Tottenham 2 Blackburn Rovers 0

Spurs comfortable win over relegation fearing Blackburn restored their grip on fourth place in the Premier League having slipped to sixth after Chelsea's win over Queen's Park Rangers earlier in the day.  A goal in each half secured the points with Kyle Walker's strike from a free-kick the outstanding memory from one of Spurs' easiest and most one-sided Premier League victories.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Blackburn Rovers 0

Scorers: Van der Vaart, Walker

Team: Friedel; Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Rose; Lennon (Giovanni), Sandro (Livermore), Modric, Bale; Van der Vaart (Defoe); Adebayor  Subs: (unused) Cudicini, King, Nelsen, Saha

Spurs won a game which they totally dominated with Blackburn unable to make even one attempt on goal during the ninety minutes.  Spurs controlled the game and were given the time to pass the ball around at will and the only disappointment was that they failed to capitalise on the visitor's lack of ambition and score some more goals.

Younes Kaboul, Danny Rose, Aaron Lennon and Emmanuel Adebayor started in place of Ledley King, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Scott Parker and Jermain Defoe who had played against Queen's Park Rangers.  King and Defoe were on the bench while Assou-Ekotto and Parker were injured.  

Spurs started  quickly and could have scored inside a minute when Luka Modric's cross found its way to the back post but Lennon put his shot into the side netting.  A few minutes later Sandro made a powerful run into the penalty area but was unfortunate that as he fell after being tackled, the ball struck him and went out for a goal kick.  After seven minutes good play between Modric and Adebayor found Sandro whose powerful shot from the edge of the box struck the bar. 

Blackburn were posing no threat and Spurs continued to dominate but without creating any clear goal scoring opportunities.  After twenty two minutes, the breakthrough came when Lennon's cross from the right was headed against the bar by Bale and while Adebayor and Rafael Van der Vaart seemed to get in each other's way, Van der Vaart managed to give Spurs the lead.

Almost immediately, Spurs had the opportunity to increase their lead with a quick break in a three against three situation but Lennon who carried the ball from his own half shot over instead of putting Bale or Adebayor into a scoring position.

After half an hour the stats showed Spurs to have had 71% possession and 6 attempts on goal to the visitors none.  This total Tottenham possession continued and a good move on the left between Modric and Rose ended with the full back through on goal but Paul Robinson was out quickly at Rose's feet to smother the danger.  William Gallas struck the bar with a header from a corner, three minutes before the interval.

The second half continued with the same pattern of Rovers pulling eleven men back into defence and Spurs passing the ball about as if it were a practice match.  Brad Friedel had a very comfortable afternoon and was untroubled in his 301st consecutive Premier League match.  With such dominance the match lacked urgency and Spurs didn't really threaten Robinson's goal but with fifteen minutes remaining Kyle Walker brought White Hart Lane to life.

Spurs were awarded a free-kick in the centre of the pitch about thirty yards out.  Rovers lined up a wall with Van der Vaart looking as if he was once again taking responsibility for the set-piece.  Then, Walker stepped up and curled a shot around the wall and past Robinson, giving the former Spurs goalkeeper no chance.  It was Walker's second goal for Spurs - the PFA Young Player of the Year doesn't go in for ordinary run of the mill goals, with his first having been the winner against Arsenal earlier in the season.  This goal gave Spurs the comfort zone they needed to see out the rest of the game without any trouble.

In ninety plus minutes Rovers had one corner and no attempts on goal, a very strange performance from a team needing the points to avoid relegation.  Spurs had 71% possession with 17 goal attempts and five on target.  Spurs have now won their last six matches against Blackburn.

Now its on to the Reebox Stadium on Wednesday evening where Spurs will face another team with relegation worries but it will be a much sterner test against Bolton.

Spurs 5 Blackburn 2 Match Report - May, 1965

A memorable match at White Hart Lane saw Spurs defeat Blackburn 5 - 2 in season 1964 - 65 when they were undefeated at home but won only one away game all season.  Norman Giller's match report from the Daily Express highlights the need for consistent goalscorers in a successful team.

  

Friday, 16th April, 1965

(from the Daily Express)

THIS No. 7

GREAVES
IS GREAT

By NORMAN GILLER

Spurs 5  Blackburn 2   ****

Three goals from Alan Gilzean 

and two from Jimmy Greaves

tell their own story of another 

slaughter by the mighty G-men 

of Tottenham.

