Julie Welch - The Biography of Tottenham Hotspur: The Incredible Story of the World Famous Spurs

CONTENTS

Published by Vision Sports Publishing in 2012

Vision Sports Publishing

19-23 High Street

Kingston upon Thames

Surrey

KT1 1LL

www.visionsp.co.uk

Book ISBN: 978-1-907637-59-9

Epub ISBN: 978-1-907637-99-3

Copyright Julie Welch

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Edited by: Justyn Barnes and Jim Drewett

Copy editing: John Murray

Design: Doug Cheeseman

A CIP Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

So many people were willing to share their thoughts on Spurs with me when I was writing this that their names would fill a whole chapter in itself; in any case, most of them appear in the following pages. That said, Id like to credit Tottenham Hotspur FC for the help I was given along the way, with special thanks going to John Fennelly. Im also particularly grateful to Steffen Freund, Gareth Bale, Michael Dawson, Steve Perryman, Terry Dyson, Cliff Jones, Gary Mabbutt, Micky Hazard, Andy Porter, Alex Fynn, Jim Duggan and Brian Scovell. Rob White was as generous as ever with thoughts about his dad, Martin Cloakes immense knowledge of Spurs saved me from several crucial omissions and Justyn Barnes was a superb editor as well as being a joy to work with.

I read a lot of books about Spurs while I was writing this, and am indebted to Bob Goodwins Tottenham Hotspur: The Complete Record and Norman Gillers amusing and informative The Managing Game. If you havent yet done so, I recommend you read Jamess Morgans In Search of Alan Gilzean; Jimmy Greavess This Ones On Me and Chris Horries Sick As A Parrot. Bill Nicholson: Footballs Perfectionist is Brian Scovells absorbing and moving account of the life of Sir Bill and The Boys From White Hart Lane, by Martin Cloake and Adam Powley, is the best book yet about the wonderful Spurs side of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Writing the story of the club I have loved and supported since the age of 12 has felt like a great responsibility and I hope Ive done it justice. And finally, wherever she is, Id like to wave across the decades to Toni Szamek of Form 4A, The City of London School for Girls, who was the first person ever to speak the name Danny Blanchflower to me. She doesnt know what she started.

Julie Welch,

October 2012

Its 10 May 1998, the final day of the season and were at home to Southampton. Its not the kind of game thats going to go down in history of one of Spurs greatest games, just a 1-1 draw with nothing much at stake. Even so, when the final whistle blows, I am choked and overcome. Its my last ever game. Im saying goodbye. After 16 years and 619 appearances, Ill never be on this White Hart Lane pitch again.

I spent almost all of my playing career at Tottenham Hotspur. Although some tempting offers came my way, I never took them up. I loved my football here.

If the last day of my Spurs career was the saddest moment, the best was the night in May 1984, when we beat Anderlecht to win the UEFA Cup through that excellent penalty save by Tony Parks. Just as good was the moment that as Spurs captain I held aloft the FA Cup after we beat Nottingham Forest at Wembley in 1991.

Ive been part of some of the best Spurs sides ever assembled, contributing to some of its greatest moments, as well as witnessing some of its most dramatic off-field dramas.

I am very proud to have played a part in Tottenham Hotspurs story for so many years. Im proud, too, to remain still connected with the club as a Club Ambassador. I feel I belonged, and still belong, to a unique club that occupies a special place in the history of English football. From its earliest years, back in the reign of Queen Victoria, Spurs has led the way with innovation and trail blazing achievements. Its name is synonymous with style, flair, vision and entertainment. If you are interested in the history and spirit of a special club, where the game will always be about glory, you will, like me, enjoy reading this fascinating book.

Gary Mabbutt,

October 2012

I ts early on in a tense Premier League second half at White Hart Lane, and Scott Parker has just hooked over a cross. People half rise from their seats as the ball heads for the feet of Roman Pavlyuchenko. The shot skitters wide.

For the last hour weve seen near misses from Benny, Rafa and Sandro. Weve seen Lennon hobble off, weve seen Ade try everything and end up unrewarded. Theres no Gareth Bale today hes out with an ankle sprain.

The crowd is listless and subdued, with a slight air of mild resignation thrown in. Then, just beyond the hour mark, everything connects. Its quick, simple and accurate, its a classic bit of killer flair, a proper Spurs goal. Its Rafa with a clever reverse pass and Pav whips a low strike into the bottom-left corner of the net.

Goal! Tottenham Hotspur 1, Sunderland 0.

You can sense how the crowds mood is changing. Its not deliriously raging rapture, not yet. Spurs fans are conditioned to let their optimism out, but only under strict bail conditions. So were what you could describe as cautiously uplifted. Two-nil would give us a cushion. Make that 3-0, given that Spurs by tradition are quite capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of glory. Or, preferably, four up, just to be on the safe side.

They try. In a two-minute spell, Rafa has a left-footed shot from outside the box blocked. A shot from Ade is saved. Modric shoots inches too high from the centre of the box. As ever, the final five minutes are the longest of your life. Your eyeballs hurt from staring at the clock. Then, at last, comes the miracle that is the bedrock of every Spurs supporters faith. Its over. Weve won. All thats left is to join the throng of people heading back up Park Lane and towards Seven Sisters tube station.

Its a chilly December afternoon and what passed for the sun has set rapidly between final whistle and making our way out. The fans are just a crowd of shadows stretching ahead along the street. Most of us are happily anticipating Match of the Day, knowing its going to be a joy to watch because Spurs have three points, but the twilight plays tricks with your sense of time and in the dim light the sight looks much as it must have done in the early 1920s when people came here to watch the FA Cup-winning side of Dimmock and Seed and Grimsdell.

One-nil. No one could claim that as a typical Spurs result. Flamboyant, erratic, glorious, sometimes alternating between the exasperating and sublime at breakneck speed, thats true Spurs. That said, a couple of new words have been creeping into the Spurs lexicon in recent seasons: resilience and backbone. The wilderness years of the 1990s have receded into memory like video recorders and mobiles the size of bricks. Instead, there are headlines like Brilliant Bale Fires Title Warning Shots; One Of The Great Sights Of The Modern Game; Spurs Beginning To Show Self-Belief Of Champions. Todays result puts us not just third in the table but almost as important also keeps us ahead of Arsenal. The delirium of unmanageable expectation is beginning to set in. In my minds eye, Gareth Bale has scored his fifth hat-trick of the season, Arsenal are finishing in mid-table, and Ledley King is lifting the Premier League trophy.