Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
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Until the emergence of Chelsea, Tottenham were typically one of the two best sides in the city of London along with fierce North London rivals Arsenal. However, Spurs have yet to win any trophy since the Premiership's foundation despite being in the top flight through the league's history.
[edit] Team History
In 1882 the Hotspur Football Club was formed by grammar school boys from the bible class at All Hallows Church. They were also members of Hotspur Cricket Club and it is thought that the name Hotspur was associated with Sir Henry Percy (Sir Harry Hotspur) who was "Harry Hotspur" of Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 1, and who lived locally during the 14th century and whose descendants owned land in the neighbourhood. In 1884 the club was renamed Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Club to distinguish itself from another team called London Hotspur.
At first Spurs played in navy blue shirts. The club colours then varied from light blue and white halved jerseys, to red shirts and blue shorts, through chocolate brown and old gold and then finally, in the 1899-00 season, to white shirts and navy blue shorts as a tribute to Preston North End, the most successful team of the time.
In 1888 Tottenham moved their home fixtures from the Tottenham Marshes to Northumberland Park where the club was able to charge for spectator admission. An attempt to join an aborted Southern League, instigated by Royal Arsenal (later Arsenal), failed in 1892 when they were the only club of the 23 applicants to receive no votes. They turned professional just before Christmas 1895 and were then admitted to the Southern League and attracted crowds nearing 15,000. Charles Roberts became chairman in 1898 and stayed in post until 1943.
In 1899 Spurs made their final ground move to a former market garden in nearby High Road, Tottenham. In time the ground became known as White Hart Lane, a local thoroughfare. Tottenham were the considerable beneficiaries of the escalating unionisation of the northern professional game in the 1890s. Both John Cameron and John Bell, formerly Everton players came to play for Tottenham as a result of the conflict caused by their organisation of the Association Footballers' Union, a forerunner of the Professional Footballers' Association. As a direct result of this in 1900, Tottenham won the Southern League title and crowned this achievement the next year by winning the FA Cup - becoming the only non-League club to do so since the formation of the Football League. The cup was presented to Spurs captain Jack Jones with coloured ribbons on, tied there for the first time by the wife of the Spurs director, Morton Cadman, thus starting the long held tradition of tying ribbons in Cup competitions, which continues to this day.
Tottenham won election to the Second Division of the Football League for the 1908-09 season, immediately winning promotion as runners-up to the First Division. Their record between 1910-1911 and the Great War was poor and when football was suspended at the end of the 1914-15 season, Tottenham were bottom of the league.
When football resumed in 1919, the First Division was expanded from 20 to 22 teams. The Football League extended one of the additional places to 19th-place Chelsea (who would have been relegated with Spurs for the 1915-1916 season) and the other to Arsenal. This promotion - Arsenal had finished only sixth in Division 2 the previous season - was controversial, and cemented a bitter rivalry (begun six years earlier, with Arsenal's relocation to Tottenham's hinterland) that continues to this day. Tottenham were Division Two Champions in 1919-20 and in the following year, on April 23, 1921, Spurs went all the way to their second FA Cup Final victory beating Wolves 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
After finishing second to Liverpool in the League in 1922, Spurs experienced a steady decline, culminating in 1928's relegation. Spurs were unable to advance beyond the quarter finals of the FA Cup, getting that far three years running 1935-1938. On September 3 1939, as Neville Chamberlain declared war, Spurs were seventh in the Second Division. League Football was abandoned for the "duration".
Following the war, football was an extremely popular interest attracting thousands of supporters each week-end. By 1949 Arthur Rowe was manager at the club and developed the “push and run” tactical style of play. This involved quickly laying the ball off to a team-mate and running past the marking tackler to collect the return pass. It proved an effective way to move the ball at pace with players' positions and responsibility being totally fluid. Rising to the top of the Second Division,by 1949-50 they were dominant champions.The next year, Tottenham ran away with their first ever league title, winning the First Division Championship in 1951. Playing heroes at the time included Alf Ramsey, Ronnie Burgess, Ted Ditchburn, Len Duquemin, Sonny Walters and Bill Nicholson.
The years following this period of success were tough for the Spurs, as age, injuries and other teams adapting to Spurs revolutionary style of play meant a struggle for the once dominant champions.They finished second in 1951-52, grabbing second on goal average as a young Manchester United team beat them to the title. A bad winter, and the terrible state of the White Hart Lane pitch, even by the standards of the day, contributed to this. In 1952-53, the Spurs only finished tenth, as age began to wear down the great "Push and Run" team. 1954 was notable for the signing of one of Spurs most celebrated players,Danny Blanchflower, for a record £30,000. Also in that year, Spurs experienced FA Cup heartbreak, with an Alf Ramsey error gifting Blackpool the goal that knocked out Spurs.
