NORMAN GILLER’S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 432
Submitted by Norman Giller

You need to have seen the fierce and fabled Ron 'Chopper' Harris at peak power to realise that yesterday's Tottenham hero Oliver Skipp could pass as his grandson. He not only looks a clone of the legendary Chopper, but also plays like him, taking into account that defending laws in modern football do not allow the shuddering tackles that marked Ron's game (and many of his opponents).

Skipp is dogged and determined in the Harris style, riding shot gun in midfield alongside the indefatigable Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. He gave an exceptional performance against Chopper's old Chelsea team, topping it all with a cracking 20 yard shot that lifted Tottenham to a deserved lead on the way to a fairly emphatic 2-0 victory.

This first Premier League goal by the Welwyn Garden oak – Olly on the half-volley –reminded me of that golden smash-and-grab goal by Danny Rose against the Gooners thirteen (gulp) years ago. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun!

I anticipate Skipp establishing himself in the Tottenham engine room, just as was predicted by my Norwich City contacts, immensely impressed by his consistency and class during his loan spell at Carrow Road.

As our guru Paul H. Smith reports HERE, yesterday's triumph erased just a little of the memory of too many humiliating defeats by a Chelsea team that is Pottering about blindly and really giving their supporters the Blues.

Our Harry Kane – prominent throughout with his passing prowess – wrapped up the points with goal number 268 for Spurs. He neatly steered the ball into the net from close range after the much-maligned Eric Dier had headed on a corner from Sonny, who again had to start on the bench. Why change a winning formula?

A victory against Sheffield United in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Bramall Lane on Wednesday could put Spurs on a March march to an excellent season that should shut up those noisy minority of Tottenham supporters who want ENIC out. Fine, but who in their place? Better the devil you know. Let's concentrate all our efforts on getting behind the team, not in its way.

I am looking forward to Skipping for joy with a Beyoncé bounce.

COYS!

Week 26 of our ninth year of Spurs Odyssey Quiz League challenges:

Which Bethnal Green-born striker joined Watford from Spurs in 1986, and against which club did he help Tottenham win the Uefa Cup?

Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com with Quiz Week 26 as the subject heading. Deadline midnight this Friday. I will respond to all who participate, taking time off from writing my next book: The G-Men, an intimate close-up of Greavsie and Gilzean.

The rules are the same as in previous seasons. I ask a two-pronged question with three points at stake – two for identifying the player and one for the supplementary question. In the closing weeks of the competition I break the logjam of all-knowing Spurs-history experts with a tie-breaking poser that is based on opinion rather than fact. That’s when I lose the few friends that I have. But, hey, it's fun. Please join in.

This year’s prizes for the champion will be announced later in the season, but most important of all, they will include a framed certificate announcing the winner as 2023 SOQL champion.

Last week … Week 25 Which England international now with Tottenham has previously played for Celtic and Southampton, and with which club did he start his career without appearing in their League team?

Answer: Giant goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who started his career with his local club Newcastle United and is doing an excellent job as stand-in for the injured Hugo Lloris.

See you back here next Monday. COYS!

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