Today I'm going back 37 years to 1985 and Tottenham's League Division 1 fixture against Newcastle United played at the old White Hart Lane in front of 23,883. My seat in the West Stand Lower tier had cost me just £8.00 that day and, if I applied UK inflation rates to that amount it should cost me approximately £20.50 today. Except that it doesn't. Similar seats today would cost well over three times that amount and that's despite the TV millions that have flooded into the English game since the 1980's. Progress? No! Ordinary people are being priced out of the game!
The programme cover star is Ray Clemence and the reason for the hearty "Well done Ray", from another Tottenham legend between-the-sticks Pat Jennings, was because the featured match marked Clemence's 1,000th senior appearance (Jennings had reached a similar milestone the previous season). Clemence had made his Football League debut for Scunthorpe United in April 1966 and playing in the same team that day was future Tottenham manager Keith Burkinshaw. Clemence moved on to Liverpool the following year and during his 14 years at Liverpool he won five League titles, three European Cups, two UEFA Cups and one FA Cup and League Cup. In 1981 Clemence, perhaps searching for a fresh challenge, moved to Tottenham for a fee of just £300,000. Following an achilles tendon injury in 1987, Clemence retired but would immediately join Tottenham's coaching staff before leaving to take up the manager's position at nearby Barnet. Clemence made 61 appearances for England in an era where he and the similarly gifted Peter Shilton would battle it out for the number one jersey and, but for Shilton, he surely would have broken records for the number of England caps earned. Sadly Ray Clemence passed away in 2020 following a long battle with prostate cancer. He remains one of the best goal keepers that I ever saw.
Spurs had started season 1985/86 with a 4-0 win against Watford with new signing Chrissie Waddle scoring two of the goals. Now he was facing his former club Newcastle United and he proceeded to torment the Magpies all afternoon. First blood in the match went, however, to the Geordies with a neat header scored by Alan Davies but they didn't have the lead for very long. In the 15th minute, following some good work by John Chiedozie, Mark Falco rifled in the equaliser from the edge of the area. Two minutes later and Chiedozie turned from provider to scorer to give Tottenham the lead which they would take to the halftime break. Chiedozie grabbed his second of the game shortly after halftime having been put clean through thanks to a sumptuous trademark lofted pass by Glenn Hoddle. By the 63rd minute Tottenham were truly out of sight of Newcastle as that man Hoddle grabbed the fourth despite the best efforts of the Newcastle defence to try to handle the ball to prevent it from crossing the line. They couldn't and it did! The scoring for the afternoon was rounded off by Mickey Hazard with Tottenham's fifth goal following great work by Hoddle and Chiedozie (yet again). Spurs had been wonderful to watch that day.
Despite all their stars and their attractive football, there was something brittle about Spurs in season 1985/86 and they ended up finishing in 10th place (of 22) in the First Division. Newcastle, who had been well and truly tonked on that sunny September Saturday afternoon, finished just one place lower than Spurs and with just two points fewer. You have to say that Tottenham, under Peter Shreeves management that season had very much underperformed. At the end of the season the Tottenham Board weren't slow to act and replaced Shreeves with Luton Town's David Pleat. Liverpool were Champions that season (as usual) and Ipswich, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion were the teams that were relegated.
CRB Match No. 390
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