Tottenham Hotspur Profile

Tottenham have broken into the Premier League's 'Big Six' in the last decade, reached their first Champions League final and challenged for the Premier League title, adding to a rich club history.

Tottenham Hotspur is a football club based in North London, England, which plays in the Premier League. Tottenham play their home matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which replaced White Hart Lane as their home ground in 2019.

Tottenham won First Division titles in 1950/51 and 1960/61 and made the UEFA Champions League final in 2018/19, losing 2-0 to Liverpool. They have won eight FA Cup titles, the last of which coming in 1990/91.

Known as "Spurs" or "The Lilywhites", Tottenham have had several notable former players, including Jimmy Greaves, Osvaldo Ardiles, Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne, Luka Modric, and Ledley King.

Antonio Conte was named head coach in November 2021, after the club sacked Nuno Espirito Santo following a poor string of results.

However, he was sacked after just 16 months in charge in March 2023 after he launched a furious rant about the state of the club following a 3-3 draw at Southampton.

After missing out on European football after finishing a disappointing eighth at the end of the 2022/23 season, Tottenham appointed former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou as their head coach on a four-year deal.

The history of the Lilywhites

Tottenham Hotspur was formed as Hotspur Football Club by a group of schoolboys, who were members of the Hotspur Cricket Club and wanted a sport to play in winter, led by Bobby Buckle.

John Ripsher, the Bible class teacher at All Hallows Church, became the first president of the club after the founders turned to him for help. He played a crucial role in organising the club in its formative years. The club was renamed "Tottenham Hotspur Football Club" in 1884 to avoid confusion with another London club named Hotspur.

Spurs began to draw crowds to their matches. In 1892, they played in a league for the first time, the Southern Alliance. In 1896, they were admitted into Division One of the Southern League. Under the guidance of John Cameron, they won the 1899/1900 Southern League title.

In 1901, Spurs beat Sheffield United 3-1 in the FA Cup final replay after an initial 2-2 draw. Spurs were the first non-league FA Cup winners since the formation of The Football League in 1888. In 1908, Spurs were elected into the Football League Second Division. Immediately, they won promotion into the First Division.

tottenham hotspur sheffield united fa cup final 1901

Spurs finished second in the top flight at the first attempt. After relegation in 1914/15, they bounced back up to the top flight after the First World War. Spurs won their second FA Cup title under Peter McWilliam in 1921, but the 1930s and 1940s were dark decades which saw Spurs spend most of their time in the Second Division.

Arthur Rowe took over as manager in 1949 and was an instant success. The former Spurs player led the club to the Second Division title in his first season, 1949/50, and then the First Division in 1950/51. Rowe resigned in April 1955 due to stress-induced illness, but not before signing Danny Blanchflower, who shone for Spurs between 1954 and 1964.

The Bill Nicholson era

bill nicholson tottenham hotspur manager

Bill Nicholson's arrival as manager in October 1958 kick-started a new era of success for Tottenham after a period of stagnation. In 1960/61, they enjoyed their most successful season ever, winning the First Division and FA Cup double.

Nicholson was already an extremely familiar face at White Hart Lane, having already spent 17 years at the club as a player - winning the Second Division and First Division titles in consecutive seasons along the way.

While Nicholson enjoyed plenty of success on the pitch at Spurs after joining the club as an apprentice, it was as manager where he would make an ever-lasting impact at Tottenham.

Nicholson had masterminded the club's best ever season and there was an added status by playing for Nicholson's men. With that in mind, in December 1961, Tottenham signed iconic striker Jimmy Greaves from AC Milan for £99,999, beating Chelsea to the signature of the Blues' former player. The unusual transfer fee was agreed upon in order to shield Greaves from the pressure of being Britain's first £100,000 player.

In 1961/62, Spurs won their second FA Cup in a row, beating Burnley in the final and earned the distinction of competing in the European Cup for the club's history in the same season.

Such was the rate of progress under Nicholson with Greaves leading the line, they became the first British team to win a European trophy just one year later, beating Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1963.

In the 1967 FA Cup final, a Spurs team including former Chelsea stars Greaves and Terry Venables beat Chelsea 2-1. Nicholson's side also picked up League Cup titles in 1971 and 1973. In between those successes, they picked up the UEFA Cup in 1971/72, becoming the first British team to win two different European trophies.

Spurs won eight major trophies in 16 years under Nicholson. He resigned after a poor start to the 1974/75 campaign.

To this day, Greaves remains Tottenham's all-time record goalscorer with 266 strikes to his name in just 381 appearances for the club, representing a remarkable scoring record for Spurs. He stayed at the club until 1970, when he joined West Ham United.

