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.

Spurs v Reading FA Cup 3rd Round

Match Report: Spurs 2 Reading 2 (FA Cup 3rd Round)

A Day of Dodgy Decisions

A game that Spurs should have won comfortably but through individual errors and a casual approach Spurs didn’t take the goal scoring opportunities their play created. Spurs started brightly and Keane missed an early chance but then the game became rather mundane and only after Reading’s goal did Spurs immediately come to life again for Berbatov to equalise.

The match was dominated by a number of dodgy decisions from all sides.

1.Pre-match we heard from Dave Kitson that the FA Cup game meant nothing to him and he was backed by his manager who put out a team including eight reserve and squad players. They gave Spurs plenty of room centre pitch but played two tight lines of four in front of the penalty area to deny Spurs’ strikers any space in that vital area. They then broke quickly to put Spurs’ suspect defence under pressure although they didn’t cause too many alarms.

2.A hush fell over the ground when the referee awarded Reading a free-kick in a dangerous position. Everyone held their breath as Hunt mis-directed it straight to Robinson – a sigh of relief but then mayhem as the goalkeeper stepped back into the goal and the assistant referee awarded the goal. I don’t know if the ball did cross the line but from the television coverage and photographs there’s been no conclusive evidence. Why did I mention Mr Clattenberg and the ‘Mendes goal’ on Friday?

3.Early in the second half having spurned a number of chances from Keane and Jenas, Berbatov scored from a penalty after Keane had been brought down. Juande Ramos then decided to take off Keane and put on Taarabt. Defoe would have been a better choice because although Spurs had plenty of pressure and Berbatov should have made it 3-1 the team lost its shape and their attacking play lacked a cutting edge as they failed to force home their initiative.

4.A mistake by Malbranque allowed Reading to counter attack quickly and although Robinson parried the initial shot, Hunt was on hand to equalise.

5.Huddlestone immediately replaced Malbranque and lasted only four minutes being sent off for lowering his head in the direction of the smaller Convey as the referee took advice from his assistant.

For the last ten minutes it was frantic as Spurs held on for the replay. Spurs were too casual, lacked that winning mentality which has been missing all season and you can’t take liberties with Premier League teams, they’ll make you pay and that’s exactly what Reading did. They frustrated Spurs and struck when they were provided with the opportunity.

Ramos Proves Jol’s Case

Ramos Proves Jol's Case

[first posted on Topspurs.com]

The final weeks of Martin Jol’s tenure as manager of Spurs brought much vitriolic criticism of him and the team as messageboard fanatics came alive as a consequence of the team’s failure to add to their August success over Derby County.

The fanatics’ unreasonable criticism, apart from calling for Jol’s dismissal, poured blame on Paul Robinson for every goal that was conceded and called him the worst Spurs’ goalkeeper ever, called as usual for the removal of another of Jol’s ‘favourites’, Robbie Keane to be replaced by Jermain Defoe, called Dimitar Berbatov moody and lazy and a hundred and one other names, never wanted to see Jemaine Jenas pull on the Spurs’ shirt again and so it went on. Also the ‘experts’ wanted to see the Adel Taarabt and Kevin Prince-Boateng selected and despite their lack of experience these young players were seen as the ‘saviours’ of the team.

Such over the top criticism was unnecessary and way off beam.

To regard Robinson as Spurs’ worst ever goalkeeper – you either haven’t supported the club very long or you have a very short memory when in the past we have had to endure such goalkeepers as Mark Kendall and Bobby Mimms. The calls for Cerny to replace him were based on adequate performances in pre-season friendlies and early Cup games. However, when he met with the high pressure games at Newcastle and against Getafe, he was less impressive and failed to suggest he was the answer to the ‘supposed’ goalkeeping crisis. Such was an indication as to why Jol persevered with Robinson who was low on confidence behind a defence lacking an experienced leader.

On his arrival Ramos tried out a few players and then for the game against Wigan, a must win match, he selected his strongest available team.

