They Played for Spurs and Watford

Two Spurs 'Legends' are linked with Watford.  Spurs signed Pat Jennings from Watford in 1964 when former Tottenham captain, Ronnie Burgess was manager of the club.  At least twenty eight players have connections with both clubs at some time in their careers but only two have joined Spurs from Watford.  The other transfers have been in the opposite direction with a number of players moving on loan including Andros Townsend who spent time at Vicarage Road last season.

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Pat Jennings

Pat Jennings was a young, inexperienced goalkeeper when Bill Nicholson signed him from Watford in June, 1964 for £27,000.  The Northern Ireland international had just won his first two caps and had played only 48 League games for Watford in his year with the club when Nicholson decided to buy him.  He had cost Watford £6,000 when he joined from Newry Town in 1963.

Nicholson was looking to rebuild his team following the demise of the 'Double' team and as he had done the previous year with Watford, Jennings stepped straight into the Spurs team in place of Bill Brown.  His debut was in a 2 - 0 win over Sheffield United on the opening day of season 1964-65.

Initially, Nicholson must have had doubts about Jennings as he took time to settle and during his first two seasons he shared goalkeeping duties with Brown.  By the start of 1966-67 Jennings had made the position his own and after  a few months Brown was allowed to join Northampton Town.  For the next eleven seasons Jennings was first choice goalkeeper at White Hart Lane.  He helped the club to win the FA Cup in 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and 1973 and the UEFA Cup of 1974.  His total of almost 600 League and Cup appearances is littered with numerous match winning performances and a goal having scored in the 1967 Charity Shield game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

He will always be remembered for the size of his hands which enabled him to come out to catch a cross using only one hand.  His two penalty saves at Anfield as Spurs earned a 1 - 1 draw in 1973 are part of Spurs legend and after a UEFA Cup game in Switzerland Spurs returned with a resounding 5 - 1 victory over Grasshopper Zurich but it was Jennings who received all the plaudits for his performance that evening.

It was only in his last season that Jennings was troubled by injury and as Spurs were relegated manager Keith Burkinshaw made the unbelievable decision to release Jennings in favour of his young understudy, Barry Daines.  Jennings moved to Arsenal and gave them years of outstanding service before returning to Spurs to keep fit for the 1986 World Cup Finals.  He retired on his forty first birthday as Northern Ireland were eliminated from the competition by Brazil.

On retiring he took on the role of goalkeeping coach and is still involved with the club in their corporate facilities.  Pat Jennings was recently honoured by UEFA for winning over 100 international caps for Northern Ireland.

The manager of Watford at the time of Jennings' transfer to Spurs was Ronnie Burgess who had joined in 1936 and played over 450 League and Cup games as well as being captain of the 'Push and Run' side which won the 2nd Division and 1st Division titles in consecutive seasons from 1949 to 1951.  He joined Swansea in 1954 and moved to Watford as manager in 1959.


Tommy Harmer, was known as 'The Charmer' and as a player he spanned the years between the 'Push and Run' team of the 1950s and 'The Double' side of the 1960s but missed out on both.  He joined Spurs as an amateur in 1948 and made his debut in September, 1951 against Bolton.  He played 222 League and Cup games before signing for Watford in October, 1960 having lost his place in the first team to John White.  He was loved by supporters with supreme tricks and skills on the ball.  Lightly built in the rugged midfield battle of those days he was frequently the inspiration for Spurs best performances having taken over from Eddie Baily as the creative influence in the team.  He was at his best in Bill Nicholson's first game as manager, when the new manager restored him to the team.  He was the creator behind the 10 - 4 win over Everton and even managed a goal for himself.  At first, Nicholson tried to play both Harmer and White in his team but eventually opted for the Scot.

In the book about the late John White, 'The Ghost of White Hart Lane', Harmer is described as, 'though he was small, he was a giant' and Julian Holland wrote, 'Harmer was a truly great player.  His tragedy was that his gifts were never fully suited to the type of play current at Tottenham.  Under Rowe he was too static.  Under Anderson he was denied colleagues quick and responsive enough to turn his genius into Champion-ship winning football.  Under Nicholson he lacked the mobility that the new manager looked for. Nor could he supply rapid improvisational touches that Nicholson knew were necessary to overcome planned, coherent defences in 1961.'

