- Sep 2, 2003
- 5,850
- 8,794
Some of the older ones among you may remember a gentleman called Alan Gilzean. For those of you who don't, he was a forward who played mainly in the late '60s. It's difficult to describe his style, but the closest comparison that I can think of with a current player would be Berbatov. There are differences; 'Gilly' was better in the air and perhaps not as skillful, but they both had the same languid style, and each was both a creator and scorer of goals.
The reason for mentioning Gilly is because of the song that we used to sing for him. There may have been others before him, and there was certainly one who came after, but it was for him that I first sang it. To the tune of the christmas carol 'Noel', it went:
Gilzean Gilzean Gilzean Gilzean
Born is the king of White Hart Lane
A catchy little number, I'm sure you'll agree. Gilly might not have been our best player - he certainly wasn't when his striking partner was a certain J Greaves - but he was really, really good, and the song fitted.
It also fitted the next man who received the accolade: Glenn Hoddle. No more appropriate choice was ever made than to call Glenn the king of the Lane. From the moment he made his debut against Stoke to his leaving for France, the title was indisputably his.
I may be wrong, but I don't think we have sung the song since. But it's time that we did. We have in our side a great player. In the same way that Gilly was similar to but still different from Berbatov, he is similar to but different from another of our greats: Ossie Ardiles. I refer of course to Luka Modric.
Modric may not be universally thought of as our best player. You may consider King, or Van de Vaart or Bale to be more skillful or superior in their positions. What you can't deny is that Luka makes us tick. He is the heart of the team. As our manager rightly says, he would walk into just about every other side in the world. He is, quite obviously, world class.
It is about time we sang that famous old song again. Nobody else does; it's ours and ours alone. If anybody reading this has any influence on what we sing - home or away - then I humbly ask: please sing it for Luka. He is an outstanding player, he has served us well and his influence on the team continues to grow. He deserves it. Crown him the king of White Hart Lane.
All together now:
Modric Modric Modric Modric
Born is the king of White Hart Lane
The reason for mentioning Gilly is because of the song that we used to sing for him. There may have been others before him, and there was certainly one who came after, but it was for him that I first sang it. To the tune of the christmas carol 'Noel', it went:
Gilzean Gilzean Gilzean Gilzean
Born is the king of White Hart Lane
A catchy little number, I'm sure you'll agree. Gilly might not have been our best player - he certainly wasn't when his striking partner was a certain J Greaves - but he was really, really good, and the song fitted.
It also fitted the next man who received the accolade: Glenn Hoddle. No more appropriate choice was ever made than to call Glenn the king of the Lane. From the moment he made his debut against Stoke to his leaving for France, the title was indisputably his.
I may be wrong, but I don't think we have sung the song since. But it's time that we did. We have in our side a great player. In the same way that Gilly was similar to but still different from Berbatov, he is similar to but different from another of our greats: Ossie Ardiles. I refer of course to Luka Modric.
Modric may not be universally thought of as our best player. You may consider King, or Van de Vaart or Bale to be more skillful or superior in their positions. What you can't deny is that Luka makes us tick. He is the heart of the team. As our manager rightly says, he would walk into just about every other side in the world. He is, quite obviously, world class.
It is about time we sang that famous old song again. Nobody else does; it's ours and ours alone. If anybody reading this has any influence on what we sing - home or away - then I humbly ask: please sing it for Luka. He is an outstanding player, he has served us well and his influence on the team continues to grow. He deserves it. Crown him the king of White Hart Lane.
All together now:
Modric Modric Modric Modric
Born is the king of White Hart Lane