By Dave P
December 11 2004

We have Played Manchester City on the 11th December on three occasions since our first meeting in 1910 so we'll have a quick look at those games and mention a couple of other fixtures including that first game as well. Dateline December 11th Opponents Manchester City

We have Played Manchester City on the 11th December on three occasions since our first meeting in 1910 so we'll have a quick look at those games and mention a couple of other fixtures including that first game as well.

As recently as 1993 we played them at Maine Road in a league fixture in front of 21,566 fans running out as 2-0 winners. Both goals on that day came from Jason Dozzell. What can I say about Dozy other than the player that Ossie rated made 99 appearances for us and scored 14 times before returning from whence he came.

Twenty three years before that we played Citeh at home in a Division 1 fixure that ended 2-2 in front of a crowd of 24,603. Both the Spurs Goals on that day were scored by Peter Taylor. It was to be a season that many of us will never forget (much as we would like to) as on the 7th May City consigned us to relegation with a 5-0 victory. It was the end of Keith Burkinshaws first season in charge but we were to bounce straight back up again and go on to more Glory in the early eighties under his leadership. I wonder, had todays financial pressures existed then, would Keith have kept his job at the end of that first season?

Moving back a further 22 years to 1954 we travelled to Maine Road on December 11th to play out a 0-0 draw in front of just over 27000 paying fans. Once again 1954 was not one of our greatest seasons coming as it did towards the end of Arthurs Rowes reign as manager of the club and moving into a transitional period following the 1950/51 Push and Run triumph. We were to finish that season in 16th place dropping to 18th the year after.

Now back in the old days and indeed right up until 1958, it was usual for the two Christmas fixtures to be played on the 25th and 26th December (providing they did not fall on a sunday) and usually against the same team. So it was in 1912 when our Christmas opponents were Manchester City. The first game on Christmas day was played at Maine Road in front of 30,000 and was a 2-2 draw with the spurs goals scored by centre forward James Cantrell and outside-left Herbert Middlemiss. The return fixture at White Hart Lane the following Day (in front of 20,000) resulted in a 4-2 victory for the Spurs. Our four goals on that occasion coming from Billy Minter and a hat-trick from the aforementioned J.Cantrell. James William Minter started his playing career for Norwich City and transferred to Woolwich as an amateur in 1906. Later that year he joined Reading as a professional until he joined us in March 1908. He carried on playing for us until 1920 when he retired as a player to become our Trainer. He then took over as Manager in February 1927, a position he held until November 1929 when he became our assistant-secretary. He held this position until his death in 1940 having served Tottenham for 32 years.

I would like to mention one final game that took place on December 27th 1910. This was our first ever game against Manchester City and took place at White Hart Lane in front of 28,000 fans. The score on that day was a 1-1 draw with the spurs goal being scored by one Walter Tull. I think it is interesting to draw attention to this in view of recent problems regarding racism in football. Walter Daniel John Tull was one of the first,if not the first, professional black footballers in Britain playing for Tottenham from 1909 until 1911 when he moved to Northampton Town. He served in the British Army in the Great War and went on to become Britains first ever Black Army Officer. He died in the second Battle of the Somme aged 29 in March 1918. More information about Walter Tull can be found at http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ntfc/tull.htm on Northampton Towns Website.