Former Spurs defender is still abused 22 years on for joining Arsenal. He opens up on the hurt and why it is time for a clean slate
White Hart Lane station, 8.20pm, the Sunday before last. The north London derby has finished a couple of hours earlier, Arsenal winning 2-0, and a lone Tottenham fan starts to sing. The man, in his mid-to late-50s, wants it to be known that everyone will be “having a party when Sol Campbell dies”. The platform is not particularly crowded and nobody else joins in. Equally, no one steps in. The train arrives, the man gets on and goes home.
In the seconds before kick-off, there had been a different chant from the Spurs support in the South Stand. This time, it comes from hundreds of them and is similarly vile. It is drowned out by the roar for the start of the game and everybody’s focus shifts.
