Tottenham Hotspur - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
782 High Road
Tottenham
London
N17 0BX
HISTORY/FACTS ABOUT THE SPURS:
- Tottenham Hotspur Football Club were formed in 1882. They were formed as Hotspur Football Club and were founded by a group of schoolboys. 2 years later the club were renamed Tottenham Hotspur.
- The boys played their early matches on public ground at Tottenham Marshes, where they needed to mark out and prepare their own pitch, and on occasions had to defend against other teams who might try to take it over. Local pubs were used as dressing rooms. Robert Buckle was the team's first captain, and for two years the boys largely played games among themselves, but the number of friendly fixtures against other clubs gradually increased. The first recorded match took place on 30 September 1882 against a local team named the Radicals, a game Hotspur lost 2–0.
- Spurs attracted the interest of the local community soon after their formation, and the number of spectators for their matches grew to 4,000 within a few years. As their games were played on public land, no admission fees could be charged for spectators. In 1888 Tottenham moved their home fixtures from the Tottenham Marshes to Northumberland Park, where they rented an enclosed ground and were able to charge for admission and control the crowd.
- On 2 March 1898, Spurs decided to become a limited company—the Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Company—to raise funds and to limit the personal liability of its members. Eight thousand shares were issued at £1 each, but only 1,558 were taken up by the public in the first year. A board of directors was formed with Oliver as chairman, but he retired after the company reported a loss of £501 at the end of the season in 1899. Charles Roberts took over as chairman and remained in the post until 1943.
- In 1899 the club moved a short distance to a piece of land behind the White Hart pub. The White Hart Lane site, actually located behind Tottenham High Road, was a nursery owned by the brewery chain Charringtons. The club initially leased the ground from Charringtons, but development of the ground was restricted by the terms of the lease. In 1905, after issuing shares towards the cost of purchase, Spurs bought the freehold for £8,900 and paid a further £2,600 for a piece of land at the northern end. By then the ground had a covered stand on the west side and earth mounds on the other three sides.
- The first game at White Hart Lane was a friendly against Notts County on 4 September 1899 that Spurs won 4–1, and the first competitive game on the ground was held five days later against Queens Park Rangers, a game won by Spurs 1–0.
- Spurs won the FA Cup for the 1st time in 1901, 1st drawing with Sheffield United 2-2 in Crystal Palace, with the replay taking place at Bolton Wanderers Burnden Park. Spurs won the replay 3-1, goals from John Cameron, Tom Smith and Sandy Brown getting the goals for Spurs in a 3-1 win over the Blades.
- In 1912, Peter McWilliam became manager; Tottenham finished bottom of the league at the end of the 1914–15 season when football was suspended due to the First World War. Spurs were relegated to the Second Division on the resumption of league football after the war, but quickly returned to the First Division as Second Division champions of the 1919–20 season.
- In the 1921–22 season, Spurs finished second to Liverpool in the league, their first serious challenge for the title. After the success of the two post-war seasons, Spurs only managed to finish mid-table in the next five. The team had begun to deteriorate, and new signings Jack Elkes and Frank Osborne could not overcome weaknesses in other positions. They were in first place for a while in 1925, until Grimsdell broke his leg and they dropped down the table. McWilliam left for Middlesbrough in February 1927 when Middlesbrough offered him significantly better pay while the Tottenham board refused his request for a smaller increase.
- In May 1949 Arthur Rowe became Spurs manager at a salary of £1,500 a year. He inherited the squad assembled by Hulme except for the one crucial signing he made when he took over, Alf Ramsey. Rowe introduced a new style of play, Push and run, which proved to be highly successful, and transformed the players into a team that were hard to beat in the 1949–50 season. Rowe started his tenure as manager with a 4–1 victory at Brentford, the beginning of an unbeaten run of 23 League and Cup games between 27 August 1949 and 14 January 1950. With a free-scoring attack force, the team won the Second Division convincingly with six games yet to play. They ended the season nine points in front, elevating them back into the top flight.
- Tottenham competed for the first time in a European competition in the 1961–62 European Cup. Their first opponents were Górnik Zabrze, who beat Spurs 4–2. After the match the Polish press described Spurs players as "no angels"; in response, in the return leg at White Hart Lane, some Spurs fans dressed up as angels holding placards with slogans such as "Glory be to shining White Hart Lane", and other fans joined in by singing the refrains of "Glory Glory Hallelujah". Spurs won 8–1 to the sound of fans singing "Glory glory hallelujah, and the Spurs go marching on", which became an anthem for Tottenham from that night onwards. Spurs eventually lost in the semi-final to the holders Benfica, who went on to win the competition.
- In the 1962–63 European Cup Winners' Cup, Spurs reached the final, beating Rangers 8–4 on aggregate, Slovan Bratislava 6–2, and OFK Belgrade 5–2 on aggregate. Spurs' 5–1 win in the Cup Winners' Cup Final against Atlético Madrid in Rotterdam on 15 May 1963, during which Terry Dyson scored a goal from 25 yards out, made Tottenham the first British team to win a European trophy.
- Spurs opened the 1980s by reaching the 100th FA Cup Final in 1981 against Manchester City, and won the replay 3–2 in a match notable for the winning goal from Ricardo Villa. They lifted the FA Cup again the next season, beating Queens Park Rangers in the 1982 Final. Although they were also in contention for three other trophies that season, they finished fourth in the First Division, lost to Liverpool in the League Cup final in extra time, while Barcelona won at home in the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final after a 1–1 draw at White Hart Lane.
