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.   

  

Spurs v Wolves Preview

Tottenham play their fourth consecutive home match in twelve days.  To date all has gone well with progress in the FA Cup and victories over West Brom and Everton to lift Spurs to joint second in the Premier League, level on points with United and three points behind City.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will arrive at White Hart Lane with two objectives tomorrow afternoon - to avoid becoming the second club that Spurs have completed the 'double' over this season and to achieve what they managed on their last visit to north London, a draw against Arsenal at Christmas or even better to repeat their success of two seasons ago when they scored a goal after three minutes and frustrated Spurs for the rest of the game to take all three points in their first win at White Hart Lane since November, 1973.

Mick McCarthy will be hoping the players will respond in a positive way to the rather public utterings of the club owner, Steve Morgan who has let it be known that he is looking for an improvement in the second half of the season as he doesn't think that 17 points from 20 matches is good enough.  This has put added pressure on McCarthy to ensure that the players are focused and know exactly what they have to do.

This will, undoubtedly, be another game where Spurs will find themselves facing a packed defence with forwards expected to track back and help in midfield and defence as required and then make to most of any opportunities which provide themselves at the set-piece plays where tall defenders will pile forward in search of a goal.  To date, Spurs have shown a patience to work at breaking down such defences and with a little more awareness and control in the penalty area could have won previous matches by a greater margin.

Wolves are in 16th place in the Premier League, two places but only one point above the relegation zone.  From ten away games they have taken six points from three draws and one win.  They have scored 10 goals and conceded 18.  Their only win was on the opening day of the season when they defeated Blackburn Rovers 3 - 2 at Ewood Park.  They followed that with a draw at Aston Villa and their undefeated three match start to the season came to an end when Spurs visited Molineux in September.  After such an encouraging start to the season, taking seven points from the first three games they have found it more difficult to pick up points.

Last Saturday they played out a goalless draw at Birmingham City in the FA Cup and in their previous two away Premier League games they earned a point in each with 1 - 1 draws at Bolton and Arsenal.  In both of those matches they came from behind to equalise through Steven Fletcher.  These recent results on their travels have shown them to be difficult to break down awith a resilience as they battle to improve their position.  Their last away defeat was at Manchester United in mid-December (1 - 4).  Other away losses have been at the hands of Liverpool (1 - 2), WBA (0 - 2), Manchester City (1 - 3), Everton (1 - 2) and Chelsea (0 - 3).

Wolves don't appear to have too many injury problems although former Spurs player, Jamie O'Hara is out long term.  Others who had minor knocks are recovering and available for selection -
Fletcher and Roger Johnson picked up minor ankle problems last weekend but have recovered as has
Dave Edwards after a groin problem.  Nenad Milijas is also back after completing his suspension.

Steven Fletcher is Wolves' leading goal scorer with 8 goals in the League, five ahead of four players - Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Stephan Ward, Stephen Hunt and O'Hara.  Fletcher scored in last season's game at White Hart Lane and also in the 3 - 3 draw at Molineux where Kevin Doyle scored twice as well as getting the winner two seasons ago.  This season Doyle has scored two goals.

Wolves feel they have been unfortunate in recent weeks with decisions which have gone against them - in the home match against Chelsea where they lost to a last minute goal and the sending off of Milijas against Arsenal.  They will take encouragement from their performance at the Emirates and from other results in recent weeks - Blackburn's win at Old Trafford, Sunderland's defeat of Manchester City, Aston Villa winning at Chelsea - and see these as proof that the top teams can be beaten when the other team shows the application and belief that they can get a result.  Spurs will have to be wary of allowing such motives on the part of the visitors to get a control of the game.  While everyone in the media is talking up next weekend's meeting with City in Manchester the Spurs players are aware that the game against Wolves is the most important at the moment as a win would put them level on points with City who don't play until Monday evening and probably United who play Bolton on Saturday.  All three clubs could have 48 points by tea-time tomorrow.

