# 1990–91 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

The 1990-91 season is the 109th season in existence of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, and their 13th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. In addition to the domestic league, the club participated in the FA Cup and the Football League Cup. Entering the 1990–91 season, Terry Venables stayed on as manager for his fourth season in charge of Tottenham with the team ending in tenth position. They won a record eighth FA Cup, beating Nottingham Forest in the final and they got knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Football League Cup by Chelsea.

## Season summary

Tottenham's league form was average at best: having stood in third place after 17 games, the club won only three of their next 21 league matches, slumping to tenth place in the final table. The club had better luck in the FA Cup: after defeating London arch-rivals (and that season's eventual champions) Arsenal in the semi-final, they defeated Nottingham Forest 2–1 in the final. As well as giving Tottenham their first post-Heysel European campaign (in the Cup Winners' Cup) and ending the club's seven-year trophy drought, the FA Cup win made Tottenham the first club to win the trophy eight times, although this record has since been surpassed by Arsenal and Manchester United.
The only downside of the FA Cup triumph was an injury to star midfielder Paul Gascoigne, who ruptured his cruciate ligaments in a tackle on Forest fullback Gary Charles early in the first half. The injury would put his transfer to Italian side Lazio on hold until the 1992–93 season. Gascoigne had earlier scored a tremendous free-kick in the 3–1 win against Arsenal in the semi-final (Gary Lineker scored Tottenham's other goals, with Arsenal's Alan Smith scoring Arsenal's goal).
Off the pitch the club were in danger of going into administration. With £20 million of debt (around £45 million equivalent in 2020) and shares in Tottenham Hotspur being suspended in the autumn of 1990, Irving Scholar resigned as Chairman of the club. In June 1991, manager Terry Venables and businessman, Alan Sugar, took over the club with equal shares and Alan Sugar being made chairman.

## Squad

    Squad at end of season

### First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Kevin Dearden |
| — | GK | ENG | Ian Walker |
| — | GK | NOR | Erik Thorstvedt |
| — | DF | ENG | Justin Edinburgh |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian Hendon |
| — | DF | ENG | Terry Fenwick |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Mabbutt (captain) |
| — | DF | ENG | Mitchell Thomas |
| — | DF | ENG | Dave Tuttle |
| — | DF | WAL | Pat Van Den Hauwe |
| — | DF | IRL | David McDonald |
| — | DF | ISL | Guðni Bergsson |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Allen |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Garland |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Gascoigne |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Danny Hill |
| — | MF | ENG | Scott Houghton |
| — | MF | ENG | David Howells |
| — | MF | ENG | John Moncur |
| — | MF | ENG | Vinny Samways |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Robson |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Sedgley |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Stewart |
| — | MF | ESP | Nayim |
| — | FW | ENG | Gary Lineker |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul Moran |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul Walsh |
| — | FW | SCO | John Hendry |
| — | FW | NIR | Phil Gray |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Neil Smith |
| — | MF | ENG | Nick Barmby |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Ollie Morah |

## Transfers
### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Player | To | Date until |
| 24 August 1990 | GK | Kevin Dearden | Peterborough United | 24 October 1990 |
| 31 August 1990 | GK | Ian Walker | Oxford United | 15 November 1990 |
| 27 September 1990 | DF | David McDonald | Gillingham | 31 May 1991 |
| 25 October 1990 | DF | Terry Fenwick | Leicester City | 24 December 1990 |
| 16 November 1990 | GK | Ian Walker | Ipswich Town | May 1991 |
| November 1990 | FW | Phil Gray | Fulham | December 1990 |
| November 1990 | DF | Chris Hughton | West Ham United | December 1990 |
| 10 January 1991 | GK | Kevin Dearden | Hull City | 10 February 1991 |
| 28 March 1991 | DF | Brian Statham | Reading | 1 July 1991 |

### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. |
| 1 July 1990 | DF | | Justin Edinburgh | Southend United | £150,000 | |
| 31 July 1990 | FW | | John Hendry | Dundee | £50,000 | |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 24 July 1990 | DF | John Polston | Norwich City | £300,000 |
| 28 September 1990 | DF | Guy Butters | Portsmouth | £375,000 |
| 22 December 1990 | GK | Bobby Mimms | Blackburn Rovers | £250,000 |
| 31 December 1990 | DF | Chris Hughton | West Ham United | Free transfer |

### Overall transfer activity
## Kit

The FA Cup final saw Tottenham debut a longer style of shorts as part of their kit. Although the long shorts were ridiculed at first, within the decade all clubs in English football would have adopted the style.

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| First Division | 25 August 1990 | 20 May 1991 | Matchday 1 | 10th | 38 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 028.95 |
| FA Cup | 5 January 1991 | 18 May 1991 | Third round | Winners | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 100.00 |
| League Cup | 26 September 1990 | 23 January 1991 | Second round | Quarter-finals | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 066.67 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 50 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 76 | 61 | +15 | 042.00 |
Source: Competitions

### First Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 65 | 50 | +15 | 54 | |
| 9 | Everton | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 51 | |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 49 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round |
| 11 | Chelsea | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 58 | 69 | −11 | 49 | |
| 12 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 46 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A |
| Result | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | W | D | L | D | L | D | D | D | W | L | L | D | D | D | L | D |
| Position | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Points | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 39 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 48 | 49 |

#### Matches
### Football League Cup
## Statistics
### Appearances

Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source:
| Pos. | Name | First Division | First Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| GK | Erik Thorstvedt | 37 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| GK | Ian Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | Kevin Dearden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| DF | Guðni Bergsson | 9+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9+3 | 1 |
| DF | Justin Edinburgh | 14+2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 24+2 | 1 |
| DF | Terry Fenwick | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Ian Hendon | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| DF | Gary Mabbutt | 35 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 47 | 3 |
| DF | Mitchell Thomas | 23+8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 29+9 | 0 |
| DF | Dave Tuttle | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 |
| DF | Pat Van Den Hauwe | 31+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| MF | Peter Garland | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Allen | 34+2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46+2 | 3 |
| MF | Paul Gascoigne | 26 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4+1 | 6 | 36+1 | 19 |
| MF | David Howells | 29 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 4 |
| MF | John Moncur | 4+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 |
| MF | Nayim | 32+1 | 5 | 3+2 | 1 | 2+3 | 0 | 37+6 | 6 |
| MF | Vinny Samways | 14+9 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22+10 | 1 |
| MF | Steve Sedgley | 33+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 41+4 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Stewart | 35 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 46 | 9 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| FW | Phil Gray | 3+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 |
| FW | John Hendry | 2+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 2 |
| FW | Gary Lineker | 32 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 43 | 19 |
| FW | Paul Moran | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| FW | Paul Walsh | 16+13 | 7 | 1+3 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 20+19 | 7 |
Last updated: 15 May 1999 Source:

### Goal scorers

Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source:
| Rnk | Pos | Player | First Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | Paul Gascoigne | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| 1 | FW | Gary Lineker | 15 | 3 | 1 | 19 |
| 3 | MF | Paul Stewart | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | FW | Paul Walsh | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | MF | Nayim | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | MF | David Howells | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | Paul Allen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | DF | Gary Mabbutt | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | FW | John Hendry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | DF | Guðni Bergsson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | DF | Justin Edinburgh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | Vinny Samways | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 51 | 13 | 11 | 75 |

### Clean sheets

Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source:
| Rnk | Player | First Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | Erik Thorstvedt | 12 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
| Total | Total | 12 | 1 | 3 | 16 |