They Played for Tottenham and Norwich

There's a long list of players who have represented both Spurs and Norwich but only a few who have come from Norfolk to London and of those, only one has had a major influence at Tottenham but what  a massive impact he had in the early 1960s.

Maurice Norman

Maurice Norman is one of only three players who has been transferred from Norwich City to Tottenham Hotspur.  He had played only 35 League games as a centre half for Norwich when he signed for Spurs in November, 1955 to replace Alf Ramsey at right-back.  He immediately settled into his new position which he held for most of the next two seasons.  In late October, 1957 he reverted to centre half - his position through the greatest years in Tottenham's history.  At the start of season 1965-66 he returned to right back and was an ever present in the team until cruelly struck down by injury sustained in a friendly that November.  So serious was his broken leg that he never played again and retired in 1967.

At centre half in the 'Double' team he was a massive influence at the heart of the defence and at set-pieces, he was one of the first defenders to go forward for corners and free-kicks.  He missed only one game in 1960-61 and scored four goals in the League.  He was present as Spurs won the League and Cup in 1961, retained the FA Cup the following year and won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1963.  He made 23 appearances for England and was just as important to those successful Spurs' years as the more celebrated players.

More recently, Tim Sherwood and Ruel Fox had played for Norwich before arriving at Spurs via Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.

The first player to sign for Spurs from Norwich was Roy Hollis.  He was a prolific goal scorer during his time at Norwich and although he scored twice on his debut as Spurs beat Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup, he only played three League games, scoring once.  He scored regularly in the reserves but couldn't replace Len Duquemin and moved on to Southend United in February, 1954 after just over two years with Spurs.

Johnny Gavin was  Republic of Ireland international when he joined Spurs from Norwich in October, 1954.  A winger who scored goals he made 32 League appearances for Tottenham and scored an impressive 15 goals.  he returned to Norwich as part of the deal which brought Maurice Norman to White Hart Lane.

Many young players who have progressed through the Tottenham youth system have moved to Norwich where they have had long and successful footballing careers.  Kyle Naughton is currently on a season-long loan with Norwich and his career is developing as he adds Premier league experience to his CV.  Before him, however, many who have been unable to break into the first team at Spurs have become regulars at Carrow Road.


Mark Bowen made 20 League and Cup appearances for Spurs at full back, scoring twice.  He joined Norwich in 1987 for £90,000 and became a full international for Wales and made over 321 League appearances for Norwich in nine seasons.

Ian Crook scored once for Spurs in twenty appearances but found it difficult to break into the first team when Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles were in his way.  He was an unused substitute for the UEFA Cup Final of 1984.  He joined Norwich in 1986 for £80,000 and played 418 League games in midfield during eleven seasons with Norwich, scoring 24 goals, some of them against Spurs as he reminded his former employers of his capabilities.  He was part of Norwich's most successful team and helped them into European competition through a high league finish.

John Polston was a defender who made 28 appearances for Spurs before moving to Norwich in July, 1990 for £300,000.  He and his brother Andy played in a game for Tottenham, the first brothers to appear together in a first team match for the club since 1912.  He made 263 appearances for Norwich in eight seasons with the club.

Ian Culverhouse made only two League appearances for Spurs and was transferred to Norwich in October, 1985 for £50,000.  He had been an unused substitute in the UEFA Cup Final against Anderlecht.  A full back, he spent nine seasons at Carrow Road and made over 360 League and Cup appearances.

Garry Brooke made an immediate impression at Spurs with his powerful shot and spectacular long-range goals.  He was substitute for both the 1981 and 1982 FA Cup Finals.  He made just over 100 appearances for the club but he was involved in a serious car accident which threatened his football career.  He recovered but was never quite the same payer and joined Norwich for £50,000 in May, 1985.  He was there for only a short time and moved around many clubs during th erest of his career.

When Martin Peters left Tottenham he joined Norwich in 1975.  He had won League Cup medals and a UEFA Cup with Spurs, captaining the successful 1973 League Cup winning team.  The appointment of Terry Neill as replacement for Bill Nicholson, saw Peters move on to Norwich where he spent five seasons - as he points out in his book - longer than he was at Spurs.  He formed a great partnership with Alan Gilzean and Martin Chivers at Spurs, scoring and creating many goals.  He scored 76 goals for Spurs in 260 appearances.  He joined Spurs from West Ham United in 1970 in the deal which took Jimmy Greaves to Upton Park.

Gary Doherty is the last player to join Norwich from Spurs, signing in the summer of 2004.  He spent six seasons at the club and made over 200 League appearances.  He joined Tottenham from Luton Town in 2000 and played 64 League games, scoring four goals.

Others players who have appeared for both clubs include:
Laurie Brown, Willie Young, Paul McVeigh, Garry Brady, Neale Fenn, Kevin Scott, Jimmy Neighbour, Steve Walford, Martin Chivers, Fred Sharpe, Chris Adams, Andy Thompson, Jimmy Smith and Jimmy Banks who played in Spurs 1921 FA Cup winning team.