This was Gilzean's first three-

goal show for Spurs - but it

could not rob Greaves of the 

match-star rating.

The news from White Hart Lane 

for Alf Ramsey, England manager: 

There is a better right winger in the 

League than Liverpool's Peter 

Thompson.

He is Greaves by name and 

destructive by nature.

Greaves played on the right wing

because of an injury to Cliff Jones.

And Greaves was magnificent.

He scored twice, helped create

two for Gilzean - and was robbed

of a third in the 88th minute

when signalled off-side after netting

what looked to me to be a perfect goal.

Blackburn?  They were never

in the game in the first half and

made an impact on only rare

occasions in the second.

Gilzean's 77th-minute goal was

the best.  He cleverly put the

finishing touches to a four-man

move involving Eddie Clayton,

Roy Low and, inevitably, Greaves.

The G-men's other goals: 

Gilzean (14 and 44 minutes), 

Greaves (22, 83).  

Blackburn came briefly but brilliantly

into the game with goals by 

Bryan Douglas (46) and Andy 

McEvoy (49)

Team: Jennings; Knowles, Henry; Mullery, Brown, L., Clayton; Greaves, Low, Saul, Gilzean, Weller

The win over Blackburn Rovers took Spurs to 5th place in the 1st Division, a point behind Everton, after thirty nine games.  The top three teams, Leeds United, Chelsea and Manchester United, however, were ten plus points ahead.  

Spurs ended the 1964 - 65 season with five consecutive wins scoring 25 goals.  
Their home record for the season was:

P  21  W  18  D  3  L  0  For  65  Ag  20

They finished the season in 6th place and it is the only occasion that Spurs have gone through a complete season undefeated at home. 

 

Spurs Home Record Against Blackburn Rovers

A record stating that Tottenham have won their last five matches against Blackburn Rovers is always a worrying statistic for a Spurs fan.  For most clubs that would be something to build on and boost confidence but for Spurs in their current fragile state it could become another burden too heavy to carry even against a relegation threatened Blackburn team who have  only won once in their last six Premier League matches.  Spurs, of course, have only one win in their last nine games.

Spurs Home League Record against Blackburn Rovers (inc PL)

P  47  W  30  D  7  L  10  For  110  Ag  60

Home Premier League Record

P  17  W  9  D  3  L  5  For  25  Ag  22

Spurs have won the last five games against Blackburn.

22nd Oct. 2011  PL  (a)  Won 2 - 1  Van der Vaart (2)

A goal in each half from Rafael Van der Vaary secured the points for Spurs at Ewood Park as they extended their unbeaten run to six matches.  Match Report

2nd Feb. 2011  PL  (a)  Won 1 - 0  Crouch

A headed goal by Peter Crouch after three minutes from a long diagonal cross by  Rafael Van der Vaart brought Spurs the win which enabled Spurs to complete the 'double' over their northern opponents.

Last Match at White Hart Lane

13th Nov. 2010  PL  (h)  Won 4 - 2  Bale (2), Pavlyuchenko, Crouch

Spurs were two ahead at the interval, having missed a penalty, and had added another two in the opening half hour of the second half.  Blackburn's late goals with one from current Spurs player, Ryan Nelsen, brought some respectability to the scoreline, although Spurs contributed to the goals with poor defensive play.

13th Mar. 2010  PL  (h)  Won 3 - 1  Defoe, Pavlyuchenko (2)

Jermain Defoe gave Spurs the lead on the interval.  Roman Pavlyuchenko scored a second ten minutes into the second half.  With ten minutes to go Rovers pulled one back through their former captain, Samba, but Pavlyuchenko restored Spurs' advantage five minutes later.

19th Dec. 2009  PL  (a)  Won 2 - 0  Crouch (2)

After a difficult first half, Crouch gave Spurs the lead on half-time.  Spurs battled in the second half to maintain their lead which Crouch increased with a good goal, with seven minutes remaining.

23rd Nov. 2008  PL  (h)  Won 1 - 0  Pavlyuchenko

A goal after ten minutes was sufficient for Spurs to take the three points as they recovered from the previous week's defeat at Fulham, their first defeat under Harry Redknapp.

28th Oct. 2007  PL  (h)  Lost 1 - 2  Keane (pen)

Martin Jol's sacking in midweek with Clive Allen in temporary charge and Juande Ramos waiting in the wings was the background to Rovers last win at White Hart Lane.  Robbie Keane had given Spurs an early second half lead from the penalty spot.  Blackburn drew level on the hour and took the points with a late goal from Samba.

