Spurs' Home Record against Fulham

Spurs need to end their season with a victory over Fulham to stand any chance of Champions League football next season.  Even then, it may depend on events elsewhere, including next weekend's Champions League Final in Munich.

Spurs' final home Premier League match of the season has them entertaining Fulham with Martin Jol in charge.  Earlier in the season Spurs defeated Fulham 3 - 1 in a hard earned victory at Craven Cottage.  They can expect another difficult afternoon as they battle for the points which should ensure a Champions League place next season, as long as Chelsea don't defeat Bayern Munich next Saturday.

Last Season's Result:
Jan. 2011  PL  Won 1 - 0  Bale
This New Year's Day encounter was settled when Gareth Bale headed Rafael Van der Vaart's free-kick into the goal, three minutes before half-time.  It was a hard-earned victory and ensured that Spurs had taken maximum points from the three matches over the holiday period. 

Spurs' Home League Record against Fulham (inc. PL):

P  39  W  21  D  16  L  2  For  67  Ag  30

Premier League Record at White Hart Lane against Fulham:

P  10  W  6  D  3  L  1  For  16  Ag  5

Fulham's first League success at White Hart Lane was in April, 1948 in a 2nd Division match which they won 2 - 0.  It was the second of three home defeats in five days for Spurs.  Their second success came in August, 2003 in their third season in the Premier League after an absence of over thirty years from the top flight of English football, when they triumphed 3 - 0 in what was the penultimate home match of Glenn Hoddle's time as manager.  Defeat to Southampton in the next home game sealed his fate.

Fulham have proved a difficult team to beat since their arrival in the Premier League and Spurs can expect another difficult afternoon against their London rivals with Martin Jol having an extra incentive for success.

Previous Premier League Meetings at White Hart Lane:

Jan. 2010  Won 2 - 0  Crouch, Bentley       

A goal in each half secured the points for Spurs and brought to an end a run of three games without a win.

Dec. 2008  Draw 0 - 0
A rather dour affair with Spurs unable to break down Fulham's well organised defence which wasn't appropriate fare for this Boxing Day game.

Dec. 2007  Won 5 - 1  Keane (2), Huddlestone (2), Defoe
This was the first of three consecutive Boxing Day matches against Fulham and while it was a goal fest for Spurs the others in 2008 and at Craven Cottage in 2009 ended goalless.  Robbie Keane and Tom Huddleston gave Spurs a two goal lead by the interval.  Dempsey pulled one back for the visitors on the hour but Keane responded immediately to restore Tottenham's advantage.  Huddlestone and Defoe completed the afternoon's entertainment.

Sept. 2006  Draw 0 - 0
Spurs were unable to unsettle Fulham's defensive strategy which they'd set out from the beginning in order to get a point.

Sept. 2005  Won 1 - 0  Defoe
Jermain Defoe gave Spurs an early lead which suggested it was going to be comfortable afternoon but it was far from that as Spurs were called to defend for long periods as Fulham sought an equaliser.  This result enabled Spurs to reclaim fourth place in the early season league table.

Feb. 2005  Won 2 - 0  Kanoute, Keane
Spurs struggled to make the breakthrough but after introducing Fredi Kanoute for Defoe with less that twenty minutes remaining the substitute scored the opening goal.  Keane then replaced Mido and he added the second in the final minute.

Aug. 2003  Lost 0 - 3
In a dire performance from Spurs, Fulham were comfortable winners with a first half goal and two in four minutes midway through the second half.

Feb. 2003  Draw 1 - 1  Sheringham (pen)
Ledley King scored an own goal after fifteen minutes but a Teddy Sheringham penalty before the interval brought Spurs level.

Dec. 2001  Won 4 - 0  Ferdinand, Anderton, Davies, Rebrov
Spurs fans had an abundance of goals at White Hart Lane as in the previous match in mid-week they had seen their team win 6 - 1 against Bolton in the Worthington Cup.  Les Ferdinand and Darren Anderton scored before half-time and Simon Davies and Sergei Rebrov added two further goals in six minutes midway through the second half.  Ferdinand's goal after twenty minutes gave him the distinction of scoring the 10,000th Premier League goal.

Previous Meetings:
The previous occasion that Spurs played Fulham in a League match at White Hart Lane was in their season in the 2nd Division in 1977 - 78.  The match was played in September and resulted in a single goal victory for Spurs.  The goal was scored by Chris Jones.

The last match in the 1st Division was on 26th December, 1967.  The Boxing Day fixture ended in a draw with another C. Jones scoring both goals.  It was Cliff Jones who scored as the match ended 2 - 2.  Four days later, the return match at Craven Cottage ended 2 - 1 in Spurs' favour with Jimmy Robertson and that man, Cliff Jones, scoring the goals.  The following October Jones joined Fulham after ten very successful years with Tottenham.

