The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Stratford Town on 19th April 2005.
2004 saw the passing of more than one iconic football manager. Closely following Brian Clough’s departure, 23rd October 2004 saw the demise of 85-year old Tottenham legend Bill Nicholson. Those of you that know me may also know that I have a strong affection for the boys from White Hart Lane. However even I am too young to have seen a Spurs side managed by Bill Nicholson. Yes really! And yet his legacy, the huge expectation of all true Spurs supporters for stylish, “Glory Glory” football, looms like a spectre at the shoulder of all subsequent Spurs sides (and their managers!). Throughout my time spent watching Spurs, from the early 1980’s right up to the present day, all I have ever known is moaning amongst Spurs fans. Nothing is ever good enough. Youngsters are expected to deliver international-class performances from day one. And one-nil wins are simply not acceptable. Bill Nicholson’s legacy is a genuinely tough act to follow.
His ultimate season in football management was 1960-61 when Spurs achieved the first League and Cup “Double” of the twentieth century playing a brand of football that has never been forgotten by those who were privileged enough to see it. That season Spurs swept all before them from first until glorious last. It seems strange these days with the frequent doubles of both Manchester United and Arsenal to relate that many experts felt that to “do the Double” was an impossible dream. Even at the pinnacle of this achievement it was typical of Nicholson that he was not satisfied and felt in the FA Cup Final of 1961 that Spurs “never played”. In truth, the closest modern day footballing comparison to the Spurs Glory Glory side of 1960-61 is probably the Arsenal side of last season…and they didn’t manage the double!
William Edward Nicholson arrived at White Hart Lane in 1936 aged 17. Born and bred in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Nicholson must have found pre-war North London something of an eye opener. He made his debut for Spurs in 1938 but his fledgling career was soon to be interrupted by the commencement of hostilities. He enlisted with the Durham Light Infantry (can you imagine modern day players doing the same?) and spent the majority of the war years as a physical training instructor although, following the return of peace, he was stationed in Italy and did not resume his playing career until 1948.
In 1950 as a Spurs player he won the Second Division championship (that’s the equivalent of today’s The Championship for younger readers) and the following season won the First Division title. It was in 1951 that Nicholson secured his one and only England cap (he scored with his first touch!) having understudied Billy Wright for a several years. By 1954 aged 35 he joined the coaching staff at Spurs and finally became Manager in 1958. His first game in charge is the stuff that legends are made of: a club record scoreline as Spurs beat Everton 10-4. What a start!
The 1960-61 Double season was always going to be a tough act to follow. To be fair, Nicholson didn’t make a bad job of it. Before retiring in 1974, Spurs secured a further 6 trophies - for the record, the FA Cup in 1962 and 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and 1973, the European Cup Winners Cup (remember that?) in 1963 and the UEFA Cup in 1972. The 1971-72 side were the subject of Hunter Davies’ excellent book “The Glory Game” which expertly captured the innermost workings of the Club and revealed Nicholson to be a man struggling to adapt his values to the emerging modern era. Nicholson, was a blunt and dour Yorkshireman (is there another type?) who met and married his first and only girlfriend Darky in Tottenham and lived the majority of his life in a modest end-of-terrace house just around the corner from White Hart Lane itself (I guess that’s the equivalent of Alex Ferguson living in a semi in Stretford or Arsene Wenger renting a bed-sit in Muswell Hill!). Bill Nicholson was a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks and the University of Life, a bygone era, a Golden Age. Bill, you may be gone but you will never be forgotten by this Racing Club Warwick follower.
Keep the faith!
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