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A Month in
the Illustrious History of Spurs JULY (Compiled by |
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1st 1995 |
Intertoto
Victory. Every season as Spurs fail to
achieve automatic qualification for |
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2nd 1994 |
Spurs
appealed against the penalties imposed by the F.A. enquiry into the charge of
misconduct. Chairman, Alan Sugar,
presented Spurs’ case against the 12 point deduction, F.A.Cup ban and the
£600,000 fine. Having considered the
case, the Appeal panel halved the points deduction to six but increased the
fine to £1,500,000 as well as maintaining the Cup ban. Sugar was not satisfied and immediately
announced that Spurs would again appeal against the penalties that had been
imposed against the club. Sugar felt
most aggrieved that the misconduct charges had been under a previous regime
at the club and also that he had tried to co-operate with the F.A. over the
investigation. |
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3rd 2001 |
BETRAYAL!!
Every Spurs fan
knows exactly who and what I am referring to.
After months of rumour, speculation and denial the Spurs Captain
betrayed the club and the fans by signing for the other North London club on
a Bosman free transfer. Having
maintained for months that he had no reason to leave the club and having been
offered incredible amounts to stay, he eventually showed his true colours and
made the most detestable move possible.
If he had signed for any other club, the fans would have been
disappointed but would have wished him well but by going to Arsenal he
brought scorn and hatred upon himself. |
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4th 1946 |
This date
marks the passing of one of Spurs heroes from the late 1920’s and early
1930’s. Eugene ‘Taffy’ O’Callaghan
was born in Ebbw Vale and was working in the pits and playing for his local
side when he was invited to join the groundstaff in 1925. He signed professional in September, 1926
and made his debut in the following January at Everton. He was considered a good prospect and replaced
Jimmy Seed, a long time hero of the club.
He played in twelve of the final thirteen games of the season, scoring
five goals. So well had he played that
Seed was transferred and O’Callaghan went on to make 252 League appearances
for the club and scored 92 goals before his transfer to Leicester City in
March, 1935. In the 1933 – 34 season
he was part of one of the most exciting teams ever fielded by Spurs. They were known as the ‘greyhounds’ and
having just been promoted they finished third. It was a ball-hungry side that
played with speed and a style that had the enthusiasm of the fans at fever
pitch throughout the season. |
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5th 1982 |
Following
the Falklands War, tensions were running high between Britain and Argentina
and it was thought best if Ossie Ardiles did not make an immediate
return to Britain. He had left Spurs
the previous April to prepare for the World Cup with Argentina. It was announced that Ardiles would be
joining French club, Paris St Germain on loan for one year. However, he only stayed there for a number
of months, returning to Spurs the following December. |
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6th 1993 |
On this
day Ossie Ardiles who had been appointed manager in the aftermath of
the departure of Terry Venables following his acrimonious fall-out with Alan
Sugar, announced his management and coaching staff. Steve Perryman was to be the Assistant
Manager and Pat Jennings was returning to the club as the specialist
goalkeeping coach. This meant that the
Venables’ coaching duo of Clemence and Livermore was broken up. Ray Clemence
left the club while Doug Livermore remained to oversee the scouting. |
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7th 1994 |
Vinny
Samways who had
joined the club as an apprentice in 1985, handed in a transfer request. He claimed that he wanted a new challenge
but the punishment imposed by the Football Association was obviously making
the club an unattractive proposition for players at the club as well as for
players the manager might try to sign. He eventually signed for Everton and ironically
was present at White Hart Lane as Jurgen Klinsmann inspired Spurs to victory
in the first home match of the season a few weeks later. |
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8th 1990 |
In the World
Cup Final in Italy, Germany defeated Argentina by one goal to nil. A member of the German team was Jurgen
Klinsmann who four years later would sign for Spurs at a time when they
were at their lowest ebb following the severe punishment imposed by the
Football Association. In that one
season he would lift Spurs to unexpected heights but was to leave them dashed
as he moved on twelve months later. |
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9th 1883 |
This day
marks the birth of a goalkeeper who helped Spurs avoid relegation at the end
of their first season in Division 1. Tommy
Lunn was born in Bishop Auckland and had made a name for himself with
Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing for their F.A.Cup winning team in 1908. In April, 1910 Spurs were facing relegation
and signed Lunn from Wolves. He played
