Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

**Tottenham Hotspur Football Club**, commonly referred to as **Tottenham** 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. 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 collected at least one major trophy in each of the six decades from the 1950s to 2000s – an achievement only matched by Manchester United. 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 in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League. They have a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Arsenal, with whom they contest the North London derby.

### History

#### Formation and early years (1882–1908)

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. 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. 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.Nicknames for the club include "Spurs" and "the Lilywhites".

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

#### **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.

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. 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. Rowe resigned in April 1955 due to a stress-induced illness from managing the club. 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.

#### Bill Nicholson and the glory years (1958–1974)

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.

#### 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. 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. The team that Burkinshaw rebuilt went on to win the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the UEFA Cup in 1984.

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. 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. 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.

#### Premier League football (1992–present)

Tottenham 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. 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.

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. Lewis and Levy would eventually own 85% of the club, with Levy responsible for the running of the club. They appointed Mauricio Pochettino as head coach, who was in the role between 2014 and 2019. Under Pochettino, Spurs finished second in the 2016–17 season, their highest placed league finish since the 1962–63 season, and advanced to the UEFA Champions League final in 2019, the club's first UEFA Champions League final, ultimately losing the final to Liverpool 2-0. Pochettino was subsequently sacked after a poor start to the 2019-20 season and was replaced by José Mourinho.

### Rivalries

Tottenham supporters have rivalries with several clubs, mainly within the London area. The fiercest of these is with north London rivals Arsenal. The rivalry began in 1913 when Arsenal moved from the Manor Ground, Plumstead to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, and this rivalry intensified in 1919 when Arsenal were unexpectedly promoted to the First Division, taking a place that Tottenham believed should have been theirs. They also share notable rivalries with fellow London clubs Chelsea and West Ham United.

### Support

Tottenham has a large fanbase in the United Kingdom, drawn largely from North London and the Home counties. The attendance figures for its home matches, however, have fluctuated over the years. Five times between 1950 and 1962, Tottenham had the highest average attendance in England. Tottenham was 9th in average attendances for the 2008–09 Premier League season, and 11th for all Premier League seasons. In the 2017–18 season when Tottenham used Wembley as its home ground, it had the second highest attendance in the Premier League. There are many official supporters' clubs located around the world, while an independent supporters club, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust, is officially recognised by the club as the representative body for Spurs supporters.

Historically, the club had a significant Jewish following from the Jewish communities in east and north London, with around a third of its supporters estimated to be Jewish in the 1930s. Due to this early support, all three chairmen of the club since 1984 have been Jewish businessmen with prior history of supporting the club.