Tottenham's Joy of Winning the Cup 3 (1991)

Following England's World Cup exploits in the 1990 World Cup, English football was revitalised  and Tottenham had two of the star players in their ranks, Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne.  However, there was only one name on everyone's lips, 'Gazza' and every ground was packed to see him display his wonderful footballing skills.  Later in the season he would almost single-handedly win the Cup for Tottenham.

1991 FA Cup Final
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Nottingham Forest 1 (aet)

Gazza's Heartache as Tottenham Win Cup 

Paul Gascoigne inspired Spurs

Season 1990 - 91 turned out to be a very difficult year for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.  Manager, Terry Venables had expected to build on the previous season's third place finish in the League but the season became a story of what was happening off the pitch rather than what was happening on it.  Venables became very active in a battle to save the club from financial ruin as the banks tried to foreclose on money owed to them.  

Against this background of potential extinction, Terry Venables managed to plot the club's path to Wembley success with Paul Gascoigne as his leading man who delivered throughout the Cup run.

Paul Gascoigne Talks about 1991 Cup Final (from youtube)

Road to Wembley: 
3rd Round: v Blackpool (a) Won 1 - 0 Stewart
In stormy, wintery conditions Tottenham managed to withstand the gale force winds and everything that Blackpool could through at them.  A goal from former Blackpool player, striker come midfield player, Paul Stewart secured Spurs passage into the next round. 

4th Round: v Oxford United (h) Won 4 - 2 Mabutt, Lineker, Gascoigne (2)
Paul Gascoigne's scored two goals and created the others to ensure Tottenham's victory over Oxford United at White Hart Lane - the start of his contribution to this Cup winning season.

5th Round: v Portsmouth (a) Won 2 - 1 Gascoigne (2)
A difficult match for Spurs against 2nd Division Oxford United.  Tottenham lost experienced full back Terry Fenwick prior to the game, having broken his ankle in the pre-match warm up. It was Gascoigne again who provided the goals in a class performance from the country's most exciting player who was struggling with injury but kept producing excellent performances.

6th Round: v Notts County (h) Won 2 - 1 Nayim, Gascoigne
A semi-final place was achieved through goals from Nayim and Gazza - his fifth in the competition but he had been playing with an injury and required surgery so Tottenham's worry, along with their worsening financial situation, was whether he would be fit to play in the semi-final against Arsenal. 

Semi-Final: v Arsenal (Wembley) Won 3 - 1 Lineker, (2), Gascoigne
The first FA Cup semi-final to be played at Wembley saw Tottenham take on Arsenal who were favourites to win the League and Cup 'double'.  Spurs' good news was that Gascoigne had made a speedy recovery from his operation and was fit to start.  From the off, Gascoigne ran the game and Spurs took Arsenal by surprise with their play and took the lead after five minutes with a thunderous free-kick from thirty five yards by Gascoigne.  Tottenham continued to dominate and went further ahead five minutes later when Paul Allen crossed from the right for Gary Lineker to score.  Gradually Arsenal came into the game and managed to score with a header on the half-time whistle.  In the second half with ten minutes remaining Lineker scored his second, breaking from half-way and shooting from the edge of the box.

Paul Gascoigne who left to a raptourous reception when he was substituted having run himself out after an hour had been the catalyst for this victory.  Spurs were going to Wembley but would the football club survive their financial problems?

Final: v Nottingham Forest (Wembley) Won 2 - 1 (aet) Stewart, Opp. o.g. 
Terry Venables v Brian Clough, Tottenham v the Bankers, Paul Gascoigne v a young Roy Keane were all issues that this game brought to Wembley.  Spurs preparations for the game had involved negotiations over the club's future and a deal to sell their star player to Lazio for £8.5 million.

Tottenham were again relying on the inspiration of Gazza to bring them their eighth FA Cup success and he was pumped up for the game - in the opening minutes his boundless energy took him everywhere.  However, unfortunately that was soon to become a problem for Spurs and the player.  Early on he made a rash tackle that could have seen him booked and that might have calmed him down.  The referee showed leniency and Gazza carried on, unrestrained, making another bad tackle on the Forest fullback, injuring himself as well.  From the resulting free-kick Pearce scored but Spurs were doubly penalised when Gascoigne fell to the ground, his injury worse than realised.  He was carried off on a stretcher and went to hospital with a cruciate ligament injury which would sideline him for a year and jeapordize the deal that was to save the club.

From all of these set-backs Tottenham managed to recover but not until Lineker had a goal incorrectly disallowed and then see his penalty saved.  It was looking as if it wasn't going to be Tottenham's day.  However, early in the second half Stewart powered into the penalty area from midfield and equalised for Spurs.  No further goals took the game to extra time and four minutes Tottenham got the winning goal.  It was an own goal from former Tottenham junior, Des walker.  He jumped with Gary Mabbutt for a cormer but only deflected the ball beyond his own keeper.  It was justice for Mabbutt who in 1987 had scored the winning goal for Coventry in Spurs only FA Cup Final defeat.  Mabbutt who had been with Spurs for nine seasons had fought a constant battle with diabetes was  a loyal servant to the club and a real ambassador for Tottenham Hotspur.

Gary Mabbutt with FA Cup

Spurs held on and Mabbutt lifted the Cup to give them a then record eighth win in the competition.  To date, that is Tottenham's last FA Cup Final win or appearance.

Team: Thorstvedt; Edinburgh, Howells, Mabbutt, Van den Hauwe; Allen, Gascoigne (Nayim), Sedgley, Samways, Stewart; Lineker

Paul Gascoigne
It was a very difficult time for Paul Gascoigne and while he recovered from his injury and went to Lazio the following summer in a renegotiated deal for £5.5 million which helped to preserve the club's future under the Chairmanship of Alan Sugar, with Terry Venables as Chief Executive, his football never really had the same spark about it that it had had that season.