Harmer spent two years with Watford before moving to Chelsea as a player/coach and helped them win promotion.

Dennis Bond was a young midfield player who made his name with Watford making over 100 appearances before signing for Spurs in March, 1967 for £20,000.  He had made his debut for the Vicarage Road club at the age of seventeen when Burgess was manger.  He failed to make an impact with Spurs and only made 26 League and Cup appearances in three seasons, scoring once.  He then joined Charlton for £25,000 where he became a regular for three seasons and returned to Watford and made another 200 appearances for the club.

Roy Low has a place in Tottenham record books as the first player to appear for the club as a substitute.  It was on 11th September, 1965 when he replaced the injured Derek Possee against Arsenal at White Hart Lane.  Low was a wing half but he only made eight appearances and scored one goal in his three years at the club.  He joined Watford in February, 1967.

Many well known Spurs players have played for Watford after leaving Spurs.  Gerry Armstrong, while not making any great impression in his five years at Spurs, signed for Watford in November, 1980 and went on to greater things in Spain and with Northern Ireland.

Mark Falco enjoyed greater success at Tottenham having come through the youth system and was a member of the UEFA Cup winning team of 1984.  He joined Watford in October, 1986 and later played for Glasgow Rangers, Queen's Park Rangers and Millwall.  Falco scored 90 League and Cup goals for Spurs and was one of the successful penalty takers in the UEFA Cup Final shoot-out.

From the same era, Paul Miller had developed as an apprentice with Spurs and spent over twelve years at the club before moving to Charlton Athletic in February, 1987.  He played over 200 League games and was a regular in the successful Keith Burkinshaw teams of the early 1980s contributing the away goal against Anderlecht in the UEFA Cup Final.

Steve Hodge who had a short time with Spurs in the mid-80s, having joined from Aston Villa in December, 1986, returned to his first club, Nottingham Forest, in the summer of 1988.  He later played for Watford towards the end of his career.

Tim Sherwood started his career with Watford and after playing for Norwich City and Blackburn, captaining them to the Premiership title, he joined Spurs in February, 1999.  He spent four years with the club, making 93 League appearances, before moving to Portsmouth.  He is currently in charge of Spurs Development squad.

The first player to play for both Spurs and Watford was Bill Lane.  He was a centre forward who spent less than three years with the club from 1924 but only made 29 appearances before joining Leicester City.  He later played for Watford from 1932 to 1936.

Another player from the 1920s who played for both teams was Jack Elkes.  He joined Spurs from Southampton in 1922 and was a forward who could also play at centre half.  He made over 200 League and Cup appearances for the club and moved to Middlesbrough in 1929.  He joined Watford in 1933 spending one season with the club.

John Moran was a full back who had one season with Tottenham, playing twelve matches and then became the first player to be transferred directly between the two clubs by joining Watford in 1932 where he spent four years.

A number of players from the 1950s turned out for both clubs - Bobby Cook, Dennis Uphill, Chris Adams, Johnny Gavin, Alfie Stokes and John Ryden.  Ryden, a centre half, had captained Spurs for a season in the mid-50s but the arrival of Maurice Norman and Dave Mackay reduced his opportunity for first team appearances.  Stokes scored 40 goals in 65 League appearances but was allowed to join Fulham in 1959 as Bill Nicholson put together his new team.

The 1990s also throws up numerous players who spent time at White Hart Lane and Vicarage Road - Mark Robson and Danny Hill, Darren Caskey, all on loan, Ronnie Rosenthal, Espen Baardsen, Allan Nielsen, Ramon Vega and Stephen Kelly and Andros Townsend (both on loan).

