For April 4th I'm going back 38 years to 1983 and the North London Derby.
Protecting the family jewels on the programme cover is current Talksport radio presenter and bon viveur Alan Brazil. In his time as a player he was prolific when appearing for Ipswich Town (80 goals in 210 appearances) but less so in his spells at subsequent clubs. In fact his career post-Ipswich was somewhat in decline as he was troubled by a back injury. He managed only 31 league appearances for both Spurs and Manchester United, 15 for Coventry City and 4 for QPR after which his career was restricted to games in Non-League, Australia and the Swiss second division. Although Spurs won the UEFA Cup during his time at the club and he had scored 4 goals in the earlier rounds, he was not selected for either game of the two-legged Final against Anderlecht. I can distinctly remember him appearing in Tottenham's last away game of the 1983/84 season and a 5-0 mauling by Southampton when many Spurs first-teamers were being rested, He played alongside a number of debutants and fringe players that day and received harsh abuse from the travelling Spurs fans. It was his final appearance for the club.
Brazil is yet another footballer who suffered abuse as a child when at Celtic Boys Club. He has had a long but not always distinguished career as a radio presenter and he was fired by Talksport at one point due to a drink-related non-appearance. He certainly enjoys a drink and his first autobiography was entitled "There's an awful lot of bubbly in Brazil" in homage to the booze. One notable broadcasting low point were his comments on suicide following the death of actor Robin Williams when he opined that he doesn't have a lot of sympathy for suicide victims as it leaves their families in a diabolical situation. Certainly he's a man who speaks his mind no matter how ill informed!
The featured Easter Monday game, played in front of 43,642, included Alan Brazil's first goal for Spurs. In truth that day he could easily have scored four as the rampant Lillywhites hammered Arsenal 5-0 to fully avenge a five goal drubbing by Arsenal five years earlier. Full-back Chris Hughton got 2 goals as did Mark Falco including something of a "worldy" (see the video below). Spurs finished fourth in the league that season and qualified for the aforementioned UEFA Cup. Arsenal slumped to a distant tenth place and all was right with the world!
CRB Match No. 240
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