A Month in
the Illustrious History of Spurs SEPTEMBER (Compiled by |
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1st 1908 |
Spurs 3
|
2nd 1939 |
West Bromwich
Albion 3 Spurs
4 Spurs unbeaten
start to the 2nd Division season continued with this victory
following two 1-1 draws at home to Birmingham and at Newport County. Johnny Morrison who was playing his first
game of the season scored twice in the first two minutes and Ronnie Dix gave
Spurs a 3-1 half-time lead. WBA scored
again before Morrison completed his hat-trick. However, these results were expunged from
the records after the outbreak of the Second World War which was declared the
following morning. This had been
developing for some time but there had been a feeling that life would
continue along normal lines but League football was abandoned and many
players went off to serve their country. |
3rd 1988 |
Newcastle |
4th 1899 |
Spurs 4
Notts County 1 (Friendly)
This was a game to
mark the opening of Spurs new ground where they have played for the past 105
years. Only after the First World War did it become known as |
5th 1882 |
The Day
it all Began. This
is accepted as the date of the formation of Tottenham Hotspur Football
Club. It was formed when a group of
schoolboys who played cricket for the Hotspur Cricket Club decided to form a
football club for the winter months. It was known as Hotspur Football Club
and as the first subscriptions were due on 5th September, 1882,
this is taken as the date for the formation of the club. After two years due to confusion with
another club, London Hotspur, the name Tottenham Hotspur was adopted. They
played their first games on Tottenham Marshes and from such humble beginnings
grew the world famous Spurs. 5th
September, 2000 saw the start of the ‘Topspurs’
website following a 3-2 victory
over Everton at From those early beginnings
we now have the best and most informative website available on all things
‘Spurs’. |
6th 1998 |
Goodbye
Christian Gross. Gross’ nine month spell as manager
at |
7th 1968 |
Spurs 7
Burnley 0 A day in history with many high
scoring games involving Spurs, but not all in their favour. This was only Spurs second League win of
the season and was the start of a successful three month period with only one
defeat in 18 League and Cup games – this included seven League wins and four
in the Cup. The older players were
having a successful time - Greaves was in a prolific scoring spell which saw
press calls for his return to International duty and Cliff Jones was enjoying
a ‘swansong’ prior to his departure to Fulham. The goals were scored by Jones
(2), Jimmy Robertson, Greaves 3 (1pen) and Martin Chivers. |
8th 1990 |
Spurs 3
Derby County 0 Spurs undefeated start to the
season continued with this Gascoigne master class. He scored a hat-trick and the score line
should have read Gascoigne 3 Derby 0 or more precisely Gazza 3
Shilton 0 as he managed to put three great goals past the England
goalkeeper, giving him no chance.
After he had seen Gascoigne inspire Spurs to victory, the Derby County
manager, Arthur Cox commented, ‘If he were a Brazilian or Argentinean you would kiss his
shoes.’ In the following Monday’s
Times this report appeared: ‘Gascoigne Tops a Bill that is Full of Talent. The advance publicity was right, the rave reviews fully justified, the Greatest Show on earth, presented by Tottenham Hotspur and starring Paul Gascoigne, duly brought the house down at White Hart Lane on Saturday.’ |
9th 1967 |
Spurs 2
Sheffield Wednesday 1 This was Spurs 2000th
League game, excluding abandoned matches.
The previous week Spurs’ unbeaten run of 28 League and Cup games that
had started with a home won over Burnley the previous January and included an
F.A.Cup Final victory over Chelsea, came to an unexpected and undistinguished
end with a 1-5 defeat at Burnley.
However, a home win in mid-week over Wolverhampton Wanderers and this
game restored some order. The game was
won with goals from Alan Gilzean and Frank Saul. |
10th 1960 |
Arsenal 2 Spurs 3 Spurs’ seventh consecutive win at
the start of the ‘Double’ season brought them their first victory at Highbury
since January, 1956. Bobby Smith and
Cliff Jones were still injured but they were not missed as goals from Frank
Saul, Terry Dyson and Les Allen brought Spurs victory. Spurs had gone two ahead and the only
question seemed to be the margin of victory but Arsenal came back to equalise
before Allen lobbed the goalkeeper to earn another two points for Spurs. The newspaper headline of the time read: ‘SPURS ARE STREETS AHEAD – They can score goals
almost to order’. |
11th 1974 |
Spurs 0
Middlesborough 4 (League Cup) The final game in an illustrious
career at Tottenham for manager Bill Nicholson. Having handed in his resignation, Nicholson
refused to listen to persuasion from Board members, players or supporters but
this was not the way anyone would have wanted him to leave. Having joined the club in 1936 he had served
them well as player, coach and manager.