in the final two games, making his debut in a 2-0 win at Bolton and ensuring
another vital win with a number of important saves to ensure that Spurs
defeated Chelsea 2-1 in the final game of the season, leaving Chelsea
relegated. He played regularly over
the next two seasons but was replaced by John ‘Tiny’ Joyce in 1912. He played two more games in early 1913 but
on taking out a publican’s licence he was suspended for breach of
contract. He joined Stockport County
in June, 1913 but a serious leg injury after two games for Stockport brought
his career to a premature end. |
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10th 1978 |
.Transfer
Coup! Spurs and Keith Burkinshaw shocked the football world by signing
two stars of the successful Argentine World Cup team. The signing of Ossie
Ardiles and Ricky Villa brought a great lift and buzz to the club which was
looking to re-establish itself in the 1st Division following
promotion that summer. Ossie and Ricky
became firm favourites at WHL and although taking time to acclimatise to
English football they were important members of the successful team of the
early 1980s. |
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11th 1966 |
.The
opening game of the 1966 World Cup saw Jimmy Greaves taking up his
usual position in the England team for their match at Wembley against
Uruguay. However, in an uninspiring
performance England could only manage a scoreless draw. The following two group games produced
satisfactory results against France and Mexico although Greaves failed to
score. In the final group game against
France, Greaves sustained an injury which meant he was unable to play in the
knock out stages. Geoff Hurst took his
place and although fit for the Final, Greaves was not selected. History tells
the rest of the story and many link Greaves’ subsequent difficulties to the
disappointment of failing to be part of that successful England team. |
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12th 1956 |
This date
marks the birthday of Tony Galvin who came to Spurs from non-league
Goole Town in January, 1978 for a fee of £30,000. He came to professional football late as he
had completed a degree in Russian Studies and also a teacher Training course
before signing for Spurs. He took time
to make an impact having made his debut in a 0-3 defeat at home to Manchester
City in February, 1979. That would
have been enough to end the hopes of many a player and although it was his
only appearance of that season and he only made a few appearances at the end
of the next season, at the beginning of January, 1981 he was given an
opportunity to establish himself in the team and was an ever present in the
team that went on to win the F.A.Cup against Manchester City. He now became a
very important member of that successful team under Keith Burkinshaw. He also played for the Republic of Ireland
and made 194 League appearances before his transfer to Sheffield Wednesday
for £130,000 in August, 1987. |
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13th 2001 |
A pre-season
opening victory over Stevenage Borough.
These early games are set up to give some young players an opportunity
and are a gentle stroll to fitness for the experienced professionals. Spurs scored eight while conceding
one. Poyet managed three, too
youngsters, Ferguson and Kamanan scored two each, their moment in the
spotlight. But who scored the eighth
goal? Those who were there were
fortunate to witness the only successful strike of the player who some saw as
a ‘folk’ hero. It became embarrassing
at WHL as every time he got the ball and approached goal, some sections of
the crowd screamed ‘ssshhhoooottt’.
The scorer was none other that the German midfield player signed by
George Graham, Steffan Freund. He had
some near misses in his career at Spurs but never managed to score a
meaningful goal! |
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14th 1976 |
Spurs were
looking for a new manager. Less than
two years after replacing Bill Nicholson, Terry Neill resigned. It was reported that he had fallen out with
the directors during the close season tour to Australia. After deliberating for three weeks, not
long by today’s standards, the appointment of a new manager was
announced. Keith Burkinshaw who had
worked under Neill at White Hart Lane was appointed as his replacement. After a difficult opening season,
Burkinshaw showed his worth and became a very successful manager at Spurs.
Neill took up the vacant post at Arsenal, no surprise there then. |
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15th 1998 |
Pre-season
games can be very deceptive. Players
who make an early impression, frequently flatter to deceive. This was the case with our new Italian left
back signed by Christian Gross. On his
debut in a six goal win at Peterborough, he scored the opening goal. From that point on it was down hill. In total he only played six times for Spurs
and those performances were far from impressive. Injured in an early game, the appointment
of George Graham further ensured he had no future at White Hart Lane. Paolo
Tramezzani was signed from Piacenza in June, 1998 and left mid-season the
following year. |
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16th 1995 |
The third
game of the Intertoto competition saw Spurs under-strength team lose by two
goals to one against Osters IF of Sweden.
