Boxing Day with Spurs

The holiday season is traditionally a busy period for footballers with four games to be played over Christmas and New Year.  In years gone by, teams had to play on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day with no time to recover from injury or a disappointing result.

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 The Christmas fixtures frequently throw some unexpected scores with goals aplenty or teams suffering a blow to their aspirations with a couple of disappointing results.  Local derbies are often the order of the day over the festive season to reduce travel and encourage attendances around the country.  For many years clubs played a double-header at Christmas, meeting the same team, home and away, within twenty four hours.

The last occasion that Spurs played on Christmas Day and Boxing Day was in season 1958-59 when they faced West Ham United.  It was only a few weeks earlier that Bill Nicholson had taken charge as manager and if he was disappointed with the Christmas Day defeat at Upton Park (1 - 2), he must have been very anxious after West Ham won 4 - 1 at White Hart Lane the following day.  Alfie Stokes scored Spurs' goal as their struggle against relegation continued.

Better times have been witnessed over the holiday with the 'Double' team managing a Christmas 'double' over West Ham, following up their two goal home win on Christmas Eve with a 3 - 0 success at Upton Park on Boxing Day - John White, Les Allen and an own goal providing the goals.

Strange, unexpected score lines are often the order of the day and in the season between those West Ham games, Spurs met Leeds United.  They enjoyed a successful trip to Yorkshire on Boxing Day, winning 4 - 2 with goals from Tommy Harmer, Bobby Smith and Allen (2).  In  the return fixture two days later, Leeds gained revenge as Spurs lost 1 - 4, Dave Mackay scoring their only goal.  Spurs were challenging near the top of the table while Leeds were in a fight against relegation.  Leeds lost their 1st Division place at the end of the season and Spurs were left to rue that defeat as two points from that home game would have seen them finish the season as title winners.

On Boxing Day 1964, Tottenham travelled to Nottingham to play Forest - not something they'd have done with much confidence as that season they'd failed to win any of their eleven away matches.  To everyone's surprise they returned with the two points after a 2 - 1 success - Alan Gilzean and Cliff Jones scoring the goals, their only away win of the season.  Two days later they won the return game by four goals to maintain their unbeaten home record.  Season 1964-65 is the only occasion when Spurs have gone through an entire season undefeated at home.

Whether players had over-indulged the previous day but high scoring games also appeared regularly as part of the Boxing Day recipe for entertainment.  In 1980-81 Southampton were the visitors to White Hart Lane and took a share of the points in an eight goal thriller.  A young midfielder, Garry Brooke, started his first game for Spurs in place of the injured Ossie Ardiles and scored twice with his trademark thunderbolt shot.  Steve Archibald and Garth Crooks completed the Totenham scoring.

This season's holiday opponents, Norwich City were frequent opponents over the Christmas period during the early 1990s.  On four successive years the clubs met home and away with Spurs earning a home win, a scoreless away draw, suffering a home defeat and managing to win 2 - 0 on Boxing Day, 1994 at Carrow Road.  Nicky Barmby and Teddy Sheringham scored the goals.

A similar result was gained on Boxing Day, 2004 with Robbie Keane and Michael Brown scoring the goals on the last occasion that the two clubs have met competitively.  Norwich were relegated at the end of both of those seasons, so they'll be hoping to avoid a hat-trick of defeats this year.

Recent Boxing Day Matches:
Last season, Spurs enjoyed a trip to Villa Park and in an excellent display with ten men won 2 - 1 as Rafael Van der Vaart scored twice, with the second goal showing great team work as Spurs broke at pace from defence.

The previous three seasons Spurs games had involved Fulham - in 2007-08, Spurs won 5 - 1 at White Hart Lane through goals from Keane (2), Tom Huddlestone (2) and Jermain Defoe.  The next two years there was no goal-fest for spectators to enjoy.  Fulham were determined not to suffer the same fate at White Hart Lane as the previous year and the teams played out a dull, scoreless draw which was the score the following year at Craven Cottage.