Mark Yeates, a former Tottenham player who came through the youth system, is currently in the Watford team.  He made his debut for Spurs on the closing day of the season in May, 2004 setting up a goal for Robbie Keane.  He made three League appearances and after a series of loan periods he joined Colchester United in 2007.  After two seasons he joined Middlesbrough and then moved to Sheffield United.  He joined Watford last summer and has scored three League goals this season from midfield.

Speaking ahead of the Cup tie, Yeates commented on his time at Spurs,  

" Tottenham was a big part of my life ...... so I've got a lot of fond memories.  I've still got a lot of pals there.  Martin Jol gave me a few run-outs, but Spurs are such a big club and at the time in every transfer window they were bringing in three or four new players.  It was hard for the likes of myself, Dean Marney and Johnnie Jackson, we were on the fringes.  Eventually we had to move on but there are no hard feelings."

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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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.

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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.

They Played for Tottenham and Villa

Danny Blanchfower, David Ginola and Alan Hutton have all played for Tottenham and Villa.  For the third successive match, Spurs play a team with former Tottenham players in their squad which always adds an extra something to the contest for both players and spectators.

Danny Blanchflower

One of the most important signings that Tottenham Hotspur have ever made came when the transfer of Danny Blanchflower from Aston Villa was completed in December, 1954.  When he retired through injury ten years later at the age of thirty eight, Spurs had experienced the most successful period in their history with a League and Cup 'Double', a second FA Cup success and become the first British team to achieve a European triumph.

Blanchflower grew up in Belfast and played for his local club, Glentoran.  He was transferred to Barnsley in 1949 and joined Villa two years later.  He was a great 'thinker' about football and wanted to play with style which often put him at odds with managers and coaches.  He complained that in training, players spent too much time on running and were denied the oportunity to practise with a football.

Tottenham manager, Arthur Rowe, signed Blanchflower, a Northern Ireland international, for £30,000 to replace Bill Nicholson who was nearing retirement.  He made his debut at Manchester City in a scoreless draw, taking Nicholson's place, and was ever present for the remainder of the season.  For the next number of seasons Tottenham's performances fluctuated and at times Blanchflower's graceful style of play didn't fit in with the endeavour that was required for a struggle near the foot of the table.

Blanchflower was appointed Captain and liked to take on-field decisions when he thought it necessary but that brought him into conflict with the manager on occasions.  Season 1955-56 was disappointing for Spurs in the League but they progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals.  In the 6th Round against West Ham at White Hart Lane on a very heavy pitch Spurs came from 2-3 down to earn a draw after as captain, Blanchflower, moved centre-half, Maurice Norman, forward to assist the attack.  The change worked as Spurs earned a draw and went on to win the replay 2-1.

They lost the semi-final to Manchester City but a goal down in the final minutes as Spurs battled for an equaliser, Blanchflower again moved Norman, forward into the attack as he had done successfully in the previous round.  It didn't work this time although Spurs nearly managed to equalise but the repercussions of the defeat went further than expected.  Manager, Jimmy Anderson was unimpressed with Blanchflower’s decision to make changes to the team during the game and in the ensuing row Blanchflower resigned as captain and did not take on the role for another two seasons.

Blanchflower won the Player of the Year award in 1957-58 season and captained Northern Ireland to a successful World Cup campaign in Sweden.

When Bill Nicholson was appointed manager, Blanchflower developed a better understanding with him which worked for the benefit of them and the team.  In the pre-season of 1960, Blanchflower boldly predicted that Spurs would win the 'Double'.  They did with a brand of exciting, flowing football that packed stadiums around the country.  The next year they reached the European Cup semi-finals, unlucky to lose to Benefica.  A second FA Cup triumph was achieved and they finished third in the League.  If they had won one of their two games against Champions, Ipswich Town, Spurs would have achieved a second 'double'.  The next year as injury started to take its toll on Blanchflower, he missed nearly half of the season but returned to inspire the team to the European Cup Winners' Cup success.  The following season he retired.

Blanchflower went into journalism and later briefly returned to football management.  On his resignation as Tottenham manger, Bill Nicholson recommended that Blanchflower, working with Johnny Giles, be appointed as his replacement.  The Board of Directors decided against such an appointment.

