Spurs Record Against Chelsea in the FA Cup

Spurs and Chelsea have met once before at Wembley in the FA Cup.  It was for the Final in May, 1967 and Spurs were triumphant, lifting the Cup for the fifth time after a 2 - 1 victory, the goals being scored by Jimmy Robertson and Frank Saul.  Their more recent meeting at Wembley was equally successful in the Carling Cup Final of 2008 when Dimitar Berbatov's penalty and Jonathan Woodgate's header in extra time brought Spurs victory after going a goal down.

Spurs and Chelsea have met on nine previous occasions in the FA Cup.  The most recent had a disappointing result for Spurs after an exciting first game at Stamford Bridge in March, 2007 when they relinquished a two goal advantage when Chelsea equalised with four minutes remaining.

Mar. 2007  FAC 6th R. (a) Draw 3 - 3  Berbatov, Opp.o.g., Ghaly
Berbatov gave Spurs the lead inside four minutes.  Lampard brought Chelsea level midway through the first half.  Spurs then took a two goal lead before the interval through an own goal and Hossam Ghaly.  Early in the second half Spurs had the opportunity to increase their advantage but Chelsea survived and clawed their way back into the tie with the late equaliser.

Replay (h) Lost 1 - 2  Keane (pen)
Spurs matched Chelsea stride for stride for almost an hour with Cech by far the busier keeper.  Then the visitors scored twice in six minutes with two great strikes which gave Paul Robinson no chance.  Spurs pulled one back through a Robbie Keane penalty with ten minutes to go but Chelsea held on.

Mar. 2002  FAC 6th R. (h) Lost 0 - 4
in January Spurs had defeated Chelsea 5 - 1 in the second leg of the Worthington Cup semi-final.  Chelsea were looking for revenge and extracted it with delight.  William Gallas put them ahead early in the first half and then Chelsea added two goals in the opening ten minutes of the second half.  A fourth came with twenty five minutes left but Spurs avoided any further embarrassment.

Mar. 1982  FAC 6th R. (a) Won 3 - 2  Hazard, Archibald, Hoddle
Spurs were looking to retain the FA Cup while Chelsea were in the 2nd Division.  Spurs wore an all white strip with yellow socks and as the game progressed everything clicked for them. Chelsea had taken a first half lead but gradually Spurs started to show their superior class with Glenn Hoddle giving a master class of ball control.  It was only a matter of time before Spurs would score and it came when Steve Archibald poked the ball home after the Chelsea goalkeeper failed to hold a Hoddle free-kick.  Spurs immediately stepped up a gear and within ten minutes were 3-1 ahead.  The second goal was a masterpiece.   Hoddle and Micky Hazard cut through the Chelsea midfield with an exchange of passes and, after Hazard's flick had left them wrong-footed, Hoddle crashed a 25-yard drive past the goalkeeper.  Hazard then confirmed Tottenham's superiority with a coolly taken drive and although Chelsea pulled a goal back Spurs coasted home on a wave of possession football.  The performance was even greater as Spurs had to display their passing talent on a bare pitch with a very uneven bounce.

May, 1967  FAC Final (Wembley) Won 2 - 1  Robertson, Saul
The first 'All London' FA Cup Final and Spurs were deserved winners.  Jimmy Robertson gave them the lead just before half-time and Frank Saul added a second after the interval.  A late Chelsea goal didn't disturb Spurs on their way to claim the trophy for a fifth time and maintain their record of never having lost an FA Cup Final.

Feb. 1965  FAC 5th R. (a) Lost 0 - 1
In a season of transition for Bill Nicholson as he tried to rebuild following the demise of the 'Double' winning team,  Chelsea took the lead after seventeen minutes and Spurs even with all their experience were unable to find any response against a well organised young team. 

Jan. 1964  FA Cup 3rd R. (h) Draw 1 - 1  Dyson
Jimmy Greaves was appointed captain for this game when Tony Marchi was dropped, one of a number of changes made by Bill Nicholson following disappointing results over Christmas.  John Holowbread replaced Bill Brown in goal, Phil Beal made his Cup debut in place of Marchi and other unfamiliar names in the Spurs team were John Smith, Mel Hopkins and Eddie Clayton.  Terry Dyson gave Spurs the lead after two minutes but Chelsea were soon level in a 'full-blooded' Cup-tie.  Chelsea were wary of Greaves but while he was outstanding in the first half he could manage a goal and a replay was required.

Replay (a) Lost 0 - 2
The tie continued in its 'full-blooded' way without anyone being sent off or booked.  Chelsea went ahead after seventeen minutes and two minutes later were awarded a penalty but their captain, Terry Venables, had his shot saved by John Hollowbread.  Spurs' only threat came from their two wingers, Dyson and Cliff Jones, but a second goal after the interval put Chelsae through.

Jan. 1957  FAC 4th R. (h) Won 4 - 0  Medwin, Harmer, Smith, Stokes
It was scoreless at half-time but Chelsea were a man down, having lost winger Frank Blunstone to injury.  In the second half, Danny Blanchflower orchestrated Spurs victory as they scored four goals in seventeen minutes from Bobby Smith, a Tommy Harmer free-kick, Terry Medwin and Alfie Stokes.

Feb. 1910  FAC 2nd R. (a) Won 1 - 0  Humphreys
This first Cup meeting between the two clubs came in Spurs' first season in the 1st Division, one year after gaining admission to the Football League.  Both clubs were battling against relegation and the only goal was scored by former Chelsea centre forward Percy Humphreys who had only joined Spurs earlier in the season.  In the final match of the season he was to score another crucial goal against Chelsea - the one which gave Spurs victory and so avoiding relegation while Chelsea went down.