League Record against Wolves at White Hart Lane

P  40  W  28  D  7  L  5  For 102  Ag  53

 
Home Premier League Record against Wolves

P  3  W  2  D  0  L  1  For  8  Ag  4

Last Season's Result

Sept. 2010  PL  Won  3 - 1 Van der Vaart (pen), Pavlyuchenko, Hutton

Wolves took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Fletcher in last season's match.  They held their lead in what was looking like a repeat of the previous season until thirteen minutes from time when Rafael Van der Vaart brought Spurs level from the penalty spot after a strong run into the area by Alan Hutton who was brought down by Ward.  Spurs then won the game in the final three minutes with two goals from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Hutton.

Memorable Matches against Wolves at the Lane

Dec. 2003  PL  Won 5 - 2  Keane (3), Kanoute, Dalmat

It was Wolves first game at White Hart Lane for twenty years and their first there in the Premier League.  Former Wolves player Robbie Keane, scored a hat-trick.  He put Spurs ahead after 29 minutes but Paul Ince equalised a minute later.  Early in the second half Fredi Kanoute restored Spurs lead and Keane completed his hat-trick by scoring in the 75th and 83rd minute.  Wolves pulled one back but in the final minute Stephane Dalmat scored the fifth for Spurs with a great strike. 

Feb. 1983  Div. 1 Won 6 - 1  Villa (3), Falco, Hoddle (pen), Crooks

This match marked the official opening of the new West Stand with the duties performed by Sir Stanley Rous, the former President of FIFA.  Spurs celebrated in grand style with an emphatic win over a poor Wolves side who were to be relegated at the end of the season. Ricky Villa rose to the occasion once again by scoring a hat-trick.  Glenn Hoddle scored Spurs' first goal from the penalty spot and then Villa got his first. Wolves scored just before half-time but in the second half Villa completed his hat-trick while Garth Crooks and Mark Falco also added to the scoring.

  

Mar. 1965  Div. 1  Won 7 - 4  Clayton, Allen, Gilzean (2), Jones (3)

An eleven goal thriller. The Spurs goals came from Eddie Clayton, Les Allen, Alan Gilzean (2) and Cliff Jones (3).

A number of interesting facts about this game:

• this was Les Allen’s last goal for Spurs
• Keith Weller a young forward made his debut and
• Jimmy Greaves was playing but surprisingly did not score.

Wolves had scored first but Spurs equalized and at half-time the score was 1-1.  With six minutes to go the score was 5-4 and then Jones scored two late goals for his hat-trick.

Spurs know that they must win this match as they continue to chase Manchester City and United but they are aware that Wolves will prove to be very awkward opponents who must be taken seriously.  A Spurs win over Wolves would make next week's match in Manchester very interesting as it could provide Spurs with an opportunity to move level on points with City having played the same number of matches.  But that's for next week, this weekend it's all about Wolves and the chase for a vital win.

   

They Played for Spurs and Swansea

The history of Tottenham Hotspur is littered with Welshmen who have played for the club and have brought glory to the club both as individuals and with trophy winning teams.  Gareth Bale is currently the name on everyone's mind but before him there was Mike England, Ron Burgess, Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin.  Some of those players played for both Spurs and Swansea with the Welsh club providing Spurs with two members of the 'Double' winning squad.

As Gareth Bale returns to Wales, Spurs can be extremely grateful for the Welsh born players who represented the club in earlier years and for a time after the Second World War there was a succession of players who came from Wales to play football at White Hart Lane.

Terry Medwin signed from Swansea Town in April, 1956 for £25,000.  He played mostly for Spurs on the right wing but had filled all of the forward positions for Swansea.  He had already made three international appearances for Wales prior to joining Spurs and went on to add another 27 caps for his country.  He was a regular for Spurs for the next four seasons but lost his place to Terry Dyson at the start of the 1960 - 61 season but came into the team at times of injury, making 15 appearances.  He regained his place for the 1962 FA Cup triumph but a serious injury on tour in the summer of 1963 led to his eventual retirement.  He made over 200 appearances for Spurs and scored 72 goals.