It was a sad day that brought down the curtain on the club’s most
successful manager. He will forever be
remembered as the man who managed the ‘Double’ team, brought success in
Europe and many successful Cup winning teams.
Considered by some to be a dour Yorkshireman, he brought success in a
style that had Spurs revered around the world. Danny Blanchflower
commenting on Nicholson’s departure said: ‘I think of the trophies he has won
for the club. Think of the fine players he has brought to White Hart
Lane. Nick managed great teams before
Shankly and Revie and has given 38 years of devoted service to Tottenham as
player, coach and manager. But he
himself was one of the club’s greatest assets of all.’ |
12th 1959 |
Manchester
United 1 Spurs
5 This must rate
as one of Spurs best ever performances at Old Trafford. They played with style and a flair that saw
them score three goals inside ten minutes midway through the first half. Dave Dunmore, Bobby Smith and Tommy Harmer
scored for Spurs but United managed to pull one back just before
half-time. Spurs started the second
half with ten men when Bobby Smith was unable to play because of a facial
injury. Spurs defended well and Smith
was later able to return and managed to score minutes from time with Dave
Mackay completing the scoring one minute later - his first goal for Spurs. |
13th 1961 |
Gornik Zabrze 4 Spurs 2 Spurs first experience of European
football in the European Cup was nearly their last. Spurs found themselves four goals down
early in the second half after making a number of uncharacteristic defensive
errors. They incensed the 90,000 home
fans with their robust tackling which saw the home team reduced to nine
men. Spurs managed to claw their way
back in to the tie with goals from Cliff Jones and Terry Dyson. Dave Mackay, the chief villain of the peace
in the eyes of the crowd, was the provider for both goals. At the end Spurs were booed and whistled
off the pitch by the home supporters. |
14th 1974 |
Spurs 2
West Ham United 1 The previous Thursday, the day
after Nicholson’s last match in charge, Spurs announced the name of their new
manager. The Board had ignored
Nicholson’s recommendation of Blanchflower and Johnny Giles, instead appointing
the surprising choice the Hull City manager and former Arsenal captain, Terry
Neill. Apart from his Arsenal
connections, his record as a manager did not commend him as a top
appointment. However, the deed was
done and the players responded by winning his first game in charge with the
goals scored by Mike England and Martin Chivers who were to have a difficult
time under the new manager. Although
they won the next game, normal service was resumed and it was to be a long,
hard struggle with relegation only being avoided in the last game of the
season. |
15th 1951 |
Stoke City 1 Spurs 6 As reigning League Champions Spurs
opened their season with defeat at Middlesbrough but recovered to win the
next three games. Another visit to the
north east brought a humiliating 7-2 defeat by Newcastle. Manager Arthur Rowe persisted with most of
the Championship winning team and they recovered to draw two and win one of
the three games prior to this visit to the Potteries. Stoke were doing even worse and were at the
bottom of the table having conceded more goals than any other team. Spurs took advantage of their difficulties
with early goals from McClellan and Bennett before Stoke missed a penalty. Ramsay then scored a penalty to give Spurs
a 3-0 interval lead. In the second
half Walters scored a spectacular fourth and Medley got two before Stoke
scored their consolation. Tommy Harmer
was the only forward not to score but he was involved in much of Spurs fine
play. This was Spurs best away win for
quite some time and was not to be equalled until 1962-63 at West Ham. |
16th 1981 |
Ajax
Amsterdam 1 Spurs 3 Spurs
return to European football in the European Cup Winners’ Cup saw them drawn
to visit Holland where their last
appearance had ended in defeat and crowd trouble. Much was expected in this game between two
exciting teams and Spurs showed their capabilities with an outstanding
performance and thoroughly deserved their victory which came through goals
from Ricky Villa and two from Mark Falco.
This result in the first leg made the return match a formality. |
17th 1956 |
Hibernian 1 Spurs 5 For a couple of years after the introduction of floodlights
and before the commencement of European competitions an Anglo-Scottish Floodlight
competition was played. Five teams
took part and Spurs played the three Scottish teams home and away, but the
matches had to be played as friendlies as the tournament had not received
official sanction. This was the
opening game and Spurs won with goals from Bobby Smith (2), Danny
Blanchflower, Tommy Harmer and Terry Dyson.
