Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham (/ˈtɒtənəm/)[2][3] or Spurs, is an English professional football club in Tottenham, London, that competes in the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been the club's home ground since April 2019, replacing their former home of White Hart Lane, which had been demolished to make way for the new stadium on the same site. Their training ground is on Hotspur Way in Bulls Cross in the London Borough of Enfield. The club is owned by ENIC Group. Tottenham have played in a first (home) strip of white shirts and navy blue shorts since the 1898–99 season. The club's emblem is a cockerel standing upon a football, with a Latin motto Audere est Facere ("To Dare Is to Do").
Founded in 1882, Tottenham won the FA Cup for the first time in 1901, the only non-League club to do so since the formation of the Football League in 1888. Tottenham were the first club in the 20th century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960–61 season. After successfully defending the FA Cup in 1962, in 1963 they became the first British club to win a UEFA club competition – the European Cup Winners' Cup.[4] They were also the inaugural winners of the UEFA Cup in 1972, becoming the first British club to win two different major European trophies. They have collected at least one major trophy in each of the six decades from the 1950s to 2000s – an achievement only matched by Manchester United.[5][6] In total, Spurs have won two league titles, eight FA Cups, four League Cups, seven FA Community Shields, one European Cup Winners' Cup and two UEFA Cups. Tottenham were also the runners-up of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League competition. The club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Arsenal, with head-to-head fixtures known as the North London derby.
Originally named Hotspur Football Club, the club was formed on 5 September 1882 by a group of schoolboys led by Bobby Buckle. They were members of the Hotspur Cricket Club and the football club was formed to play sports during the winter months.[7] A year later the boys sought help with the club from John Ripsher, the Bible class teacher at All Hallows Church, who became the first president of the club and its treasurer. Ripsher helped and supported the boys through the club's formative years, reorganised and found premises for the club.[8][9][10] In April 1884 the club was renamed "Tottenham Hotspur Football Club" to avoid confusion with another London club named Hotspur, whose post had been mistakenly delivered to North London.[11][12] Nicknames for the club include "Spurs" and "the Lilywhites".[13]
Initially, the boys played games between themselves and friendly matches against other local clubs. The first recorded match took place on 30 September 1882 against a local team named the Radicals, which Hotspur lost 2–0.[14] The team entered their first cup competition in the London Association Cup, and won 5–2 in their first competitive match on 17 October 1885 against a company's works team called St Albans.[15] The club's fixtures began to attract the interest of the local community and attendances at its home matches increased. In 1892, they played for the first time in a league, the short-lived Southern Alliance
The club turned professional on 20 December 1895 and, in the summer of 1896, was admitted to Division One of the Southern League. On 2 March 1898, the club also became a limited company, the Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Company.[16] Soon after, Frank Brettell became the first ever manager of Spurs, and he signed John Cameron, who took over as player-manager when Brettell left a year later. Cameron would have a significant impact on Spurs, helping the club win its first trophy, the Southern League title in the 1899–1900 season.[17] The following year Spurs won the 1901 FA Cup by beating Sheffield United 3–1 in a replay of the final, after the first game ended in a 2–2 draw. In doing so they became the only non-League club to achieve the feat since the formation of The Football League in 1888.[18]
Early decades in the Football League (1908–1958)
In 1908, the club was elected into the Football League Second Division and won promotion to the First Division in their first season, and finished runners-up in their first year in the league. In 1912, Peter McWilliam became manager; Tottenham finished bottom of the league at the end of the 1914–15 season when football was suspended due to the First World War. Spurs were relegated to the Second Division on the resumption of league football after the war, but quickly returned to the First Division as Second Division champions of the 1919–20 season
On 23 April 1921, McWilliam guided Spurs to their second FA Cup win, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 in the Cup Final. Spurs finished second to Liverpool in the league in 1922, but would finish mid-table in the next five seasons. Spurs were relegated in the 1927–28 season after McWilliam left. For most of the 1930s and 40s, Spurs languished in the Second Division, apart from a brief return to the top flight in the 1933–34 and 1934–35 seasons.[20]