Cliff Jones - 'Spurs Legend'

Cliff Jones followed Medwin from Swansea to London in February, 1958 and became a Tottenham 'Legend' in his ten years with the club.  He was a member of the 'Double' winning team and the success that followed in 1962 and 1963.  He was an unused substitute for the 1967 FA Cup Final and was still a member of the team when he was transferred to Fulham in October, 1968.  A quick winger who could create and score goals and was fearless when diving in to score goals with his head against players of much greater height and build.  He made 378 League and Cup appearances, scoring 159 goals.

Ron Burgess captained the 'Push and Run' team of the late 1940s and early 1950s, leading them to promotion in 1950 as 2nd Division Champions and then securing the 1st Division title the following year.  He was one of Spurs greatest players and had arrived from Wales in 1939, an immense half-back he eventually moved to Swansea as player-manager in 1954 and ten years later as manager of Watford sold a young Northern Ireland goalkeeper to Tottenham - Pat Jennings was his name.  He made 301 Football League appearances for the club but like so many players of that era, the total would have been so much greater but for losing six years of his footballing career to the Second World War.

Ernie Jones was another winger to move from Swansea to Spurs. He was an amateur with Swansea before the War but joined Bolton in the early 1940s and turned professional.  He returned to Swansea and played for them in the war-time football and had a year in the Football League with the Welsh club before joining Spurs in June, 1947.  He made his debut a few days later on 7th June, 1947 - the latest date on which Spurs has ever played their final game of a season.  He spent two seasons with the club before joining Southampton in May, 1949 as part of the deal which brought Alf Ramsey to White Hart Lane.

Arthur Willis was a full back in the 'Push and Run' team which won the 1st Division title in 1951.  He had joined Spurs in 1938 as an amateur and made 145 League appearances before moving to Swansea in 1954.  He played for them for four seasons and helped them to the Welsh Cup Final in 1956.  He later joined their coaching staff.

In more recent times, Paul Price who played in the 1982 FA Cup Final spent three seasons with Spurs, having joined from Luton Town in 1981.  Price, a Welsh international central defender, joined Swansea in 1984 and spent two years at the Vetch Field.

Mark Kendall was a reserve goalkeeper with Spurs in the late 1970s, making 36 appearances during his time at White Hart Lane.  He left Spurs in 1980 but later in his career he had two seasons with Swansea, helping then win the Welsh Cup.  He also played for them in European competition but was back-up during his time there.  Sadly, Kendall passed away suddenly in 2008, aged 49.

John Hendry who had five seasons with Spurs joined Swansea on loan for a period in 1994.  He later joined Motherwell.  He scored on his Spurs debut at Norwich and scored twice at Highbury as Spurs beat Arsenal 3 - 1 in the last game of 1992 - 93.  He scored five League goals for Spurs in 17 League appearances.

Paul Miller who was such a vital member of the Spurs central defence in the successful team of the 1980s made 12 appearances for Swansea in 1990.  At Tottenham, he formed a great partnership with Graham Roberts and scored the goal in the first leg of the 1984 UEFA Cup Final against Anderlecht in Belgium.

Mark Gower and Wayne Routledge who are currently with Swansea spent time with Spurs earlier in their careers, while Steven Caulker is on loan at Swansea from Spurs for this season to gain Premier league experience.

Terry Yorath played for both clubs as did Mick Stead, Alan Woods, Derek King, Joe Meek, Percy Hooper, Jack Illingworth, Charlie Handley and Wilie Davies.

They Played for Tottenham and Fulham

From past masters Alan Mullery, Cliff Jones, Terry Dyson to today's more recent and less favourably remembered players - Danny Murphy, Stephen Kelly, Bobby Zamora and Simon Davies, they all played for both clubs.  Over the years there have been many other players who have performed admirably for both Spurs and Fulham.

As was the case with Queen's Park Rangers last week, there have been many players who have played for both Tottenham and Fulham, serving both clubs with distinction.

The player who is probably best loved by both sets of fans is Alan Mullery who started his career at Craven Cottage but was transferred to Spurs in March, 1964 for £72,500 as Bill Nicholson endeavoured to rebuild his 'Double' winning squad and replace some legendary players.  Mullery had the unenviable task of trying to fill the boots of Danny Blanchflower and he found it a difficult task in the early days.   the fans were slow to accept Mullery but in time through his hard work he gradually won them over and was part of the 1967 FA Cup winning time.  When Dave Mackay moved on in 1968, Mullery became captain and led them to success in the 1971 League Cup and the 1972 UEFA Cup win.

