Tottenham Hotspur 2 Luton Town 1

Premiership

Saturday 1 April 2024

The context

Our elusive ninetieth League ground. I had been here with Kieran for the 2022 Rugby League Challenge Cup final, but Spurs tickets proved rather more difficult to organise. When the members’ resale platform eventually delivered, John and I could only get seats some distance apart; that small price seemed well worth paying.  

 

The history

E17 (ltmuseum.co.uk)

Middlesex used to be a popular resort among wealthy Londoners. Everything changed in 1872 when the Great Eastern Railway began running trains from Liverpool Street to Enfield and Walthamstow. Increased accessibility – underpinned by subsidised fares for workmen – saw cheap housing replace farmland, and the area’s appeal increased when no fewer than five other railway companies opened new lines.  

Southern comfort

Local football also prospered. Tottenham Hotspur initially rented public pitches and then built their own ground on Charrington Brewery’s former plant nursery behind the White Hart pub. Southern League Spurs would be shock FA Cup winners just two years later, when – following victories over Preston, Bury and West Brom – they beat another First Division side, Sheffield United, 1-0 in a Burnden Park replay after drawing 2-2 at Crystal Palace. 

21, a good year

Another FA Cup Final win – against Wolves – helped create a tradition that Spurs always won trophies when the year ended with 1. Five Cups out of eight (01, 21, 61, 81, 91) certainly seems disproportionate, especially considering that both their League titles and one League Cup also followed this pattern. The dark forces responsible have evidently now been exorcised.      

Shelf life (Daily Herald)

Spurs brought two new stands to White Hart Lane from their previous ground at Northumberland Park. Progressive improvements took place over several decades – a grandstand designed by Archibald Leitch, covered terraces behind each goal, then finally – in 1934 – another tall Leitch construction facing Northumberland Avenue. This provided seating above two terraced levels, and its raised section became popularly known as the Shelf.  

Rowe model

Despite improved facilities playing fortunes remained decidedly average. Three seminal personalities changed all that. A post-War managerial revolution began with former centre-back Arthur Rowe, who won successive Second and First Division titles with simple but effective “push and run” tactics inspired by Hungarian coaching methods. “I took our style back to the streets, the way we played it as kids,” was his modest explanation. 

at the double

Bill Nicholson was another former player – he joined the White Hart Lane groundstaff in 1936 – to transform a struggling team. His record will never now be surpassed. Nicholson won three FA Cups, two League Cups, two European trophies and England’s first double. Only defeat against Benfica prevented Spurs reaching the 1962 European Cup final.  

genius

Hunter Davies captured Nicholson’s quiet genius perfectly in his 1972 book The Glory Game. It would be the first time any journalist had enjoyed unrestricted access at a top club; the manager, however, proved less than co-operative, creating some intriguing tensions. What came across most strongly was his constant quest for excellence. As club captain Danny Blanchflower commented, “We at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory.”   

consultant

Things started going wrong when Nicholson retired. His departure proved distressingly acrimonious; successor Terry Neill was soon poached by Arsenal, and first team coach Keith Burkinshaw – despite inviting Nicholson back in an advisory role – couldn’t prevent Spurs from being relegated. But promotion at the first attempt soon restored their old panache. They went on to win two more FA Cups and the UEFA Cup. 

audacious

Burkinshaw was a reserved character who nonetheless understood theatre. He nurtured the fragile talent of Glenn Hoddle during that Second Division season and then audaciously signed two of Argentina’s World Cup winning squad, Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa. They ran his midfield until the Falklands conflict made things awkward; Villa moved on but Ardiles stayed until 1988, later returning as manager.    

brutal

Other players shone during that era but the Argentinian duo drew most attention. Fans welcomed them with tickertape, Swansea’s Tommy Smith did his best to maim Ardiles during a League Cup tie and pub singers Chas ‘n’ Dave treated him even more brutally with their 1981 Cup Final song. Villa’s Wembley goal against Manchester City, meanwhile, might not have received quite so much acclaim had Graham Roberts scored it.    

venerable

Both Paxton Road and Park Lane ends had been partially seated during 1962-3. Their roofs were afterwards extended to join up with Leitch’s venerable West Stand. But Tottenham’s rediscovered glamour now demanded more modern facilities, allowing wealthy corporate patrons to entertain associates and potential clients. A new West Stand – resembling others recently commissioned by Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa – provided the solution.   

awkward

White Hart Lane never regained its dignified pre-War symmetry. Those already unsightly corner sections were left in awkward isolation, while shiny plastic seats incongruously emphasised the ground’s weathered backdrop. Two rows of “executive boxes” drew excited media attention; to most of us, though, they felt reassuringly irrelevant and not yet the shape of things to come.  

