Legends, Heros And Flopstars

4 - Glenn Hoddle

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:46:50 -0500

Another Legend today guys, in no specific order (with the exception of bill nich of course)

due to the erm faltering success of rebrov the other day ( i dont really blame the lack of interest.... same treatment after hes gone as when he was there)

anyways comments are welcome and would be appreciated.

a lot of this has come from wikipedia as the information available was all i needed, as always i don't take credit for the majority of what is written i simply pass the information on with images and what not, i add to the text when necessary and try to change the text enough to keep interest.

feedback would be amazing, which players next and what not.

enjoy.

Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957 in Hayes, Middlesex) is an English football manager and former footballer who played as a attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England.

In 2007 he was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame which cited him as the most gifted English footballer of his generation exhibiting "sublime balance and close control, unrivalled passing and vision and extraordinary shooting ability, both from open play and set pieces".

He has had spells as manager of Swindon Town (earning promotion to the Premier League), Chelsea (taking them to the FA Cup final), Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur (reaching a League Cup final) and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As manager, he took England to the World Cup second round in 1998 only to lose to Argentina on penalties. Hoddle was dismissed as manager of the national team after he suggested that disabled people were being punished for sins in a previous life.

Tottenham Hotspur (1975–1987)

Hoddle joined the club as a schoolboy apprentice in April 1974 following the recommendation of another Tottenham legend, Martin Chivers. He successfully overcame knee problems in his early teens and collected England Youth caps prior to making his first-team debut as a 17-year-old substitute against Norwich City in August 1975. Spurs drew 2–2. Hoddle was forced to wait until February 1976 to start a First Division match and immediately announced his arrival with a spectacular strike past Stoke City and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

The talented playmaker flourished under the management of Keith Burkinshaw and despite the club's relegation to the Second Division in 1976–77 after 27 seasons of First Division football, a Hoddle inspired Spurs side won promotion to the top flight at the first attempt. As Tottenham's transitional phase continued, Hoddle's enigmatic and often controversial international career began in December 1976 against Wales in an Under-21 fixture. He would collect another seven caps at that level and play twice for the England 'B' team prior to scoring on his full international debut against Bulgaria in November 1979.

The 1979–80 campaign heralded the emergence of Hoddle as a top-class player, the 22-year-old midfielder scored 19 goals in 41 league appearances and was deservedly awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award at the end of the season. Hoddle's attacking skills, utilised both in the center of midfield and on the wing, were simply breathtaking and often at odds with the ingrained British football philosophy of tireless running and a strong work ethic. His sublime balance and close control, unrivalled passing and vision and extraordinary shooting ability, both from open play and set pieces, made Hoddle the most gifted English player of his generation.

In 1981, he starred as Spurs won the FA Cup for the sixth time, defeating Manchester City in a memorable replay and the following season Tottenham retained the FA Cup (Hoddle scored in both the Final and Final replay) and finished the League campaign in fourth place, the club's best league position since 1971. Hoddle performed as the midfield fulcrum in many of these successes and also contributed magnificently as the team reached the final of the League Cup, losing 3–1 to Liverpool, and the semi-final stage of the European Cup Winners Cup. During the summer of 1982, Hoddle played in two of England's matches in the opening group phase of the FIFA World Cup, starting against Kuwait after a substitute appearance in a 2–0 victory over Czechoslovakia.

Hoddle's involvement in the following three seasons was limited by a number of niggling injury problems (he started only 76 of a possible 126 league matches) but nevertheless, Hoddle proved to be the architect behind the team's 1984 UEFA Cup triumph despite missing the Final due to fitness concerns. In October 1983, he dazzled the White Hart Lane crowd with a phenomenal second-round display as Spurs won 6–2 on aggregate against a Feyenoord Rotterdam side containing the legendary Johan Cruyff. Such was the quality of his performance in both matches, the Dutch legend entered the Tottenham dressing room and offered Hoddle his shirt as a sign of respect.