How disappointed the Jol critics must have been – he selected the exact same team that Martin Jol would have selected – the team that Jol regarded as his best formation for most of last season (Kaboul apart) – Robinson, Chimbonda, Dawson, Kaboul, Lee, Lennon, Jenas, Zokora, Malbranque, Berbatov and Keane.

Perhaps Martin Jol actually knew what he was doing and what his best team was. I’m sure Jol felt vindicated when he saw that team selection – ‘his’ team was going out to play Wigan at White Hart Lane.

Then, of course, Jenas received plaudits for his two goal performance – ‘Ramos has got him playing well’ was the general opinion. Jenas has always been capable of performances like that in games when Spurs have been given plenty of space and time to display their skills – remember his Cup performance against Southend last season, his goal against Derby in August and many others. When Jenas puts in performances like that on a regular basis and against Arsenal, Chelsea or United, then will be the time to praise Ramos and Poyet for the influence they have had on the player.

Berbatov finally managed to show some interest and produce a performance akin to last season. Perhaps Ramos got through to him or perhaps it was his agent who had a word in his ear about trying to impress possible suitors.

Why did Ramos persist with Robbie Keane instead of Defoe – perhaps he saw, as Jol had done, that the team needed him to be creator as well as scorer and put in the extra work supporting the midfield.

Having watched the 125th Anniversary match against Aston Villa again, the performance against Wigan was similar to that earlier game but Wigan were unable to punish the defensive mistakes that Spurs made while Villa took advantage of every one of them.

In time Ramos will have a great influence on the team to get them playing in his way but for the present while the players will be putting in that extra effort to impress the new manager, Martin Jol can take some satisfaction that it was ‘his’ team that beat Wigan at White Hart Lane to bring Spurs three vital points.

Review of Season 2006-07

Spurs’ Season Ends on an Upbeat Note!
(from Topspurs.com)

In August’s season preview, I raised the following questions:

Was last season the best it was going to get for Spurs?
Did Spurs overachieve last year?
Can they maintain their progress this time?
Will Carrick be missed?
Will Berbatov score regularly in the Premiership?

The answers have come during the course of the season and while at times early on as Spurs stuttered through some indifferent displays and results, it looked as if the response to the first two, would have to be in the positive now on the final day (with UEFA Cup football achieved for a second successive season) we can answer that Spurs have improved and didn’t overachieve last season.

Spurs have maintained their progress - in mid-season after losing at Sheffield United they threw off the shackles that had restricted them for much of the season and produced a level and style of football not seen at White Hart Lane for some considerable time. They played exciting football during an impressive period that brought Cup and League progress, lifting them to the heights attained last season, fifth, but with a refreshing, more open, attacking style of football.

Michael Carrick was missed and we all knew that would happen. Martin Jol had built the team around him and it took some time for the players to become accustomed to his absence. Zokora, Jenas and Tainio have now taken over the central midfield role and shown more authority as the season has progressed. Numerous injuries prevented a midfield partnership being formed with Tom Huddlestone having to play far more matches than would have been expected at this early stage of his career but he will have benefited the experience.

Dimitar Berbatov has not disappointed. He has grown in stature and reputation throughout the season. The early European games gave an indication of his ability and class and as he became accustomed to the Premiership so his worth increased. Naturally, rumours abound of ‘big’ clubs looking to take him from Spurs. Look at the league table to see why he and Keane and Defoe have been so important to Spurs’ position this year. The goals against column is similar to those of the relegated clubs but Spurs have managed to score thirty goals more than the clubs in the bottom three – that’s down to the combined contributions of the three strikers, reliable, consistent goal scorers. Those goals have lifted Spurs to fifth position and overcome the deficiencies in defence and without them Spurs would have experienced a totally different season. Every team needs goals and would give a king’s ransom to have strikers of the ability of those three. Berbatov can not go – Spurs took the money for Carrick and made Manchester United a better team – Berbatov must stay to make Spurs even better next year.