In season 1971-72 Mullery was out for a lengthy period through injury but when fit he couldn't displace John Pratt.  Mullery asked to go out on loan and returned to Fulham.  However, unexpectedly he returned to White Hart Lane when Pratt was injured ahead of the UEFA Cup semi-finals.  He captained the team in the 1st leg at White Hart Lane against AC Milan which Spurs won 2 - 1 and then led by example in the away game scoring an early goal as Spurs drew 1 - 1.  In the Final against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham brought a one goal advantage to the home game and it was Mullery who headed the goal to increase their lead.  In the process, he knocked himself out but battled on as Spurs held on for the draw which saw them lift the trophy.  Mullery enjoyed the celebrations around the pitch long after thel other players had departed to the changing rooms.  As it turned out, it was to be Mullery's last contribution in a Tottenham shirt as he was transferred to Fulham in the summer for £65,000.

He played for England on 35 occasions but unfortunately became the first England player to be sent off in a full England international in 1968 European Championships.

He played at Craven Cottage for four years and along with Bobby Moore they reached the FA Cup Final of 1975 with Mullery winning the Football Writers' Player of the Year award that season.

An inspirational player he went on to become manager at Brighton, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace and QPR.

Cliff Jones ended his career with Fulham having served Tottenham for over ten years.  He was a vital member of the successful Tottenham of the 1960s making over 400 appearances and scoring 176 goals.  In recognition of his service he was allowed to leave for a minimal fee of £5,000 even though he had scored six goals in eight appearances that season.  He had cost £35,000 when signed from Swansea town in February, 1958 but broke his leg during pre-season training.  He joined Fulham in October, 1968 and played for two seasons at Craven Cottage.  A fast, tricky winger who loved to take on his defender and who would courageously dive in where others feared to goal.  for a small player he could jump to amazing heights to head numerous goals against taller defenders.  A true Tottenham legend.

Terry Dyson joined Fulham in June, 1965 having spent eleven years at the club.  After years of waiting patiently he came into the team at the start of season 1960 - 61 and was a regular as Spurs won the League and FA Cup.  He missed out on the following season's FA Cup triumph but regained his place for the next year's European Cup Winners' Cup success when he was one of the heroes, scoring twice in the Final against Atletico Madrid.  He spent three years at Craven Cottage before joining Colchester United.

Ray Evans was a full back with Spurs who made his debut in 1969.  He had come through the youth system but found it difficult to get into the team ahead of Joe Kinnear.  He made numerous appearances in the early 1970s but Kinnear always returned for the crucial matches.  He was a member of the losing UEFA Cup losing team of 1973 - 74 but when Terry Neill replaced Nicholson as manager, Kinnear returned.  Evans went to Millwall and after two years moved on to Fulham where he spent two year before going to Stoke City but he had also played in America during the summer months.

John Lacy was part of the Fulham FA Cup team beside Bobby Moore and was signed for Tottenham by Keith Burkinshaw in the summer of 1978.  Needless to say his signing was overshadowed by the arrival of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa.  He found it difficult in his first season in what was a tough year for Spurs, newly promoted to the 1st Division.  The signing of Paul Price and the development of Paul Miller and Graham Roberts put his place under threat and when he lost his place at the start of the start of the 1981 FA Cup run, he never regained it.  He left for Crystal Palace in the summer of 1984.

Fulham's Current Squad
Simon Davies joined Tottenham from Peterborough with Matthew Etherington and made over 120 appearances before joining Everton in 2005 for £4 million.  He became a regular player and was a member of the team which lost the 2002 League Cup Final to Blackburn Rovers.  He joined Fulham in 2007 and has made over 130 appearances for them.

Bobby Zamora joined Tottenham from Brighton but in eighteen months at the club his chances were limited and he only scored one goal, the winner in a Cup game against West Ham United.  He joined West Ham when Spurs signed Jermain Defoe in 2004.  After four years he joined Fulham.


