Series 3, Episode 7 – The Ultimate Treat (with Leon Mann)

FANS

Trophies, what are they good for? Absolutely nothing. Well, not quite, but they’re certainly not the be-all and end-all of being a Tottenham fan as far as Leon Mann is concerned.

Leon is a broadcaster, film maker, campaigner and, as Sachin knows from personal experience, a truly lovely person, and he speaks with typical intelligence and warmth about his 30-plus years supporting Spurs. It’s not been easy given the club’s relative lack of success but, overall, Leon has loved following the club, and especially because of the players he’s seen.

Waddle. Lineker. Gascoigne. Klinsmann. Bale. Just some of the superstar footballers who have brought Leon joy from childhood to adulthood and in their own ways made up for a dearth of silverware. He speaks about them all, with one man picked out for particular special mention – Gazza. Leon was there when he scored THAT free-kick against Arsenal at Wembley as well as for when he suffered THAT injury against Nottingham Forest and reflects on how those moments sum up a flawed genius. Leon also reflects on the time Gazza nearly ran him over.

There’s also a chat about the poignant circumstances surrounding Leon’s first trip to White Hart Lane, as well as about the pros and cons of Daniel Levy’s 20-year chairmanship of Spurs. And before all of that, Leon discusses his long-standing efforts to improve ethnic diversity in UK sports media, for which he was rightly awarded an MBE earlier this year.

Leon also talks through his all-time Tottenham XI, which contains a truly controversial selection, and gives an answer to the final question that Sachin simply can’t accept.

So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot.

Cheers!