The season has seen Spurs again unable to keep a clean sheet – only six in the Premiership through the season, only one club with a worse record in the League, Accrington Stanley. The injury to Ledley King obviously was a factor but individually the players come with some considerable reputation – the England goalkeeper, an England prospect, a French international, a South Korean international and others but as a unit they continue to concede goals. Midfield inadequacies haven’t helped but even in recent months when the team has been more settled, defensively the team has been uncertain and prone to lapses. A break through into the top four will only come about if the defensive frailties are resolved.

Highlights of the season:
The UEFA Cup experience – eight successive wins and not just scraping past opponents but doing it in style.

The exciting, winning football which started with the win over Fulham in the FA Cup.

The array of ‘goal of the season’ strikes from Berbatov, Keane, Huddlestone – quite exquisite, and so many of them.

Disappointments:
The poor start to the season and meaningless displays at Anfield, the Emirates Stadium and Reading.

Losing out in the Cups after promising so much, especially having been in a good position in all of the games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Sevilla.

Goal of the Season:
Which of Berbatov’s goals could you select and some of Robbie Keane’s volleys? But I’ll select Paul Robinson’s goal for its novelty value and to set him alongside Pat Jennings, goal scores extraordinaire.

Most Haunting Memory:
The big screen at White Hart Lane, glowering down at us with the score:

Tottenham Hotspur 0
Sevilla 2

After seven minutes of Spurs’ biggest European game in years, we knew the European dream was over and the screen just emphasised the point and mocked all of us who has arrived with such optimism.

Best memory of the season:
Berbatov’s goal against Manchester City (I wrote this on Saturday evening) to secure a European tour for next season.

Jermaine Jenas’ goal against Arsenal – such joy around White Hart Lane!

Spurs have proved themselves this season – Martin Jol turned it around when it was looking dodgy so here’s to next season – full of optimism. Don’t disappoint us by selling Berbatov or some of our other top players – remember Mr Levy, you said it, “Tottenham Hotspur are not a selling club!” Make sure you prove it this summer.

COYS

Spurs' GOAL of the Season?

Spurs 3 Watford 1

Paul Robinson celebrates his goal against Watford

Paul Robinson scored a goal for Spurs from a free-kick inside his own half. He was wide on the left, 80 yards from goal when he lauched the ball forward towards the Watford goal. The ball bounced between the defender and Foster in the Watford goal and went over his head and into the net.

That is second goal of Robinson's career having previously scored for Leeds United in a League Cup tie. He becomes the third Spurs goalkeeper to score in a competitive match - the last one being Pat Jennings who scored at Old Trafford in the Charity Shield match in August, 1967. The only other League goal scored for Spurs by a goalkeeper was in April, 1914 against Bolton Wanderers by John 'Tiny' Joyce from a penalty, Spurs won 3-0.

Spurs' first goal against Watford was scored late in the first half, rising high to head in a Chimbonda cross. Robinson's goal settled the game and while Ghaly scored the third the match would have been decided sooner if Mido had not missed from five yards with the goalkeeper sprawled on the ground. A tame shot from Tom Huddlestone was spilled by Foster and fell nicely toMido but his casual shot was too close to the goalkeeper who stuck out his leg and deflected it wide. Watford's consolation goal came in the 89th minute when Chimbonda didn't clear a ball near the goal line and allowed the Watford player to cross for Henderson to score his 50th career goal.

Spurs, with a weakened team, earned the three points which lift them into 6th place in the Premiership and Berbatov, Keane, Lennon and Zokora had a well earned rest ahead of Monday evening's FA Cup 6th Round Replay against Chelsea.

The only disappointment was that once again Spurs were unable to keep a clean sheet in the League. It is now 20 games since Spurs managed a clean sheet, the scoreless draw at Watford in October being last time Spurs achieved it in a League match. That inability to prevent the opposition scoring is always an encouragement to the other team in that they know they can score and get back into the game even if they are two down.