Spurs came close to further honours in the next three seasons, reaching third place in the First Division and the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1984-85 and another FA Cup Final in 1987, losing 3–2 to Coventry City, the only time the North London club has experienced defeat in the final of the famous knock-out competition. The unexpected loss to the Midlands side was Hoddle's last match for Spurs as newly-appointed AS Monaco manager Arsene Wenger brought him to the principality for a fee of £750,000. Between 1975 and 1987, the gifted playmaker scored 110 goals in 490 first-team matches in all competitions, only four players (Steve Perryman, Pat Jennings, Gary Mabbutt and Cyril Knowles) have made more appearances in a Spurs shirt. At international level, Hoddle won 44 caps for England during his Tottenham career, an inadequate return for such a skilful and charismatic footballer.

AS Monaco (1987–1991)

Hoddle announced in 1987 that he would be leaving Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the season to pursue a career overseas where his style of play would be appreciated by continental managers and supporters. He joined AS Monaco alongside George Weah and fellow Englishman Mark Hateley and immediately inspired the club to the 1988 Ligue 1 championship, its first league title in six seasons. Hoddle was voted the Best Foreign Player in French football and would guide the team to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in the 1988–89 campaign. Arsene Wenger was the coach who brought to Monaco and ironically Hoddle would go on to face his former manager in the heated North London Derby of Arsenal vs Tottenham. Sadly, a severe knee injury curtailed his career at the highest level and in December 1990, the 33-year-old left the club by mutual consent having helped to improve the standing of English footballers in foreign countries.

During his three and a half year spell in France, Hoddle represented England nine times, making his international farewell against the Soviet Union in June 1988. He returned to England and signed for Chelsea on a non-contract basis, leaving Stamford Bridge in March 1991 without playing a senior match to assume his first managerial post as player-manager of Swindon Town.

England international career (1979–1988)

Though regarded as a genius with the ball at his feet, Hoddle was considered an enigmatic and unreliable player to international managers guilty of over-emphasising hard work and physical prowess instead of technical ability and attacking creativity. He was included in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup squads, playing an important role in the latter campaign when England reached the quarter-finals against Argentina. Hoddle was one of the England players left behind by Diego Maradona as he burst from inside his own half to score his second goal in England's 2–1 defeat. Hoddle also featured prominently in the European Championship squads of 1980 and 1988, making his 53rd and final international appearance during the latter tournament.

Hoddle's talent is widely appreciated abroad; less so in England. Arsene Wenger, who worked with him at Monaco, recalled: 'His control was superb and he had perfect body balance. His skill in both feet was uncanny... I couldn't understand why he hadn't been appreciated in England. Perhaps he was a star in the wrong period, years ahead of his time.'

Michel Platini famously attacked the English for neglecting creativity; had Hoddle been born French, he said, 'he would have won 150 caps'. As Jean-Luc Ettori, Monaco's club captain at the time, put it: 'For us Glenn was le bon dieu - he was a god. There's nothing else to say.'

Managerial career

Swindon Town (1991–1993)

Hoddle arrived at a troubled club with The Robins badly affected by a financial scandal which had seen them stripped of promotion to the First Division at the end of the 1989–90 season, a controversy which had negatively impacted the team's league form. Hoddle prevented Swindon from slipping into the Third Division and further improvement throughout the 1991–92 season saw the Wiltshire club finish ninth, just missing out on a play-off place. Swindon reached the new Division One play-offs in 1993 and beat Leicester City 4–3 at Wembley, and were then promoted to the Premier League. The 36-year-old Hoddle was one of the most highly rated young managers in England and many bigger clubs were demanding his services. He eventually returned to Chelsea and was succeeded at Swindon by his assistant and former Spurs team-mate John Gorman.

Chelsea (1993–1996)

In June 1993, Hoddle became player-manager of Chelsea (he retired from the playing side in 1995). His assistant at Chelsea was the former Tottenham manager Peter Shreeves, and they reached the FA Cup final in Hoddle's first season, where they lost 4–0 to Manchester United. But United had done the double, and consolation for their failure to win the trophy came in the form of a Cup Winners' Cup place. Chelsea reached the semi finals of that competition in 1994–95 and lost by a single goal to Real Zaragoza, who went on to beat Arsenal in the final. Hoddle guided Chelsea to the FA Cup Semi Finals in 1995–96, but was unable to take them beyond 11th place in the Premiership – they had occupied this final position three times in four years. He did establish them as a force in cup competitions and made them capable of attracting top-class players – such as Ruud Gullit – to the club.