The game was a home match but was again played at Brighton. The team
consisted of young reserves and guest players signed on loan. The Spurs goal
was scored by Gerard McMahon who later went on to make a few appearances in
the first team and played for Northern Ireland at full International level.. |
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17th 1999 |
Lysekils
FF 1 Spurs 7 (Pre-season). Steffan Iversen was an exciting
young player with European experience when he was signed by Gerry
Francis. While making a promising
start to his Spurs career, he struggled to fulfil that promise and often struggled
with injury. However, in preseason
1999 – 2000 he appeared to be on the way back to his best form. He was on fire where goal scoring was
concerned. In the pre-season games he scored eleven goals including a
hat-trick in this game and another in the following 3 – 0 win over GAIS. In the season to follow he managed 14 in 36
League games and three in eight Cup appearances, his highest return for
Spurs. Injury and loss of form led to
his subsequent departure. |
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18th 1997 |
Fredrikstad
FK 0 Spurs 0 (Pre-season) Gerry Francis signed David Ginola from Newcastle
United to add skill and excitement to
the Spurs team. He became a firm
favourite at White Hart Lane and this game marked his first appearance in a
Spurs shirt. He played for the last
twenty five minutes when he replaced that other former Newcastle favourite
Ruel Fox. Not fully fit, it took time
for Ginola to lose some weight and get match fit but his performances brought
excitement to the games and spectacular goals and in his second season as
well as being a member of the Worthington Cup winning team he was the
‘Double’ Footballer of the Year.’ |
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19th 2001 |
Leyton
Orient 0 Spurs 2 (Pre-season) Managers have different ideas for pre-season
preparations. For a number of years
Spurs had travelled to Scandanavia to play a number of early games to build
up fitness before embarking on some more strenuous matches. However, Glenn Hoddle’s preparations
required the team to play a series of games against lower league opposition around
London and the south-east of England.
This game was won with goals scored by Simon Davies and Sergei Rebrov
who was trying to impress his new manager.
Although scoring in this game and another four in subsequent
friendlies he failed to make an impression, most of his League appearances
were as a substitute and he only managed to score once during the year. |
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20th 2003 |
Oxford
United 0 Spurs 3 (Pre-season) Spurs continued their pre-season preparations by overcoming
Oxford United. After seasons of
deliberation, they had finally signed Bobby Zamora from Brighton for a fee of
£1.5 million two days previously. He
made his debut in this game and played in the first half. He immediately showed his potential by
scoring twice, first after twenty minutes and then on the stroke of
half-time. He was replaced for the
second half by Robbie Keane who scored the third. Subsequent events were to suggest that
Zamora was best suited to scoring against lower league opposition. A player of great heart, his first touch
often let him down and he went to West Ham the following January as part of
the Jermain Defoe transfer. |
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21st 1964 |
A Sad
Loss. Spurs lost a great player with the
tragic death of John White who was killed when struck by lightning
while sheltering under a tree on Crews Hill Golf Course at Enfield. John White had been an important member of
the successful ‘Double’ team in the early 1960s. He had been signed from Falkirk in October,
1959 and was a firm favourite, still having much to offer the club. A Scottish international he brought great
skill and vision to the team and was a sad loss to Spurs, Scotland and
football but more importantly to all his family.. |
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22nd 1995 |
The
Intertoto fiasco finally came to an end with a humiliating defeat to 1FC
Cologne. The team of reserves and
loanees went to Germany and suffered an eight goal defeat. While Spurs can claim they did not
recognise it as a first team game and they had stated before the competition
that they would field a weakened team, a result like this did nothing for the
reputation of the Club in Europe and can have done nothing for the confidence
of the young players who were asked to take on an impossible task. While Spurs didn’t take the competition
seriously, Cologne did and gained qualification to the UEFA Cup draw and
progressed to the latter stages of the competition. On the same day the first
team also lost a friendly to Silkeborg by three goals to one. |
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23rd 1991 |
Spurs
announced that Peter Shreeves would be promoted from chief coach to
team manager, reporting to Terry Venables.