 

The journey 

traffic

I had booked parking at a garage near Northumberland Avenue. This proved convenient, hassle-free and way less expensive than the valet service offered to Spurs’ corporate customers. London’s big grounds remain more accessible by car than you might imagine; traffic afterwards wasn’t great, but enjoying the sights of Edmonton for twenty minutes still felt better than queuing outside White Hart Lane station with thousands of other people.

 

The ground

all-seating (Kevin Hackett)

Crowd capacity at White Hart Lane peaked when the East Stand was completed. Spurs soon attracted over 75,000 to their 1938 FA Cup-tie against Sunderland. Each improvement from then onwards, however, shaved more and more off that number; a respectable 48,000 could (and occasionally did) still squeeze in pre-Taylor, but all-seating – and the Shelf’s controversial refurbishment with executive boxes – left room for just 36,000 fans.     

replacement

Manifold schemes for relocation or expansion were given fresh impetus by Arsenal’s smart new corporate behemoth at Ashburton Grove. Tottenham considered various options – including the Olympic Stadium, which West Ham snatched from beneath their noses – but finally decided to stay put. Buying up surrounding land freed up enough space to build a modern replacement with marginally more seats than any other London club.

dominates

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is far bigger than its predecessor. Little space now remains between Northumberland Avenue and Tottenham High Road. A plaque on the South Stand forecourt, marking White Hart Lane’s centre circle, gives some sense of relative scale. The old ground used to nestle among encroaching buildings; this one dominates everything for miles around.

elliptical

The stadium’s elliptical design comprises three concentric seating tiers. Curved translucent panels keep their extensive concourses draught-free while preserving both interior and exterior views. Steep spectator rakes, meanwhile, have been designed with atmosphere in mind. The end nearest Northumberland Park holds 17,500 people in a single uninterrupted bank; small compared with traditional terraced ends, impressively visceral by most modern standards.                        

 

Flesh and wine

validation

Seeing Tottenham without our friend Pete Haine felt odd. Pete’s voluntary work had touched everyone involved with Spurs; that legacy included creating his own archive and reading room at the nearby Antwerp Arms, so we proceeded to sink one or two pints there in respectful memory. Dozens of fans – from both teams – stood around enjoying early spring sunshine outside a co-operatively owned pub he helped preserve. It felt like validation.

compensation

No time remained for sampling the High Road’s many delightful takeaways. It was some time since my breakfast at Stafford Services and I was dreaming about kebabs, but by way of compensation we came across a hot dog van parked opposite the Corner Pin. This fulfilled our first requirement of football ground catering: eating time should exactly equal walking distance to turnstile. It also delivered Cockney banter at no extra charge, so – taken overall – things had turned out pretty well.

 

The game

kick-off

Both teams needed points for very different reasons. Spurs were chasing Champions League qualification while Luton sat just above the relegation places. Current form, however, mattered little as Tahith Chong scored virtually straight from kick-off, calmly converting Ross Barkley’s square ball when slack defending gave Andros Townsend free reign down the left wing.

inevitable

A quick equaliser seemed inevitable. Timo Werner tormented Luton, with Heung-Min Son hitting both posts before seeing follow-ups from Werner and Pape Sass blocked. But the introduction of substitute Brennan Johnson proved decisive. First, defender Issa Kabore’s spectacularly misjudged Johnson’s long cross; then, technology deemed that Alfie Doughty had – by mere millimetres – prevented his shot from crossing the line.   

patient

Tottenham remained patient. Their eventual winner followed yet more composed attacking play from Werner, who teased his way past several defenders and set up Johnson’s short lay-off to Son. The South Korean striker has scored tidier goals; few, however, were ever celebrated with a greater sense of relief.   

 

Teams and goals

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romario, Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Sarr (Lo Selso 68), Bissouma (Richarlison 85), Kulusevski (Johnson 45), Maddison (Bentancur 68), Werner, Son (Hojbjerg 88). Unused subs: Leite de Souza Junior, Davies, van de Ven, Austin.

Luton: Kaminski, Kabore, Burke (Hashioka 45), Mengi, Doughty (Woodrow 83), Berry (Clark 63), Barkley, Mpanza, Townsend, Morris, Chong (Onyedinma 74). Unused subs: Shea, Krul, Johnson, Nelson, Piesold.

Goals: Tottenham: Kabore 51 (og), Son 86, Luton: Chong 3.

Attendance: 61,534.