England (1996–1999)

Hoddle's three-year reign at Chelsea came to an end in 1996 when he accepted the England manager's job. He guided England to qualification for the 1998 World Cup, securing the team's entry with a memorable 0–0 draw in Rome against Italy. However, he caused controversy by omitting Paul Gascoigne from the squad and installing supposed faith healer Eileen Drewery as part of the England coaching staff, which led to the team being dubbed "The Hod Squad".They reached the Second Round of the 1998 tournament, losing on penalties to Argentina in a game noted for the ignominious sending off of David Beckham. Hoddle came under fire after a disappointing start to the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign. Hoddle's time in charge of the national team was, sometime later, praised by Harry Redknapp who believed him to have been the "perfect man for the job".

Dismissal from England job

“

"My beliefs have evolved in the last eight or nine years, that the spirit has to come back again, that is nothing new, that has been around for thousands of years. You have to come back to learn and face some of the things you have done, good and bad. There are too many injustices around."

"You and I have been physically given two hands and two legs and half-decent brains. Some people have not been born like that for a reason. The karma is working from another lifetime. I have nothing to hide about that. It is not only people with disabilities. What you sow, you have to reap."

"You have to look at things that happened in your life and ask why. It comes around."

”

—Glenn Hoddle, from Matt Dickinson interview

On 30 January 1999, with the England team preparing for Euro 2000, and amidst the fall-out from the previous seasons World Cup, Hoddle appeared in an interview with Matt Dickinson of The Times newspaper in an attempt to defend himself against his critics (over issues such as Eileen Drewery and his faith) and show a strong front for the remainder of the qualifiers.

Dickinson's interview suggested that Hoddle had a "controversial belief that the disabled, and others, are being punished for sins in a former life."Hoddle's comments were criticised by several notable politicians including Sports Minister Tony Banks and then Prime Minister Tony Blair. Public opinion, based upon the immediate media furore resulted in (according to one BBC poll) 90% of respondents believing Hoddle should not continue as English coach. However the BBC survey showed that while many considered his comments insensitive to the disabled, others defended his right to express his religious beliefs by claiming that to sack him would constitute religious discrimination.

Hoddle stated that he was not prepared to resign and claimed his words were misinterpreted and pointed out his contributions and commitment to organisations helping the disabled. The Football Association terminated Hoddle's contract on 2 February 1999, which was welcomed by representatives of disabled groups. The disabled rights campaigner Lord Ashley however, while criticising Hoddle's views, defended his right to express them, likening the campaign against Hoddle to a "witchhunt" and considered Hoddle's dismissal "a sad day for British tolerance and freedom of speech" a view which was shared by the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail and in several foreign newspapers. Some writers considered the remarks were used as a pretext to get rid of him. Hoddle apologised for the offence that had been caused, stating it had never been his intention and continued to fundraise for disabled groups after being dismissed.

Southampton (2000–2001)

Hoddle was back in football within a year as Southampton manager, succeeding Dave Jones, who had been suspended in order to concentrate on clearing his name in connection with child abuse charges. Although these charges were later found to be false, Jones was not re-instated and Hoddle continued to be manager. Hoddle kept the Saints in the Premier League against all odds but left acrimoniously in March 2001 to return to Tottenham as manager.

