Earlier this year former England defender Sol Campbell made a public request via an interview with the Guardian that derogatory songs sung by Spurs fans, in particular one despicable example claiming there would be a party when he died, finally be laid to rest.
“It’s almost as if people have forgotten how to be human,” the 48-year-old said, clearly and rightfully anguished about the level of hatred that still resides in one half of North London for his actions nearly a quarter of a century ago.
Elsewhere in the interview Campbell stated that after such a long period of rancour it really was time to ‘move on’.
That weekend Tottenham played Preston in the FA Cup and on the concourse and in the stands the songs were duly chanted, arguably with more venom attached to the words than is typical.
Moving on? Evidently Spurs fans have no intention to forgive and you can absolutely forget about forgetting.
Quite obviously the content included in these chants cannot be condoned by any measure, and yet the hatred behind the songs is a legitimate subject to explore, it being an extreme example of a fan-base feeling betrayed and how they respond to that.
Because in our lifetime we’ve recoiled at some highly contentious transfers down the years but perhaps none – certainly not in English football – compares to that staggering announcement in the summer of 2001 that Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell was moving from his boyhood club Spurs to their loathed rivals Arsenal.
Presently the Gunners are short-priced in the Premier League odds to win the title and back then too they were perennial contenders, finishing in the top two for eight seasons running as Arsene Wenger’s revolution took hold.
Tottenham by comparison were solid mid-table residents throughout Campbell’s nine years at White Hart Lane.
Fundamentally therefore this was the defender’s reason for leaving: a search for silverware.
🎶 Double, double, double... Sol Campbell has won the double! 🎶
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 18, 2020
🎈 @SolManOfficial pic.twitter.com/d1WthDHRL1
And fundamentally too, it was a move that worked out, in this regard at least. During his five seasons at Arsenal, Campbell won two league titles, reached a Champions League final, and claimed three FA Cups.
In 2003/04, his team defied the sports betting by going through the entirety of a campaign unbeaten, thus becoming invincible.
What the player lost however, in his astounding decision to move to them of all clubs, simply cannot be quantified.
Campbell had come through the Spurs ranks, soon enough establishing himself as a centre-back of considerable worth and soon after that being given the captaincy. He was a fan favourite. A leader.
But around the turn of a new century a contract dispute began to rumble on, one that had Campbell insist he had no intention of leaving and every intention of renewing.
In the club’s official magazine he even stated that under no circumstances would he ever play for Arsenal and it’s pertinent what tone accompanied the question. It was jocular because how ridiculous was it to imagine the Spurs legend in a Gunners shirt.
We now know that during this period the player was having clandestine discussions with Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, strolling around Dein’s salubrious garden, plotting a switch of clubs that would send British football into meltdown.
Back then, pre-internet, no-one had an earthly clue.
The announcement therefore was a bolt from the blue, for Spurs fans a dagger through the heart. The ultimate betrayal.
Two decades on, should they cease with the seriously unsavoury songs? Absolutely. Will they ever forgive or forget? Not a chance.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 20th March 2023