10th May, 2007  PL  (h)  Draw 1 - 1  Defoe

The penultimate match of the season was played on a Thursday evening and the point took Spurs closer to European qualification.  Rovers went ahead in the first half but Defoe equalised with over twenty minutes remaining.  Spurs ended the season in fifth and a Europa League place.

5th Mar. 2006  PL  (h)  Won 3 - 2  Keane (2), Mido

Spurs were battling to take fourth place in the Premier League and two goals by Keane gave them the advantage in the first half but Rovers pulled a goal back before the interval.  They drew level as Spurs withstood a second half onslaught but took the points with a goal by Mido.  The match is remembered for Keane's first goal as he juggled the ball as he made his way in along the touch line before scoring.

14th May, 2005  PL  (h)  Draw 0 - 0

Spurs' hopes of a UEFA Cup place were dashed as they failed to beat a stubborn Blackburn side in the final match of the season.

8th May, 2004  PL  (h)  Won 1 - 0  Defoe

In what had been a difficult season with Spurs at one point fearing relegation, they won their last home match through an early Defoe goal.  David Pleat's spell as caretaker manager was coming to an end with Spurs having searched for a new manager from September when Glenn Hoddle was sacked.

11th May, 2003  PL  (h)  Lost 0 - 4

The final game of the season ended a poor period for Spurs who lost three of their last four matches, conceding 11 goals.  It was Teddy Sheringham's farewell game but disappointed fans showed their frustrations against Glenn Hoddle, the team and the Board with many throwing their season tickets on to the pitch at the end.

Memorable Home Match against Blackburn

16th April, 1964 1st Div.  (h)  Won 5 - 2  Greaves (2), Gilzean (3)

The first of the three Easter fixtures on Good Friday, saw Spurs win comfortably with the 'G'-men at their very best.  Jimmy Greaves and Alan Gilzean sharing the goals as Gilzean, signed the previous December, scoring his first hat-trick for the club.  Match report from the Daily Express.

This match was the fourth in a remarkable run of five home games at the end of the 1964 - 65 season when Spurs scored 25 goals, conceding 9.  They were undefeated at home throughout the season but won only once away from home.  In the final five matches they defeated Blackpool 4 - 1, Wolves 7 - 4, Liverpool 3 - 0, Blackburn 5 - 2 and Leicester 6 - 2.

In the third of the Easter games at Ewood Park on Easter Monday, Spurs lost 1 - 3, having lost by a single goal at Sheffield Wednesday on the Saturday - and the current players are feeling fatigue?

They Played for Spurs and Wigan

Wigan Athletic are currently the youngest club in the Premier League having been formed in 1932.  They were elected in to the Football League in the summer of 1978, replacing Southport and over the years eventually gained promotion to the top flight of English football in 2005.  With such a short history, not surprisingly, there have been only two transfers negotiated between the two clubs and both have been from Wigan's Premier League era.

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Pascal Chimbonda

Pascal Chimbonda played in Wigan's successful debut season in the Premier League and was included in the PFA 'Team of the Season' for 2005-06.  He had joined the club from Bastia for £500,000 the previous summer and after just one season he joined Spurs in August, 2006 for a fee of £4.5 million.  He made his debut against Manchester United the next month and was a regular at right back and played in the Carling Cup winning team against Chelsea in 2008.  He made 65 League appearances for Spurs and scored three goals.

He was transferred to Sunderland in July, 2008 for an undisclosed fee but returned to Spurs the following January for a fee in the region of £3 million having only made 13 appearances at the Stadium of Light.  His second Tottenham debut was at Bolton Wanderers at the end of January when he made an appearance as a substitute.  He made another substitute appearance in the next match and the only League match he started in his second period with the club was in a 1 - 1 draw at Sunderland in March.  He started both UEFA Cup matches against Shakhtar Donetsk when Harry Redknapp fielded understrength teams.

In August, 2009 he moved to Blackburn Rovers for a fee thought to be around £2.5 million where he stayed for eighteen months.  Since then he has had short spells with QPR and is now with Doncaster Rovers.