Tottenham Hotspur (2001–2003)

Tottenham's league record in the decade leading up to Hoddle's appointment was disappointing. Hoddle was determined to establish them as a top playing side, and during his first season he had some wonderful opportunities to succeed. Tottenham reached the League Cup final but lost 2–1 to Blackburn Rovers. The club's promising early season form dwindled away into mediocrity and they finished ninth in the Premiership, an improvement on the previous season's 11th place but hardly impressive. Spurs began the 2002–03 season in fine form and Hoddle was named Premiership Manager of the Month for August 2002 after they ended the month top of the league. Although few people expected them to stay there, 10th place in the final table was still disappointing. The pressure began to build up on Hoddle and he was sacked in September 2003 after a poor start to the season, in which the team picked up just four points from their opening six league games and lay in the Premiership drop zone. Ironically, his final game in charge was a 3–1 loss to old side Southampton.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (2004–2006)

Hoddle was linked with a return to Southampton in early 2004, but opposition from supporters meant chairman Rupert Lowe pursued alternative targets. Instead he returned to management in December 2004 with Wolverhampton Wanderers, again succeeding Dave Jones. Wolves lost only one of remaining 25 games but failed to reach the play-offs because 15 of those games had been draws. Wolves were expected to finish in the top 6 under Hoddle in the 2005-2006 season but again draws cost them with Wolves drawing 19 of their 43 league games. They were also one of the lowest goalscoring teams in the division scoring just 50 goals in the league all season. Wolves finish 7th 8 points off the playoffs. wolves fans turned against hoddle and their were chants against him during the last home game of the season against watford. The board kept faith with Hoddle, but he stepped down on 1 July 2006, stating differing expectations between himself and the club as the reason for his departure^.

He has yet to make a return to management. His name was linked with the manager's job at Leeds United (owned by former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates) when Kevin Blackwell was sacked in September 2006, but the job went to Dennis Wise instead.

so there you go.

hope you enjoyed.

till next time :)

LEGENDS BONUS: heres the old favourite :D

that wasnt the real bonus..... here's some highlights of glenns career :)

3 - Segei Rebrov

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:16:35 -0500

short one today guys, had the legends now its time for one of the flopstars and who better to start with then the record buy Sergei Rebrov.

I couldn't find much in all honesty regarding him, not the reason i skipped a day with this.... i'm just lazy.

i haven't been receiving many comments with this one, i know people are reading it so feel free to comment positive or negative, suggestions on who i should include and arguments about people i may have included.

anyways on with the festivities apologies if you think its shit... mostly from wikipedia today :(

Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov (Ukrainian: Сергій Ребров, born on March 6, 1974 in Horlivka, Donetsk region) is a Ukrainian football forward turned midfielder, member of the Ukrainian national team, which he helped qualify for the 2006 World Cup, the nation's first ever World Cup. Rebrov gained international fame as an attacking partner of Andriy Shevchenko at Dynamo Kyiv throughout the 1990s and is known for his technical ability as well as his finishing. Rebrov is currently in his new club Rubin Kazan having also previously played for Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham Hotspur, Fenerbahçe and West Ham United.

Club career

Rebrov joined Shakhtar Donetsk as a youth in 1990. In his debut 1991 season, then a 17-year old, he scored 2 goals in 7 games in the USSR Premier League. In his second season, playing in the newly established Ukrainian Premier League, he became a joint 3rd goalscorer, catching the eye of Dynamo Kyiv scouts. Rebrov moved to Dynamo Kyiv in August 1992 and has since become the highest all-time scorer in the Ukrainian Premier League. As of April 3, 2007, his total tally in the league with Shakhtar and Dynamo was 120 goals in 249 games.

He scored several key goals in European competitions, notably in the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons of the UEFA Champions League, including a famous goal against Barcelona from a tight angle. Dynamo reached the Champions League semi-final in 1999 but lost to Bayern Munich on aggregate. In the 1999-00 season Rebrov became a joint top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 10 goals (including 2 goals in qualification games) as Dynamo progressed to the last sixteen before going out on head-to-head record against Real Madrid. As of September 14, 2006 Rebrov remained a joint 13th all-time scorer in the history of the Champions League/European Cup with 30 goals.

In June 2000 he was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur for £11 million,but after the sacking of George Graham in March 2001, he was frozen out by new manager Glenn Hoddle as he wasn't producing the goods really 10 goals in 60 games! He made excuse after excuse but to put it simple he was crap, regardless of how many goals hes scored in europe he can only do that in his home country. He went out on two consecutive loan spells to Fenerbahçe and subsequently signed a one year contract with West Ham United where he scored a single goal in 29 appearances.... not that great for a supposed "great of Europe".