Former Spurs player Arthur Rowe became manager in 1949. Rowe developed a style of play, known as "push and run", that proved to be successful in his early years as manager. He took the team back to the First Division after finishing top of the Second Division in the 1949–50 season.[21] In his second season in charge, Tottenham won their first ever top tier league championship title when they finished top of the First Division for the 1950–51 season.[22][23] Rowe resigned in April 1955 due to a stress-induced illness from managing the club.[24][25] Before he left, he signed one of Spurs' most celebrated players, Danny Blanchflower, who won the FWA Footballer of the Year twice while at Tottenham.[26]
Bill Nicholson and the glory years (1958–1974)
Bill Nicholson took over as manager in October 1958. He would become the club's most successful manager, guiding the team to major trophy success three seasons in a row in the early 1960s: the Double in 1961, the FA Cup in 1962 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963.[27] Nicholson signed Dave Mackay and John White in 1959, two influential players of the Double-winning team, and Jimmy Greaves in 1961, the most prolific goal-scorer in the history of the top tier of English football.[28][29]
The 1960–61 season started with a run of 11 wins, followed by a draw and another four wins, at that time the best ever start by any club in the top flight of English football.[30] The title was won on 17 April 1961 when they beat the eventual runner-up Sheffield Wednesday at home 2–1, with three more games still to play.[31] The Double was achieved when Spurs won 2–0 against Leicester City in the final of the 1960–61 FA Cup. It was the first Double of the 20th century, and the first since Aston Villa achieved the feat in 1897.[32] The next year Spurs won their second consecutive FA Cup after beating Burnley in the 1962 FA Cup Final.[33]
On 15 May 1963, Tottenham became the first British team to win a European trophy by winning the 1962–63 European Cup Winners' Cup when they beat Atlético Madrid 5–1 in the final.[34] Spurs also became the first British team to win two different European trophies when they won the 1971–72 UEFA Cup with a rebuilt team that included Martin Chivers, Pat Jennings, and Steve Perryman.[35] They had also won the FA Cup in 1967,[36] and two League Cups (in 1971 and 1973). In total, Nicholson won eight major trophies in his 16 years at the club as manager.[27]
Burkinshaw to Venables (1974–1992)
Spurs went into a period of decline after the successes of the early 1970s, and Nicholson resigned after a poor start to the 1974–75 season.[37] The team was then relegated at the end of the 1976–77 season with Keith Burkinshaw as manager. Burkinshaw quickly returned the club to the top flight, building a team that included Glenn Hoddle, as well as two Argentinians, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, whose signings were particularly uncommon in British football as foreign players from outside the British Isles were rare at that time.[38] The team that Burkinshaw rebuilt went on to win the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982[39] and the UEFA Cup in 1984.[40]
The 1980s was a period of change that began with a new phase of redevelopment at White Hart Lane, as well as a change of directors. Irving Scholar took over the club and moved it in a more commercial direction, the beginning of the transformation of English football clubs into commercial enterprises.[41][42] Debt at the club would again lead to a change in the boardroom, and Terry Venables teamed up with businessman Alan Sugar in June 1991 to take control of Tottenham Hotspur plc.[43][44][45] Venables, who had become manager in 1987, signed players such as Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker. Under Venables, Spurs won the 1990–91 FA Cup, making them the first club to win eight FA Cups.[46]
Premier League football (1992–present)
ottenham was one of the five clubs that pushed for the founding of the Premier League, created with the approval of The Football Association, replacing the Football League First Division as the highest division of English football.[47] Despite a succession of managers and players such as Teddy Sheringham, Jürgen Klinsmann and David Ginola, for a long period in the Premier League until the late 2000s, Spurs finished mid-table most seasons with few trophies won. They won the League Cup in 1999 under George Graham, and again in 2008 under Juande Ramos. Performance improved under Harry Redknapp with players such as Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić, and the club finished in the top five in the early 2010s.[48][49]