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Kyle Walker - Tottenham's Rising Star

Tottenham's young full back made his full international debut for England in their win over Sweden at Wembley.  Not content with that, he was selected as the 'Man of the Match' for his performance on the right side of defence where he also put his attacking tendencies to good purpose.

Kyle Walker - Man of the Moment

Kyle Walker

Kyle Walker who was named the 'Man of the Match' for his performance in his full England debut against Sweden has made rapid progress in three years.  On 15th November, 2008 he made his Football League debut while on loan at Northampton Town and three years later, to the day, he was playing for England at Wembley.

It must be difficult for a young player to get noticed at Tottenham at the moment with so many stars vying for the limelight but Kyle Walker has managed it this season as he establishes himself in the right back position at White Hart Lane.  With things looking up at Spurs at the present as they continue on their eight match unbeaten run in the Premier League, star players are queuing up to make the headlines.

Emmanuel Adebayor made a scoring debut back in September, Ledley King has emerged from the treatment room to lead the side on this exciting run, Gareth Bale has refound his goal scoring touch as well as the form which made him the talk of Europe twelve months ago, Rafael Van der Vaart scored in five successive League matches while Jermain Defoe has scored twice having come off the substitutes' bench.  Scott Parker has put in outstanding performances alongside Luka Modric in midfield, while Brad Friedel's performances have belied his forty years as Aaron Lennon has recovered from injury and is returning to his best.  However, Walker has created his own headlines with his exciting play and made himself an instant hero among supporters by scoring the winning goal in October's victory over closest rivals, Arsenal - for a Tottenham player, there's no better way to make news.

Even during this international break, Tottenham players have been to the forefront - Bale starred for Wales, scoring and creating goals in their win over Norway, Scott Parker was excellent in England's unexpected win over World and European Champions, Spain and Luke Modric was the star of Croatia's win over Greece in the Euro2112 play-off match.  All were named as 'Man of the Match' for these performances and then Sandro scored his first goal for Brazil to keep his name to the fore.  It would have been sufficient for Walker to make his full England after a brief appearance against Spain when he replaced Parker, but not wanting to be outdone by his more experienced colleagues he had to turn in a 'Man of the Match' performance to make his own statement.

Kyle Walker grew up in Sheffield and developed his football through Sheffield United's youth system.  In November, 2008, at the age of eighteen he went to Northampton Town on loan to gain some League experience and made nine appearances before returning to Bramall Lane where he made his debut in an FA Cup tie the following January.  At the end of the season, he made his League debut for United in their final two matches as they battled to make the Championship play-offs.  Having achieved that, Walker retained his place for the play-offs, appearing at Wembley in the defeat to Burnley.

The following July, after just that handful of appearances for United, Tottenham signed the 'two Kyles' - Walker and Naughton for a fee of £4 million each, seeing off Everton who were interested in signing Walker.  As part of the deal, Walker returned to United on loan for the 2009-10 season and he played regularly at right back, making 26 appearances.  He was unexpectedly recalled to White Hart Lane in February, 2010 as cover when Alan Hutton went on loan to Sunderland.  His Tottenham debut came at the end of March against Portsmouth and he retained his place for the next game at Sunderland. 

The following season he went out on loan to further his league experience and spent the first half of the year, helping Queen's Park Rangers in their pursuit of the Championship title.  He was highly regarded for his performances there and the club were disappointed when Tottenham recalled him and arranged a loan spell at a Premier League club.  Walker played 15 Premier League games for Aston Villa, scoring once and again received favourable reviews for his attacking play.  He was called into  the England squad by Fabio Capello but didn't progress into the team.  During the summer he went with the England Under-21 side to the European Under-21 Championships and was included in the 'Team of the Tournament'.

Aston Vila were keen to retain Walker for another season but Harry Redknapp had other ideas as he started the young full back in the opening match of the season although he had to go off at half-time as he was unwell.  He missed the defeat to Manchester City but has made the right back position his own with experienced Vedran Corluka having to be satisfied with a place on the bench.

Walker is an exciting prospect who is rapidly gaining experience.  He is confident in his play and his ability, constantly looking to get forward to create opportunities for others.  He is developing a good understanding with Aaron Lennon on the right wing which has to be an important element of his game so as Tottenham get the best out of the winger.  Walker's forward play has seen him involved with the goal scored by Rafael Van der Vaart at Blackburn and it was his attacking exploits which played a prominent part in the lead up to the first goal at Fulham where his pull back went to Lennon who set Bale free to score.  Walker has great pace when going forward and his shooting ability saw him deceive Arsenal's goalkeeper for the winner at White Hart Lane.  Defensively, he is still learning his trade but he is able to use his great pace to get back and recover his position and retrieve the situation.

Full back has often been a position where Tottenham have struggled to find players of the required standard but if Walker continues to learn and progress as he has done in recent years then Spurs have an excellent prospect on their books for many years to come.  With Bale and Lennon on the wings, supported by Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Walker from full back, there are exciting times ahead for Tottenham supporters.