On June 1, 2005, Rebrov became a free agent after declining to re-sign and two days later he signed a new two-year contract with Dynamo Kyiv, with the option of a one year extension. In the new 2005-06 season, Rebrov became Dynamo's top scorer with 13 goals, two behind league joint top scorers Brandão and Okoduwa, despite playing in midfield. Rebrov also topped the league in points (goals plus assists) and was named player of the season according to a poll of team coaches and captains.

In July 2007 Rebrov became Dynamo captain. In the 2007-08 season he was getting less playing time, starting only 7 out of 18 matches before the winter break. His contribution in some games was heavily criticised by the press. It was reported that Rebrov could move to Arsenal Kyiv during the transfer window. However, under new coach Yuri Semin Rebrov started all games and was named best player at the close season Channel One Cup. In February 2008 Dynamo president Ihor Surkis stated that the club was planning talks with Rebrov with a view of extending his contract. Shortly thereafter Rebrov received an offer of a two-year contract from Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan. On March 3, 2008 Dynamo announced that Rebrov had signed a two-year contract with Rubin and would join the new club at the end of the season, in summer 2008. With the Russian season starting in spring, Rubin eventually agreed a $1 million compensation with Dynamo for Rebrov's early release from his contract.

National team career

Rebrov's club exploits earned him a recall to the national team and a ticket to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where he scored a long range shot against Saudi Arabia as Ukraine progressed to the quarterfinals before going down to Italy.

thats it, cantfind much else... cant find those rare UK goals or anything.

next time back to the legends me thinks....

comments please :)

2 - Jimmy Greaves

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:44:33 -0500

The 2nd In The Series.

James Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves - born 20/2/1940

Greaves grew up during the war years, soon becoming a Spurs supporter, preferring to trek from the East End to White Hart Lane rather than the nearer Upton Park at a time West Ham were nothing more than Second Division nonentities. Spurs were exciting to watch as they had invented the concept of push and run rather than hoofing the ball and hoping it would be a damn long time before the ball came back.

During the autumn of 1954, it looked likely that Greaves would join the Tottenham staff but, at a vital moment, manager Rowe collapsed with the worry of the likelihood of relegation as his side grew too old. Greaves was quickly taken under the wing of one Jimmy Thompson, a one-man Pied Piper, who led so many East End boys to Chelsea, particularly players like Peter Brabrook, Barry Bridges and others. Greaves was a smash hit in the Chelsea Youth side. In the 1956-57 season, he scored 114 goals for the Chelsea Youth team he moved on to finish as top League goalscorer twice whilst at Chelsea in 1959 and 1961 and his 41 league goals in the 1960-61 season remains a club record. Despite this, they never won any major trophies while he was playing for them.

During the 1960-61 season, footballers were increasingly restive as the Players Union, led by Jimmy Hill, fought to improve their wages. They felt they should be paid for what they were worth rather than what the Chairmen thought they could spare. There was talk of a strike but it fizzled out when the Football League conceded the players had a case. In the meantime, Greaves could not wait and agreed to transfer to AC Milan. No sooner had that deal been concluded than the Football League agreed that players could be paid what their clubs could afford to pay.

Greaves was not happy in Italy, It soon became evident that Milan were also not happy. Bill Nicholson then signed him for Tottenham Hotspur for £99,999. The unusual fee was intended to relieve Greaves of the pressure of being the first £100,000 player.

Greaves' first appearance for Spurs was actually for the Reserves at Plymouth Argyle. But on his debut for Spurs on 16th December 1961, against Blackpool, Greaves scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 thrashing.

Greaves enjoyed a legendary career at Tottenham. He played at Spurs from 1961 to 1970, scoring a club record of 266 goals in 379 matches, including 220 goals in the First Division. Greaves finished as top League goalscorer in four seasons (1963, 1964, 1965 and 1969), an achievement that established Greaves as arguably the most consistent striker in English football history. His record of finishing top goalscorer in six seasons has never been matched.

