By The Perfect St. Ranger
May 6 2006

This season has been great for a number of reasons, not least the fact that Spurs are, for once, out of mid-table medioctry and are competing for the CL & with Woolwich for that place. But I'm also pleased that the rivalry between Spurs and Woolwich might start to get back on an even keel.

No rivalry is as great if one of the teams is consistently weaker than the other and, since 1995, Tottenham have been completely overshadowed by our neighbours.
(In 23 games between the two sides since the start of the 1995/6, Spurs have won twice, drawing 11 and losing 10 times and finishing behind Woolwich in every single season. While they have won 3 league titles & 4 FA Cups in that time, in reply, Spurs have a single League Cup to offer).

So I'd like to remind everone of how the two teams have competed against each other over the years before 1996 and illustrate that this rivalry is one not just of good versus evil but also one between two fairly equal adversaries.

Up to the end of the 94/95 season, Spurs and Woolwich competed in the same division (all 1st division) in 58 seasons and, in those years, Spurs finished above Woolwich 28 times and Woolwich, vice versa, finished above Spurs 30 times. Which is a pretty well contested rivalry.

Up to the end of the 94/95 season the two clubs had met competitively 124 times with Spurs winning 46, losing 51 and drawing 27 (Spurs scoring 171 goals to Woolwich's 181) which, although giving Woolwich the edge, is still a well contested rubber.

Trophy wise, Woolwich obviously are well ahead in league trophies over that period (10 titles to 2) but, as Woolwich have never earned the right to play in the top division since their relegation from it in 1913, these are, of course, all null and void IMO.

In other competitions, up to 1995, Spurs had won 8 FA Cups to Woolwich's 6. Both sides had by then won 2 League Cups and a European Cup Winners Cup each while Spurs had two UEFA Cup wins to Woolwich's one. Which are comparible stats (actually favouring THFC).

My point is, after such statistical tedium, is that the past dozen years are not representative of the historic rivalry between the two clubs.

The NLD is one of the great rivalries in football. Not just for the well documented historical scandals but also the fact that it has been an enduring & equally contested derby.

I, for one, am looking forward to the North London battle recommencing on a more normal footing from here on...