In February 2001, Sugar sold his share holding in Spurs to ENIC Sports plc, run by Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy, and stepped down as chairman.[50] Lewis and Levy would eventually own 85% of the club, with Levy responsible for the running of the club.[51][52] They appointed Mauricio Pochettino as head coach, who was in the role between 2014 and 2019.[53] Spurs finished second in the 2016–17 season, their highest placed league finish since the 1962–63 season.[54] In the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, Tottenham beat Manchester City and Ajax to advance to their first ever UEFA Champions League final, becoming the third club in London to reach a UEFA Champions League Final.[55] However, Tottenham lost the final against fellow English side Liverpool by a scoreline of 0–2.[56] Pochettino was subsequently sacked after a poor start to the 2019-20 season and was replaced by José Mourinho.[57]
Stadia/playing grounds
Early grounds
Spurs played their early matches on public land at the Park Lane end of Tottenham Marshes, where they had to mark out and prepare their own pitch.[7] Occasionally fights broke out on the marshes in disputes with other teams over the use of the ground.[58] The first Spurs game reported by the local press took place on Tottenham Marshes on 6 October 1883 against Brownlow Rovers, which Spurs won 9–0.[59] It was at this ground that, in 1887, Spurs first played the team that would later become their arch rivals, Arsenal (then known as Royal Arsenal), leading 2–1 until the match was called off due to poor light after the away team arrived late.[60]
As they played on public parkland, the club could not charge admission fees and, while the number of spectators grew to a few thousand, it yielded no gate receipts. In 1888, the club rented a pitch at Asplins Farm, next to the railway line at Northumberland Park, at a cost of £17 per annum, where spectators were charged 3d a game, raised to 6d for cup ties.[61] The first game at the Park was played on 13 October 1888, a reserve match that yielded gate receipts of 17 shillings. The first stand with just over 100 seats and changing rooms underneath was built at the ground for the 1894–95 season at a cost of £60. However, the stand was blown down a few weeks later and had to be repaired.[62] In April 1898, 14,000 fans turned up to watch Spurs play Woolwich Arsenal. Spectators climbed on the roof of the refreshment stand for a better view of the match. The stand collapsed, causing a few injuries. As Northumberland Park could no longer cope with the larger crowds, Spurs were forced to look for a larger ground and moved to the White Hart Lane site in 1899.[63]
White Hart Lane
The White Hart Lane ground was built on a disused plant nursery owned by the brewery Charringtons and located behind a public house named the White Hart on Tottenham High Road (the road White Hart Lane actually lies a few hundred yards north of the main entrance). The ground was initially leased from Charringtons, and the stands they used at Northumberland Park were moved here, giving shelter for 2,500 spectators.[64] Notts County were the first visitors to 'the Lane' in a friendly watched by 5,000 people and yielding £115 in receipts; Spurs won 4–1.[65] Queens Park Rangers became the first competitive visitors to the ground and 11,000 people saw them lose 1–0 to Tottenham. In 1905, Tottenham raised enough money to buy the freehold to the land, as well as land at the northern (Paxton Road) end.
After Spurs were admitted to the Football League, the club started to build a new stadium, with stands designed by Archibald Leitch being constructed over the next two and a half decades. The West Stand was added in 1909, the East Stand was also covered this year and extended further two years later. The profits from the 1921 FA Cup win were used to build a covered terrace at the Paxton Road end and the Park Lane end was built at a cost of over £3,000 some two years later. This increased the stadium's capacity to around 58,000, with room for 40,000 under cover. The East Stand (Worcester Avenue) was finished in 1934 and this increased capacity to around 80,000 spectators and cost £60,000
Starting in the early 1980s, the stadium underwent another major phase of redevelopment. The West Stand was replaced by an expensive new structure in 1982, and the East Stand was renovated in 1988. In 1992, following the Taylor Report's recommendation that Premier League clubs eliminate standing areas, the lower terraces of the south and east stand were converted to seating, with the North Stand becoming all-seater the following season. The South Stand redevelopment was completed in March 1995 and included the first giant Sony Jumbotron TV screen for live game coverage and away match screenings.[66] In the 1997–98 season the Paxton Road stand received a new upper tier and a second Jumbotron screen.[66] Minor amendments to the seating configuration were made in 2006, bringing the capacity of the stadium to 36,310.[64]
By the turn of the millennium, the capacity of White Hart Lane had become lower than other major Premier League clubs. Talks began over the future of the ground with a number of schemes considered, such as increasing the stadium capacity through redevelopment of the current site, or using of the 2012 London Olympic Stadium in Stratford.[67][68] Eventually the club settled on the Northumberland Development Project, whereby a new stadium would be built on a larger piece of land that incorporated the existing site. In 2016, the northeast corner of the stadium was removed to facilitate the construction of the new stadium. As this reduced the stadium capacity below that required for European games, Tottenham Hotspur played every European home game in 2016–17 at Wembley Stadium.[69] Domestic fixtures of the 2016–17 season continued to be played at the Lane, but demolition of the rest of the stadium started the day after the last game of the season,[70] and White Hart Lane was completely demolished by the end of July 2017.[71]
