"Die Macht der Massen" / "The power of the masses"...

 

(from Kicker magazine's Premier League supplement, September 18 2023)

Fan culture in England was once considered mythical, but commerce has changed it too. For some clubs it's now about the atmosphere again.

Tottenham Hotspur sent their thousands of season ticket-holders and members an important email this summer.

It wasn’t asking for advice on who to appoint as manager after going through three last season – Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason – as the club failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 14 years.

Nor was it about the England captain who still hit 30 goals during the campaign, taking him past Jimmy Greaves as Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer.

Harry Kane’s “one of our own” spell at Spurs would end of course with a £100million move to Bayern Munich, although a painted mural in his honour remains on a brick building around the corner.

What club chiefs wanted to hear from fans instead was how to improve the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which opened in 2019 on the footprint of their old and now-demolished White Hart Lane ground.

"And in the end..."

“It’s been a long, long, long time” (obligatory Beatles reference out of the way early), but sad to say today finally marks the end here - and for too many far finer others - at favourite newspaper Metro.

Sorry especially to be bidding farewell to so many cherishable colleagues - and with fond memories of dozens more from the past - while grateful to not only them but everyone who has helped on stories. And also, such readers.

One of the earliest glimpses here into just what human good could be done - and galvanised in people picking up a copy each day - came when writing way back when about Odette Mupenzi, a young woman whose family had been slaughtered by Hutu militias during the Rwandan genocide.

Just a minute (and then some...)

The Moby Dick of celebrity scoops here, that man Macca, has unfortunately remained out of reach - but many years at Metro have involved pitching in with a few 60 Second Interviews.

A favourite was with Jerry Lee Lewis, before seeing him play live at the Palladium - although he was dubious about his chances of understanding anyone with a British accent.

An eyebrow or two might have arisen on the Tube that morning at "The Killer" somehow insisting: "Some people have said they are afraid of me, but I don’t know why. I’m a really nice guy."

Searches still amid quake rubble, "survivor's guilt" - and scarce hope as Syria's civil war enters 13th year...

Syrian families are still desperately digging in earthquake rubble - not for survivors anymore, but any last possessions finally lost after 12 years of war.

Wednesday this week marks another grim milestone in the civil war-torn country, as it enters the 13th year since President Bashar al-Assad launched a crackdown against pro-democracy protesters now thought to have seen upwards of 500,000 people killed and as many as 16.5million forced from their homes.

Millions of children have grown up not knowing any different, while few families have escaped losing not only shelter but also loved ones in a bombardment of shelling, village invasions and panicked escapes into neighbouring countries and beyond.

Al-Assad’s regime faces worldwide condemnation - other than from key allies including Russia, China and Iran - but sanctions have hindered much-needed aid deliveries, amid widespread fuel shortages.

The country was also suffering the impact of a nationwide cholera epidemic even before the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, so far killing more than 50,000 people - including at least 6,000 in already-war-ravaged Syria.

Aid workers on the ground have now told Metro how today’s latest anniversary throws into even starker relief the suffering upon suffering endured by those who have not managed to make it out of the country, such as to struggling-neighbours such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

"They need your help now"...

Desperate pleas have been made to help hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the devastating earthquake battering Turkey and Syria, as the official death toll passed 19,000.

Daniel Craig and Tamsin Greig have fronted new televised fundraising appeals by the Disasters Emergency Committee, with Sir Michael Palin presenting radio adverts.

And aid workers on the ground told of terrified families sleeping on the streets in below-freezing conditions, with infections spreading while many people remained trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The British government has agreed to match donations of up to £5million to the appeal launched by the DEC, an alliance of 15 charities.

Rescues were continuing with two-year-old boy was picked out of the rubble by a Romanian and Polish rescue team in Hatay 79 hours after the Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake.

The boy, wearing a striped sweater, cried as he was gently lifted from the hole where he had been trapped.

But recovery efforts have been hampered by freezing weather and dozens of aftershocks, as well as already-damaged infrastructure and blocked aid corridors in civil war-torn Syria.

"Harry Pain"? - "He's one of our own..."

Harry Kane holds many records, including setting some in the Champions League - yet his long wait to hoist a trophy aloft goes on.

He was the first player to score nine goals in his first nine appearances in the modern-day version of the European Cup.

He was also the fastest to 20 strikes in the Champions League, his 24-match tally two fewer than previous pace-setter Alessandro Del Piero.

He just hasn’t lifted up the Champions League trophy yet - nor indeed won any other team title in his professional career, other than a pre-season friendly Audi Cup after Tottenham Hotspur beat Bayern Munich on penalties in summer 2019.

A recent Museum Of London exhibition was dedicated to the Spurs striker and England captain, showcasing his life and achievements.

This display included a cabinet full of golden boots, hat-trick balls and player-of-the-year prizes.

Yet for all his feats, record-breaking as he goes for both club and country, rival fans will nevertheless taunt about his apparent “failure” so far to go all the way to a team trophy.