So we played Rangers again last night almost 62 years to the day and I have been supporting the Lillywhites that long. Nine years old I was living in Scotland in 1962 Dad was in the Navy serving on the submarine depot ship HMS Maidstone, at the Faslane Submarine base. That’s why we were there. So yours truly went to the local primary school in Helensburgh on the west coast. There were a few of us ‘sassenach’ boys who went there always ribbed for being soft English. So when that year Glasgow Rangers were drawn against Tottenham Hotspur in the European Cup Winners Cup, it would be a battle royal Rangers were bound to win according to the Jocks.
The Scottish lads in Helensburgh were all Rangers supporters none for Celtic or none that admitted it. Not that they totally realised what they would be facing, not that I knew either at the time I was not much interested in football what the American’s call soccer.
The Tottenham Hotspur the ‘Spurs’ at that time was probably the best team they have ever produced the great ‘Double winning side.’
The first game took place at White Hart Lane the ‘Lillywhites’ as Spurs are sometimes known won 5-2 goals from Norman, White, Allen, and Greaves and to rub it in a Rangers own goal.
The Jocks were still confident they could turn it around at Ibrox Park with 80,000 Rangers fans cheering them on the match set for 5 December was postponed ‘fog’ it took place six days later the score Rangers 2 Spurs 3 Greaves, and Smith 2. They were distraught not that we could over exalt at the result we were heavily outnumbered and risked ‘a good hiding.’ We just maintained a confident superior air.
Once a team is in your heart that’s it so I have supported the Spurs ever since through thick and thin pretty thin of late. The team that won at Ibrox still had several of the double-winning side Brown, Hopkins, Henry, Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay, Medwin, White, Smith, Greaves, Jones. Of course Mackay and White were Scottish and Blanchflower Irish which probably for the Jock boys made it even worse.
It is an interesting idea to pick my all-time Spurs team of those I have seen play going for 4-4-2.
In goal who else but Pat Jennings’s.
The back four Chris Hughton, Gary Mabbut, Dave Mackay, Gareth Bale.
The mid-field four Danny Blanchflower, Martin Peters, Paul Gascoigne, Osveldo Ardilles
The two strikers Jimmy Greaves and Jurgen Klinsmann.
Substitutes Hugo Lloris, Richard Gough, Ricardo Villa, Alan Gilzean and Harry Kane.
What is your selection would love to hear.