The Lilywhites' 1980s resurgence

Having continued their success under Nicholson well into the 1970s, reaching four cup finals in as many years in the early part of the decade up to 1974, Tottenham quickly declined and were almost relegated in the 1974/75 season, following the resignation of their legendary manager after 16 years at the helm.

After a tricky short spell under Nicholson's successor, Terry Neill - who had strong ties with fierce rivals Arsenal - Spurs were relegated to Division Two under Keith Burkinshaw's management in 1976/77, but Burkinshaw oversaw their immediate promotion and another run of success for Tottenham in the 1980s.

Burkinshaw's rebuild featured key player such as England international Glenn Hoddle and Argentine players Osvaldo 'Ossie' Ardiles and Ricardo 'Ricky' Villa - with the latter pair causing a splash by arriving on British shores for a significant transfer fee.

ossie osvaldo ardiles ricky villa tottenham hotspur

With their new stars performing consistently well, Tottenham were back to their best - winning back-to-back FA Cups in 1981 and 1982, before going on to win the UEFA Cup in 1984.

Spurs beat Anderlecht in a penalty shootout after the '84 UEFA Cup final second leg, which was announced to be Burkinshaw's last game as Spurs manager before he took charge of the Bahrain national team.

The mid-1980s were more turbulent years for Spurs and English football in general, after English clubs were banned from all European competition after the Heysel disaster of 1985 saw 39 supporters crushed to death at the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus.

But Terry Venables became Spurs manager in 1987 and won the 1990/91 FA Cup. In June 1991, he and businessman Alan Sugar took control of Tottenham Hotspur plc.

The Premier League years

Tottenham were unable to find a suitable long-term manager for the club in their eyes during the early years of the Premier League. They often finished in mid-table, although they saw some impressive players represent them during the 1990s including Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola and Paul Gascoigne.

In 1999, Spurs won the League Cup under the guidance of George Graham, beating Leicester City 1-0 in the final. Nine years later, they repeated the feat under Juande Ramos, beating Chelsea 2-1.

Sugar sold his majority stake in Tottenham Hotspur to ENIC Sports plc, run by Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy, in 2001. Sugar stepped down as chairman, paving the way for Levy to take on this role, which he still holds today. Levy is the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League.

In 2009/10, Harry Redknapp steered Tottenham to fourth place in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League qualification. In 2010/11, they embarked on an impressive run in Europe's premier club competition, beating Inter Milan and AC Milan. They were eventually beaten by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

In 2011/12, Spurs again finished fourth in the Premier League under Redknapp, but they were denied a place in the Champions League by Chelsea winning the competition and taking the spot in the following season's competition which would otherwise have gone to Spurs.

Spurs parted ways with Redknapp ahead of the 2012/13 season, appointing former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas to take over. He led them to fifth place in his first campaign, but was sacked midway through his second after a disappointing start to the season.

At the beginning of the 2013/14 season, Spurs had sold their star player, Gareth Bale, to Real Madrid for a reported £85.3 million, which if true was a world record transfer fee at the time.

Apart from Bale, Luka Modric also played a key role in the club's success under Redknapp and later won the 2018 Ballon d'Or while on the books of Real Madrid himself.

Mauricio Pochettino era

mauricio pochettino jose mourinho tottenham hotspur manchester united

Former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino took charge at Spurs in 2014 after the club had a short stint under former player Tim Sherwood.

Spurs finished fifth in 2014/15, missing out on UEFA Champions League qualification, but it was already clear that Pochettino had Tottenham on the right path. They had shown flashes of brilliance that season, including in a 5-3 victory over eventual Premier League champions Chelsea.

Harry Kane led the line for Spurs and would later go on to be appointed club captain. In 2015/16, Spurs finished third in the Premier League after spending much of the season competing for the title with Leicester City.

The 2016/17 season saw Spurs finish second with Chelsea picking up the Premier League title. The club moved out of White Hart Lane at the end of that campaign.

Pochettino did well to keep Tottenham on track while they waited until their new home stadium was ready for them. In the meantime, they played their home matches at Wembley Stadium and finished third in the 2017/18 Premier League.

Spurs finished fourth in the 2018/19 Premier League and enjoyed a superb run to make the final of the Champions League, with a Lucas Moura hat trick overturning a 2-0 deficit to eventually beat Ajax in the semifinals. Spurs would lose the final against Liverpool 2-0, however.

After a poor start to the 2019/20 season, Pochettino was relieved of his duties and replaced by Jose Mourinho.

Tottenham Hotspur cycle through managers

Jose Mourinho made an instant impact at Spurs beating local rivals West Ham in his first game in charge. However, the dream of a Champions League place failed to materialise.

Spurs finished sixth in the 2019/20 Premier League with results improving somewhat, but perhaps not as much as had been hoped.