Non-League Days
Spurs first competitive match on Boxing Day was in season 1898-99.  In the Southern League, just as Portsmouth were the designated opponents for Spurs on Christmas Day, their near neighbours, Southampton, were Tottenham's opposition on Boxing Day.  For ten consecutive seasons, Spurs travelled to Southampton on Boxing Day to fulfil the Southern League fixture.  The first of these matches ended in a 1 - 1 draw and it was only at the fifth attempt that Spurs managed to win.  John Kirwan scored the only goal in 1902 and it was their only success in that series of games in which they achieved three draws and suffered six defeats. 

Tottenham must have breathed a sigh of relief when they entered the 2nd Division in 1908 and had a home fixture on Boxing Day.  It was the return fixture with Oldham Athletic who had defeated them by a single goal twenty four hours earlier.  Spurs took full revenge with a three goal success as Billy Minter, Vivian Woodward and Bert Middlemiss scored.

In season 1911-12, the Christmas fixtures decided upon a London derby.  Spurs defeated Woolwich Arsenal at White Hart Lane on Christmas Day by 5 - 0 but the journey south of the river was less successful as Spurs lost 1 - 3, Minter scoring Spurs' goal.

One of Spurs' best Boxing Day wins was over Sheffield Wednesday in the 1st Division in 1914.  The previous day Spurs had lost out in Sheffield by the odd goal in five but at home Spurs were not to be denied and triumphed by a score of 6 - 1.  Bert Bliss netted four while Bobby Steel and Harry Sparrow scored the others.

In 1930, it was just like Southern League days as Spurs travelled to Southampton on Boxing Day in a less than confident mood, having lost to them at home the previous day.  They gained their first Boxing Day win against the south coast club in twelve attempts, having lost twelve months earlier.  This time they scored thre times without reply through Willie Davies, Taffy O'Callaghan and Dick Rowley.

One of their longest journeys on Boxing Day took Spurs to Plymouth in 1935 and they returned empty handed, suffering defeat by 1 - 2, as Argyle completed the 'double' over them, having won by a similar score in London.

Tottenham's last Boxing Day defeat came in 2003 at Portsmouth, the home side winning 2 - 0.  The last home defeat was back in 1991 when Nottingham Forest took the points with a 2 - 1 success, Paul Stewart scoring the Spurs' goal.

Boxing Day games can be very unpredictable and are frequently high scoring affairs which can be enjoyable to the neutral and to the supporters of the winning team.  Spurs aren't playing on Boxing Day this year, their game at Norwich having been moved for television.  I won't mind a high scoring game as long as Spurs come out on top to maintain their hold on third place in the Premier League.

COYS!

Tottenham Hotspur Sign Scott Parker

At the Fourth Attempt

Scott Parker - signed by Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Scott Parker from West Ham United on the final afternoon of the Transfer Window after months of speculation.  Since West Ham's relegation at the end of last season Parker has been one of a number of players the Upton Park club has been trying to sell in order to reduce their wage bill ahead of their first season back in the Championship.

The England midfield player is someone that Harry Redknapp has been keen to sign but Chairman, Daniel Levy, has been reluctant to buy a thirty year old on a long contract with a high salary who would have little sell on value.  He has held off negotiations with the east London club, with whom relations are not good after their run-in over the Olympic Stadium bid and subsequent legal challenges, until the last days of the transfer window.

Scott Parker made his name at Charlton Athletic where he played for seven years.  He was consistently linked with a move from Charlton and Tottenham was one of the clubs linked with him but Parker decided to go to Chelsea in January, 2004 for £10 million.  In eighteen months at Stamford Bridge he had few opportunities to show his worth and played only fifteen League games, scoring one goal.

In the summer of 2005 Parker was again linked with a transfer to White Hart Lane but he opted to travel north to join Newcastle United for £6.5 million.   Two years later he was part of transfer speculation again with Spurs touted as an option but on returning to London he signed for West Ham United.

Parker made his International debut for England in 2003 but has made only six appearances over eight years, with three coming last season.  After 113 appearances for West Ham, Parker has left the club for a fee of £5 million having had his best season which lead to him winning the Football Writers' Player of the Year award.

