Glory, Glory, Gone

The Story of Tottenham Hotspur’s Regression, Relegation and Rebirth in the 1970s

(by Samuel Rooke – Pitch Publishing)

A tale of an egotistical, detached board making daft decisions that set the club back; missed opportunities; terrible football and fan disillusion may sound like the trailer for a documentary about this season, but this is in fact an account of the seasons between 1972 and 1981.

It’s a period, perhaps understandably, that has largely been skated over in the canon of Spurs literature, but author Samuel Rooke has handled a difficult job well in this account of what he calls “a decade which has to a great extent eluded examination”.

What he has produced is an account that zips along with enough match detail and a liberal sprinkling of societal context, mixed in with some genuine insight, and more than a few forehead-slapping moments. In doing so he underlines the ridiculousness of the argument that football books should only be about winning things – there is more than enough here to engage Spurs fans and anyone
interested in how football has changed.

The account opens at Rotterdam’s De Kuip stadium with Spurs becoming the first British team to win a European trophy – pundits and trolls might care to note that achievement. The 5-1 win over Atletico Madrid would, however, be the last achievement of the first great Bill Nicholson side and the first part of the book details the final breakup of the famous Double-winning team, recounts how Nicholson built his second great team, and then ends back at the De Kuip on the fateful night in 1974 when Spurs lost to Feyenoord and Nicholson lost his love of football.

The second part of the book details how the Spurs board bungled the appointment of Nicholson’s successor. Former captain Danny Blanchflower had looked nailed on to take over, and was Nicholson’s choice, but, writes Rooke, “Tottenham’s board had a chance to install continuity, maintaining the focus on style and attacking football that had proven so successful… but they opted for a different approach and Blanchflower was ruled out.” Yes, it all sounds so familiar.

At the time, the club’s directors made a bad situation worse by coming up with an excuse that no one believed, namely that Blanchflower had not applied for the job. The widespread view at the time was that they didn’t fancy Blanchflower because he was too much his own man. And yes, it all sounds so familiar.

Instead, the board opted for former Arsenal legend Terry Neill and Nicholson was shamefully shunted out of any involvement at the club to which he brought such success. It’s become popular to view Neill as the secret agent who would eventually take Spurs down to the Second Division, but Rooke gives a very balanced impression of the challenges Neill had to deal with, while retaining his
scepticism about whether it could ever have really worked. Neill fell out with senior players, most notably Martin Chivers who never really forgave him for the treatment he received, but also had to deal with a failure to sign the players he wanted and a board that allowed petulance and ego to get in the way of sound judgment.

Yes, it all sounds so familiar.

One the players Neill tried to sign, and who the club wanted, was Charlie George – who was out of favour at Arsenal. The deal was reportedly tied up, but George – perhaps mindful of the consequences of crossing the divide – opted for Derby County. Who were managed by former Spurs legend Dave Mackay. Neill, who Rooke credits with being well-connected, also had the signing of a genuine international superstar almost done until the board pulled the plug because they were offended Neill had negotiated in secret – something that had been essential to sealing the deal.

When you read the name of the player Spurs almost signed, you’ll be sorely tempted to throw the book at the wall. Don’t, because there’s plenty more to come.

Neill’s team avoided relegation, but it proved a false dawn. They went down the following season after the manager, disillusioned with the board and seduced by an offer from his former club Arsenal, left. He had in fact quit weeks before the offer from that other lot, but then-Spurs chairman Sidney Wale both refused to accept the resignation and refused to cancel his holiday on the south coast. Arsenal moved into the vacuum and Neill was gone.

The Spurs board, heads firmly in the sand – and yes, it all sounds so familiar – then refused to approach other candidates on the basis that they were awaiting applications from all those who were surely falling over themselves to manage the club. When no such applications were received, they turned to Keith Burkinshaw, who had been Neill’s assistant.

Ironically, what proved to be a return to the club’s DNA stemmed from one strand of that DNA – namely that when the board don’t get their first choice it usually works out for the best.

The final part of the book covers the club’s renaissance under the manager who would prove to be its second most successful, and one of the golden trio of Arthur Rowe, Nicholson and Burkinshaw who made the club into the name it is. The journey was not without its difficulties, and one can’t but help think that in today’s social-media-driven age of instant reaction and the demand for constant
success, Burkinshaw would have been toast before he had a chance to achieve anything. But there is the happy ending that all good story arcs demand.

There’s enough detail about what life in the UK was like during the period covered to give you a sense of place and time, with off-field events reported rather than eulogised or avoided. And there will be some revelations and facts that may have slipped by even the most clued-up Spurs afficionado. I was surprised to find I didn’t know who managed the club for the famous 9-0 win over Bristol Rovers, for example.

There was an element of memory lane for me too, as the book covers the period when I really started following the fortunes of the Lilywhites, including the first game I attended (Bolton Wanderers at White Hart Lane on 8 April 1978, 1-0, Don McAllister) along with some of the more obscure moments treasured by the faithful, such as the pre-season friendly at Royal Antwerp when Ardiles and Villa made their debuts.

This is a worthy addition to the Spurs library, and the missing link in a history much-covered.

Any resemblance to characters currently connected with the club is, I am sure, purely coincidental.

Glory, Glory, Gone is available from Pitch Publishing for £18.99