Wilson Palacios

Wilson Palacios joined Spurs in January, 2009 for £12 million having joined Wigan the previous January after spending six months on loan with Birmingham City.  He made his debut in the 3 - 2 defeat at Bolton and worked hard to strengthen the Tottenham midfield as they battled to ensure Premier League survival in Harry Redknapp's first season as manager.  The following August Palacios scored his first goal in Premier League football against Hull City.  That season he helped Spurs qualify for the Champions League and played his part in the Spurs success in that competiton the following season.  His controlled midfield display in Italy against AC Milan alongside Sandro where Spurs secured a single goal victory was one of the highlights of his time with the club.  His opportunity to play regularly was being restricted with the development of Sandro and last summer he moved to Stoke City for a fee of around £6 million.  He made 86 League and Cup appearances for Spurs, scoring once.

They Played for Tottenham and Blackburn Rovers

The Tottenham team which defeated Blackburn Rovers 2 - 1 at Ewood Park in the Premier League had former Rovers keeper, Brad Friedel in goals while the former Spurs goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, was in the Rovers team.  A third goalkeeper to have played for both clubs is the Rovers' goalkeeping coach, Bobby Mimms.


'The Good, the Bad and the Old Man' of Goalkeepers

From a Tottenham perspective the 'bad' can only be Bobby Mimms who joined from Everton where he had been understudy to Neville Southall.  Terry Venables signed him in February, 1988 for £325,000. However, his Tottenham career is remembered for a series of mistakes and as the blunders increased so his confidence diminished.  He was sold on to Blackburn in December, 1990 for £250,000 having only played 37 League games for Spurs.  During his time at Ewood Park he helped the club return to the 1st Division and establish themselves as a top club.

Paul Robinson

The 'good' is Paul Robinson who joined Tottenham from Leeds United for £1.5 million in 2004 and made himself a firm favourite with supporters with his excellent performances as Tottenham showed steady progress under Martin Jol. He established himself as 'England's Number 1' and looked set for a long career with Spurs.  However, his form took a dip and with it, his confidence, so that he became less reliable for both club and country.  He came under much scrutiny and lost his place at Tottenham during Juande Ramos' short time at the club.  However, he returned to the team in time for the Carling Cup win over Chelsea.  The following summer, Ramos signed Heurelho Gomes from PSV and Robinson realised that he needed to move on to further his career.  He joined Blackburn in July, 2008 for £3.5 million where he has seen his form return as he has put in more confident and reliable performances.  During his time with Spurs he played 137 League matches and scored one goal against Watford at White Hart Lane.

The 'old man' can only be Brad Friedel who at 40 years of age joined Spurs from Aston Villa in the summer on a free transfer.  He has immediately become first choice goalkeeper and has brought a confidence and calm to the Tottenham defence, something which tends to be missing when Gomes is playing.  In spite of conceding eight goals in his first two games, Friedel is showing that his age doesn't prevent him from turning in Premier league standard performances each week.  

Friedel had been a reserve at Liverpool for three years before joining Blackburn in 2000, making 287 League appearances at Ewood Park.  During his time at Ewood Park, he turned in a match winning performance in the League Cup Final of 2002 to deny Tottenham at Cardiff.  He then joined Aston Villa in 2008 and played 114 League games.  He made 82 appearances for the United States before retiring from international football in 2005.

Other Goalkeepers
A fourth goalkeeper to appear for both clubs is William Arthur Hughes, known as 'Archie', who made two League appearances for Tottenham in the late 1940s before moving to Ewood Park.  He had been a 'guest' player at Spurs during the war, playing regularly in 1944 and was one of only two 'guest' players who were to sign permanently for the club at the end of the war.

 A fifth goalkeeper who played at Ewood Park early in the 20th Century was 'Tiny' Joyce.  He spent a year at the club and then returned to Millwall.  After Tottenham had entered the Football League, he came to White Hart Lane from 1909 to 1915.  He was known as 'Tiny' because of his size and played 73 games for Spurs.  He scored a League goal for Tottenham against Bolton in 1914 and was the only goalkeeper to score a League goal for the club until Paul Robinson matched him in 2007.

Other Players
Mike England was an experienced Welsh international centre-half when he joined Tottenham from Blackburn for £95,000 in the summer of 1966.  He quickly established himself in the middle of the Spurs defence and helped Tottenham to FA Cup victory over Chelsea the following May.  He was a vital member of the successful teams of the early 1970s winning the League Cup and in Europe.  He scored in the UEFA Cup Final 1st leg match against Feyenoord at White Hart Lane but after drawing at home Spurs lost the away leg in Holland.  England was a threat when he moved forward for set-pieces and he played at centre forward on occasions.  He developed a good understanding with Pat Jennings and Phil Beal who were the mainstay of the Tottenham defence for a period of over eight seasons.