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
In October 2008, the club announced a plan to build a new stadium immediately to the north of the existing White Hart Lane stadium, with the southern half of the new stadium's pitch overlapping the northern part of the Lane.[72] This proposal would become the Northumberland Development Project. The club submitted a planning application in October 2009 but, following critical reactions to the plan, it was withdrawn in favour of a substantially revised planning application for the stadium and other associated developments. The new plan was resubmitted and approved by Haringey Council in September 2010,[73] and an agreement for the Northumberland Development Project was signed on 20 September 2011.[74]
After a long delay over the compulsory purchase order of local businesses located on land to the north of the stadium and a legal challenge against the order,[75][76] resolved in early 2015,[77] planning application for another new design was approved by Haringey Council on 17 December 2015.[78] Construction started in 2016,[79] and the new stadium was scheduled to open during the 2018–19 season.[80][81] While it was under construction, all Tottenham home games in the 2017–18 season as well as all but five in 2018–19 were played at Wembley Stadium.[82] After two successful test events, Tottenham Hotspur officially moved into the new ground on 3 April 2019[83] with a Premier League match against Crystal Palace which Spurs won 2–0.[84] The new stadium is called Tottenham Hotspur Stadium while a naming-rights agreement is reached.[85]
Training grounds
An early training ground used by Tottenham was located at Brookfield Lane in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. The club bought the 11-acre ground used by Cheshunt F.C. in 1952 for £35,000.[86][87] It had three pitches, including a small stadium with a small stand used for matches by the junior team.[88] The ground was later sold for over 4 million,[89] and the club moved the training ground to the Spurs Lodge on Luxborough Lane, Chigwell in Essex, opened in September 1996 by Tony Blair.[90] The training ground and press centre in Chigwell were used until 2014.[91]
In 2007, Tottenham bought a site at Bulls Cross in Enfield, a few miles south of their former ground in Cheshunt. A new training ground was constructed at the site for £45 million, which opened in 2012.[92] The 77-acre site has 15 grass pitches and one-and-a-half artificial pitches, as well as a covered artificial pitch in the main building.[93][94] The main building on Hotspur Way also has hydrotherapy and swimming pools, gyms, medical facilities, dining and rest areas for players as well as classrooms for academy and schoolboy players. A 45-bedroom players lodge with catering, treatment, rest and rehabilitation facilities was later added at Myddleton Farm next to the training site in 2018.[95][96] The lodge is mainly used by Tottenham's first team and Academy players, but it has also been used by national football teams – the first visitors to use the facilities at the site were the Brazilian team in preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[97]
Crest
Since the 1921 FA Cup final the Tottenham Hotspur crest has featured a cockerel. Harry Hotspur, after whom the club is named, was said to have been given the nickname Hotspur as he dug in his spurs to make his horse go faster as he charged in battles,[98] and spurs are also associated with fighting cocks.[99] The club used spurs as a symbol in 1900, which then evolved into a fighting cock.[98] A former player named William James Scott made a bronze cast of a cockerel standing on a football at a cost of £35, and this 9-foot 6-inch figure was then placed on top of the West Stand the end of the 1909–10 season.[98] Since then the cockerel and ball emblem has become a part of the club's identity.[100] The club badge on the shirt used in 1921 featured a cockerel within a shield, but it was changed to a cockerel sitting on a ball in the late 1960s.[99]
Between 1956 and 2006 Spurs used a faux heraldic shield featuring a number of local landmarks and associations. The castle is Bruce Castle, 400 yards from the ground and the trees are the Seven Sisters. The arms featured the Latin motto Audere Est Facere (to dare is to do).[58]
In 1983, to overcome unauthorised "pirate" merchandising, the club's badge was altered by adding the two red heraldic lions to flank the shield (which came from the arms of the Northumberland family, of which Harry Hotspur was a member), as well as the motto scroll. This device appeared on Spurs' playing kits for three seasons 1996–99.