Blanchflower was one of Tottenham's most influential players and is a 'Legend' so important to the success that Spurs achieved at home and in Europe in the early 1960s.  He made 382 League and Cup appearances in his ten years with Tottenham.

Twenty five years after the Blanchflower transfer, the next transaction between the two clubs saw Gordon Smith arrive at White Hart Lane in February,1979.  A full back, he spent four years with Spurs as they tried to re-establish themselves in the 1st Division.  Injury problems delayed his debut and restricted his appearances so that he only made 45 League and Cup appearances before moving on to Wolverhampton Wanderers.  Not all transfers are a success.

David Ginola who was such a favourite at Tottenham during his three years at the club was transferred to Villa in 2000.  While at White Hart Lane he was a member of the Worthington Cup winning team of 1999 and brought excitement and skill to the team at what was a rather dull period in Tottenham's history.  He was signed by Gerry Francis from Newcastle United, played for Christian Gross and sold by George Graham.  On Graham's arrival it had been widely predicted that Ginola would be one of the first players to leave but he showed great application during this time and worked well for the team scoring a number of outstanding goals.  On returning to White Hart Lane the following season, to play in a rather dull scoreless draw for Villa, home spectators provided their own entertainment by cheering every time Ginola touched the ball.

Spurs Connections in Villa's Current Squad
Aston Villa's current squad contains three players with Tottenham connections in their past record.  Jermaine Jenas who is unavailable for this match as he is on a year long loan agreement with Villa joined Spurs from Newcastle in 2005.  He played in the Carling Cup win of 2008 and in the following season's losing Final team but has been a peripheral player at the club for the past two seasons.  A player of skill and endeavour, he too often failed to influence a game as much as his ability suggested he should and recurring injury problems restricted his appearances for Spurs as it has done at Villa.

Alan Hutton also joined Villa in August.  His transfer was completed as Kyle Walker who had finished last season on loan at Villa returned to White Hart Lane to claim the first team place and as former Tottenham player, Luke Young left Villa Park to sign for Queen's Park Rangers.  Hutton joined Spurs from Rangers in 2008 and a few weeks later was part of the Carling Cup success.  He fell out of favour following Harry Redknapp's appointment and went on loan to Sunderland.  It had been anticipated that he would leave sooner but he returned to the team in the first half of last season but out out again to Vedran Corluka.  A deal for £3 million was agreed with Villa in the summer and he expressed his disaffection for Spurs and the manager in articles in the press following his departure. 

Darren Bent was not happy at Tottenham following Harry Redknapp's quote after the striker missed an obvious goal scoring opportunity against Portsmouth.  He had joined Spurs from Charlton  Athletic in 2007 when Martin Jol was manager.  He never found his true goal scoring form with the club as he competed with Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Jermaine Defoe for a place in the team.  He was an unused substitute for the 2008 Carling Cup Final but played in the following year's losing team.  He finished leading goalscorer for Spurs in 2009 with 17 goals in all competitions.  He joined Sunderland in the summer of 2009 for £10 million after he had attracted attention with his infamous quotes on Twitter about which clubs he did and didn't want to sign for.

Since moving away from Tottenham Bent has shown much greater endeavour when playing against Spurs than he ever appeared to do when wearing the white shirt of Tottenham.  In his first game for Sunderland at White Hart Lane he lost his personal battle with Heurelho Gomes who saved his penalty awarded for what to many appeared to be a dive. as Spurs won 2 - 0.  However, in the return match he was fired up and scored two goals in the opening half hour, including a penalty.  In his continuing penalty shoot-out contest with Gomes, he lost out as Gomes saved two of the three penalties awarded as Spurs lost 1 - 3.  He joined Villa in January, 2011 for £18 million and has continued to add to his England appearances.

And there were Others
Other players who have worn both the claret and blue of Villa and the white of Spurs include:
Steve Hodge, Andy Gray, Colin Calderwood and Oyvind Leonhardsen. 