Parker was aware of the need to play in the Premier League to strengthen his claims for a place in the England team and Spurs would appear to bean ideal choice for him as he will be assured of a place in their midfield alongside Luka Modric who appears to be remaining in north London.  Tottenham need a presence in midfield and Parker can be the leader that Spurs have needed for some time.

'There's Only One Robbie Keane!'

Robbie Keane – Top Scorer in 2007

Six goals against Reading and the club’s leading scorer for the calendar year of 2007 doesn’t get on the score sheet, in fact, he misses a penalty at 4 – 4 but sees Jermain Defoe save his blushes as he heads in the rebound. He is then substituted as the team wins 6-4.

That sums up the enigma that is Robbie Keane. Love him or loathe him, as some Spurs fans do, you have to acknowledge that he has an instinct for goals and frequently goals of the spectacular variety.

Robbie Keane joined Tottenham in August, 2002 from Leeds United for £7 million as his former club slipped into financial ruin. Only turned 22 years of age, Keane had also played for Wolves, Coventry and Inter Milan. At the time there was newspaper talk that the signing was controversial due to a difference in view between the manager, Glenn Hoddle, and the Director of Football, David Pleat. Pleat was reported to be in favour of the signing while Hoddle was opposed to it, a view which could be supported as the manager left his new signing on the bench for the next game at Fulham which they lost from a winning position.

Keane made his debut in a 3-2 home win over West Ham United and scored his first goal for the club in an away win at Blackburn three weeks later. He has now scored 98 goals for Spurs in all competitions and his second goal against Fulham on Boxing Day was his 100th Premier League goal, making him the thirteenth player to achieve that milestone.

Keane has developed his game to become creator as well as goal scorer and has developed a great understanding with Dimitar Berbatov as shown by the cross that led to the Bulgarian scoring the first goal against Reading. He also won the penalty which led to Spurs going ahead. Until the past week Keane had been so reliable and shown such composure when taking penalties, able to focus on the task and exclude all distractions from the opposition. He had previously only missed one penalty for Spurs, saved by Spurs now reserve keeper, Ben Alnwick, when he was playing for Sunderland at White Hart Lane.

Keane has shown great commitment to Spurs and has been the leading scorer for a number of seasons and even when omitted from the team, he has battled back into contention. Able to play a variety of roles he has also combined well with other strike partners, Teddy Sheringham, Fredi Kanoute and Defoe.

For the early part of last season, manager Martin Jol rotated Keane and Defoe with Berbatov but eventually sided with Keane who could provide greater support to midfield as he often came to collect the ball before moving forward in attack. On occasions this was a fault in his play as when Spurs were under pressure Keane came further and further back leaving Berbatov isolated and Spurs brought more pressure on themselves.

Keane has many memorable goals – hat-tricks against Wolves and Everton, his juggling goal against Blackburn Rovers and the super strikes against Fulham in the Cup and in Europe. One other memorable moment was his dribbling and bamboozling of the Chelsea full back, leaving him on the ground, as he tricked his way up the line to eventually set up Aaron Lennon for the winner at White Hart Lane in November, 2006.

Martin Jol showed great faith in Keane, making him vice-captain, and he has accepted the responsibility as he did when appointed captain for the Ireland team. He is now their leading international goal scorer.

This past year, 2007, has seen Robbie Keane score 31 goals in all competitions, 19 of which were in the Premier League from 32 appearances, keeping him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (18 goals from 31 appearances) and other strikers including Benni McCarthy, Carlos Tevez, Yukubu, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.

Last year started slowly for Keane who didn’t start a game in January and his first League goals didn’t come until late February when he scored two against Bolton Wanderers but was then sent off before half-time for handling the ball on the line following a corner. In his final seven League games of the season he scored nine goals and after a slow start to this season he scored another ten, bringing his total to nineteen.

To date, fourteen players have scored one hundred or more goals for Spurs, Robbie Keane is about to join that elite group headed by Jimmy Greaves. Given his age and continued good form and avoiding injury, Keane could very quickly move well up that list.