In 2006, in order to rebrand and modernise the club's image, the club badge and coat of arms were replaced by a professionally designed logo/emblem.[101] This revamp displayed a sleeker and more elegant cockerel standing on an old-time football. The club claimed that they dropped their club name and would be using the rebranded logo only on playing kits.[102] In November 2013, Tottenham forced non-league club Fleet Spurs to change their badge because its new design was "too similar" to the Tottenham crest
Founded in 1882, Tottenham won the FA Cup for the first time in 1901, the only non-League club to do so since the formation of the Football League in 1888. Tottenham were the first club in the 20th century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960–61 season. After successfully defending the FA Cup in 1962, in 1963 they became the first British club to win a UEFA club competition – the European Cup Winners' Cup.[4] They were also the inaugural winners of the UEFA Cup in 1972, becoming the first British club to win two different major European trophies. They have collected at least one major trophy in each of the six decades from the 1950s to 2000s – an achievement only matched by Manchester United.[5][6] In total, Spurs have won two league titles, eight FA Cups, four League Cups, seven FA Community Shields, one European Cup Winners' Cup and two UEFA Cups. Tottenham were also the runners-up of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League competition. The club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Arsenal, with head-to-head fixtures known as the North London derby.
Originally named Hotspur Football Club, the club was formed on 5 September 1882 by a group of schoolboys led by Bobby Buckle. They were members of the Hotspur Cricket Club and the football club was formed to play sports during the winter months.[7] A year later the boys sought help with the club from John Ripsher, the Bible class teacher at All Hallows Church, who became the first president of the club and its treasurer. Ripsher helped and supported the boys through the club's formative years, reorganised and found premises for the club.[8][9][10] In April 1884 the club was renamed "Tottenham Hotspur Football Club" to avoid confusion with another London club named Hotspur, whose post had been mistakenly delivered to North London.[11][12] Nicknames for the club include "Spurs" and "the Lilywhites".[13]
Initially, the boys played games between themselves and friendly matches against other local clubs. The first recorded match took place on 30 September 1882 against a local team named the Radicals, which Hotspur lost 2–0.[14] The team entered their first cup competition in the London Association Cup, and won 5–2 in their first competitive match on 17 October 1885 against a company's works team called St Albans.[15] The club's fixtures began to attract the interest of the local community and attendances at its home matches increased. In 1892, they played for the first time in a league, the short-lived Southern Alliance
The club turned professional on 20 December 1895 and, in the summer of 1896, was admitted to Division One of the Southern League. On 2 March 1898, the club also became a limited company, the Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Company.[16] Soon after, Frank Brettell became the first ever manager of Spurs, and he signed John Cameron, who took over as player-manager when Brettell left a year later. Cameron would have a significant impact on Spurs, helping the club win its first trophy, the Southern League title in the 1899–1900 season.[17] The following year Spurs won the 1901 FA Cup by beating Sheffield United 3–1 in a replay of the final, after the first game ended in a 2–2 draw. In doing so they became the only non-League club to achieve the feat since the formation of The Football League in 1888.[18]
Early decades in the Football League (1908–1958)
In 1908, the club was elected into the Football League Second Division and won promotion to the First Division in their first season, and finished runners-up in their first year in the league. In 1912, Peter McWilliam became manager; Tottenham finished bottom of the league at the end of the 1914–15 season when football was suspended due to the First World War. Spurs were relegated to the Second Division on the resumption of league football after the war, but quickly returned to the First Division as Second Division champions of the 1919–20 season
On 23 April 1921, McWilliam guided Spurs to their second FA Cup win, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 in the Cup Final. Spurs finished second to Liverpool in the league in 1922, but would finish mid-table in the next five seasons. Spurs were relegated in the 1927–28 season after McWilliam left. For most of the 1930s and 40s, Spurs languished in the Second Division, apart from a brief return to the top flight in the 1933–34 and 1934–35 seasons.[20]