- Spurs were one of the five clubs that pushed for the founding of the Premier League in 1992, created with the approval of The Football Association to replace the Football League First Division as the highest division of English football. To coincide with the massive changes in English football, Tottenham made major signings, including winger Darren Anderton, defender Neil Ruddock, and striker Teddy Sheringham for what was then a club record £2.1 million from Nottingham Forest. The Sheringham transfer was later the subject of allegations of "bungs" against Forest manager Brian Clough. In the first ever Premier League season— Terry Venables' final year as Spurs' manager—Spurs finished eighth. Teddy Sheringham was the division's top scorer with 22 goals, 21 of which were scored for Tottenham.
- In late 2000, Alan Sugar decided to sell his share holding in the club, a decision he blamed on the hostility of fans towards him and his family, and stepped down as chairman in February 2001. 27% of his 40% share holding in Tottenham were sold for £22m to ENIC Sports PLC in 2001, with the rest sold in 2007 for £25m. ENIC, owned by Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy with the latter responsible for the running of the club, would eventually acquire 85% of Tottenham. The club was transferred into its private ownership in 2012. A month after Levy took over as chairman, George Graham was sacked as manager for alleged breach of contract by vice-chairman David Buchler after Graham commented on the financial position of Spurs.
- Team management passed to former Tottenham player Glenn Hoddle, who took over in the final weeks of the 2000–01 season from caretaker manager David Pleat. His first game was a defeat to Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup semi-final. That summer, club captain Sol Campbell joined Arsenal on a Bosman free transfer. The loss of a transfer fee by Spurs, the move to their bitterest rivals, and the perceived underhanded fashion in which he negotiated his move (claimed to be a record £100,000 per week) led to long-term enmity towards Campbell from Spurs fans.
- Mauricio Pochettino was appointed Tottenham manager on 27 May 2014, on a five-year contract. In his first season Spurs finished fifth in the 2014–15 Premier League with 64 points, and were runners-up in the 2015 Football League Cup Final. Pochettino chose to promote young players, and in his second season in charge, Spurs had the youngest team in the Premier League. A new generation of players that included Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Eric Dier were all aged 22 or younger that season. Spurs had a much improved 2015–16 season, but their title challenge ended with a 2–2 draw at Stamford Bridge on 2 May 2016, and they finished third behind winners Leicester.
WHITE HART LANE PHOTOS:
Some of my photos I've taken at the old White Hart Lane in my visits to Spurs.
1ST VISIT TO THE NEW GROUND:
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Tuesday 23rd April 2019
Premier League
The 4th of my 4th games over Easter came at the new ground at Spurs. It was one I was probably most excited to going if I'm honest. I'd previously visited the ground whilst it was being built on the same day England were playing Nigeria at Wembley at the end of last season as I wanted to see how it was getting on at the time. So after the original plan for Spurs to move in September, with further delays Spurs finally moved in towards the end of the season in April which saw Spurs win their 1st game in their brand new ground with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. My visit would come a couple of weeks later. I knew tickets would be extremely difficult with the game originally being sold out. Luckily a week before the game, loads of tickets went back on sale with Season Ticket Holders selling their seat back to the club in order to then re-sell to members which of course my dad being a member which massively helped. After looking on the stadium plan, with a seat in the South Stand, I snapped it up for a price of £54.50. In some ways yes it is very pricy but with the view being absolutely superb, there was no complaints from me at all. On the day of the game, I left home in plenty of time, leaving just after half 4, and arriving into London about an hour later. I arrived into White Hart Lane around 6.35 and within a short walk, I took some photos around the ground. A couple of downsides for me which I'm just about to mention, I finally found a programme seller only to be for cards only which of course I only had cash on me. Luckily a bloke and his son had card and I gave him the £3.50 for a programme which proved to be a bit lucky. The club shop might accept cash I don't know, I didn't manage to go in the club shop in the end. Secondly was of course no drinks allowed into the ground which is what I sort of expected. It felt like going through customs at Gatwick Airport, think there are some very harsh rules but it is what it is I suppose. So anyway, as I made my way in the ground, I finally took to my seat and took some photos.
So as time passed, the game kicked off. The game was a fairly good game to watch, with Spurs mainly dominating the 1st half having chances. Brighton had chances of their own, but mostly defended and tried to counter attack when they could. 2nd half proved much more of the same, with Spurs pressing and looking to snatch a winner, as time got on it looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw. Chances from Danny Rose forcing Matt Ryan into a save over the bar, Toby Alderweireld hitting the post and even Christian Eriksen having a chance, Spurs finally broke the deadlock on 88 minutes with a superb drilled shot which saw Ryan finally beaten and Spurs taking the lead. Of course in the end Spurs got the 3 points, seeing the stats of Spurs having 29 shots whilst Brighton had 6. Spurs also having 79% possession, could have been a slightly different game had Spurs taken their chances earlier on, but Spurs got the needed 3 points to hopefully finish 3rd. Brighton of course in danger of relegation now face Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester City in their remaining games. A great night at Spurs which saw me tick off my 84th ground of 92. I eventually arrived home shortly after midnight.
THE GROUND:
Of course at the time of typing, the new ground at Spurs only recently opened on 3rd April with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. Before that, Spurs had a couple of test events with an under 18's game and a Spurs legends game. The new ground is practically on the same site as the old White Hart Lane, you can view my photos of my visits to the old ground by clicking here. As currently known so far, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's total capacity is 62,062 with away supporters located in the lower tier of the North East Corner. It can be allocated up to 3,000 supporters, potentially more for cup games. There are a good few stations are fairly close to the ground or within a walking distance. White Hart Lane is the nearest with a few minutes walk away, with Seven Sisters on the Victoria line on the London Underground a good 30-35 minutes walk. Also Tottenham Hale on the Victoria line is within walking distance as well, also Northumberland Park as well.
GROUND PHOTOS:
Photos from June 2018 when the ground was currently in construction.
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