Paul Smith
Spurs Odyssey - 2006-07 Review by Paul Smith
Spurs Odyssey is one of the longest-running and most popular of independent Spurs web sites, maintained by 55-year old Paul Smith, who started supporting his local football club during the time when they were busy winning the 1960-61 Double.
Spurs Odyssey was established in the late 1990s, and carries Paul's exclusive match reports from first team, reserve and youth matches.
Now, for the first time, Paul has decided to commit to paper all 59 match reports of the roller-coaster season that was 2006-07. It was a season that included three prolonged Cup runs in domestic and European competition, and culminated in a second successive qualification for the UEFA Cup through a fifth place finish.
Respected by fans around the world, Paul is often told that reading his match reports is like "being at the game". Paul's reports are factual, objective, critical and sometimes humorous and emotional, conveying the true feeling of an ordinary fan following his team up and down the country, and across Europe.
Paul Smith is 55, and has followed Spurs since they were busy winning the 1960-61 League and Cup Double. The most inportant people in his life though are his loving wife of 29 years - Christine - and his two sons - Brad and Greg.
When he is not following his beloved team, Paul lives and works in Hertfordshire.
Paul's all-time football hero is Spurs' record goal-scorer Jimmy Greaves, and Paul was lucky enough to be in the White Hart Lane stadium when Jimmy scored many of his historic goals, such as his 200th League goal for Spurs; his 300th League goal in total; and a hat-trick goal against a very young Peter Shilton on October 5th, 1968.
Paul travelled to Rotterdam in 1974 for the infamous UEFA Cup Final game against Feyenoord, and was present on happier occasions such as the ticker-tape debut of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa in 1978.
For family and economic reasons, Paul had to be an armchair fan for several years, but became a home season ticket holder at White Hart Lane in 1994.
Paul has been a home and away season ticket holder for several years now. Between February 2001 and September 2006, Paul attended 200 consecutive league and cup games!
Paul is the webmaster of the very popular Spurs Odyssey web site (www.spursodyssey.com). Paul is also on the board of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust.
With effect from the 2007 edition, Paul has been asked to write the profiles of all Spurs players who qualify for an entry in the PFA "Who's Who" of League Footballers.
During the 2006-07 season, Paul was interviewed in Prague for BBC London Television, and in Seville for Sky Sports News. In previous seasons, Paul has taken part in various sports radio talk shows.
“People of Tottenham, London, England! Welcome to Ninian Park, Cardiff in the Principality of Wales! You have paid your tax of £5.10 to enter our territory (The Severn Bridge Toll), and now we welcome you to our ancient stadium. Unfortunately we can only afford to seat a few of you. A recent tribe of Englishmen from Birmingham ripped up over 40 seats, but we have done our best to replenish the loss and accommodate those of you of a comfort-seeking disposition in your accustomed manner.
We natives are used to a harder environment and you will find many areas around our quaint little ground also have no seats. On your right, you will be greeted by our up and coming army of younger hooligans, who, despite being separated from you by a full length net from ceiling to ground, will happily engage stewards and police in their attempt to reach you and greet you physically. Occasionally, one of our number sneaks through our vast security net with an instrument such as a flare, and towards the end of the game, he is likely to throw this (alight) towards you, but fear not, the flare will not pass through the net, and will more than likely hit the back of one of the local Heddlu (that’s Police Officer to you English), to flare away harmlessly in the no-man’s land between you and your hosts. Although it is 30 years since your last visit, perhaps if you should call again, you may like to bring a gladiatorial trident with you and a helmet, because our heathen crew will more than happily engage with you, inside or outside the ground.
On your left, purporting to be more respectable members of our support, in a half-seated stand, you will be greeted by our “1970s crew”. These veterans of hard battles of times past hanker for more such fun, and if the match should be a draw, they are more than likely to seek to visit hell upon your High Road, as they did in October, 2002. Please do not seek to encroach near the boundary between your section and our poorly protected home stand, as our hundreds of riot police are more than ready to prevent the fun of the games that we used to enjoy in the darker days of football history.
At half-time you may wish to visit our novel latrine area, where the water flows in places it should not. Our “Jobsworth” stewards will then allow you to queue up in the limited half-time period to join those of your friends who have already found refuge in the minute covered area around a bar. Yes, I know it’s a surprise, but we do now serve alcohol in Wales on the Lord’s Day!
After the game you will be required – no, sorry, let me re-phrase that – we would be grateful for your co-operation (on pain of mutilation), as we detain you in the ground for some 20 minutes, whilst we attempt to disperse your hosts from the precincts around the ground. You see, forgive us, but our regulars love visitors so much that they often hang around in large numbers to catch visiting supporters stupid enough to try and introduce themselves. Despite that delay, we will also hinder your escape from the principality by sending you on a long trek around the car park and the Athletic stadium to make it as difficult as possible for you to escape the Principality as quickly as you might like. See – there it is! The athletic stadium is likely to be the location for our planned new ground, which if it is an all-seater (is that what you call them?) may prevent the type of welcome we currently offer.
Oh, I forgot to mention, during the game, one of our fans, chosen at random, will run from any part of our ground and seek to invade your territory, threatening your weakest and disabled supporters. Do not fear. This is part of our traditional greeting, and will be brought to an end by our well-trained security stewards and police. They can’t spot a flare, but they love a fight too! Enjoy your stay!”
And now for something completely different – the match report!