Older Players
Older players included Jimmy Cantrell who spent the early part of his career with Villa.  He joined Spurs in 1912 and was still an influential centre forward as Spurs won the 2nd Division in 1920 and the FA Cup the following season.  He was a few weeks short of his 39th birthday when he played in the 1921 FA Cup Final win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.  He retired in 1925 and played his last game for Spurs in April, 1923 - the oldest player to play for the club.

Cyril Spiers joined Tottenham from Villa in 1927 after a serious injury had led the Midlands club to believe that he would never be fit enough to play again.  However, he underwent surgery and after a successful trial joined Spurs.  He was their regular goalkeeper for over four seasons and was released in 1933 having made 169 League and Cup appearances.

Billy Cook and Ronnie Dix also served both clubs.

They Played for Tottenham and Fulham

From past masters Alan Mullery, Cliff Jones, Terry Dyson to today's more recent and less favourably remembered players - Danny Murphy, Stephen Kelly, Bobby Zamora and Simon Davies, they all played for both clubs.  Over the years there have been many other players who have performed admirably for both Spurs and Fulham.

As was the case with Queen's Park Rangers last week, there have been many players who have played for both Tottenham and Fulham, serving both clubs with distinction.

The player who is probably best loved by both sets of fans is Alan Mullery who started his career at Craven Cottage but was transferred to Spurs in March, 1964 for £72,500 as Bill Nicholson endeavoured to rebuild his 'Double' winning squad and replace some legendary players.  Mullery had the unenviable task of trying to fill the boots of Danny Blanchflower and he found it a difficult task in the early days.   the fans were slow to accept Mullery but in time through his hard work he gradually won them over and was part of the 1967 FA Cup winning time.  When Dave Mackay moved on in 1968, Mullery became captain and led them to success in the 1971 League Cup and the 1972 UEFA Cup win.

In season 1971-72 Mullery was out for a lengthy period through injury but when fit he couldn't displace John Pratt.  Mullery asked to go out on loan and returned to Fulham.  However, unexpectedly he returned to White Hart Lane when Pratt was injured ahead of the UEFA Cup semi-finals.  He captained the team in the 1st leg at White Hart Lane against AC Milan which Spurs won 2 - 1 and then led by example in the away game scoring an early goal as Spurs drew 1 - 1.  In the Final against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham brought a one goal advantage to the home game and it was Mullery who headed the goal to increase their lead.  In the process, he knocked himself out but battled on as Spurs held on for the draw which saw them lift the trophy.  Mullery enjoyed the celebrations around the pitch long after thel other players had departed to the changing rooms.  As it turned out, it was to be Mullery's last contribution in a Tottenham shirt as he was transferred to Fulham in the summer for £65,000.

He played for England on 35 occasions but unfortunately became the first England player to be sent off in a full England international in 1968 European Championships.

He played at Craven Cottage for four years and along with Bobby Moore they reached the FA Cup Final of 1975 with Mullery winning the Football Writers' Player of the Year award that season.

An inspirational player he went on to become manager at Brighton, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace and QPR.

Cliff Jones ended his career with Fulham having served Tottenham for over ten years.  He was a vital member of the successful Tottenham of the 1960s making over 400 appearances and scoring 176 goals.  In recognition of his service he was allowed to leave for a minimal fee of £5,000 even though he had scored six goals in eight appearances that season.  He had cost £35,000 when signed from Swansea town in February, 1958 but broke his leg during pre-season training.  He joined Fulham in October, 1968 and played for two seasons at Craven Cottage.  A fast, tricky winger who loved to take on his defender and who would courageously dive in where others feared to goal.  for a small player he could jump to amazing heights to head numerous goals against taller defenders.  A true Tottenham legend.

Terry Dyson joined Fulham in June, 1965 having spent eleven years at the club.  After years of waiting patiently he came into the team at the start of season 1960 - 61 and was a regular as Spurs won the League and FA Cup.  He missed out on the following season's FA Cup triumph but regained his place for the next year's European Cup Winners' Cup success when he was one of the heroes, scoring twice in the Final against Atletico Madrid.  He spent three years at Craven Cottage before joining Colchester United.