Spurs also played Hearts and Partick Thistle, winning three, losing
twice with one draw. The other English
representative was Newcastle United. |
18th 1993 |
Spurs 5
Oldham Athletic 0 Teddy Sheringham was having a very productive start to the
season having scored six goals in the opening seven
games. His good form continued against
Oldham as Spurs made a superb start scoring three times in the first eight
minutes. Sedgley opened the scoring
after six minutes then two poor clearances from the Oldham goalkeeper
presented Sheringham and Sedgley with further goals in the next two
minutes. Spurs other goals came in the
second half from Durie and Dozzell, scoring his first goal for the club. Spurs lost full back Dean Austin who was
stretchered off with a broken leg. |
19th 1973 |
Grasshopper
Zurich 1 Spurs
5 On paper the
UEFA Cup 1st Round (1st Leg) match appears to have been
an easy victory but in reality the victory was very much due to the
outstanding performance of Pat Jennings.
He showed his goalkeeping ability after Martin Chivers had given Spurs
an early lead. Grasshoppers piled on
the pressure but Jennings stood firm and then after half an hour Ray Evans
scored Spurs second. The home team
scored from a penalty just before half time and then in the second half
Jennings made a number of outstanding saves before Chivers scored again and
Alan Gilzean scored twice to ensure an amazing victory. After the match Bill Nicholson commended
Jennings on his brilliant performance. |
20th 1961 |
Spurs 8
Gornik Zabrze 1 Two goals down from the 1st
Leg Spurs appeared to have an uphill struggle to progress to the next
round. However, with the crowd behind
them and the famous ‘Tottenham Roar’ to terrify the opposition, Spurs quickly
set about correcting the disappointment of the first game. Spurs hit the bar in the first minute,
scored with a Blanchflower penalty after nine minutes and then Cliff Jones
terrorised the Gornik defence with a seventeen minute hat-trick before
half-time. Gornik had scored but Spurs
were 4-1 ahead on the night, 6-5 on aggregate. Bobby Smith scored at the end of the first half
and again in the second half. The
scoring was completed with goals from Terry Dyson and John White. The start of Spurs ‘Glory! Glory!’ nights
of European football at White Hart Lane.
A ground ticket to watch this entertainment would have cost you 4/- (4
shillings = 20p). |
21st 1994 |
Watford 3 Spurs 6 Coca-Cola Cup 1st Round 1st Leg This match typified the Ossie
Ardiles’ philosophy of attack and let the defence take care of itself. Four
of the famous attacking five played, only Barmby was missing. Sheringham, Anderton and Dumitrescu all
scored and with Klinsmann scoring a hat-trick his star continued in the
ascendancy. While the team was
creative going forward and Spurs were seemingly able to score at will, the
defence was porous and conceded goals frequently. Against lesser opposition this policy worked
but in the sterner test of League football Spurs and Ardiles were having
difficulties and were heading for a parting of the ways. |
22nd 1971 |
Spurs 2
AC Torino 0 Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners’
Cup The winners of the
English and Italian League Cups met over two legs at the start of the season. Spurs had won the first leg in Italy with a goal scored by
Martin Chivers. Completing their
victory in the second leg, Chivers scored again with Alan Gilzean getting the
other. An attendance of 34,000 saw Spurs
win their first trophy of the season and helped them prepare for further
encounters in Europe. |
23rd 1989 |
Norwich
City 2 Spurs 2 At the beginning of the season
Terry Venables signed Gary Lineker from Barcelona and with Gascoigne and
Waddle Spurs were looking to be a very exciting team. However, Waddle was sold to Marseilles and
Lineker took time to settle. He failed
to score in the opening six League and Cup games of the season and results
were poor. However, he turned the
corner in this game heading Spurs second goal to earn a point at Carrow
Road. He then proceeded to score a
hat-trick the following week-end at home to Queens Park Rangers. He proved his worth, finishing the season
as top scorer with 26 League and Cup goals, including a second hat-trick in
the home game against Norwich. |
24th 1983 |
Watford 2 Spurs 3 This game was about Archibald and
Hoddle. In the second game of the
season against Coventry Steve Archibald had angered manager Keith Burkinshaw
by coming off the pitch near the end, claiming he was injured and not wanting
to risk further injury. Spurs had already used their subs and finished the
game with ten men. Burkinshaw
immediately dropped Archibald but he returned as substitute for this
game. Hoddle turned the game for Spurs
with a great goal that everyone remembers.