Ossie Ardiles went on loan to Blackburn at the end of his Tottenham career for a period in a bid to help them win promotion from the 2nd Division.  while he was there he met up with Steve Archibald who was also on loan at Ewood Park from Barcelona. 

Tim Sherwood who is currently responsible for the Tottenham 'Development' squad was at Ewood park during their most successful period at the start of the Premier league era and captained them to the title in 1995.  He joined Tottenham in 1999 but missed out on their Worthington Cup success a few weeks later.  He was a member of the losing Tottenham team in 2002 when Brad Friedel's goalkeeping display brought success to his former club.  With the current uncertainty at Ewood Park, Sherwood is someone who has recently been mentioned as a possible candidate for a Director of Football role at the club.  He is also considered a possible replacement for Harry Redknapp at Tottenham if he should become manager of England next summer.

Noel Brotherston, a Northern Ireland international winger made one appearance for Spurs in 1976 before joining Blackburn in July, 1977.  

Three forwards who played for both clubs in the early years of the last century were:

George Crompton, a centre forward played for both clubs in the early 1900s, making 9 League appearances for Spurs, with his only goal coming in an abandoned match.  

Ted Harper had two spells at Blackburn.  He joined Spurs from Sheffield Wednesday in 1929 before leaving for Preston in 1931.  He rejoined Rovers two years later.  Harper was a prolific goal scorer and set the Tottenham record of 36 goals in a season in 1931-32.  Bobby Smith equalled it in the 1950s, Jimmy Greaves broke it in the 1960s and Clive Allen claimed the record in the 1980s.  Harper's record could have been even greater had he not had to miss six of the final eight games through injury.  In total he scored 83 goals for Tottenham in 78 appearances.

Ronnie Dix had a season at Blackburn in the early 1930s.  He joined Tottenham in 1939 but the outbreak of war seriously interrupted his Spurs career.  He played for the club for two years after the war but went to Reading in 1947.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Tottenham won their fifth Premier League game out of six and moved ahead of Liverpool into fifth position with one game in hand.  It was a hard earned win as bottom of the table, Blackburn showed great endeavour as they tried to snatch a late equaliser.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Scorers:  Formica                      Van der Vaart (2) 

Team: Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon (Rose), Parker, Modric, Bale; Van der Vaart (Defoe), Adebayor  Subs: (unused): Cudicini, Sandro, Livermore, Townsend, Pavlyuchenko.

Tottenham showed one change from last week's team at Newcastle United with Aaron Lennon returning after injury in place of Jake Livermore.  The Europa league goalscorer, Roman Pavlyuchenko was joined on the bench by Jermain Defoe who scored last weekend and Sandro who was still feeling the effects of his injury.  With Ledley King absent through injury, Scott Parker captained the team for the first time.

Two goals from Rafa Van der Vaart secured another win for Spurs and maintained their recent good form.  He gave Spurs the lead after fifteen minutes, following good work on the right by Kyle Walker.  Emmanuel Adebayor set Walker free on the right wing and his strong run into the penalty area took him to the bye-line and he pulled the ball back to Van der Vaart who stroked it past former Tottenham goalkeeper, Paul Robinson.

Spurs could have been two up when Bale's run and cross found Adebayor whose shot was easily saved by Robinson.  Then another cross was headed towards his own goal by a Rovers player but again The goalkeeper was able to tip the ball over fro a corner.  Then, in a repeat of last week's performance at Newcastle, Spurs let Blackburn back into the game after half an hour.  The conceded a free-kick and when Samba out jumped Younes Kaboul, he found Formica who blasted the ball into the roof of the net.

Level at the interval, Van der Vaart restored Spurs lead when he received the ball after it bounced off Benoit Assou-Ekotto in a promising Tottenham attack and curled his shot in from twenty yards.  From then on Tottenham looked to hold what they had and while it wasn't pretty and they were under considerable pressure they managed to hold off Blackburn.  Brad Friedel playing against his former club was under serious pressure as Rovers launched a series of high ball attacks from free-kicks, corners and throw ins.  Relief was the major feeling for Tottenham supporters at the end of a long final half hour at Ewood Park.