Stephen Kelly came through Spurs youth scheme and impressed on oan at lower league clubs.  However, on returning to Tottenham, Kelly made only 37 appearances and the lack of first team football saw him transferred to Birmingham City in 2006.  After three years the Republic of Ireland international returned to London with Fulham.

The Fulham captain, Danny Murphy, made 170 appearances for Liverpool and joined Spurs in 2006 after two seasons with Charlton Athletic.  limited opportunities saw Martin Jol transfer him to Fulham eighteen months later.  He has now made over 130 appearances at Craven Cottage and is a very influential player in midfield for the club.

Martin Jol
The former Tottenham manager returned to Premier League football in the summer having been sacked by Tottenham in October, 2007.  He spent a season with Hamburg and then two years in Holland as manger of Ajax where in his first season he missed out on winning the League title by a single point.

Martin Jol arrived at Tottenham in the summer of 2004 as assistant to Jacques Santini.  After the unexpected departure of the manager the following October, he became manager and had a great affinity with the club wanting to emulate the success and style achieved by Bill Nicholson.  He managed to take the team to fifth place in the Premier League for two successive years, only missing out on fourth and Champions League football on the first occasion on the last day when his team were struck down by sickness and lost to West Ham. 

However, in the summer of 2007, the Tottenham board were seen in Spain talking to Juande Ramos.  While denying they had approached him to become manager, Jol's position had been undermined and after a poor start to the season, he lost his position and was replaced by Ramos.  It was a very unfortunate situation that Spurs had put themselves in and the removal of their manager was a rather unsavory episode in the club's history.  Jol split the fans, some siding with the Directors who felt he had taken the team as far as he could while others thought he should be given more time.  Obviously, Jol will be looking to his Fulham players to make a footballing statement on his behave and show that he still has much to offer as a manager.

Other players to spend time with both clubs included: Steve Archibald, Tony Parks, Phil Gray, Paul Mahorn and Paul Konchesky.

Older players were Alfie Stokes who had seven years at Tottenham and then went to Fulham for a season.  Harry Lowe spent a season at Fulham after over thirteen seasons at White Hart Lane.  Charlie Walters who was centre half in Tottenham's 1921 FA Cup winning team was transferred to Fulham in 1926 after seven years with the club.  Taffy O'Callaghan who played for Spurs in the 1920s and 1930s had two season with Fulham before the War.

50 Years Ago today - Saturday, 13th August,1960

Spurs 'Double' winning team - 1960

It was 50 years ago today that Spurs supporters had the first glimpse of the greatest team in the club's history which was about to embark on a season that would never be forgotten and would set the standards for every other Tottenham Hotspur team, standards which, to date, none have ever reached.

 

On the second Saturday of August the Public Trial Match was played at White Hart Lane.  In those days there were no pre-season tours or friendly matches played, the final preparation was the annual match between the 'Whites' (1st Team) and the 'Blues' (Reserves) and the public had their first opportunity to see the team ahead of the new season.  There were no new players on view and the first team only showed one change from the team which had finished the previous year - Les Allen replacing Tony Marchi. The matches were always very competitive as players tried to catch the manager's eye with an impressive performance that would ensure their place in the team for the first League game to be played the following Saturday at 3.00pm.

 

Reporting on the game in the match programme for the Everton game it was noted that the players had completed three weeks training at Cheshunt and 11,677 spectators were present to see a 4-4 draw with all the proceeds donated to charity. 

 

The match was evenly contested but midway through the second half the 'Whites' had taken a 4-1 lead and looked to be on their way to a comfortable win.  The 'Whites' went ahead from a Cliff Jones penalty half way through the first half and this was followed a few minutes later by a goal from Dave Mackay who having 'joined in a left-wing attack and from almost the bye-line lashed a fierce drive just inside the near post' - one of the highlights of the afternoon.

 

Early in the second half Terry Dyson scored the third after a shot from Les Allen hit the bar.  Immediately, the 'Blues' pulled a goal back when Terry Medwin scored from Frank Saul's cross with a flying header.  Immediately, Les Allen restored the three goal margin.

