A blog of two halves

The pendulum has swung

Half the Tottenham fans who witnessed Spurs’ 3-1 victory over Chelsea at the Bridge weren’t born when it last happened.

3 April 2018
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Dele Alli takes advantage of a defensive mix-up in the Chelsea box. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

Half the Tottenham fans who witnessed Spurs' 3-1 victory over Chelsea at the Bridge weren't born when it last happened.

Which made the afternoon harder to take for Blues fans who concede their north London rivals are finally, 28 years after scribes with quills last recorded it, the better side.

That it has taken a generation to reach squad parity says as much about Spurs' board as Chelsea's incredible fortune to have found a wealthy Russian godfather.

But all bets are off as west takes on east in another London derby this weekend, when desperate (though not as desperate as they were last week) West Ham come visiting.

It's another match with history. Back in the day, when your correspondent was young enough – and light enough – to be lifted over the turnstile by his old man, the hard core Irons fans would 'take' the Shed.

In the closing stages of the match, they would leave the concrete terraces at the away end, sprint round and enter the Blues' citadel for a series of ugly confrontations.

Thankfully the only confrontations this weekend will be on the pitch as the Hammers try to ease themselves into the safety zone, and the Blues attempt to salvage some pride.

Champions League dreams are dead for next season. That fun will be had at the new-look White Hart Lane. The pendulum has swung.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

Tim Harrison

Tim is our Chelsea FC blogger.

He also writes our Shepherds Bush Cricket Club match reports during the football close season.

Tim has been writing Chelsea match reports since the late 1980s for newspapers and, more recently, websites.

When he first reported on the Blues, the press box was a metal cage suspended over the lip of the old west stand - and you reached it via a precarious walkway over the heads of the fans.

But he has been a Chelsea fan since his father took an excited seven-year-old to watch Chelsea v Manchester United in the mid 1960s... and covered his ears every time the chanting got too ripe.

In July 2005 he wrote The Rough Guide to Chelsea, published by Penguin, which sold 15,000 copies.

His favourite player of all time is Charlie Cooke, the mazy winger who lit up Chelsea's left wing in the 60s and 70s.

When he isn't watching the Blues, Tim acts, paints, writes and researches local history.

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