Today I'm going back 36 years to 1987 and Tottenham's visit to Maine Road, Manchester, the former home of Manchester City. The game was played on a Wednesday night, just four days after Tottenham's victorious FA Cup Semi-Final against Watford at Villa Park, Birmingham. The attendance was just 21,460 with City on a wretched run of form but then most top clubs at the time suffered from moderate attendances due, partly at least, to the blight of hooliganism that was spoiling the English game.
City's starting line up included past and future Tottenham players in the form of Neil McNab, recent signing from Blackpool (and programme cover star) Paul Stewart and Clive Wilson. McNab, a Scot, had started out at Greenock Morton in 1972 and was the club's youngest ever professional. In 1974 Spurs came calling and he became Tottenham's youngest ever first team player at the age of sixteen. He would go on to make 72 Football League appearances (3 goals) for Spurs before being transferred to Bolton Wanderers in 1978. In 1983 McNab arrived at Manchester City and they were to become the club for whom he made the most Football League appearances (221 games and 16 goals) before leaving for Tranmere Rovers in 1990. Indeed McNab, a real fans favourite, was voted as being City's player of the season for both 1986/87 and 1988/89 and was arguably their most important player in the 1980's.
David Pleat's Spurs were title contenders at the time and began the match ten points behind leaders Everton but with two games in hand. They really needed to secure three points against relegation strugglers City if they were to mount a serious challenge for the title. City's manager Jimmy Frizzell did not have the benefit of being able to select 45-goal Clive Allen who had scored more goals than the entire City squad between them. The game was to be Tottenham's first of four matches in an eight day spell as they struggled to address a fixture pile-up caused by that season's cup successes and runs to both the FA Cup Final and League Cup Semi-Finals. In his commentary, John Motson described Spurs as "lacking in urgency" in the first half which is perhaps a reflection of a degree of tiredness. Spurs were tormented down the left by Peter Barnes in that first half and he won City a penalty which was dispatched by that man McNab five minutes before halftime. There was none of that respect-when-scoring-against-your-old-club nonsense from McNab who celebrated without causing offence to the travelling Tottenham fans. Then, with 15 minutes remaining, Nico Claesen scored with his head from a free-kick routine to level the score.
A point wasn't really what either side wanted and the point secured by City proved not to be enough come the end of the season as they were relegated in 21st place (of 22) along with Leicester City and Aston Villa. City's goals scored total of just 36 that season was the worst in the entire Football League and proved to be their undoing. How they could have done with a Clive Allen who finished the season with 49 goals to his name in all competitions. Poor tired Spurs finished the season in 3rd place behind the Merseyside duo of champions Everton and runners-up Liverpool and, despite their excellent season, would end-up empty handed after surprisingly losing to Coventry City at Wembley in the FA Cup Final in May. No trophies? Tottenham? Well I never!
CRB Match No. 502
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