Former Spurs player Arthur Rowe became manager in 1949. Rowe developed a style of play, known as "push and run", that proved to be successful in his early years as manager. He took the team back to the First Division after finishing top of the Second Division in the 1949–50 season.[21] In his second season in charge, Tottenham won their first ever top tier league championship title when they finished top of the First Division for the 1950–51 season.[22][23] Rowe resigned in April 1955 due to a stress-induced illness from managing the club.[24][25] Before he left, he signed one of Spurs' most celebrated players, Danny Blanchflower, who won the FWA Footballer of the Year twice while at Tottenham.[26]
Bill Nicholson and the glory years (1958–1974)
Bill Nicholson took over as manager in October 1958. He would become the club's most successful manager, guiding the team to major trophy success three seasons in a row in the early 1960s: the Double in 1961, the FA Cup in 1962 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963.[27] Nicholson signed Dave Mackay and John White in 1959, two influential players of the Double-winning team, and Jimmy Greaves in 1961, the most prolific goal-scorer in the history of the top tier of English football.[28][29]
The 1960–61 season started with a run of 11 wins, followed by a draw and another four wins, at that time the best ever start by any club in the top flight of English football.[30] The title was won on 17 April 1961 when they beat the eventual runner-up Sheffield Wednesday at home 2–1, with three more games still to play.[31] The Double was achieved when Spurs won 2–0 against Leicester City in the final of the 1960–61 FA Cup. It was the first Double of the 20th century, and the first since Aston Villa achieved the feat in 1897.[32] The next year Spurs won their second consecutive FA Cup after beating Burnley in the 1962 FA Cup Final.[33]
On 15 May 1963, Tottenham became the first British team to win a European trophy by winning the 1962–63 European Cup Winners' Cup when they beat Atlético Madrid 5–1 in the final.[34] Spurs also became the first British team to win two different European trophies when they won the 1971–72 UEFA Cup with a rebuilt team that included Martin Chivers, Pat Jennings, and Steve Perryman.[35] They had also won the FA Cup in 1967,[36] and two League Cups (in 1971 and 1973). In total, Nicholson won eight major trophies in his 16 years at the club as manager.[27]
Burkinshaw to Venables (1974–1992)
Spurs went into a period of decline after the successes of the early 1970s, and Nicholson resigned after a poor start to the 1974–75 season.[37] The team was then relegated at the end of the 1976–77 season with Keith Burkinshaw as manager. Burkinshaw quickly returned the club to the top flight, building a team that included Glenn Hoddle, as well as two Argentinians, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, whose signings were particularly uncommon in British football as foreign players from outside the British Isles were rare at that time.[38] The team that Burkinshaw rebuilt went on to win the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982[39] and the UEFA Cup in 1984.[40]
The 1980s was a period of change that began with a new phase of redevelopment at White Hart Lane, as well as a change of directors. Irving Scholar took over the club and moved it in a more commercial direction, the beginning of the transformation of English football clubs into commercial enterprises.[41][42] Debt at the club would again lead to a change in the boardroom, and Terry Venables teamed up with businessman Alan Sugar in June 1991 to take control of Tottenham Hotspur plc.[43][44][45] Venables, who had become manager in 1987, signed players such as Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker. Under Venables, Spurs won the 1990–91 FA Cup, making them the first club to win eight FA Cups.[46]
Premier League football (1992–present)
ottenham was one of the five clubs that pushed for the founding of the Premier League, created with the approval of The Football Association, replacing the Football League First Division as the highest division of English football.[47] Despite a succession of managers and players such as Teddy Sheringham, Jürgen Klinsmann and David Ginola, for a long period in the Premier League until the late 2000s, Spurs finished mid-table most seasons with few trophies won. They won the League Cup in 1999 under George Graham, and again in 2008 under Juande Ramos. Performance improved under Harry Redknapp with players such as Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić, and the club finished in the top five in the early 2010s.[48][49]
In February 2001, Sugar sold his share holding in Spurs to ENIC Sports plc, run by Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy, and stepped down as chairman.[50] Lewis and Levy would eventually own 85% of the club, with Levy responsible for the running of the club.[51][52] They appointed Mauricio Pochettino as head coach, who was in the role between 2014 and 2019.[53] Spurs finished second in the 2016–17 season, their highest placed league finish since the 1962–63 season.[54] In the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, Tottenham beat Manchester City and Ajax to advance to their first ever UEFA Champions League final, becoming the third club in London to reach a UEFA Champions League Final.[55] However, Tottenham lost the final against fellow English side Liverpool by a scoreline of 0–2.[56] Pochettino was subsequently sacked after a poor start to the 2019-20 season and was replaced by José Mourinho.[57]