Hopefully, Robbie Keane will continue to head Spurs’ goal scoring lists as the club move forward to claim some long awaited silverware.

West Ham United Preview

L L L L L D - - - W W W L L L

‘Beware of the wounded lion – it can come back fighting more ferociously than before’ could be a warning for Spurs as they enter Upton Park on Sunday. West Ham have certainly been wounded especially after their defeat to Charlton and the players must have been stung by the criticism dished out. They are a team in much disarray and newspaper reports this week have simply added to that. If the players have any professional pride they will want to make amends quickly and as their new signing Calum Davenport is reported as saying, ‘We owe it to the fans!!! – an understatement if ever there was one.

So Spurs need to ensure that they don’t take anything for granted and that they show the same endeavour, work, passion and skill as they have in their last three games. Anything less than three points for Spurs would be unacceptable. I don’t care how they get the win but it is essential to build on the feel-good factor and confidence that has built up over the past fortnight.

Spurs recent record at Upton Park is poor, they haven’t taken a point there since a 1-0 win in November, 2001 from a Les Ferdinand goal. They have only three Premiership wins at Upton Park and the previous victories were in December, 1993 when goals from Dozzell, Hazard and Anderton gave Ossie Ardiles’ team three much needed points and in January, 1995 when they won 2-1 with Sheringham and Klinsmann scoring.

The overall away League record against West Ham is:
P 54 W 15 D 14 L 24 For 71 Ag 82

The more recent Premiership record doesn’t make as good reading:
P 11 W 3 D 2 L 6 For 13 Ag 16

The most memorable recent win there was in the FA Cup in 200 – 01 when Rebrov scored twice and Doherty once to give Spurs a 3-2 success.

The Spurs’ connections are all through the west Ham team – Bobby Zamora who is the leading scorer with 6 League goals, Sheringham, Etherington, Davenport and Konchesky have all played for Spurs while rumours in previous transfer windows connected Spurs with Ferdinand, Reo-Coker, Harewood, Neill who signed from Blackburn and Boa Morte who eventually joined West Ham from Fulham. West Ham will be without Ashdown who remains injured and Reo-Coker who is suspended.

This game is an excellent opportunity for Spurs to avenge the ‘lasagne-gate’ defeat last May which finally ended Spurs’ chances of making the Champions League. West Ham showed no mercy to Spurs last season, as you would expect, so Spurs must not be charitable to them this year.

The game at White Hart Lane was won by a Mido goal in first half injury time and was a much closer match than would have been expected as the visitors arrived without a win in nine League and Cup games and without a goal in their previous six games.

West Ham have won six games this year, all at home, including victories over Arsenal and Manchester United, the latter in Alan Curbishley’s first game as manager. However, since then it has been very much a struggle for him and the team – without a League win in 10 games and they haven’t scored a goal in almost 4 ¾ hours.
Spurs will be without the suspended Robbie Keane so last season’s goal scorer at Upton Park, Jermain Defoe, should start alongside Berbatov and if all are fit, the only other decision would centre on whether Anthony Gardner should regain his place from Rocha.

Everything points to a Spurs’ win. Their recently improved form, the nature of last week’s win and the confidence is high while West Ham are in 19th place with 20 points, the team and players are in disarray and confidence is low.

However, Spurs must not take things for granted – as West Ham invariably raise their game against Spurs, the players will want to respond positively to last week’s stinging criticism and they need to do something urgently if they are to avoid relegation at the end of the season.

Spurs to win – but remember last season at Sunderland in mid-February, it had seemed so similarly easy against a team who hadn’t won at home and were certainty’s for relegation but a late goal gave the home side the point which finally brought their total of points to double figures. Spurs be warned – make sure you don’t take anything for granted and be complacent – you could regret it.

The referee is Martin Atkinson who refereed the recent match against Sheffield United and the earlier game at Villa. He awarded penalties against Spurs in both games. West Ham are the only team in the Premiership who hasn't scored from a penalty this season.

