Hotspur Towers - Fireworks

The Fifth of November in the United Kingdom is known as Fireworks Night for reasons that are unimportant here. While we wait for kick off I wondered if you would be interested in checking out what fireworks Spurs have produced over the years on this date. I’m sure we can find a few crackers !

In chronological order we start by going back to when the club had just celebrated its tenth birthday.

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1892 and we played Windsor and Eton away in the Southern Alliance competition. The game finished in a 2-1 win. One of our goal scorers was Weston the other is unknown. This early league completion only ran for a year. We played one other game that century and it fell in 1898 our last season at Northumberland Park when we hosted Reading in the Southern League. A 3-0 victory, McKay, Cameron and Bradshaw scored for us
 
The new century saw a friendly in 1900 with Cambridge University and crowd of 1,500 watched us win 3-1. We move to 1904 and QPR are our latest victims as we beat them
2-1 in the Southern League, a chap called Andrew Swan makes his debut.  That was followed by the first Football League fixture in 1910 when we played a First Division clash with Bury who we dispatched 5-0. We did not play again on this date until 1921and a Jimmy Seed hat trick helps the cup holders to a 4-0 home win over Newcastle on the way to second place, our highest league finish till that point. Two years pass and our first defeat on this date. Clapton Orient beat us 0-2 in the London Charity Cup at their ground.
 
1927 sees us in a eight goal thriller with West Ham at The Lane. Tottenham getting five of them. Handley, O’Callaghan 2, Osbourne and Elkes are on the mark for us but the season sees us drop to Division 2. The following season does however see Cup success as Tottenham win the London Charity Cup. November 5th sees our second round replay with QPR at home and a 3-1 win on the way to the final.

1930 - White Hart Lane sees the Football League play the Scottish League and win 7-3. Tottenham's Cyril Spiers plays in front of 21,738.

Gilzean

We are still in Division Two in 1932 when we meet Port Vale at home and we beat them 4-0. Six more years pass and we travel to Manchester City and lose 0-2. The 1949/50 season and Tottenham win the Second Division title, nine points ahead of second place. Firework night sees us visit west Ham and score the only goal, Sonny Walters scoring for us in the second half when the game is played in adverse conditions. 

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It is 1955 when we next turn out on the 5th. Cardiff come to the Lane and take home a point after a 1-1 draw in the game in which Maurice Norman makes his debut. The Double season on 1960/61 and we beat Fulham 5-1 on this day. Les Allen and Cliff Jones start the ball rolling before Fulham pull one back then Jones again, John White and finally Allen again round off the scoring.
 
It is 1966 when we next play and we come home from Blackpool with a 2-2 draw. Alan Gilzean getting both our goals. On the same day Nayim is born, he will join us in 1988.
 
Eleven years later and Tottenham drop to the Second Division for one season and we beat Burnley 3-0 at The Lane. Neil McNab scored his first goal for Spurs, Hoddle with a header and Peter Taylor are our scorers. 1983 sees a trip to Stoke and a 1-1 draw. A rare defeat on this day comes at home to Derby County in 1988 in our last Football League match on this date but Paul Stewart gets his first goal for the club.
 
Sadly 1993 sees the passing of Arthur Rowe who played for Tottenham and later managed them to the League Championship in 1951.
 
The Premier League era sees us play the team who would be crowned champions Blackburn away in 1994 and we lose 0-2. Steve Perryman is in charge for one game following the sacking of Ossie Ardiles and Tim Sherwood captains the home team.
Then in 2004 Jacques Santini resigns as manager after just 13 games.
 
Our last firework display comes in 2006 and in Martin Jol’s 75th game in charge we defeat Chelsea 2-1 at the Lane on a Sunday afternoon. The visitors take the lead after a quarter of an hour before Michael Dawson’s header pulls us level ten minutes later. Arron Lennon gets the winner after 52 minutes following goal work by Keane for him to finish off with his left foot. Chelsea  earn five yellow cards and John Terry sees red with twenty minutes to play in a game described as ‘blood and thunder.’ In a game which sees Ledley King in superb form at the back.
 
Not on November 5th but the Club held a firework display on 29th April 1901 as part of the celebrations for their historic FA Cup victory.
 
Tonight here in 2015 sees us play our first European game on this date as we travel to Anderlecht in the Europa League group stages. - edited December 2015 -
2015 saw us entertain Anderlecht in a rerun of the 1984 UEFA Cup Final at The Lane. This time it was our group game in the Europa League. Tottenham came out on top by 2-1. Harry Kane had given us the lead. Anderlecht  pulled level midway through the second half and the game looked like it might go to a draw unless someone produced something special. That’s exactly what Dembele did with just a couple of minutes to play with a curving shot from outside the box to give us the win. Which left us top of the qualifying group.

Updated December 2015 - In 2015 we played Anderlecht at home in our Europa League Group match. Spurs won 2-1 our goals coming from Kane and Dembele scoring the winner in the last few minutes.
 
COYS
Keith Harrison.
t- Keith 16024542
f- peter shearman (old non de plume)
 
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