With Spurs, Greaves won the FA Cup in 1962 and 1967, scoring against Burnley in the former. He also won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1963 - scoring twice in the famous 5-1 defeat of Atlético Madrid, ensuring that Spurs became the first British club to win a European trophy.

at the end of the 1969-1970 season Greaves had gone as makeweight in the deal that brought Martin Peters to Tottenham from West Ham He scored on his debut, (as he had for every team he played for, including England at full and under 21 level), with two goals against Manchester City on March 21. Two months later, on May 28, he finished sixth in the London-to-Mexico World Cup Rally with co-driver Tony Fall. He retired in 1971 having played 516 Football League games and netted 357 goals, an all-time record.

Greaves made a comeback at the age of 38, playing for Barnet F.C. in the then Southern League, playing from midfield he netted 25 goals and was their player of the season. He then went on to make several appearances for semi-professional side Woodford Town F.C. before retiring.

International career

Greaves won his first England cap in 1959, and went on to play 57 times and score 44 goals, five less than Bobby Charlton but at a much higher rate. He remains third in the all-time list of England goalscorers, behind Charlton and Gary Lineker. Greaves also holds the record for most hat-tricks for England - six in all. At the 1961 British Home Championship, Greaves achieved the remarkable feat of scoring seven goals in three games as England won the title.

In the 1962 World Cup finals match against Brazil in Chile, a stray dog ran on to the pitch and evaded all of the players' efforts to catch it until Greaves got down on all fours to beckon the animal. Though successful in catching the dog, it proceeded to urinate all over Greaves' England shirt. The Brazilian player Garrincha thought the incident was so amusing that he took the dog home as a pet.(see video here)

Greaves was the first-choice striker for the England team during the 1966 World Cup but suffered a leg injury during a game against France and had to be replaced. That replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored the winner in the quarter final against Argentina and kept his place all the way to the final, famously scoring a hat-trick as England won the tournament.

One of football's most famous photographs shows the elation on the England bench as the final whistle was blown, except for Greaves, in his suit and tie, looking astonished at what had happened. Greaves has always maintained that he felt nothing but delight at England's win and celebrated as much as the other non-playing members of the squad. He also maintains that he never felt he had a divine right to be in the side once he regained his fitness. However, his reaction at the time of England's success became well-documented - he packed his bags and headed on holiday with his wife while the rest of the squad attended an official banquet.

Post playing career

In the mid-1970s Greaves battled a well-documented alcohol problem, finally quitting drinking in February 1978. He became a popular television presenter and football pundit, striking up a memorable partnership with Ian St. John. Together they hosted a popular Saturday lunchtime football show called Saint and Greavsie from 1985 until the programme was axed in 1992.

Greaves also worked frequently for TV-am as a TV critic and was a resident team captain on ITVSporting Triangles as well as co-hosting the popular Saturday morning kids TV show, The Saturday Show. He briefly had his own talk show and has been a columnist for The Sun newspaper for many years. He also answered readers letters in Shoot magazine in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2002 Greaves was made an Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame. He released his autobiography, Greavsie, in 2003 and is in demand as an after-dinner speaker.

A True Lane Legend

(Information and statistics courtesy of Spurs Odyssey and wikipedia)

1 - Bill Nicholson - Mr Tottenham Hotspur

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:42:06 -0500

The date on the calendar was March 16, 1936 when 17-year-old William Nicholson presented himself at White Hart Lane. He could never have imagined on that day that over the next sixty-eight years he would become the most important figure in the club's history.

In 1936 Nicholson was invited for a trial with Tottenham Hotspur. He recalls: "When the letter came no-one knew what to do. We weren't even sure exactly where Tottehnam was. My mother and father had never once seen me play football. They knew I was keen, but had no idea whether I was any good or not."

The letter which took Nicholson - one of nine children - from Scarborough to Tottenham was treasured by his mother for many years. Bill left his job looking after a washing machine in a laundry in Scarborough to try his luck at football. Spurs paid him £2 a week.

From that moment on, his life in football was devoted to Tottenham Hotspur.

