By Hoozen
September 11 2006

It was the late, great Bill Nicholson, who had served the club in one capacity or another from 1936, who first led Tottenham into Europe. Following on from the double year....... It was the late, great Bill Nicholson, who had served the club in one capacity or another from 1936, who first led Tottenham into Europe. Following on from the double year, the club reached the semi final of the 1962 European Cup, only to be disappointed by inexperience and a small amount of bad luck, despite it being probably the greatest team in the history of the club. It must have riled the great man, who, unlike many of his successors, found it hard to find excuses in defeat or indeed accept them as a part of the game. But after success once again in the FA Cup the following year (and narrowly failing to achieve successive doubles), Tottenham Hotspur were back in Europe, this time in the European Cup Winner’s Cup, where things turned out to be an entirely different story. Key players in the squad that were the first British club to bring home a European trophy after thrashing Athletico Madrid 5-1 included Danny Blanchflower, John White, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and Jimmy Greaves.

Despite more domestic cup success later in the sixties, European success did not return to the Lane until 1972, almost a full decade after winning the Cup Winner’s Cup. Still under the helm of Nicholson, Spurs, playing in an all white strip, managed to bring home the UEFA Cup after beating Wolves in the first all English final. Nicholson eventually resigned at the start of the 1974-75 season due to both a poor start, and his disgust at seeing rioting fans in Rotterdam in a UEFA Cup final, which Spurs went on to lose.

Tottenham seemed to be mourning the loss of Nicholson for a while and dropped out of the First Division at the end of the 1976-77 season, and the club installed Keith Burkinshaw as manager in a bid to revitalise their fortunes. They won promotion to the top flight and lifted the FA Cup in 1981 beating Manchester City in a replay. Spurs retained the trophy the following year, beating QPR and went on to more UEFA Cup glory in the all white kit against Anderlecht in 1984. Sadly, Burkinshaw walked out on the club within days after the triumph following a dispute with the Directors, the words “there used to be a football club there” leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of many a Spurs fan who believed the club were on the verge of great things

And so began the period of drought. The club, having been purchased in 1982 by Irving Scholar, was on the verge of financial ruin after the building of the new west stand, yet still managed to threaten on all fronts. Playing with a five man midfield (Hoddle, Ardiles, Hodge, Paul Allen, Waddle) supplying the prolific Clive Allen, Tottenham mounted a serious challenge in all domestic competitions. At one point in March, if they had won their remaining 13 matches, they would have won all domestic honours. As it was, they were defeated in the League Cup semi final by bitter rivals Arsenal. After faltering at the final hurdle in the league, Spurs' hopes hinged on the FA Cup. Spurs had never before lost a domestic cup final while their opponents, Coventry, had never even reached a Cup Final before. Spurs were the favourites but suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of John Sillett's team. Curiously enough, it was the first time Spurs had worn the all white “European” kit in a domestic final, and it coincided also with their first defeat at Wembley, a defeat caused by a Gary Mabbutt own goal. Some things are perhaps left to tradition.

Things have never quite been the same since. The much heralded arrival of El Tel from Barcelona coincided with near financial ruin for the club, and despite building a talented team of players, the club was never quite the same again, with allegations of financial irregularities and near bankruptcy snatching most of the headlines. Not even the famous 1991 cup win could overshadow the more than 20m debt that the club had incurred under Scholar. And so began the dark, barren years at the club. One further sojourn into European football ended prematurely in the first round with a late own goal and we haven’t been back since. The all-white kit was put away and the purples and blues were brought out to replace it.

But now we’re back. A strong squad of players and a European style of management has brought Spurs back into the upper echelons of the league and, once again, European qualification. After narrowly missing out on Champion’s League football under unfortunate and some say, mysterious circumstances, the team is back in the UEFA Cup with a first round tie against Slavia Prague. It’s time for the fans to dust off the flags and banners and time for the club to dust off the all-white kit. The European tour is about to begin and expectations are high.