The First Meeting in the Football League at Tottenham
The two clubs had met in their Southern League days but they first met in the Football League in a 2nd Division match at White Hart Lane in April, 1909.  Spurs were fighting to win promotion and this win kept them on track, the goal being scored by Vivian Woodward who scored 22 League and Cup goals in their debut season in the Football League.

Biggest Wins:

Dec. 1919  Div. 2  Won 4 - 0  Walden, Minter (2), Bliss  [Spurs won 2nd Division]

Nov. 1960  Div. 1  Won 5 - 1  Jones (2), White, Allen (2)  [Spurs won 1st Division & FA Cup]

Dec. 2001  PL  Won 4 - 0  Ferdinand, Anderton, Davies, Rebrov

Dec. 2007  PL  Won 5 - 1  Keane (2), Huddlestone (2), Defoe

For the first time in five matches Spurs are not faced with a team battling against relegation and while White Hart Lane has never been Fulham's favourite ground, they have proved difficult to beat and will not give Spurs an inch in this final match of the season.  A London derby against committed opposition will be a real test of Spurs' desire and nerve to stake a claim for a Champions League place next season.  Tottenham will need to match Fulham's endeavour and ensure they take any goal scoring chances that are created - only a win will do, unless there are very unexpected results at the Hawthorns and Goodison Park.   

  

They Played for Spurs and Manchester City

Paul Stewart who scored a goal for Spurs in the 1991 FA Cup Final signed from Manchester City as a striker but became a very useful midfield player at White Hart Lane, going on to play three games for England.  Bert Sproston is one of the more unusual transfers between the two clubs in the season leading up to the Second World War.

Emmanuel Adebayor's loan transfer from Manchester City to Tottenham last August is the first time that Spurs have signed a player from City since Paul Stewart moved from Maine Road to White Hart Lane in 1988.  The last player to move in the opposite direction was Chris Jones who joined City in September, 1982.

Emmanuel Adebayor joined City from Arsenal in 2009 after three years in North London but spent the second half of last season, on loan, at Real Madrid where he scored twice as he helped the Spanish club knock Spurs out of the Champions League.  These added to his eight goals in nine north London derbies.  He failed to score for City in three games against Spurs and redeemed himself somewhat, in the eyes of Spurs supporters, by scoring on his Spurs debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers and twice on his home debut against Liverpool.  He is currently the club's leading goal scorer with 9 goals in the Premier League.  Being on loan, he is ineligible for the match at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

Paul Stewart 1991 FA Cup Final

Paul Stewart started his career with Blackpool, and joined Manchester City in March, 1987.  He scored 26 League goals for City and fifteen months later joined Spurs for £1.7 million.  Stewart made his debut for Spurs on 1st October 1988, as a substitute in a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United but missed a penalty.  Bought as a striker he scored 12 goals in his first League season with Spurs but when his goals dried up, he was successfully converted to a midfield role.  He was part of the Tottenham midfield which won the FA Cup in 1991, scoring Spurs' equalizing goal in that game.  His conversion to midfield came about almost by accident as Spurs, already a goal down, had to adjust when they were reduced to nine men against Luton Town and Stewart moved back into midfield where he showed an unexpected talent in the position, scoring both goals as Spurs won 2 - 1.  In the summer of 1992 he moved to Liverpool, having expressed the desire to return north but it was an unsuccessful period at Anfield.  He made 131 League appearances for Tottenham, scoring 28 goals.

Chris Jones grew up through the Spurs youth system and made his progression to the League team in August, 1974.  In total he made 185 League and Cup appearances, scoring 42 goals in his nine seasons with the club.  He was a skilful player but was unlucky player in that he often got into good goal scoring positions but couldn't quite turn them into goals.  He helped Spurs to avoid relegation in his first season and was a regular for much of the following season.  He was part of the team which was relegated the next year but played his part as Spurs then won promotion.  He scored 18 League and Cup goals in the next two seasons in the 1st Division but the arrival of Steve Archibald and Garth Crooks saw his first team opportunities diminish.  His best goal scoring performance for Tottenham was an FA Cup 4th Round replay at Wrexham in 1979 where his hat-trick enabled Spurs to progress to the next round with a 3 - 2 win after extra time.  He joined City for £110,000 in September, 1982 but after only three games in two months joined Crystal Palace.  He also played for Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient.

Bert Sproston was an England international full back who joined Spurs from Leeds United in June, 1938 for £9,500, a big fee at the time.  Then the following November he was involved in a very unusual transfer.  Having played nine games for Spurs, he was selected to play against Manchester City at Maine Road but on the day preceding the match he was transferred to City for £10,000 and played for them as Spurs lost 0 - 2.  He had found it difficult to settle in London and remained with City until 1950.  