He had a month's trial at White Hart Lane, and was taken on as a ground-staff boy. "We were cheap labour really," he said later, "I think I painted every single girder under those stands out there, eight to five we worked, every weekday. We trained two afternoons a week, including a lot of running around the pitch."

Nicholson signed as a full professional aged 18, on the same day as Ron Burgess. The two youngsters played a few odd games for the first team before 1939, but on the outbreak of war, Bill joined the Durham Light Infantry. Because he was a professional footballer, he was sent on a PE course and soon became a sergeant-instructor. He trained new intakes throughout the war, eventually ending up in Italy where he took over a rest camp from Stan Cullis.

He probably lost half his playing career to the war, but he doesn't regret it because he is convinced that his wartime experiences made what came afterwards possible. "It was invaluable. What I did for six years in the Army taught me how to handle people and how to talk to people," Bill recalled.

In 1946 Bill went straight into the Tottenham first team at centre half for two seasons. He then moved to right half and stayed there until Danny Blanchflower took over the position in 1954. As a solid, dependable, ball-winning, hard-tackling and robust half back, Bill was a vital part of Arthur Rowe's legendary "push and run" Tottenham team, which won the league championship in 1950-51.

He made his full international debut for England on 19 May 1951 against Portugal at Goodison Park, and made an immediate impression by scoring with his first touch of the ball after only 19 seconds.

Sadly this was to be his only cap, due to injuries, the dominance of the outstanding Billy Wright and on many occasions putting club before country because in his words: "My duty is to get fit for Tottenham. Well, they pay my wages, don't they?"

With one eye on the end of his playing career, Bill took an FA coaching course and joined the coaching staff at Tottenham upon his retirement as a player. He soon rose through the ranks of the coaching staff to become first team coach in 1955.

At lunch-time on 11 October 1958, Nicholson was called to the Tottenham boardroom and appointed manager of the club in succession to Jimmy Anderson. That afternoon in the club's first game under Bill Nicholson's management, Tottenham Hotspur beat Everton 10-4 at White Hart Lane.

Only two seasons later, Bill Nicholson wrote the name Tottenham Hotspur into the history books when he led the team to the first league and FA Cup double of the modern era. Tottenham quite simply decimated all opposition in that season, winning their first eleven games and scoring an incredible 115 goals in 42 games.

The following season Tottenham retained the FA Cup and narrowly missed out on a place in the European Cup Final, falling to Benfica in the semi-final. Then in 1962-63, Nicholson again put Tottenham Hotspur in the history books when they became the first British club to win a major European trophy. On 15 May 1963 in Rotterdam, Tottenham destroyed favourites Atletico Madrid 5-1 to win the European Cup Winners Cup.

In 1967 Nicholson took Tottenham back to Wembley, where they won their third FA Cup in seven years by beating Chelsea in the first-ever all-London final. This was followed by a flurry of trophies in the early 1970's. The League Cup was won in 1970-71 and 1972-73.

In between those two League Cup victories, Nicholson wrote Tottenham's name in the history books yet again. Tottenham beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the UEFA Cup Final, making them the first British club to win two European trophies.

With dramatic changes to the game as a whole taking place during the early to mid-1970's - in particular negative tactics, player power and general attitudes - Bill felt he could no longer tolerate being in an industry which was in contrast to his upbringing and personality. He resigned as Tottenham manager in September 1974, and a parting of the ways took place between the club and Bill, which was unfortunate. A brief sojourn followed, as Bill spent a year assisting West Ham United.

However, when Bill's successor Terry Neill was replaced by Keith Burkinshaw in 1976, one of the new manager's first requests was that Bill be brought back to White Hart Lane as a consultant. Bill's knowledge and experience were invaluable, and he showed that he still had an eye for players by recommending several to Burkinshaw, including Graham Roberts, Tony Galvin and a young Gary Mabbutt.

Bill continued to work as a consultant until 1991, when he was awarded the title of Club President. This was the perfect title for Bill, and his position as the club's figurehead could not have been more appropriate.

Mr Nicholson continued to attend every match that his beloved Tottenham Hotspur played at White Hart Lane until shortly before he passed away on 23rd October 2004, aged 85.