few times as did Ginola, he didn't. For the last hour he looked quite bored and didn't seem to want to be there. Whether he will be anywhere in the Tottenham area by the end of the season is certainly a matter of conjecture.

Stewart Houston was far more interesting than many of us thought he would be. Although I didn't get a chance to ask him if he too was going to dig up his Arsen*l crest outside his home (!), his answers did try to make us believe that a) Spurs are desperately trying to buy a striker, and b) that the club are not happy with recent performances.

The Fans Forum was, no, is an excellent event, and a brilliant piece of foresight by Martin Peters whose idea it was to stage it. To be in the presence of a legend like Peters, a sub-genius like Pleat and an evolving legend like Ginola was pretty awesome. And to speak to them too! It was a pity Espen didn't get to say more, as I know he us capable of far more, having previously met him and others close to him. Stewart "we've got a problem" Houston certainly showed the right humour to be there, and was a worthy addition to the panel. I for one am already looking forward to the next Fans Forum!