Gascoigne has known troubled times throughout his life and football was his life.  Hopefully with the help and support of others he will now find a real purpose in his life away from football.

The FA Cup success gave Spurs their eighth win from nine Finals, at the time it was the record number of wins by any club.  Even now over twenty years later without an additional FA Cup success, Spurs sit third in the list of all-time winners, behind Manchester United (11) and Arsenal (10) who have dominated the competition from 1992 through to 2005.

Michael Dawson's Wembley Jinx

Michael Dawson's Wembley
disappointments

In the past playing at Wembley Stadium was often regarded as the pinnacle of a footballer's career when the only opportunity to tread the hallowed turf came through a Cup Final appearance or an international match.  However, in this modern era there are so many games at the stadium - internationals, FA Cup semi-final and finals, League Cup finals, the Community Shield, Football League play-offs, random minor Cup finals and even pre-season tournaments, that to make an appearance there is not so highly regarded and for the top players it is common place.

However, for Michael Dawson, Tottenham's Player of the Year for last season, the new Wembley experience must be something of a disappointment.  Over the past three seasons he has had four opportunities to play there but they have not been as memorable as he would have hoped for and if he were a superstitious person he might be starting to feel that the place was jinxed as far as he was concerned.

2007-08 Carling Cup Final

Having helped Spurs reach the Final against Chelsea, appearing in four of the five games on the road to Wembley, including the famous 5-1 semi-final victory over Arsenal at White Hart Lane, Dawson cruelly missed out on the final through injury.  Two weeks before the final, he sustained an injury early in the league game at Derby County and was sidelined for a month.  However, as the team celebrated their stirring extra time success over Chelsea, Dawson showed his character and his pleasure for his colleagues and the club as he watched from the side-lines with a great smile, obviously enjoying the moment and not being overwhelmed by his own sense of disappointment at not being in the team that day.

2008-09 Carling Cup Final

Twelve months later as Spurs endeavoured to retain the trophy, Michael Dawson made it on to the pitch, partnering Ledley King in central defence.  This time he played his part as the defence held firm against the strike power of Manchester United but after extra time the match remained goal-less and Dawson could only watch helplessly as United took the game on penalties.  Another disappointment at Wembley for Dawson who had again played in four of the five games on the way to the final.

2009-10 F A Cup Semi-final

Spurs were looking good for another FA Cup final appearance, their first since Gazza and the 1991 success over Nottingham Forest, especially as they were playing Portsmouth whom they had defeated twice in the Premier League and who were facing relegation and were in serious financial difficulty.  However, the match didn't go as Spurs would have hoped and Portsmouth displayed much commitment and determination and were proving difficult opponents.  With no goals after ninety minutes the match went to extra time and looked to be heading for a penalty decider when the highly criticised Wembley turf played a crucial role in proceedings.  Unfortunately, it was Michael Dawson who was to suffer as he slipped at a vital moment when he was about to clear the ball in the centre of the penalty area.  The ball fell invitingly for Portsmouth who accepted the gift and went on to secure a two goal victory.  Once again Dawson was left to rue his Wembley experience.

August, 2010 - England Debut 

After enduring a long summer in South Africa, without getting a game at the World Cup, Michael Dawson finally made his long awaited England debut.  Having appeared in a number of England squads, Fabio Capello gave Dawson his first full cap as a second half substitute for John Terry in the friendly against Hungary.  In the early moments of the half Dawson looked nervous but with the game goal-less he was settling into the match when he moved to intercept a through ball but missed it allowing Hungary to progress into the penalty area.  As the England defence covered the attack, Dawson recovered to try to make amends and when a deflected shot came across the goal, Dawson stretched to clear and prevented it from crossing the line.  It was a close call but then the French referee's assistant decreed that the ball had in fact crossed the line and a goal was awarded.  Television evidence shows that the ball didn't fully cross the line but Dawson had made the initial mistake which had allowed Hungary to create the goal scoring opportunity. Of course, he was wearing the England shirt with number '13'.  Fortunately, as it was a friendly international and as England recovered to win the game, the press didn't make too big an issue of Dawson's blunder on his debut and hopefully he will have the chance to add to his international appearances in the future and avoid being a 'one-cap wonder'.

A great former Spurs stalwart, Gary Mabbutt, endured Wembley heartache before being able to enjoy the sweet taste of success at the stadium.  Mabbutt had appeared at the ground on a number of occasions both for Spurs and England - he actually made his Spurs debut in the 1982 Charity Shield defeat by Liverpool.  Howver, his greatest disappointment will have been the memory of the own goal which enabled Coventry City to wn the FA Cup in 1987.  In extra time a cross came into the Spurs area, the ball hit Mabbutt on the knee and looped over the reach of Ray Clemence.  Spurs had been clear favourites and it was the first occasion that Spurs had suffered defeat in an FA Cup final.  David Pleat's team had come so close to success in all three competitions but in the end had fallen at the final hurdle.  It was not until 1991 that Mabbutt avenged this disappointment when he held aloft the FA Cup as captain of the victorious Spurs side who had overcome many difficulties both on and off the pitch to secure their trophy and possibly the very existence of the club.  Ironically, it was as Mabbutt challenged for the ball from a corner that Des Walker headed into his own goal to put Spurs ahead.

Hopefully, in the not too distant future Michael Dawson will be able to set aside his Wembley disappointments and have some exciting memories to tell his grandchildren in the years to come.