47 years ago today … The second leg of the UEFA Cup final v Wolves would be the swansong of Alan Mullery at Spurs. Having been dropped from the first team earlier in the season, Mullery's fight back into contention was a feature of Hunter Davies' brilliant book on Spurs' '71-72 season The Glory Game. And it was Mullery's goal in the 29th minute that would be the difference in the end. Having gone into the 2nd leg up 2-1, scoring first looked to seal the deal, but Dave Wagstaffe's screamer late in the first half assured that things would be tense for Spurs right up to the end. But when it was all said and done, Spurs had prevailed 3-2 on aggregate. Alan Mullery would return to his beloved Fulham, but not before lifting the UEFA Cup and making Spurs the first British club to win two European trophies. Spurs 1-1 (3-2 agg) Wolves 17 May, 1972
28 years ago today … Having seen off Arsenal in the famous Wembley semifinal, Spurs took to the same pitch against Forest in search of their record 8th FA Cup title. Gazza should have been sent off (or at least booked) for a kick at Garry Parker's chest within the first 5 minutes, but he got away with it. Having done so, he launched into an even more savage tackle on Gary Charles. Again, he was spared disciplinary action, but this time he'd done himself, and would hobble off moments later - a victim (as would happen so many times) of his own stupidity. But not before Stuart Pearce had sent a screamer into the top corner from the resulting free kick. It was a brilliantly taken goal … but have a look at the way Lee Glover plows Gary Mabbutt off the wall, right where the ball goes through. With Gazza out - and he'd been absolutely phenomenal in getting Spurs to the final - Spurs went about getting back into the game, but Lineker had a perfectly good goal disallowed and then a penalty saved, and it was beginning to look like it might not be Spurs' night. But it was Paul Stewart who saved the day, leveling early in the second half, and taking the game by the scruff of the neck in what would be his finest ever performance for the club. Though Spurs would have to wait until extra time to get the winner - a Des Walker own goal - Forest never looked like scoring from Stewart's goal on, and Gary Mabbutt would raise the Cup for Spurs eighth - and thus far last - time. For legendary Forest manager Brian Clough, this would be as close as he would ever come to winning the FA Cup - the only trophy of significance that eluded him. Forest 1-2 (aet) Spurs 18 May, 1991
6 years ago today … Spurs entered the last game of the season at home against Sunderland needing a win and an Arsenal draw or loss at Newcastle for us to overtake the auld enemy and finish in the Champions League-qualifying 4th place. We'd been frustrated all day and appeared destined to have fluffed our lines yet again as a nil-nil game entered it's last minutes. But this was 2012-13, the year of Gareth Bale, and like so many other occasions throughout the season, he responded … Arsenal, having led most of the second half by a single goal at St James Park, were doing just enough, but a late equalizer would put us into fourth, as Spurs fans everywhere willed the magpies on. It wasn't to be, of course; we finished fifth yet again. But Gareth Bale had put the finishing touch on one of the finest individual seasons ever seen at the Lane, scoring his final goal for Spurs before moving on to Real Madrid (for an astounding 85m pounds) where he would win three Champions League medals (scoring the winner in two of them) and become widely despised in the process. Spurs 1-0 Sunderland 19 May, 2013
52 years ago today … Spurs met Chelsea in the first ever all-London FA Cup final. It was Chelsea's first ever trip to Wembley and their young, inexperienced team would face a Spurs side who'd dealt with countless big occasions within recent memory. The discrepancy quickly told as Spurs took the upper hand and more-or-less controlled the match throughout. Chelsea remained level through most of the first half, until Alan Mullery's blocked shot fell to Jimmy Robertson at the edge of the box who calmly slotted it home 40 minutes in. Though Chelsea came out firing early in the second half, Spurs rather easily weathered the storm and would put the game beyond reach when Frank Saul received the ball with his back to the goal, turned and fired into the bottom right corner. A late consolation from Bobby Tambling make the scoreline respectable, but the game had never been a close as the final score implies. In the end, Dave Mackay would lift Spurs third FA Cup in the span of seven years. After the end - well after the end - Chelsea defender Eddie McCreadie (whos header at 3:12 in the video gave Pat Jennings little trouble) would somehow find himself living in the hills of eastern Tennessee, where he would regularly attend church services with my Aunt Velma and Uncle Bob. True Story. Spurs 2-1 Chelsea 20 May, 1967
