Tottenham Hotspur – A History In Fifty Classic Matches
by Stewart Peters
128 Pages
Published by Tempus Publishing Limited (2005)
ISBN 0-7524-3612-0
Stewart Peters takes a look back at a selection of matches throughout the history of Tottenham Hotspur that have a bearing on the trials and tribulations that us fans have been through.
While there are some from pivotal moments in the successes that have made the club what it is today, some are more poignant and more sobering than others. It is a microcosm of supporting Spurs. The highs and the lows, the wins and the losses. Many of the most memorable are detailed here, just to remind you of them.
Each match is reported on with background information as well as an account of the action and details of line-ups, etc. The games are well illustrated with photographs that capture those moments of triumph and failure and it is the fact that the choice of these particular matches doesn’t only focus on those that are winning ones.
From the first game in the FA Cup in 1894 through to the most recent match when the book was written – the 3-5 home defeat by Manchester United – the nature of the match is written about in a manner that the author’s love of the club comes through. The pain of each defeat or night to forget is etched into Peters’ words and the ecstasy of the wins in big matches is equally evident as these fifty matches are those that he had chosen to feature, while we could all choose our own fifty that we consider to be those that have shaped Tottenham Hotspur’s history.
It is a slim volume, but is full of good reading for Spurs fans. And, of course, since the book was written in 2005, there have been plenty of matches which have changed the club’s history. There will always be more matches to write about and more experiences to be had when following the club, but Stewart does a grand job of charting the course that Spurs have taken over the years with this book. It brings back those feelings of being there, through the good times and the bad, knowing full well that you will be there again for the next fifty important matches of the Tottenham Hotspur history.
Marco van Hip