Spurs were a goal down when he received the ball moving away from the
goal - he cleverly turned the defender, moved round him and coolly chipped the
ball over the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net – a goal that is
frequently shown on television. Now
enter Steve Archibald as substitute to prove his point and score the second,
Chris Hughton scored the third to earn Spurs the points, while Watford
managed a late goal to reduce the arrears. |
25th 1995 |
Queens Park
Rangers 2 Spurs
3 A poor start to
the season had seen Spurs gain only two points from the first four
games. Both home games were lost but
draws were achieved away from White Hart Lane. However, September brought a turn in form
and five straight League and Cup wins.
Sheringham was leading the way having scored four in the previous
three games and he was on the score sheet again, scoring twice, one penalty. Things didn’t go according to plan early on
in this Monday evening televised game.
Spurs were a goal down at half-time and found themselves two behind a
minute into the second half. The
recovery started a minute later when Spurs were awarded a penalty which
Sheringham scored. Spurs then gave a
display of attacking class and Jason Dozzell equalised after 72 minutes, with
Sheringham scoring the winner two minutes later. A concern for Spurs was the injury to
Darren ‘Sicknote’ Anderton who had just played four matches after returning
from a previous injury. Anderton was
to miss almost the complete season but managed to return in time for the
final few games and be selected for England in the European Championships. |
26th 1998 |
Spurs 3
Leeds United 3 This
game was surrounded in much speculation that the Commenting on the prospect of Graham compared to Pleat at Spurs, the Daily Express reporter wrote: ‘Graham already looks and talks the part of the Tottenham manager. Compare his suave sophistication on the White Hart Lane touchline with the eccentric appearance of David Pleat, who looked as if he had been dragged from the river-bank clutching a fishing rod minutes before kick-off.’ |
27th 1967 |
Spurs 4
Hajduk Split 3 A seven goal thriller in the
European Cup Winners’ Cup, but it wasn’t really. Spurs had won the first game by two goals
and were comfortably in control. Jimmy
Robertson, Alan Gilzean and Terry Venables scored in the first half but then
with ten minutes left Hajduk scored twice in a minute. Three minutes later
Robertson added his second and when Cyril Knowles conceded a penalty in
the 90th minute Hajduk got their third to make the score line
respectable. Spurs had easily qualified for the next round on a 6-3
aggregate overcoming Hajduk and the failure of some of the floodlights. |
28th 1971 |
Spurs 9
Keflavik 0 The second leg of this UEFA Cup 1st Round game
was a formality as Spurs were five goals ahead from the 6-1 victory in
Iceland. This was Spurs first time in
the UEFA Cup, all their previous European experience having been in the
European Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup.
Even though they were well ahead in the contest, it was still a full
strength team which appeared at White Hart Lane. That they didn’t beat the record British
aggregate win in Europe (16 at the time held by Leeds) was down to the fact
that the forwards squandered a number of good scoring opportunities. The goals came at regular intervals through
the game – they were four ahead at half-time, the goals scored by Martin
Chivers (2), Steve Perryman and Ralph Coates.
In the second half Chivers completed his hat-trick while Cyril
Knowles, Alan Gilzean (2) and substitute Phil Holder scored the others to
give Spurs an aggregate win of 15 – 1. |
29th 1962 |
Spurs 9
Nottingham Forest 2 Prior to this game Forest had
conceded only 11 goals in ten games and afterwards they had their goalkeeper
to thank that the score didn’t reach double figures. However, after five minutes Forest went
ahead following a mistake in the Spurs defence. Spurs equalised within a minute through
Greaves, went ahead five minutes later with Greaves’ second and had to wait
for only another four minutes for the third from Jones. After half an hour Spurs scored their
fourth through White and then Medwin and Greaves, his hat-trick, made it six
before half-time. Spurs were playing
slick, interchanging football and continued in the second half with an Allen
penalty and a second goal from Jones.
Midway through the second half Forest forced Brown into a number of
excellent saves but then late on Spurs re-asserted themselves and Greaves
scored his fourth and the Forest keeper saved them from further
humiliation. Forest did manage a
second four minutes from time.
Throughout his career Greaves had a tremendous goal scoring record
against Forest, scoring 24 League goals against them, fifteen of them for
Spurs. |
30th 1882 |
Spurs 0
Radicals 2 This is
the first recorded game of the new football club Hotspur FC. A two goal defeat in a friendly against
local rivals but little else is known about the game. The fact that the game was played, only
came to light when the club’s accounts for this period were discovered. A group of schoolboys playing a friendly
game for enjoyment would never have dreamt that their little team was going
to develop into one of the most famous and successful teams in world
football. The accounts show that they
bought their first ball on the morning of the match which could suggest that
they played at home. |
Acknowledge the work of Graham Betts in his book
‘Spurs Day – to – Day Life at