35 years ago today … Having earned a 1-1 draw away in the first leg of 1984's UEFA Cup final, Spurs would've taken the nil-nil halftime score, as it would have given them the trophy on away goals. But when Alexandre Czerniatynski put Anderlecht up 0-1 on the hour, it piled all the pressure on the home team. With less the twenty minutes to go, attacking midfielder Ossie Ardiles was brought on for defender Gary Mabbutt in a last gasp roll of the dice. It looked to have done the trick in the 84th when the Argentinian maestro pounced on a loose ball from about five feet out, but somehow he contrived to hit the bar when it would've been far easier to score. Within seconds, though, Mickey Hazard hoisted it back into the box, where after a bit of a skirmish, the ball fell to Graham Roberts, who calmly dispatched the equalizer into the back of the net. After seeing out full time, both exhausted sides played out a cagey half-hour a took it to penalties. Tony Parks' brilliant save on Morten Olsen's first penalty meant Anderlecht were chasing it as Spurs calmly dispatched their first four efforts. Danny Thomas could have finished it off by converting the our fifth, but Jacky Munaron guessed right and the Belgians were right back in it. But moments later Parks was the hero when he denied Arnor Gudjohnsen, handing Spurs their third (and thus far last) European trophy in Keith Burkinshaw's final game in charge at Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs 1-1 (aet 4-3 pens) Anderlecht 23 May, 1984
105 years ago today … Though the conflagration that would all but destroy Europe loomed the better part of three months into the future, signs of the coming conflict were in evidence. Friendlies scheduled in Italy and Switzerland had gone off smoothly enough, but when Spurs exhibition tour pulled into Stuttgart, German hostilities toward England were clearly already underway. Once the Londoners took to the pitch, pretty much anything was allowed. It wasn't just the German opponents and their German fans, but the German referee, too, was against them. Violent fouls were coming in from everywhere, perfectly good goals were disallowed, and goalkeeper Tiny Joyce even had to fend off attack from a spectator who cut his head open with an umbrella. The club actually had trouble collecting their guaranteed cut of the gate. In the end, a lone goal (scorer unidentified) was enough to give Spurs the win; but the atmosphere was so poisoned that, upon his return to England, Charles Roberts would declare that 'never again will Tottenham go to Germany while I am the chairman of the club'. True to his word, Spurs wouldn't go back until 1950, after Roberts' death. As it turned out, German hostility would carry on a bit longer, as well. Stuttgart 0-1 Spurs 24 May, 1914
I'm sure I have mentioned it on here before, but this was my finest hour at the Lane. I was in college, and 4 of us drove down from Coventry for the game: 3 Spurs fans and an agnostic. We just lined up and got in to the standing area below the Shelf. No booking of tickets in those days... No One Hotspur membership necessary. Not many clear memories of the game, though I think Ossie's miss was more memorable than the Roberts goal. The drama of the shootout eclipsed everything else, with my glasses falling off and being crushed on the ground during the victory celebrations. I didn't care.
this makes me jealous. I've seen a few cracking occasions at The Lane (… and Wembley ... and the new stadium), but that would be an entirely different level of brilliant. the chances of getting a ticket to a cup final of any kind anymore are pretty much zero without multi-season-ticket-holding-level loyalty points, or through a second-party seller, which means four-figure price tags. in other words, it ain't happening for this boy.
52 years ago today … Paul Gascoigne is born in Gateshead. The significance of this event for THFC would not manifest itself for a while. 27 May, 1967 5 years ago today … Mauricio Pochettino was appointed head coach at Tottenham Hotspur FC on a 5-year contract. The significance of this event became evident much more quickly. 27 May, 2014
If it's any consolation, the enormity of the occasion doesn't really register when you are 20 years old. At our... seasoned... time of life it would be much more meaningful. And though it is much more difficult to get tickets these days it is not impossible and you seem to do well. Don't give up.