Spurs Legend - Jimmy Greaves

Jimmy Greaves - goal scorer Supreme

Jimmy Greaves (Inside forward) [1961 - 1970]

League Appearances: 322 - 220 goals

FA Cup: 36 app. - 32 goals

League Cup: 8 app. - 5 goals

Europe: 14 app. - 9 goals.

England Internationals: 57 app. - 44 goals.

Jimmy Greaves was a prolific goalscorer throughout his career.  He scored a fantastic number of goals for Chelsea's youth teams and made his League debut for Chelsea at White Hart Lane in August, 1957 at the age of seventeen.  As with every debut throughout his career, he scored in that game and earned Chelsea a point in a 1-1 draw.

He went on to score 124 League goals for Chelsea before his transfer to AC Milan in June, 1961. However, his spell in Italy was not a happy time for Greaves who failed to settle and found it difficult to adapt to the strict Italian training regime.  However, despite his difficulties he continued to score regularly for his team in the defensive minded Italian League, including his customary debut goal.  In total he managed 9 goals from 14 appearances.

Some time after his departure to Italy, Bill Nicholson became aware of Greaves being unsettled at AC Milan and of his desire to returm to English football.  Nicholson watched the situation, determined to sign Greaves and add the natural goal scoring skills to his already talented team which had won the 'Double' the previous season and who were now involved in a campaign in the European Cup.  After protracted negotiations, Greaves signed for Spurs for £99,999 as Nicholson did not want him to have the added pressure of being the first £100,000 player.

Jimmy Greaves made his debut for Spurs at Tottenham against Blackpool in November, 1961 and scored a hat-trick, including an overhead kick to set his Spurs' goal scoring record on track.  In that first season he scored 21 League goals from 22 appearances and 9 FA Cup goals as Spurs retained the trophy, including the first goal, after three minutes, in the Final against Burnley.

The following season he set a new club record of 37 League goals and scored twice in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final against Atletico Madrid as Spurs became the first British team to win a European trophy.

Jimmy Greaves was Spurs' leading goal scorer in each season he played for them and helped them win the FA Cup in 1967.

Greaves had made his England debut in 1959 and was a regular member of the team but his greatest disappointment came in 1966 when he missed out on playing in the World Cup Final.  He had missed part of the previous season through illness but recovered in time to claim his place in the England squad for the World Cup.  He was selected for the opening three group games but failed to score and was injured in the third game.  Geoff Hurst replaced him and scored the only goal of the next game and although Greaves recovered from the injury he was unable to regain a place in the team.

Over the next few seasons he continued to score regularly for Spurs but in 1969-70 as Bill Nicholson rebuilt his team he dropped Greaves and a number of senior players after an FA Cup defeat at Crystal Palace.  Although the other players regained their places and went on to be part of Spurs successful team at the start of the 1970s, Greaves never again played for Spurs.

In March, 1970 he was transferred to West Ham as part of the deal which brought Martin Peters to Tottenham.

Jimmy Greaves' last appearance for Spurs was in the FA Cup replay at Crystal Palace on 28th January, 1970.  His last League appearance was on 17th January, a 1-2 defeat at Sunderland.  His last goal was scored the previous weekend at White Hart Lane as Spurs defeated Derby County 2-1. No-one present at White Hart Lane that Saturday would have realised that they were witnessing the end of an era - the final goal scored by Jimmy Greaves for Tottenham Hotspur.

Greaves scored twice on his West Ham debut and despite scoring for West Ham on his return to Spurs on the opening day of the following season, he retired at the age of 31 in May, 1971.

Greaves overcame personal difficulties to make a career in television as a football pundit and is a very entertaining after dinner speaker, recalling the stories of his time in football.

Greaves was a natural goal scorer who remained calm when presented with a goal scoring opportunity and while he may have been criticised for a lack of work rate, it only took one touch from him in front of goal to score the winning goal.  Spurs have never seen a goal scorer like him, he was pure class.

Jimmy Greaves - a true Spurs' Legend.