By this stage, Arthur Rowe had began to suffer from ill health. He resigned in 1955, with mid-table finishes and boardroom dissent, along with Rowe's health, contributing to his departure. Long time club servant Jimmy Anderson took over. The 1955-56 season was a disaster, with Spurs nearly being relegated, and finishing eighteenth, just two points from relegation. However the next season, the club experienced a revival, finishing second, though eight points behind the winners, the "Busby Babes" of Manchester United. Third the next season was embodiment of the revival. But ill health now meant Anderson had to quit, being replaced by the now legendary Bill Nicholson. But eighteenth in the league in his first season in charge didn't signal the success that was to follow in the sixties
[edit] Crest, Colors, Kit
[edit] Kit
The first Tottenham kit was navy blue shirt and shorts, but after the first season the club did not have one specific design for many years. In 1884 the club changed to a kit similar to that of Blackburn Rovers. Shortly after moving to Northumberland Road, the kit changed again to red shirt and blue shorts. Five years later, after becoming a professional club, they switched to a chocolate and gold striped kit.
At the end of the 19th century the club switched colours yet again, to the white shirts and blue shorts for which they are now well known for wearing, hence the nickname "Lilywhites". This colour choice is thought to be in homage to Preston North End who had recently done "The Double".
White and navy blue have remained as the club's basic colours ever since. Soon after the First World War, the cockerel badge was added to the shirt. In 1939 numbers first appeared on shirt backs, and in 1983 Holsten became the first commercial sponsor logo to appear on the shirt. When Thomson was chosen as kit sponsor in 2002 there was an outcry from Tottenham fans as the logo on the front was red, the colour of their closest rivals, Arsenal. In 2006, Tottenham then succeeded in securing a record £34m sponsorship deal with internet casino group, and present sponsors, Mansion.[46] Although this ensured another red logo on the white shirt, the issue has attracted no further comment.
Kit manufacturers
- 1978-1980: Admiral
- 1980-1985: Le Coq Sportif
- 1985-1991: Hummel
- 1991-1995: Umbro
- 1995-1999: Pony
- 1999-2002: Adidas
- 2002-2006: Kappa
- 2006-Present: Puma
Shirt sponsors
- 1882-1983: No sponsor
- 1983-1995: Holsten
- 1995-1999: Hewlett Packard
- 1999-2002: Holsten
- 2002-2006: Thomson Holidays
- 2006-Present: Mansion
[edit] Current Squad
| No. | Player | Position | Country | Join Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Robinson | GK |  England
| |
| 2 | Pascal Chimbonda | DF |  France
| |
| 3 | Lee Young-Pyo | DF |  South Korea
| |
| 4 | Didier Zokora | MF |  Cote D'Ivoire
| |
| 5 | Younes Kabouul | DF | France
| |
| 6 | Teemu Tainio | MF |  Finland
| |
| 8 | Jermaine Jenas | MF | England
| |
| 9 | Dimitar Berbatov | FW |  Bulgaria
| |
| 10 | Robbie Keane | FW |  Ireland
| |
| 11 | Gilberto | DF |  Brazil
| |
| 12 | Radek Cerny | GK |  Czech Republic
| |
| 15 | Steed Malbranque | MF | France
| |
| 16 | Gareth Bale | DF |  Wales
| |
| 17 | Kevin-Prince Boateng | MF |  Germany
| |
| 19 | Adel Taarabt | MF | France
| |
| 20 | Michael Dawson | DF | England
| |
| 22 | Tom Huddlestone | MF | England
| |
| 23 | Darren Bent | FW | England
| |
| 24 | Jamie O'Hara | MF | England
| |
| 25 | Aaron Lennon | MF | England
| |
| 26 | Ledley King | DF | England
| |
| 28 | Alan Hutton | DF |  Scotland
| |
| 32 | Benoit Assou-Ekotto | DF |  Cameroon
| |
| 33 | Ricardo Rocha | DF |  Portugal
| |
| 39 | Jonathan Woodgate | DF | England
| |
| 44 | Chris Gunter | DF | Wales
|
|
| Loaned | On Loan To | |||
| 7 | Paul Staltieri | DF |  Canada
| Fulham |
| 14 | Hossam Ghaly | MF |  Egypt
| Derby |
| 27 | Ben Alnwick | GK | England
| Leicester |
| 30 | Anthony Gardner | DF | England
| Everton |
| 39 | Andy Barcham | FW | England
| Leyton Orient |
[edit] Managers
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[edit] Yearly Results
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[edit] See Also
[edit] Tottenham Hotspur References
[edit] Notable Tottenham Hotspur Blogs
[edit] Recent Tottenham Hotspur F.C. ArmchairGM Stories
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