67 years ago today … Spurs lined up against Saskatchewan FC for a friendly in Saskatoon. It was a bit of a one-sided affair - so much so that Spurs' keeper Ted Ditchburn switched places with their keeper (who was having a tough time keeping the ball out of the net) for the second half. Having a world-class netminder didn't help the Canadians much, though, as they conceded eight after the break … almost as many as they'd shipped in the first half. Sid McClellan scored nine(!), Les Bennett and CJ Adams three apiece, Len Duquemin a brace, and Dennis Uphill a solo as Spurs ran out 18-1 winners. Saskatchewan 1-18 Spurs 28 May, 1952
Was that association football or Canadian football? Maybe the one for Saskatchewan was a single point on a missed field goal...
45 years ago today … One of the darkest - perhaps the darkest - days in Spurs history should have been glorious. Spurs went off to Rotterdam for the second leg of the UEFA Cup final against Feyenoord looking for our second European trophy in three years. We had conceded a late equalizer in the first leg at the Lane, so it kicked off at 2-2. We were in it throughout most of the first half, but when Wim Rijsbergen put them one up just before halftime, that's when it really kicked off. Spurs fans had been frustrated earlier by a disallowed goal, but since the fans' behavior in Rotterdam had been rather shameful even before kickoff, it's tough to blame the circumstances of the game. In any event, by halftime Spurs fans were in full-blown English hooligan mode, throwing bottles, ripping out and throwing seats, and attacking Feyenoord fans - who, naturally enough, responded in kind. While Bill Nicholson should have been talking to his team and preparing them for the second half, he was instead out on the PA, trying to calm down the Spurs faithful and bring some order back to the proceedings. That his words had absolutely no effect is said to have left him despondent. In the end, the Dutch police were the ones restoring order, in a fairly heavy-handed manner - but more-or-less what you'd expect in that situation. When Peter Ressel made it 2-0 (4-2 agg) in the 84th, it was all but over. The last game in the managerial career of the legendary Bill Nick turned out to be not a glorious swansong, but an embarrassment before the world and a real black eye for the club. Feyenoord 2-0 (4-2 agg) Spurs 29 May, 1974 Caveat: this post is just factually wrong. This was not Bill Nicholson's final game in charge at Spurs. He actually continued into the following season, resigning in September after a poor start and an embarrassing 0-4 home loss to Middlesbrough in the League Cup. I don't know how long I've been under the incorrect impression that the UEFA Cup final was Bill Nick's last game - but it's been a very long time. I was actually following Spurs by this time, but this misconception illustrates how loosely. I would have presumably learned of the UEFA Cup final and it's extracurriculars some time later in the summer, in World Soccer or some other of the English footy mags that I would've seen in Reigel's Pipe and Tobacco shop's news stand (accompanying my dad - I wasn't smoking cigars at the age of ten). At what point I became aware that Terry Neill was our manager I couldn't even guess; but I knew that Nicholson was distraught with Rotterdam, and somewhere a very young pookspur put two-and-two together and came up with five. Apologies. Mea Culpa.
yeah, if you had wandered onto the Ajax board/thread going into the semifinals, you would have seen one or two Feyenoord fans in there telling them to smash us and how awful we are. that all goes back to '74. there's all kinds of talk amongst Spurs fans about the rivalry and how much we hate them and how awful they are - and fair enough, they responded in kind and have had a rough element show up against us and others. there's much to loath about Feyenoord, if we're honest. but it's mostly - or at least initially - down to us. our behavior in the city pre-game was reprehensible and didn't get any better throughout the day. as I understand it, anyway.
Well, it was very English in those days, all the way until Man U and their "fans" in Turkey (v. Gala IIRC) in the early 1990s.
What happened with Man U was after the ban (the Liverpool ban). I remember the English media blaming the Turks and thinking "Um, having the English been doing this for 20+ years?" Yup, what I was thinking was 1993 https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/sep/19/forgotten-story-manchester-united-galatasaray
I understand that. I was just saying that the change really seemed to have happened post 1993 rather than post 1990.