Alex Steel was with City for eighteen months prior to joining Spurs in the summer of 1908.  He was  a half-back but only made one appearance for Spurs but that game has put him into the Tottenham record books.  On that day in January, 1910 against Bradford City he became the third member  of the Steel family to play for Spurs.  He joined his brothers, Danny and Bobby, in the team, the only occasion when three brothers have played together for Spurs in a League game.

Alex Young who had a long, successful career with Everton joined Spurs in June, 1911 and scored on his debut.  After three goals in his first two games he failed to score in the next three and was omitted from the team.  He immediately demanded a transfer and went to City in November but was only there until the end of the season.  

Bill Felton was a full-back who spent three years with Manchester City before joining Spurs in March, 1932.  He played regularly in the team and captained the side to promotion in 1933 but lost his place midway through the next season and moved to Altrincham in the summer of 1934.

Neil McNab came to Spurs from Morton in 1974 at the age of sixteen for a fee of £40,000, signing as an amateur.  He turned professional in the summer but had already made his League debut against Chelsea as a substitute in April, 1974 which, at the time, made him the youngest player to appear for Spurs in the League.  Over the next number of seasons he played occasionally but in Spurs promotion season he played every game.  The arrival of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa in 1978 saw him lose his place following the 0 - 7 defeat at Anfield and he moved to Bolton in November, 1978.  After being with a number of clubs he joined City in July, 1983 and had seven good years at Maine Road, playing probably his best football and helping them to promotion in 1989.  He joined Tranmere Rovers in 1990 for two seasons.

Clive Allen, the son of Les Allen, is one of Harry Redknapp's backroom staff and had two and a half seasons at City after returning from a year in France with Bordeaux.  He had joined Spurs from QPR in 1984 and scored twice on his debut against Everton but injury restricted him during his first two seasons.  In 1986-87 season he set a new Tottenham record by scoring 49 goals including the first in the 1987 FA Cup Final defeat to Coventry City.  That season, he was voted 'Player of the Year' by the PFA and Football Writers Association.  He moved to France in March, 1988.

Clive Wilson, Bobby Mimms and Michael Brown played for City early in their careers and later joined Spurs but Paul Walsh who joined Spurs from Liverpool later joined City. 

Spurs in History - 3rd August

3rd August, 1974

Hearts 1 Spurs 1 (Pre-season Friendly)

On holiday in Edinburgh I went to this game and when Spurs scored I was the only person celebrating in the stand – much to the concern of my girlfriend.

The game was very low key, Spurs were playing their first pre-season game and were without Chivers, injured, and had Chris Jones leading the attack.

Spurs goal was scored by substitute John Pratt when he equalised late in the second half from what looked like a decidedly off-side position – but they all count!

My girl friend then insisted on walking away from the ground as close to the nearest policeman that she could find. It's the one and only Spurs' match she has ever attended and we've been married 31 years.

Spurs in History - 6th May

6th May, 1979

Spurs 3 Bermuda Select XI 1 (Friendly)

This was the final game of a tour that included matches in Kuwait, Malaysia, Japan and Bermuda. Undefeated during the tour, the team had won the Japan National Cup by defeating Dundee United 2-0 in Tokyo.

However, such was the nature of this game that goalkeeper Milija Aleksic played on the right wing and a number of the backroom staff appeared in the team, including Assistant Secretary Peter Day and physiotherapist Mike Varney. Also four Bermudan players were included as second-half substitutes for Spurs.

The goals were scored by Colin Lee, Chris Jones and Bermudan Alan Marshall.

Spurs in History - 21st February

21st February, 1979

Wrexham 2 Spurs 3 FA Cup 4th Round Replay

Spurs were finding it difficult to re-establish themselves in the 1st Division having won promotion the previous year and their Cup progress in January, 1979 was proving problematic. They had the good fortune to receive a home tie in both of the opening rounds but progress in the Cup was being achieved the hard way as they had needed a replay to overcome non-League, Altrincham in the previous Round. The replay win over Altrincham had been Spurs’ first FA Cup success for six seasons, since defeating another non-League side, Margate, in 1973 which had been Bill Nicholson’s last FA Cup win as manager.

Again, drawn at home in the 4th Round, Wrexham proved equally as difficult. Spurs and Wrexham shared six goals with the 2nd Division side earning a deserved 3-3 draw in the first game at White Hart Lane. Glenn Hoddle, Chris Jones and an own goal accounted for Spurs’ quota.

Wrexham were deserving of the replay which went to extra time and Spurs can be grateful to an unlikely hero in Chris Jones who scored a hat-trick to secure victory. This was Spurs' second hat-trick in consecutive replays to see Spurs through by 3-2.