The 2020/21 season didn't fair much better, and despite a 6-1 win over Manchester United and a 2-0 win over Arsenal that put Spurs top of the league in Decemeber, results quickly went south in the new year.

As a result, Jose Mourinho was sacked before Spurs' League Cup final against Manchester City. Spurs academy coach, and former player, Ryan Mason took charge and lost the match 1-0.

The 29-year-old Mason was named interim boss until the end of the season, making him the youngest manager in Premier League history. The club finished the season in seventh, only qualifying for the newly-formed Europa Conference League.

For the 2021/22 season, former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo took charge, and after three successive wins to start the season he was named Manager of the month in August.

However Spurs' results - and performances - under Nuno quickly tailed off, and after a 3-0 loss to Manchester United in late October, he followed Mourinho out the door.

Former Juventus, Inter Milan and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte took the reins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on November 2, 2021 on an eighteen month contract.

Conte guided Spurs to a 4th-placed finish in the Premier League and Champions League qualification at the expense of great rivals Arsenal. Harry Kane ended the season as top scorer in all competitions for an eighth consecutive season.

Tottenham won five of their opening seven Premier League fixtures in the 2022/23 season, but soon the inconsistencies returned.

A string of poor first-half displays blighted Spurs before the World Cup break in November but an impressive turnaround in Marseille saw them progress into the Champions League last-16 prior to the World Cup.

Uncertainty over Conte's long-term future remained after the Premier League resumed and so did Tottenham's inconsistency with back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City.

More trouble would follow in February with Conte, after two close friends in Sinisa Mihajlovic and Gianluca Vialli died over the winter period, required to have his gallbladder removed.

It saw the former Inter Milan boss miss five matches across two spells after doctors ordered him to rest again having initially rushed his recovery back to the touchline.

Conte's second return coincided with the Champions League last-16 second leg tie with AC Milan but he failed to provide the inspiration to overturn a 1-0 deficit and Spurs produced a limp display to exit after a dull stalemate.

It occurred seven days after a shock FA Cup reverse to Sheffield United, but a home 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest threatened to arrest the slump and appeared set to give Conte the chance to see out the campaign.

But after launching a furious tirade against his own "selfish players" following the dramatic 3-3 draw at Southampton, chairman Daniel Levy and the board were prompted into action and sacked Conte on March 26.

Spurs limped on under caretaker Cristian Stellini, but he was sacked after a 6-1 defeat at Newcastle. Then Ryan Mason took temporary charge but they missed on qualification for Europe after finishing a disappointing eighth in the table

Tottenham appointed former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou as their head coach on a four-year deal on June 6, 2023.

The 57-year-old Australian won the domestic treble with Celtic in the 2022/23 season, and won five major trophies in his two seasons in charge of Celtic after replacing Neil Lennon in June 2021.

Spurs' biggest rivals

Tottenham Hotspur's fiercest adversaries in the eyes of most are North London rivals Arsenal, who have generally forced Spurs to live in their shadow throughout history - although the clubs have competed on a much more equal footing in the last decade.

Arsenal have won 13 First Division and Premier League titles, the most in London, but the balance of power tilted during the Pochettino years at Tottenham. In recent years, Spurs have often outperformed Arsenal.

Spurs also have a particularly venomous rivalry with fellow London club Chelsea. Spurs were generally the more successful club up until the last two decades.

Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, they have become the only team in London to win the UEFA Champions League and they have consistently outshone Tottenham for the most part. Like Arsenal, Chelsea have found Tottenham more challenging in recent years.

Spurs and their fanbase

Tottenham have long held ties to the Jewish community. The Jewish Chronicle reported that in the 1920s, Jewish support was particularly strong. Although they claimed that Spurs' Jewish support base grew further in the 1930s, they acknowledged that Arsenal were gaining Jewish supporters too by this time.

It is unclear whether or not a disproportionate number of Jewish people support Tottenham in the modern era as opposed to other major clubs. However, the perception still exists that Spurs are a 'Jewish' club. All three of their chairmen since 1982 have been Jewish.

Spurs continue to have one of the largest fan bases in English football and even more Tottenham supporters are now able to see their home matches, with the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium able to house around 65% more supporters than their former home at White Hart Lane.

Multiple fan groups and supporter societies exist around the world in their support for Spurs, with Tottenham's official website recognising supporters' clubs in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Europe, Asia, North America and beyond.

Club finances

Joe Lewis' ENIC Group holds over 85% of the total issued share capital of Tottenham Hotspur.

To the year ending 2022, total revenue for the year increased 22.7 per cent to £444.0m (2021: £361.9m).

Spurs have had heavy investment in the club in recent years, with a record £1billion spent on building the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the playing squad now features world-class talent.

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23 December 2024

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