Casting a clout before May is out

[Dorset]

Acceptance of defeat is difficult at the best of times and for Tottenham fans these last few months must have seemed just about the best of any 'times' they had had in the last few seasons. I know because son-in-law Spur genuinely thought their time had come to inflict serious defeat on father-in-law?s Chels. I?ll also own up to having a retired friend of similar allegiance, stretching back to the days when his father ran a caf? on the Tottenham Court Road in the 1930?s, who expressed the same opinion - they should have won at the Bridge and they?d finish the job at the Lane. It turned out to be an over optimistic view spanning two generations and it flew in the face of JT?s return, let alone the emergence of the multi-talented Diarra and Mikel.

That said (and it was by me to each of them before the game), these two disappointed fans didn?t look for excuses afterwards and the reason I?m starting this topic is that, quite independently, they both made the same comment on the post match incident - why is it that in critical games nowadays fans and players alike are disrupting a defeat against Chelsea (impending or confirmed) by creating a flashpoint where none should exist? This was, of course, a blatant attempt to bring into the debate their arch rivals attempt to sully our Carling Cup success, but it?s a valid point nevertheless and one they both used to justify a belief that the their players take defeat far better than Wenger?s and the single wayward fan could easily have learnt to ?disrupt? from the masters of the art at the Emirates.

Going back to the main reason why it is done and you can see that, in Arsenal?s case, it deflects criticism - especially when it is against Chelsea (or ManU in earlier years), due to the fact that the Media are quick to put their slant on proceedings, with Chelsea being fair game, even when up against unfairness. What does beggar belief is that the current example of disruption is a criminal act, briefly acknowledged by the Media, which is then used as a steppingstone to shovel more **** in our direction.

In short, incitement comes in many forms, but, unless you ban an away team from celebrating victory in front of their own supporters, the Media will always intensify (often glorify) it and must therefore shoulder a lot of the blame when it escalates. Press coverage of our games continues in a negative vein when we win and most journalists will party if we lose, but they all have a duty to report responsibly and glossing over incidents involving bad losers because they perceive Chelsea to be bad winners could very well lead to a major incident in the not too distant future.