Tottenham’s Greatest Ever Striker

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When Tottenham's greatest ever striker is controlled by Seeeergie....

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Think he was with us at a bad time to be at Spurs - around the time we got relegated.

A few years earlier or a few years later he'd have been a star with other stars around him. - when Duncan was at Spurs he didn't have other players around him performing at their peak.
Think he was with us at a bad time to be at Spurs - around the time we got relegated.

A few years earlier or a few years later he'd have been a star with other stars around him. - when Duncan was at Spurs he didn't have other players around him performing at their peak.
Good point. But that's why I was so surprised that he left us when he did. We had just signed Ossie and Ricky - and Glenn was getting established in the team, so he was certainly getting better service than in his previous years at the club.
If he had stayed for a while and kept clear of injuries, we'd probably never have signed both Crooks and Archie.
 
Good point. But that's why I was so surprised that he left us when he did. We had just signed Ossie and Ricky - and Glenn was getting established in the team, so he was certainly getting better service than in his previous years at the club.
If he had stayed for a while and kept clear of injuries, we'd probably never have signed both Crooks and Archie.

But was it a choice on his part or was he no longer wanted by Burkinshaw? There isn't much information about him on Wikipedia but in 1979 he was 30 years old and he didn't do much at either Derby or Scunthorpe after he left us. In his last season with us, he only made 2 appearances and scored 1 goal and there were a couple of other seasons where he made very few appearances so it was impossible for us to rely on him.

It was Glenn Hoddle who picked up the goal-scoring slack in the following season. He got 22 goals in 79/80.
 
Before my time, but Alan Gilzean deserves a mention.
I have heard many say that we should have kept JG and just bought Martin Peters off West ham.It would have been mustard with him just behind Greaves and Gilzean.

Gilzean is much forgotten now because of the stats of goals scored.

But he joined Spurs to play alongside Jimmy Greaves, and then after Jimmy left he combined with the great Martin Chivers, so no surprise that those two scored most of the goals leaving Gilzean's 93 goals in 343 appearances looking a little shabby......but of course Gilzean's threat made space for both Greaves and Chivers plus a number of assists (before assists were counted) so he certainly helped make their stats better.

Worth remembering too that Gilzean won the Scottish top league scoring 169 goals in 190 appearances when the Scots had real footballers - he played in a European Cup semi final for Dundee, whilst of course Celtic won the European Cup in 1967, so it was a really good league then and far different from today. So without Greaves or Chivers I have no doubt Gilzean's goal contribution would have been a lot higher at Spurs.

But those glanced headers, hardly ruffling the couple of hairs on his head, of which he was the master.....probably have never been repeated.

Fantastic player to have in your side
 
Had another go at this just now



82/153 - And it actually felt like I was doing quite well. 54%

I got 91 but would have got 5 more but for spelling mistakes (somehow Carrick was one 😂). I did however forget about Dele, even with the clue I had no idea who it was. I don’t know if that looks worse for me as an idiot or Dele for becoming so forgettable as a footballer.
 
A topic which always divides the room.

A great read and refreshing for me to hear such names at the beginning of your piece mentioned as they, quite frankly, aren't enough.

Discounting Jimmy Greaves (how could I?) Bobby Smith for me is the stand out candidate and I've weighed this question up many times over the years.

His strength, awareness and finishing was exquisite. I could make a case for all those others you've mentioned too - we really have been blessed.
 
For all the players I’ve personally seen. As an out and out striker. Lineker is the best.

Best forward player, Kane, I see that as a slightly different thing.
 
Most crazily spectacular goals Pavlyochenko. Blind volleys over his right shoulder from no angle at all and almost breaking the net.

If you got extra pts for style we'd have won the PL, CL, and the Intergalactic Universe Cup all in the same season.
 
I have to go with Greaves but Harry could take the crown in time (assuming he stays long enough).

Chivers also gets overlooked as well. Probably because he wasn't particularly glamorous & came immediately after Greaves.

In his 8½-year Spurs career, Chivers scored a total of 174 goals in 367 first-team appearances and remained the leading Tottenham goalscorer in European competition for 39 years until he was overtaken by Jermain Defoe on 7 November 2013. He was capped 24 times for England, scoring 13 goals.
There was friction between him and Bill Nick. The latter could be very spikey and Chiv seemed like the type who needed a more sympathetic encouraging manager.

The guy's goals could be sensational - screamers right and left foot, great header of the ball, tall, strong, good target man, deceptively pacy too. Amazing long throw too.
 
Gilzean is much forgotten now because of the stats of goals scored.

But he joined Spurs to play alongside Jimmy Greaves, and then after Jimmy left he combined with the great Martin Chivers, so no surprise that those two scored most of the goals leaving Gilzean's 93 goals in 343 appearances looking a little shabby......but of course Gilzean's threat made space for both Greaves and Chivers plus a number of assists (before assists were counted) so he certainly helped make their stats better.

Worth remembering too that Gilzean won the Scottish top league scoring 169 goals in 190 appearances when the Scots had real footballers - he played in a European Cup semi final for Dundee, whilst of course Celtic won the European Cup in 1967, so it was a really good league then and far different from today. So without Greaves or Chivers I have no doubt Gilzean's goal contribution would have been a lot higher at Spurs.

But those glanced headers, hardly ruffling the couple of hairs on his head, of which he was the master.....probably have never been repeated.

Fantastic player to have in your side

Yup

One of my favourites and the G man combination with Greavsie was lethal
 
There was friction between him and Bill Nick. The latter could be very spikey and Chiv seemed like the type who needed a more sympathetic encouraging manager.

The guy's goals could be sensational - screamers right and left foot, great header of the ball, tall, strong, good target man, deceptively pacy too. Amazing long throw too.

I remember Chiv’s 25 yd screamer against Wolves


 
I got 91 but would have got 5 more but for spelling mistakes (somehow Carrick was one 😂). I did however forget about Dele, even with the clue I had no idea who it was. I don’t know if that looks worse for me as an idiot or Dele for becoming so forgettable as a footballer.
84, but you need more time if it is going to be fair. Typos and difficult names to spell hook you up for seconds. I needed about 10 goes to get Alderweireld.
 
Good point. But that's why I was so surprised that he left us when he did. We had just signed Ossie and Ricky - and Glenn was getting established in the team, so he was certainly getting better service than in his previous years at the club.
If he had stayed for a while and kept clear of injuries, we'd probably never have signed both Crooks and Archie.

74/75 played 28, scored 12 goals (division 1)
75/76 played 37, scored 20 goals (div 1)
76/77 played 9 , scored 4 goals (div 1) injured in season
77/78 played 27, scored 16 (div 2)
78/79 played 2 scored 1 (div 1) moved to Derby in September, start of season

I think its clear that Duncan was a decent footballer for us but his strike partner was Chris Jones so neither were top notch, with the additional problem of Duncan picking up a few injuries - and injuries in 76/77 were probably a reason why we got relegated.

When we came back up after a season of visiting new grounds he was 30 and I think Spurs thought it was time for a few new faces so he was moved on. But he did a decent job for us at a time we weren't very good and his goals certainly helped ensure we only had one season in division 2 - it could easily have been a couple of seasons without him I'd have thought.

 
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