By Dave P
May 14 2005

But anyway, it is the last game of an eventful season (Barring a very unlikely combination of scores that could lead to a play off game) that has seen us change from a team of old has beens and not good enough youngsters into a large talented young squad under new management. Over the course of this season I have for every game compiled a Spurs on this day article which has looked back over our history including some of the early days in the history of the famous Tottenham Hotspur FC. I have mentioned past players, some well known and some not so well known and where possible tried to find links with our opponents of that day. I am not sure that when I started doing this that I intended to do one for every game but I have enjoyed researching and writing them and I hope you have enjoyed reading them. Who knows, I may even do it next season as well (if you want me to that is).

But anyway, it is the last game of an eventful season (Barring a very unlikely combination of scores that could lead to a play off game) that has seen us change from a team of old has beens and not good enough youngsters into a large talented young squad under new management. Indeed the first game of the season saw us play Liverpool with a team that had never played together before. Indeed some of the players probably had not even met their team-mates before.

After a promising start followed by some bad results we lost one of the greatest names in football, our father figure, ‘Sir’ Bill Nicholson and who can forget the images of glory he was so much a part of. He was Tottenham and his memorial service was I believe the true start of a new era at Tottenham Hotspur.

As if this wasn’t enough to disrupt the season our new head coach then left and control was handed over to Martin Jol who immediately started looking to emulate some of the glory brought to the club by Bill. Under Martin Jol we have had some ups and some downs and if the season had started when he took over we would now have been 4th. As it is, (and lets be honest, none of us expected it) we are now going into the final game of the season with a chance of qualifying for European Football. It may depend on Stuart Pearce inspiring his team to beat Middlesboro (Not by too many please Stuart, 1-0 will do) but whatever happens in that game we know we have to go for goals so this edition of ‘On This Day’ is all about big wins on the last day of the season. But first a mention of a player that graced both sides.

Tottenham and Blackburn, in the late twenties and thirties, shared a player who knew all about goals, Edward Cashfield Harper. In his league career he scored 263 times in 327 matches and if you include cup games and friendlies his record was even better. 325 goals in 376 appearances. At Spurs he scored 83 times in 78 games and for Blackburn he scored 122 in 177. While at Spurs his 36 Goals in the 1930/31 season included four hat-tricks, a fourtimer and a fivetimer. He established individual scoring records for three different clubs in eight seasons. 43 for Blackburn in 1925/26, 36 for Spurs in 1930/31 and then 37 for Preston North End in 1932/33.

Now we know we need at least a three goal advantage win today so when have we achieved this on the last day of the season in the past. Well in 1910/1911 we were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline on the last day of the season to Blackburn and we all remember what happened here two years ago but when did we first win by three goals since joining the Football League in 1908. Well the first time may be the Wartime London League of 1941/42 when we thrashed Fulham 7-1 but that wouldn’t really count so the first time we won a proper league match by a three goal or more margin on the last day of the season was in 1949 when on the 7th May we beat Plymouth Argyle in the Second Division 5-0 with a goal each from Len Duquemin and Les Medley and a hat-trick from Les Bennett.

We then have to jump to 1960 before we get another three goal margin when on 30th April we entertained Blackpool at the Lane and won 4-1. Our goals coming one each from Danny Blanchflower, Cliff Jones, John White and Bobby Smith.

1965 it was Leicester’s turn as we won the last game of the season on 24th April 6-2. Jimmy Greaves (2, 1pen), Alan Gilzean and Cliff Jones (3) scoring on that day.

The next, and the last, time we won by three clear goals or more was on the 14th May 1983 in Division 1 when we beat Stoke City at Home 4 - 1 with a goal from Alan Brazil and a hat-trick from Steve Archibald

So it is not something that happens very often, winning by three goals or more on the last day of the season. As far as I can tell we have only done it four times since becoming a League team (five if you include the war years). So some inspiration may be required. We have to go for it and at least fail trying. I have already mentioned Bill Nicholson once and it is to his words that I turn to finish. What better inspiration than the following (my favourite) Bill Nicholson quote – and what better way to remember the season in which he left us to manage the great game in the sky, than to go out all guns blazing in the quest for goals.

“It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory”

Bill Nicholson 1919-2004