Stadia/playing grounds
Early grounds
Spurs played their early matches on public land at the Park Lane end of Tottenham Marshes, where they had to mark out and prepare their own pitch.[7] Occasionally fights broke out on the marshes in disputes with other teams over the use of the ground.[58] The first Spurs game reported by the local press took place on Tottenham Marshes on 6 October 1883 against Brownlow Rovers, which Spurs won 9–0.[59] It was at this ground that, in 1887, Spurs first played the team that would later become their arch rivals, Arsenal (then known as Royal Arsenal), leading 2–1 until the match was called off due to poor light after the away team arrived late.[60]
As they played on public parkland, the club could not charge admission fees and, while the number of spectators grew to a few thousand, it yielded no gate receipts. In 1888, the club rented a pitch at Asplins Farm, next to the railway line at Northumberland Park, at a cost of £17 per annum, where spectators were charged 3d a game, raised to 6d for cup ties.[61] The first game at the Park was played on 13 October 1888, a reserve match that yielded gate receipts of 17 shillings. The first stand with just over 100 seats and changing rooms underneath was built at the ground for the 1894–95 season at a cost of £60. However, the stand was blown down a few weeks later and had to be repaired.[62] In April 1898, 14,000 fans turned up to watch Spurs play Woolwich Arsenal. Spectators climbed on the roof of the refreshment stand for a better view of the match. The stand collapsed, causing a few injuries. As Northumberland Park could no longer cope with the larger crowds, Spurs were forced to look for a larger ground and moved to the White Hart Lane site in 1899.[63]
White Hart Lane
The White Hart Lane ground was built on a disused plant nursery owned by the brewery Charringtons and located behind a public house named the White Hart on Tottenham High Road (the road White Hart Lane actually lies a few hundred yards north of the main entrance). The ground was initially leased from Charringtons, and the stands they used at Northumberland Park were moved here, giving shelter for 2,500 spectators.[64] Notts County were the first visitors to 'the Lane' in a friendly watched by 5,000 people and yielding £115 in receipts; Spurs won 4–1.[65] Queens Park Rangers became the first competitive visitors to the ground and 11,000 people saw them lose 1–0 to Tottenham. In 1905, Tottenham raised enough money to buy the freehold to the land, as well as land at the northern (Paxton Road) end.
After Spurs were admitted to the Football League, the club started to build a new stadium, with stands designed by Archibald Leitch being constructed over the next two and a half decades. The West Stand was added in 1909, the East Stand was also covered this year and extended further two years later. The profits from the 1921 FA Cup win were used to build a covered terrace at the Paxton Road end and the Park Lane end was built at a cost of over £3,000 some two years later. This increased the stadium's capacity to around 58,000, with room for 40,000 under cover. The East Stand (Worcester Avenue) was finished in 1934 and this increased capacity to around 80,000 spectators and cost £60,000
Starting in the early 1980s, the stadium underwent another major phase of redevelopment. The West Stand was replaced by an expensive new structure in 1982, and the East Stand was renovated in 1988. In 1992, following the Taylor Report's recommendation that Premier League clubs eliminate standing areas, the lower terraces of the south and east stand were converted to seating, with the North Stand becoming all-seater the following season. The South Stand redevelopment was completed in March 1995 and included the first giant Sony Jumbotron TV screen for live game coverage and away match screenings.[66] In the 1997–98 season the Paxton Road stand received a new upper tier and a second Jumbotron screen.[66] Minor amendments to the seating configuration were made in 2006, bringing the capacity of the stadium to 36,310.[64]
By the turn of the millennium, the capacity of White Hart Lane had become lower than other major Premier League clubs. Talks began over the future of the ground with a number of schemes considered, such as increasing the stadium capacity through redevelopment of the current site, or using of the 2012 London Olympic Stadium in Stratford.[67][68] Eventually the club settled on the Northumberland Development Project, whereby a new stadium would be built on a larger piece of land that incorporated the existing site. In 2016, the northeast corner of the stadium was removed to facilitate the construction of the new stadium. As this reduced the stadium capacity below that required for European games, Tottenham Hotspur played every European home game in 2016–17 at Wembley Stadium.[69] Domestic fixtures of the 2016–17 season continued to be played at the Lane, but demolition of the rest of the stadium started the day after the last game of the season,[70] and White Hart Lane was completely demolished by the end of July 2017.[71]