This would be Shreeves second spell in charge of the first team having
been promoted to that position following the resignation of Keith Burkinshaw
in 1984. He had two seasons in charge
before being sacked in 1986. Terry
Venables in his role as Chief Executive was planning to spend less time with
the team and more on the running of the business side of the club. Time was to prove that both decisions were
wrong, as Shreeves held the role for only a year and Venables was later
removed form his executive role by Alan Sugar. |
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24th 1992 |
Heart
of Midlothian 1 Spurs 2 (Pre-season) Gordon Durie scored Spurs two goals, including one from a
penalty in this win over Hearts. At
the end of the previous season Gary Lineker had retired from English football
and moved to play in Japan. This meant
that Durie was Spurs only experienced striker. Although scoring twice in this game it was
obvious that Spurs required someone to partner Durie and shortly after the
commencement of the new season signed Teddy Sheriongham from Nottingham Forest. |
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25th 1987 |
AFC
Bournemouth 4
Spurs 4 (Pre-season)
Two months after losing the F.A.Cup Final an almost similar team played out a
high scoring draw at |
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26th 2003 |
Orlando |
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27th 1994 |
As Ossie
Ardiles attempted to raise the spirit at White Hart Lane following the F.A.
punishment, it was announced that Spurs were to sign Rumanian International
and World Cup star, Ille Dumitrescu.
He had started his career with Steau Bucharest and had made 44
International appearances for his country.
An exciting player, his period at Spurs was not a success, it being
difficult to find a role for him within the team formation. He made 16 League appearances and scored
four goals in two seasons before being transferred to West Ham United in
March, 1996, having had a loan spell with Sevilla. |
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28th 2002 |
Q.P.R 3 Spurs 2 (Pre-season) Spurs winning run of pre-season friendlies came to an
end. Spurs playing their second game
in two days had a central defender with a familiar name, Henry. It wasn’t the return of the famed ‘Double’
winning full back, Ron, but his grandson, Ronnie. A promising young player he scored Spurs
second goal, the first coming from Etherington, but unfortunately he wasn’t
to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and become a star at WHl, he was
released recently by the club. |
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29th 1994 |
A
Transfer Coup to
match the Argentine success of 1978, Chairman, Alan sugar completed the
signing of German World Cup star, Jurgen Klinsmann. Sugar was determined to lift morale at the
club following the unjust F.A. punishment and this signing had the desired
effect. It brought Spurs to the
forefront of the football and news media and there was fantastic demand for
tickets for Spurs games, home and away.
Klinsmann joined Anderton, Sheringham, Barmby and Dumitrescu to form
Ardiles famous five attacking formation.
However, while exciting going forward the team lacked co-ordination in
defence and Ardiles stay was short lived.
It was the arrival of Gerry Francis who brought some structure to the
team and Klinsmann was able to be seen at his best in what proved to be an
exciting team to watch. |
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30th 1995 |
Steau
Bucharest 3 Spurs 2 (Pre-season Tournament – Glasgow) Invited to appear in the
International Tournament at Ibrox, Spurs lost their first game to Sampdoria by
two goals to the nil. Having gone into the tournament with a squad weakened
by injuries, further injuries in the first game meant that on the following
day they had to play this second game
with an even weaker team. The Spurs
goals were scored by two young reserves, Darren Caskey and Andy Turner, both
of whom made only a number of League
appearances in their Spurs careers. As
so often with Spurs, the injury problems persisted into the new season. |
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31st 1968 |
Spurs 3
Rangers 1(Pre-season) It’s not often that a pre-season
fixture remains in the memory for long after the final whistle but this game
is memorable for the debut of a young centre half who scored two of the
goals. Peter Collins had been signed
from non-League Chelmsford City for £5,500 the previous January and made his
league debut in the opening game of the season, a home defeat by
Arsenal. He didn’t appear again until
mid-October where he played alongside Mike England for much of the remainder
of the season. He made frequent appearances
during the next two seasons but his moment in the spotlight came when England
was injured midway through season 1970-71 and Collins replaced him, including
a successful League Cup Final appearance against Aston Villa at Wembley.
After this success his opportunities were limited and a serious ankle injury
further restricted his progress and he retired at the age of 26 in November,
1974. |
Acknowledge the work of Graham Betts in his book
‘Spurs Day – to – Day Life at