This result keeps Spurs in a strong position with one match in hand and maintained their recent good form at Ewood Park, three wins in the past three seasons which sees them continue to be five points up on the same fixtures last season.

Tottenham's record at Blackburn Rovers

Tottenham have shown great improvement in recent weeks and will look to improve on their draw at Newcastle United last weekend.   Undefeated in five Premier League games as they go to Ewood Park to play Blackburn Rovers, they will have to match last year's result to maintain their progress and assault on a Champions League place.


Blackburn Rovers v Tottenham Hotspur

Blackburn have had a difficult start to the season and are currently in twentieth position in the Premier League with five points.  They have won only one of their eight matches, although it was a rather stunning performance, coming from behind to defeat Arsenal at Ewood Park.  They were behind at the interval (1 - 2) but scored three second half goals to lead 4 - 2 and held off a late surge from Arsenal to win 4 - 3.  Last weekend they drew 1 - 1 at QPR and they also gained a point at Fulham.  They have lost their other three home games to Wolverhampton Wanderers (1 - 3) on the opening day, to Everton (0 - 1) and Manchester City conceding  four second half goals.  They have also lost at Aston Vila and Newcastle United.  In the Carling Cup they have enjoyed home successes over Sheffield Wednesday and Leyton Orient.

In the Premier League, their leading scorer is Ayegbeni Yakuba who has two goals while Reuben Rochina has scored four in League (1) and Cup (3).  Last week central defender and captain Christopher Samba who was reported to be a possible signing for Tottenham during the summer scored their goal at Loftus Road.  Manager Steve Kean has been under pressure since taking charge from Sam Allardyce last December.

Recent Results at Ewood Park 
Feb. 2011  Won 1 - 0  Crouch
For the second successive season, Peter Crouch was the match winner for Tottenham at Ewood Park.  In the third minute he rose above the defence to head in a diagonal cross from Rafael Van der Vaart.  A hard-working team performance and some good saves from Heurelho Gomes ensured that Spurs held out to take the three points.


Dec. 2009  Won 2 - 0  Crouch (2)
Two goals from Crouch secured victory for Spurs.  The first came at the end of a first half which had seen Rovers in the ascendancy.  Tom Huddlestone had attempted a long range shot which went awry and ended up as a perfect pass to Niko Kranjcar on the right. His cross was headed in off the bar by Crouch.  The second was scored with seven minutes left when Crouch was put through by Jermaine Jenas, he advanced towards the penalty area to shoot past Paul Robinson.  It was a hard-earned win which many previous Spurs teams would not have gained.


Apr. 2009  Lost 1 - 2  Keane
This was a match which Spurs dominated but lost in the final ten minutes as Blackburn were assisted by some debatable refereeing decisions.  Robbie Keane had given Spurs an early first half lead which they held until late in the game.  With ten minutes left the referee send Wilson Palacios off for a second bookable offence but two minutes poor defending at a corner gifted Rovers an equaliser.  One minute from time rovers snatched an undeserved winner - Spurs had thrown away three points.  



Apr. 2008  Draw 1 - 1  Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov put Spurs ahead after seven minutes but Blackburn levelled after half an hour.  Spurs, having won the Carling Cup a few weeks earlier were in a run of poor results that lasted through to the end of the season.

Since 1996 when Spurs Won 2 - 0 at Blackburn on the opening day of the season with two Chris Armstrong goals they have started a run which has seem them lose on only three occasions in 14 games.  They have won 6 times and drawn on 5 occasions with only three defeats.  That win in 1996 also saw Gary Mabbutt break his leg and be out for the rest of the season. 


Overall League record at Blackburn:

P  47  W  14  D  11  L  22  For  51  Ag  71

Premier League Record:

  P  17  W  7  D  4  L  6  For  19  Ag  14

Memorable Result at Ewood Park:

The Tottenham victory in February, 1998 was totally unexpected as they were struggling under Christian Gross in a relegation battle.  That day Spurs showed an previously unseen togetherness and determination to battle for the points which they took with three goals from Nicoli Berti, Chris Armstrong and Jurgen Klinsmann.  It was only their second away win of the season, since success at Everton in Gross' first match as manager.