 

The 'Blues' staged a late comeback as Jimmy Collins and Frank Saul scored to reduce the arrears and then Collins added his second in the final minutes following a defensive mix-up.

 

Bill Nicholson obviously knew his best team as the 'Whites' team was composed of all the players who are most closely associated with the 'Double' team and who were to appear in the final 'Double' clinching match at Wembley the following May.

 

'Whites': Brown; Baker, Henry; Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay; Jones, White, Smith (R), Allen, Dyson.

 

'Blues': Hollowbread, Hills, Hopkins; Smith (J), Ryden, Marchi; Medwin, Harmer, Saul, Collins, Aitchison.

Spurs in History - 1st June

1st June, 1959

Dynamo Kiev 1 Spurs 2 (Friendly)

Spurs undertook a three match tour of the USSR during the close season. It was their first visit to the country and in ‘The Double’ by Ken Ferris, this Russian tour is identified as the time when Spurs ‘began to lay the foundations of a great side’.

Both Nicholson and Blanchflower began to realise that there was the makings of a great team. Many of the players were already at the club and with a few more signings and a little tinkering, the great team of the early sixties would appear.

Two goals from Johnny Brooks gave Spurs their second victory of the tour and weariness from the excessive travel contributed to their defeat in the final game, three days later.

The tour was a great success, bringing the players closer together and Dave Mackay is quoted as saying, ‘…I shall always believe we laid the foundations of the team-spirit and genuine friendship which has since played a notable part in the success of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.’ Other players, Cliff Jones and Ron Henry support that view with similar comments, ‘That’s where we saw the first signs,’ (Jones) and ‘It all came together in Russia.’ (Henry)

Spurs in History - 31st may

31st May, 1963

NSAFL Invitation XI 1 Spurs 5 (Friendly)

Having won the European Cup Winners’ Cup, Spurs undertook a three match tour to South Africa. This was their first visit to the country and in this first game, Welsh International, Terry Medwin broke his leg during the first half. So severe was the injury that Medwin was unable to play again and in spite of a lengthy battle to regain fitness, he had to retire through injury in the summer of 1964.

Medwin’s injury overshadowed the match in which the goal scorers were Frank Saul, Les Allen (3) and Cliff Jones.

Spurs in History - 26th May

26th May, 1962

Tel Aviv Select XI 1 Spurs 2 (Friendly)

The F.A.Cup winners went on a two game tour to Israel in the close season. With Maurice Norman, Jimmy Greaves and Cliff Jones unavailable, it was an otherwise full strength team that played in these games.

Spurs won this game through goals from Dave Mackay and Eddie Clayton while the final game four days later against Haifa Select XI was won by 5-0 with the goals being scored by Mackay, John White, Frank Saul, Les Allen and Clayton.

Spurs in History - 4th May

4th May, 1963
Spurs 4 Sheffield United 2 (1st Division)

Another Jimmy Greaves goal scoring record.

This season, 1962 - 63, Spurs were looking to Europe for success but Greaves continued his phenomenal goal scoring feats by setting a new record for the number of League goals scored in a season.

The previous record of 36 had been set in 1930-31 by Ted Harper when Spurs were in the Second Division and equalled in 1957-58 by Bobby Smith.

Greaves created a new record of 37 when scoring Spurs third against United.

The other goals came from Frank Saul, Cliff Jones and Terry Dyson. Although three games remained, he failed to add to his total for the season.

The following year he scored 35 League goals and since then only Clive Allen has come near to his record, scoring 33 in 1986-87.

Spurs in History - 1st May

1st May, 1963

Spurs 3 OFK Belgrade 1 European Cup Winners Cup Semi Final (2nd Leg).

Holding a one goal lead from the 1st Leg, Spurs progressed to their first European Final. However, it was a difficult match and Spurs were made to fight all the way. Without Jimmy Greaves who was suspended, having been sent off in the first game, Spurs took the lead through Dave Mackay.