Ray Evans was a full back with Spurs who made his debut in 1969.  He had come through the youth system but found it difficult to get into the team ahead of Joe Kinnear.  He made numerous appearances in the early 1970s but Kinnear always returned for the crucial matches.  He was a member of the losing UEFA Cup losing team of 1973 - 74 but when Terry Neill replaced Nicholson as manager, Kinnear returned.  Evans went to Millwall and after two years moved on to Fulham where he spent two year before going to Stoke City but he had also played in America during the summer months.

John Lacy was part of the Fulham FA Cup team beside Bobby Moore and was signed for Tottenham by Keith Burkinshaw in the summer of 1978.  Needless to say his signing was overshadowed by the arrival of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa.  He found it difficult in his first season in what was a tough year for Spurs, newly promoted to the 1st Division.  The signing of Paul Price and the development of Paul Miller and Graham Roberts put his place under threat and when he lost his place at the start of the start of the 1981 FA Cup run, he never regained it.  He left for Crystal Palace in the summer of 1984.

Fulham's Current Squad
Simon Davies joined Tottenham from Peterborough with Matthew Etherington and made over 120 appearances before joining Everton in 2005 for £4 million.  He became a regular player and was a member of the team which lost the 2002 League Cup Final to Blackburn Rovers.  He joined Fulham in 2007 and has made over 130 appearances for them.

Bobby Zamora joined Tottenham from Brighton but in eighteen months at the club his chances were limited and he only scored one goal, the winner in a Cup game against West Ham United.  He joined West Ham when Spurs signed Jermain Defoe in 2004.  After four years he joined Fulham.


Stephen Kelly came through Spurs youth scheme and impressed on oan at lower league clubs.  However, on returning to Tottenham, Kelly made only 37 appearances and the lack of first team football saw him transferred to Birmingham City in 2006.  After three years the Republic of Ireland international returned to London with Fulham.

The Fulham captain, Danny Murphy, made 170 appearances for Liverpool and joined Spurs in 2006 after two seasons with Charlton Athletic.  limited opportunities saw Martin Jol transfer him to Fulham eighteen months later.  He has now made over 130 appearances at Craven Cottage and is a very influential player in midfield for the club.

Martin Jol
The former Tottenham manager returned to Premier League football in the summer having been sacked by Tottenham in October, 2007.  He spent a season with Hamburg and then two years in Holland as manger of Ajax where in his first season he missed out on winning the League title by a single point.

Martin Jol arrived at Tottenham in the summer of 2004 as assistant to Jacques Santini.  After the unexpected departure of the manager the following October, he became manager and had a great affinity with the club wanting to emulate the success and style achieved by Bill Nicholson.  He managed to take the team to fifth place in the Premier League for two successive years, only missing out on fourth and Champions League football on the first occasion on the last day when his team were struck down by sickness and lost to West Ham. 

However, in the summer of 2007, the Tottenham board were seen in Spain talking to Juande Ramos.  While denying they had approached him to become manager, Jol's position had been undermined and after a poor start to the season, he lost his position and was replaced by Ramos.  It was a very unfortunate situation that Spurs had put themselves in and the removal of their manager was a rather unsavory episode in the club's history.  Jol split the fans, some siding with the Directors who felt he had taken the team as far as he could while others thought he should be given more time.  Obviously, Jol will be looking to his Fulham players to make a footballing statement on his behave and show that he still has much to offer as a manager.

Other players to spend time with both clubs included: Steve Archibald, Tony Parks, Phil Gray, Paul Mahorn and Paul Konchesky.

Older players were Alfie Stokes who had seven years at Tottenham and then went to Fulham for a season.  Harry Lowe spent a season at Fulham after over thirteen seasons at White Hart Lane.  Charlie Walters who was centre half in Tottenham's 1921 FA Cup winning team was transferred to Fulham in 1926 after seven years with the club.  Taffy O'Callaghan who played for Spurs in the 1920s and 1930s had two season with Fulham before the War.