Sadly Over-hyped

A Disappointing Continuation

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Film 4 made a number of simple but beautifully observed pictures in the years immediately after the launch of the channel, but which no-one makes any more. This is an excellent example, a perfect companion to the more famous P'Tang Yang Kipperbang.Quite why this is so overlooked is difficult to understand - could it be that (with some bitter irony) a film that has a sub-theme of discrimination against women in football is itself ignored because its a film based around a group of girl football fans? Or could it be that people are put off because its a "football film", or about one club?Whatever the reason is, its a shame as this is a little gem. A perfect evocation of what it is to be young, as well as being a sports fan. Iit captures the feel of early 60s perfectly, before the decade began to swing. But above all its about friendship. What it isn't about is football (or even, come to that, girls) - that is almost incidental, a core to build the story around.Above all this is a warm, happy, gentle, perfectly paced film that would appeal to just about anyone of any age. Even Arsenal fans!

Julie Burchill,columnist,author,playwright,well-known in the UK for her trenchant views on almost everything wrote this autobiographical play about growing up as a middle-class Jewish girl in North London.It starts with Ms Burchill in the Press Box at White Hart Lane failing signally to be taken seriously as a football reporter in that all-male preserve. Leaving the ground in a despondent mood she is nearly run over by ex-Spurs captain Danny Blanchflower who drives her back to the Daily Express building in Fleet Street (known in the trade as "The Black Lubyanka".During the journey she opens her heart to mr Blanchflower on whom she had had a serious crush 20 - odd years previously. "Those Glory Glory years" was shown on BBC TV as one of the "First Love" series 26 years ago.It is the sweet,sad story of Julia,gawky,bespectacled teenage football fan and her love affair with Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Her obsession gets her into trouble at home and at school,and ultimately,she steals tickets for the Cup Final from a friend's father. It helps your enjoyment of the movie if you understand the fierce pride of the true football fan,the lure of the magic League and Cup "Double", and the intenseness of a young girl's love. There are some fascinating scenes from the 1961 Cup Final courtesy of Pathe News,and the era is perfectly evoked. The whole thing is sad and funny by turns,beautifully observed and exquisitely performed. I feel it is an injustice that it is not better known.

I have a copy of this and it evokes memories of an earlier time when football meant more than just money. It is a tale of four girls passion for one particular football club and their excitement as the season draws to a close at the prospect of doing the double! It is a coming of age tale which reflects the lives of the four girls but one in particular as her family structure starts to disintegrate. Set at the beginning of the sixties it captures perfectly the time period and there is of course the guest appearance by Danny Blanchflower the Spurs legend. If you get the opportunity to see this - take it! It will make you smile.

I saw this once many years ago on Channel 4, and was mesmerized - it hasn't been on since, but luckily I tracked down a timecode copy! The film itself sums up perfectly what it is like to support the greatest football team in the world. The 61 Spurs Double side that played with a style never before seen or matched since. The film centres on Julia and her friends who follow passionately Spurs through this historic season, and it culminates in their attempts to watch the FA Cup Final. The acting from the cast is superb, and it both funny and emotional. If ever this is on TV again, I recommend that you watch it. I just wish I was alive during the Glory Glory Days to experience it as well.