 

They Played for Spurs and Chelsea

Bobby Smith, Les Allen and Jimmy Greaves are just three of the players who have played for both Tottenham and Chelsea during their careers.  Looking back to the club's earliest days in the Football League and Vivian Woodward is a player who performed with distinction for both teams.

Jimmy Greaves

James Greaves started his career at Chelsea and made his scoring debut against Spurs at White Hart Lane in August, 1957.  In 1961 he had a short period in Italy with AC Milan before joining Spurs for £99,999, as Bill Nicholson didn't want him burdened with the label of being the 'first £100,000' player.  He marked his Tottenham debut with a hat-trick against Blackpool at White Hart Lane.  Spurs retained the FA Cup that season with Greaves scoring the first goal against Burnley and the next season he scored twice in the ECWC Final against Atletico Madrid as Spurs became the first British club to win a European trophy.  Greaves was in the 1967 FA Cup winning team and by the time he was transferred to West Ham United in 1970 he was Tottenham's record goalscorer - League: 220 goals, FA Cup: 32, League Cup: 5, Europe: 14.

Pre-Order: Code LH1

The leading goal scorers in the 1960 - 61 'Double' winning team both joined Spurs from Chelsea.

Bobby Smith who joined in 1955 was leading scorer with 33 League and Cup goals during the 1960 - 61 season, including two goals in the FA Cup semi-final win over Burnley and the first goal against Leicester City in the Final.  He also scored a goal in the1962 FA Cup Final against Burnley.  He was a typical 'old-fashioned' English type of centre forward who used to terrorise defenders and goalkeepers in the European competitions.  He joined Brighton in 1964 as the successful team of the early 1960s was rebuilt by Bill Nicholson.

Les Allen, the father of Clive Allen, was his strike partner.  He joined Spurs in 1959 and scored 27 goals in that successful season.  The arrival of Greaves led to him losing his place in the team but he remained with Spurs until 1965 being a very useful reserve to call upon at times of injury or loss of form.  He joined QPR and later became their manager.

Terry Venables joined Spurs in 1966 from Chelsea and was a member of the 1967 FA Cup winning team.  He left in 1969 to join QPR but returned to Tottenham as manager and led them to the 1991 FA Cup success.

Glenn Hoddle developed through the Spurs youth system to become a 'Legend' at the club.  His skill, vision and goals were a delight to behold and he was  a member of the successful team of the 1980s, winning FA Cup medals in 1981 and 1982, scoring the goals in the Final and replay win over QPR.  He left Spurs in 1987 and moved to France.  He played for Chelsea on his return to English football and managed them before returning to White Hart Lane as manager.

Mike Hazard grew up through the Tottenham youth scheme.  He was another member of the team in the early 1980s but suffered through competition with Hoddle, Ardiles and Villa.  A very skilful player with an outstanding passing ability who could score vital goals.  He played in the 1982 FA Cup team and the UEFA Cup winning team of 1984.  In 1985 he joined Chelsea but returned to Spurs towards the end of his career when Ossie Ardiles was manager.

Gus Poyet spent four years with Chelsea and joined Spurs in 2001, spending three years with the club, helping them reach the 2002 Worthington Cup Final.  After retirement he returned to Tottenham as Assistant to Juande Ramos who guided Spurs to Carling Cup success over Chelsea in 2008.

Vivian Woodward played for Spurs in their first season in the Football League helping them to promotion.  He was a true amateur with associations to the club since 1901 and was regarded widely as a 'gentleman' of football.  He became a director of the club in 1908 and played amateur internationals for England and captained the United Kingdom team which won the Olympics in 1908 and 1912.  He also played cricket and was often unavailable until the end of the cricket season.  In Tottenham's first season in the Football League he made 27 appearances, scoring 18 goals.  As Spurs prepared for their first year in the top flight the football world was shocked to hear of his retirement from football but the club was in even greater shock when a few months later he re-appeared with Chelsea for whom he played until the outbreak of the 1st World War.

From a similar era was Percy Humphreys who played for almost two years with Chelsea before joining Spurs in December, 1909, having lost his place to Woodward.  At the close of that season Spurs and Chelsea were battling against relegation and met in the final game of the season at White Hart Lane.  Tottenham won 2 - 1 and survived while Chelsea were relegated.  Tottenham's winning goal being scored by Humphreys who spent two years with the club.

Of more recent players, Graham Roberts spent two years with Chelsea, Clive Allen had a year at Stamford Bridge later in his career as did Neil Sullivan and Mark Falco.

Gordon Durie had five years with Chelsea before joining Spurs in 1991 and spent three years with the club.  Defender Jason Cundy signed from Chelsea in 1992.

Others who played for both clubs were Tommy Harmer, Johnny Brooks, Keith Weller, Colin Lee, Sid Tickeridge and Clive Wilson.

Of the current players, Wiliam Gallas joined Chelsea in 2001 from Marseille.  After five years he moved to Arsenal and joined Tottenham at the start of last season on a free transfer.  Carlo Cudicini moved to White Hart Lane from Chelsea in January, 2009 as goalkeeping cover, having spent nine years at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs in History - 30th April

30th April, 1910

Spurs 2 Chelsea 1 (1st Division)

Having won promotion to Division 1 in their first year in the Football League Spurs had found life very difficult in the top flight. This was a crucial last day of the season victory against fellow relegation threatened strugglers. The situation was clear, which ever team lost would be relegated.

Spurs won before a crowd of 35,000 with goals from Billy Minter and the all important second goal from centre forward Percy Humphreys who had previously played for Chelsea.

Spurs victory ensured their 1st Division survival and so close was it at the bottom that the two points enabled them to move up to 15th place, while condemning Chelsea to relegation.