Today I'm going back 27 years to 1994 and Tottenham's Premier League fixture against Newcastle United at White Hart Lane attended by 28,002.
Programme cover star is Nick Barmby, a player who came to prominence whilst at Tottenham but whose career never quite lived up to its initial promise. Barmby was an FA School of Excellence product who was given his Spurs debut as an eighteen year old by Terry Venables. He would go on to make 108 appearances for Spurs scoring 28 goals before moving on to join Middlesbrough as their most expensive ever signing (at the time). He would go on to play for Everton, Liverpool, Leeds United and Hull City and is one of only nine players who have scored Premier League goals for six different teams. Barmby also has 23 England caps (4 goals) and, on retirement from playing, has subsequently managed Hull City.
14 minutes into the game and it was 1-0 to Spurs following an exquisite through ball from Darren Anderton that put Teddy Sheringham clean through with only the keeper to beat. 15 minutes later the Geordies pulled level thanks to a deft flicked header from, probably the smallest man on the field, Ruel (cruel?) Fox in the box. Spurs then took the lead again in the 38th minute with a training ground corner kick routine taken by Anderton again to Teddy Sheringham on the near post edge of the six yard box who volleyed home. The lead didn't last long, just three minutes in fact, as that man Ruel Fox equalised for the second time that afternoon, this time following up a rebound off the woodwork. 2-2 at halftime became 3-2 to Spurs with just 20 minutes remaining as Teddy Sheringham bagged his hattrick. This time it was Sheringham following up a Klinsmann header saved by the Newcastle keeper. The final goal of the afternoon was made and scored by Romanian international Gica Popescu for Spurs making the game safe and securing Tottenham's first win under new manager Gerry Francis.
USA94 World Cup star Gheorghe "Gica" Popescu played only one season at Tottenham. Signing for Spurs from PSV Eindhoven he managed only 28 appearances (scoring 3 goals) before he moved that summer to Barcelona where he would go on to become captain of the Catalan side. Popescu is the third most capped Romanian player of all time (115 appearances, 16 goals) and he is a brother-in-law of the second most capped Romanian of all time, Gheorghe Hagi (nicknamed the Maradona of the Carpathians). Sadly, in 2014, Popescu was jailed for over three years for his part in a money laundering and tax evasion scam concerning the transfer of Romanian footballers to other countries.
Spurs finished season 1994/5 in seventh place in the Premier League (at the time a 22 club Division), one place and ten points behind Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United in sixth. Champions that season for the only time in the Premier League era were Blackburn Rovers. Four clubs were relegated: Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Leicester City and Ipswich Town. All four have subsequently returned to the top flight and indeed Leicester City have gone on to win it.
CRB Match No. 935
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