OFK fought back to equalize and put Spurs under considerable pressure. In a tense game, Bill Brown and all of the defenders had to be at their best and it was a relief to everyone when Cliff Jones restored Spurs lead before half-time. Bobby Smith completed the scoring in the second half to make Spurs the first English club to reach a European final - progressing 5-2 on aggregate.

In the Final Spurs would play Atletico Madrid in Rotterdam.

Spurs in History - 6th April

6th April, 1968

Spurs 6 Southampton 1 (1st Division)

Spurs had four consecutive home games from mid-March to Easter and won all of them. They scored 16 goals, conceding only two. This was the third of the victories, having previously overcome Stoke City (3-0) and Burnley (5-0) which included Jimmy Greaves 300th League goal.

The goals against Southampton were scored by Alan Mullery, Jimmy Greaves (2) (1 pen), Martin Chivers, Cliff Jones and an own goal. The final game in the sequence was a 2-1 victory over Leeds United on Good Friday. They then lost the next two away games, including the return against Leeds in mid-week before returning to winning ways at White Hart Lane.

Spurs in History - 4th April

4th April, 1961
Sunderland 1 Spurs 1 F.A.Cup 6th Round.

[Pic: Danny Blanchflower played a captain's role as Spurs held on for a replay]

This was a game that tested the soon to be ‘Double’ winning team to the limit Sunderland were in the 2nd Division and the atmosphere at Roker Park was extraordinary. Cliff Jones gave Spurs the lead after nine minutes with a header from a partially cleared corner. The rest of the half was tranquil but Bobby Smith hit the post just before halftime.

However, in the second half Sunderland were transformed and forced Spurs to defend. The 61,236 crowd awoke and roared their team to an equaliser. Weaker teams would have succumbed but Danny Blanchflower galvanized the team which held out for the replay.

Spurs in History - 31st March

31st March, 1962

Spurs 3 Manchester United 1 F.A.Cup Semi-Final at Hillsborough

A second successive semi-final victory as Spurs endeavoured to retain the FA Cup. Goals from Jimmy Greaves, Terry Medwin and Cliff Jones ensured that Spurs won comfortably and returned to Wembley to meet the team they defeated in the previous year’s semi-final.

Greaves and Jones gave Spurs a two goal half-time lead. United scored with seven minutes remaining but Medwin ensured Spurs victory, scoring three minutes later.

Team: Brown, Baker, Henry, Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay, Medwin, White, Smith, Greaves, Jones.

Spurs in History - 27th March

27th March, 1965

Spurs 7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 1st Division

An eleven goal thriller. The Spurs goals came from Eddie Clayton, Les Allen, Alan Gilzean (2) and Cliff Jones (3).

A number of interesting facts about this game:

• this was Les Allen’s last goal for Spurs (Pic: Ls Allen who was transferred to QPR and later became their manager),


• Keith Weller a young forward made his debut and


• Jimmy Greaves was playing and surprisingly did not score.

Wolves had scored first but Spurs equalized and at half-time the score was 1-1. With six minutes to go the score was 5-4 and then Jones scored two late goals for his hat-trick.

With six matches to play Spurs were fourth in the League but eleven points behind the top three teams.

Spurs in History - 18th March

18th March, 1961

Burnley 0 Spurs 3 F.A.Cup Semi-Final at Villa Park.

At the fourth attempt, Spurs returned successfully from a semi-final tie at Villa Park. The two top teams met to decide who would be in the FA Cup Final at Wembley. Burnley were the reigning Champions and Spurs were well on the way to claiming their title. The League game at White Hart Lane in early December had been a classic. Spurs had gone four up but Burnley clawed themselves back into the game to earn a draw.

In the semi-final Spurs took the lead after half an hour and went further ahead when Bobby Smith scored his second in the second half. This deflated Burnley and Cliff Jones added the third before the end.

Spurs had reached the FA Cup Final for the first time in 40 years and were on their way to Wembley for the very first time. Over the next number of years Tottenham Hotspur were to become regular visitors at the famous stadium.

Spurs in Histroy - 4th March

4th March, 1961

Sunderland 1 Spurs 1 F.A.Cup 6th Round.