Tottenham have completed the 'double' over Blackburn for the past two seasons and to maintain this season's upward progress will need to take three points on Sunday to keep the pressure on the teams around them who are striving for fourth place.  The lack of fit central defenders is causing a problem as only Younes Kaboul and Sebastien Bassong are fit and Jake Livermore had to stand in against Rubin Kazan in central defence on Thursday evening's win in the Europa League.  With Blackburn again having a difficult season, Tottenham will be hoping to add to their misery by winning at Ewood Park for a third successive season.  

Spurs in History - 17th August

17th August, 1996

Blackburn Rovers 0 Spurs 2

A good opening to the Premiership season but at a high cost.

The good result and three points were overshadowed by the injury to Captain and inspiration, Gary Mabbutt. After twenty minutes of the first half he broke his leg and was to be ruled out for the rest of the season.

At the time of the injury the game was scoreless. However, thirteen minutes later Chris Armstrong gave Spurs the lead and then doubled the score mid-way through the second half. In spite of Mabbutt’s injury and the injury of his replacement within nine minutes, Spurs managed to re-organise themselves and deservedly won the three points.

Spurs in History - 4th June

4th June, 1966

Spurs 1 Glasgow Celtic 1 (Friendly in Vancouver)

During the close season Spurs went on an eleven game tour to Bermuda, U.S.A, Canada and Mexico. It included three games against Celtic.

Having lost the previous two games by a single goal, 0-1 in Toronto and 1-2 in San Francisco, Spurs came back from a goal down at half-time to secure a draw with a goal scored by Terry Venables who had signed from Chelsea just before the end of the previous season and made his debut in the final game of the season, a one goal victory at Blackburn Rovers.

Spurs in History - 24th February

24th February, 2002

Spurs 1 Blackburn Rovers 2 [Worthington Cup Final at Millenium Stadium, Cardiff]

Spurs' performance was very disappointing, especially after the excellent display in the semi-final when they defeated Chelsea 5-1 at White Hart Lane in the 2nd leg of the semi-final. Spurs were favourites but the Blackburn players were more up for the game, the whole Spurs team performing below par. Blackburn took the lead after 24 minutes, only for Christian Ziege to equalize nine minutes later.

In the second half Spurs missed opportunities, especially Les Ferdinand, and were denied by the Blackburn goalkeeper but a mistake by Ledley King let in Blackburn for the winner after 68 minutes. Spurs tried but weren’t going to score and even appeals for a late penalty were turned down.

It was a long way back from Cardiff for the disappointed fans as Spurs suffered only the fourth Cup Final defeat in their history -

1973-74 UEFA Cup Final v Feyenoord

1981-82 League/Milk Cup Final v Liverpool

1986-87 FA Cup Final v Coventry City

Team: Sullivan; Taricco (Davies), Ziege, Perry, Thatcher, King, Sherwood, Poyet (Iversen), Anderton, Sheringham, Ferdinand.

v Blackburn in Premier League at White Hart Lane

  Spurs v Blackburn Rovers in Premier League

The results from the Premier League games at White Hart Lane against Blackburn Rovers:

Gareth Bale

November, 2010  Won 4 - 2  Bale (2), Pavlyuchenko, Crouch

March, 2010  Won 3 - 1  Defoe, Pavlyuchenko (2)

November, 2008  Won 1 - 0  Pavlyuchenko

October, 2007  Lost 1 - 2  Keane (pen)

May, 2007  Draw 1 - 1  Defoe
March, 2006  Won 3 - 2  Keane (2), Mido

May, 2005  Draw 0-0

May, 2004  Won 1-0  Defoe

 May, 2003  Lost 0-4

January, 2002  Won 1-0  Richards

September, 1998  Won 2-1  Ferdinand, Neilsen

September, 1997  Draw 0-0

January, 1997  Won 2-1  Iversen, Sinton

March, 1996  Lost 2-3 Sheringham, Armstrong

February, 1995  Won 3-1 Klinsmann, Anderton, Barmby
February, 1994  Lost 0-2
May, 1993 Lost 1-2  Anderton


Prior to the Premiership game in 1993, the previous League match between the two sides had been in the Second Division in 1977 - 78 when Spurs won 4-0 with goals from Glenn Hoddle, Colin Lee (2) and John Pratt.


The game previous to that clash had been in the 1st Division in 1965-66 when Spurs again won 4-0. The goal scorers were Alan Gilzean (2), Jimmy Greaves (p) and Frank Saul.  This match was Greaves' first match back after being out from the end of October through illness.