By MattoftheSpurs
April 16 2007

April the 21st. D-Day. The Goons come to town. Always one of the first fixtures (if not the first) that is looked for when the fixtures are announced before the season starts April the 21st. D-Day. The Goons come to town. Always one of the first fixtures (if not the first) that is looked for when the fixtures are announced before the season starts. With them in not so stellar form and us not being able to defend for toffee I thought it might be interesting to look down through the years at other matches played on the 21st of April to see if there was any pattern that might give us a clue to how Saturday’s match will pan out.

In my research I discovered that Spurs have played on twenty two occasions in the league on April the 21st. Below is the list of how we got on with a summary at the end.

1896/97 Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Southampton St Mary’s 3,000
1901/02 Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 West Ham United 2,000
1904/05 Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Southampton 27,000
1905/06 Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Plymouth Argyle 8,000
1916/17 Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Southampton 2,000 (home game played at Homerton)
1918/19 Millwall 2-4 Tottenham Hotspur 18,000
1922/23 Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Birmingham City 16,335
1923/24 Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Manchester City 11,739
1927/28 Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Bury 15,618
1929/30 West Bromwich Albion 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur 13,989
1933/34 Birmingham City 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur 24,576
1936/37 Nottingham Forest 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur 14,687
1944/45 Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Clapton Orient 10,317
1950/51 Middlesbrough 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur 36,689
1955/56 Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Huddersfield Town 36,387
1961/62 Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 West Bromwich Albion 53,512
1963/64 Burnley 7-2 Tottenham Hotspur 16,660
1972/73 Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Leicester City 23,312
1978/79 Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Manchester United 36,665
1983/84 Arsenal 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur 48,831
1989/90 Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester United 33,317
2002/03 West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur 26,899

So the total record for league games played on the date of April the 21st reads;

P H A W D L F A
22 14 8 7 5 10 45 42

Spurs score on average 2.045 times on this date and concede 1.909.
Spurs have lost 5 at home on this date, drawing 4 and winning 5.

So what does this tell us about matches involving Spurs on the 21st of April? Unsurprisingly perhaps, very little (well, that was a waste of an hour.)

Undeterred I ploughed on. Perhaps the more pertinent question would be ‘How have Spurs performed against Arsenal in the month of April?’ (not much more pertinent, but getting closer.)

Spurs have played against the old enemy on no less than 38 occasions in April. The full run down follows;

08/04/1898 Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Woolwich Arsenal 15,000
29/04/1899 Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Woolwich Arsenal 5,000
17/04/1900 Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 Woolwich Arsenal 3,000
24/04/1900 Woolwich Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur 4,000
23/04/1902 Woolwich Arsenal 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur 3,000 (Southern Charity Cup)
29/04/1902 Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Woolwich Arsenal 2,000 (Southern Charity Cup replay)
09/04/1906 Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Woolwich Arsenal 8,000 (Southern Charity Cup)
28/04/1906 Woolwich Arsenal 5-0 Tottenham Hotspur 8,000 (Southern Charity Cup replay)
16/04/1910 Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Woolwich Arsenal 39,800
08/04/1911 Woolwich Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur 24,853
19/04/1913 Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Woolwich Arsenal 20,000
08/04/1916 Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Arsenal 7,000 (The cuckoos have moved in)
09/04/1917 Arsenal 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur 12,000
15/04/1922 Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Arsenal 40,394
07/04/1928 Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Arsenal 39,193
24/04/1940 Arsenal 2-4 Tottenham Hotspur 4,445 (match at White Hart Lane)
05/04/1941 Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur 22,107 (match at White Hart Lane)
12/04/1941 Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Arsenal 25,258
22/04/1944 Arsenal 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur 26,330 (match at White Hart Lane)
14/04/1973 Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur 50,863
26/04/1975 Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur 43,762
03/04/1976 Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Arsenal 42,031
11/04/1977 Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur 47,432
16/04/1979 Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur 53,896
07/04/1980 Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Arsenal 41,365
12/04/1982 Arsenal 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur 48,897
04/04/1983 Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 Arsenal 43,642 (Happy Easter everyone!)
21/04/1984 Arsenal 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur 48,831
17/04/1985 Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Arsenal 40,399
14/04/1991 Arsenal 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur 77,893 (played at Wembley)
04/04/1993 Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur 76,263 (played at Wembley)
29/04/1995 Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur 38,337
15/04/1996 Arsenal 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur 38,273
08/04/2001 Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur 63,541 (played at Old Trafford)
06/04/2002 Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur 38,186
25/04/2004 Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Arsenal 36,097
25/04/2004 Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur 38,147
22/04/2006 Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur 38,326

The final record for all Tottenham versus Arsenal matches played in April stands as;

Played 38
Played at White Hart Lane 15
Played at Highbury 20
Played at a neutral venue 3

Tottenham wins 11
Arsenal wins 15
Draws 12

Goals scored by Tottenham 53
Goals scored by Arsenal 52.

Tottenham last beat Arsenal in April at Wembley in 1991 in the famous FA Cup semi final. The semi final was the first to be played at Wembley. Spurs went on to win the FA Cup by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 in the final.

Both clubs have notched up a record 5-0 win for this fixture in April. Arsenal’s came before television was invented whilst Tottenham’s is available on video.

Arsenal played 3 home games against Spurs at White Hart Lane. The main reason was because Highbury was being used as a public lavatory during the war years. It was, until it was thankfully demolished, known through out the world as the largest khazi on the planet. The smells from the excrement that was deposited there could still be smelt up until last year when Arsenal moved out. For some unknown reason the smell has now travelled 500 yards south to Ashburton Grove. Scientists are looking into the phenomenon.

So there you go. The history of Spurs matches played on April the 21st and a history of Spurs-Arsenal matches played in April. Does not exactly shed any light on what the outcome will be on Saturday afternoon but perhaps it will give the commentators who cover this game ample rubbish to talk about during it.

Have fun on Saturday. Enjoy the game. And play nicely.