This was a game that tested the soon to be ‘Double’ winning team to the limit. Sunderland were in the 2nd Division and the atmosphere at Roker Park was extraordinary. Cliff Jones gave Spurs the lead after nine minutes with a header from a partially cleared corner. The rest of the half was tranquil but Smith hit the post just before halftime.

However, in the second half Sunderland were transformed and forced Spurs to defend. The 61,236 crowd awoke and roared their team to an equaliser. Weaker teams would have succumbed but Blanchflower galvanized the team which held out for the replay.

Team: Brown; Baker, Henry; Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay, Jones, White, Smith, Allen, Dyson.

Spurs in History - a Leap Year Extra

29th February, 1964

Birmingham City 1 Spurs 2 1st Division

This is the last occasion that Spurs played on this unusual date. A First Division game at St. Andrews saw Spurs take the two points through goals from Cliff Jones and a Jimmy Greaves’ penalty. This was a transitional period after the ‘Double’ and Nicholson’s next successful team.

Danny Blanchflower was about to retire through injury, Dave Mackay was injured and Bill Brown and Bobby Smith were out of favour. The team contained some unfamiliar faces, including a centre-half, Laurie Brown, signed from Arsenal, playing at centre-forward.

Nicholson was active in the transfer market and a number of new players would soon be arriving at White Hart Lane, the nucleus of the new team - Alan Mullery, Jimmy Robertson, Pat Jennings and Cyril Knowles would all arrive before the start of the next season.

Spurs in History - 18th February

18th February, 1959

Norwich City 1 Spurs 0 FA Cup 5th Round Replay

For the third time in five seasons, Spurs were the victims of the FA cup giant-killers in the 5th Round of the FA Cup.

In 1955 they had fallen to York City who were in the 3rd Division(North). Spurs lost 1-3 at York who went on to reach the semi-final, only to lose in a replay to Newcastle United, the eventual Cup winners.

In 1957 Bournemouth caused them problems defeating them by a similar score. Bournemouth, in the 3rd Division, were managed by former Spur, Freddie Cox, and they countered everything that Spurs could offer. The south coast club had defeated Wolves in the previous round but lost art home to Manchester United in the next round.

This time, in 1959, Spurs must have expected to progress to the next Round when they drawn at home to 3rd Division Norwich who were the season’s giant-killers. Norwich had defeated Manchester United and Cardiff but no one expected them to win at Tottenham. They didn’t although they nearly did! Having taken the lead in the second half Spurs equalised through Cliff Jones with 40 seconds remaining.

In the replay Spurs started brightly but a fanatical home crowd urged on Norwich who scored the only goal in the 63rd minute for a deserved victory. Norwich progressed to the semi-final that year.

Spurs in History - 11th February

11th February, 1967
Spurs 4 Fulham 2 1st Division

An entertaining game which saw Spurs take an early lead through Alan Gilzean. Fulham equalised, only for Jimmy Greaves to restore Spurs lead. Before half time Fulham scored their second. Also at the end of the first half, an incident involving Terry Venables and Callaghan of Fulham resulted in both players being sent off.

Two second half goals from Cliff Jones gave Spurs victory and completed their third ‘double’ of the season. Venables claimed that it was a minor incident that got blown out of all proportion because other players started interfering.

Spurs in History - 3rd February

3rd February, 1960

Spurs 13 Crewe Alexandra 2 (FA Cup 4th Round Replay)

Having survived a difficult game the previous Saturday, this F.A.Cup 4th Round Replay was over, long before half-time, providing Spurs with their biggest ever win.

Spurs dominated the game from the beginning and were a goal ahead after two minutes through Bobby Smith. Two more followed from Les Allen and Smith before Crewe scored but then Tommy Harmer scored Spurs fourth after 20 minutes. Amazingly, Spurs led 10-1 by half-time and added another three in the second half. Les Allen enjoyed the game scoring five times, Bobby Smith scored four and Cliff Jones completed a hat-trick, including a penalty.

This was an outstanding performance and will probably never be equalled. However, Spurs were defeated by Blackburn, the eventual Cup winners in the next round.