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
In October 2008, the club announced a plan to build a new stadium immediately to the north of the existing White Hart Lane stadium, with the southern half of the new stadium's pitch overlapping the northern part of the Lane.[72] This proposal would become the Northumberland Development Project. The club submitted a planning application in October 2009 but, following critical reactions to the plan, it was withdrawn in favour of a substantially revised planning application for the stadium and other associated developments. The new plan was resubmitted and approved by Haringey Council in September 2010,[73] and an agreement for the Northumberland Development Project was signed on 20 September 2011.[74]
After a long delay over the compulsory purchase order of local businesses located on land to the north of the stadium and a legal challenge against the order,[75][76] resolved in early 2015,[77] planning application for another new design was approved by Haringey Council on 17 December 2015.[78] Construction started in 2016,[79] and the new stadium was scheduled to open during the 2018–19 season.[80][81] While it was under construction, all Tottenham home games in the 2017–18 season as well as all but five in 2018–19 were played at Wembley Stadium.[82] After two successful test events, Tottenham Hotspur officially moved into the new ground on 3 April 2019[83] with a Premier League match against Crystal Palace which Spurs won 2–0.[84] The new stadium is called Tottenham Hotspur Stadium while a naming-rights agreement is reached.[85]
Training grounds
An early training ground used by Tottenham was located at Brookfield Lane in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. The club bought the 11-acre ground used by Cheshunt F.C. in 1952 for £35,000.[86][87] It had three pitches, including a small stadium with a small stand used for matches by the junior team.[88] The ground was later sold for over 4 million,[89] and the club moved the training ground to the Spurs Lodge on Luxborough Lane, Chigwell in Essex, opened in September 1996 by Tony Blair.[90] The training ground and press centre in Chigwell were used until 2014.[91]
In 2007, Tottenham bought a site at Bulls Cross in Enfield, a few miles south of their former ground in Cheshunt. A new training ground was constructed at the site for £45 million, which opened in 2012.[92] The 77-acre site has 15 grass pitches and one-and-a-half artificial pitches, as well as a covered artificial pitch in the main building.[93][94] The main building on Hotspur Way also has hydrotherapy and swimming pools, gyms, medical facilities, dining and rest areas for players as well as classrooms for academy and schoolboy players. A 45-bedroom players lodge with catering, treatment, rest and rehabilitation facilities was later added at Myddleton Farm next to the training site in 2018.[95][96] The lodge is mainly used by Tottenham's first team and Academy players, but it has also been used by national football teams – the first visitors to use the facilities at the site were the Brazilian team in preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[97]
Crest
Since the 1921 FA Cup final the Tottenham Hotspur crest has featured a cockerel. Harry Hotspur, after whom the club is named, was said to have been given the nickname Hotspur as he dug in his spurs to make his horse go faster as he charged in battles,[98] and spurs are also associated with fighting cocks.[99] The club used spurs as a symbol in 1900, which then evolved into a fighting cock.[98] A former player named William James Scott made a bronze cast of a cockerel standing on a football at a cost of £35, and this 9-foot 6-inch figure was then placed on top of the West Stand the end of the 1909–10 season.[98] Since then the cockerel and ball emblem has become a part of the club's identity.[100] The club badge on the shirt used in 1921 featured a cockerel within a shield, but it was changed to a cockerel sitting on a ball in the late 1960s.[99]
Between 1956 and 2006 Spurs used a faux heraldic shield featuring a number of local landmarks and associations. The castle is Bruce Castle, 400 yards from the ground and the trees are the Seven Sisters. The arms featured the Latin motto Audere Est Facere (to dare is to do).[58]
In 1983, to overcome unauthorised "pirate" merchandising, the club's badge was altered by adding the two red heraldic lions to flank the shield (which came from the arms of the Northumberland family, of which Harry Hotspur was a member), as well as the motto scroll. This device appeared on Spurs' playing kits for three seasons 1996–99.
In 2006, in order to rebrand and modernise the club's image, the club badge and coat of arms were replaced by a professionally designed logo/emblem.[101] This revamp displayed a sleeker and more elegant cockerel standing on an old-time football. The club claimed that they dropped their club name and would be using the rebranded logo only on playing kits.[102] In November 2013, Tottenham forced non-league club Fleet Spurs to change their badge because its new design was "too similar" to the Tottenham crest
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