The 100 year War: Spurs, Arsenal the rivalry explained

There are few rivalries which match the intensity of the two North London clubs, or more accurately Tottenham Hotspur of North London and the club formerly known as Woolwich Arsenal from South East London. There are volumes written on the subject however here, on the 100th Anniversary of the rivalry I just want to briefly take you back to where it all began.

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It all really started on 6th September 1913 when Woolwich Arsenal controversially crossed the River Thames to North London and into the territory reserved for Tottenham and Leyton Orient. The move was in clear violation of the governing rules and regulations of the Football League concerning such relocations and was deeply opposed by both Woolwich fans and the residents of Highbury. Despite bitter protests from their own fans Henry Norris, Woolwich’s chairman and later Mayor of Fulham, using his influence pressed ahead and the migration was given sanction. Norris had originally intended to merge his club with Fulham but when this proved unsuccessful  he turned his attention to Highbury in an attempt to make Woolwich Arsenal viable. 

In 1913 Woolwich were in the 2nd Division and Spurs, who were formed five years before Woolwich in 1882 were in the 1st Division. Spurs were the only London club to have won the FA Cup, a feat they accomplished in 1901 as the only non-league club to date to have won the trophy. Woolwich Arsenal changed their name and replaced ‘Woolwich’ with ‘The’, and then subsequently to just Arsenal.

White Hart Lane was requisitioned by the Army during WWI and Spurs played their home games during this period at Homerton and at Highbury. When the league reconvened in 1919 the Football League looked to restructure the 1st Division and expand it from 20 teams to 22. Convention dictated that the bottom two teams from the 1915 season, Chelsea and Spurs would remain in the First Division and the two top teams from the Second, Derby and Preston would be promoted. Norris however had other ideas and lobbied the Football League demanding that Arsenal, who had finished 6th in the 2nd Division were more worthy of a place than Spurs and Chelsea …and also the 5 teams that finished above them. 

The prevailing sentiment before the Football League’s meeting was that both Spurs and Chelsea would remain in the First Division. Chelsea were given a reprieve, for they were victims of a match fixing scandal orchestrated by Manchester United and Liverpool and thus the remaining place in the top flight was contested between Tottenham, Barnsley, Wolves, Forest, Birmingham, Hull and Arsenal. In a move that would make the Indian Congress party proud, momentum swung decisively in Arsenal's favour when League chairman and Liverpool owner John McKenna, a close friend of Norris, urged clubs to vote in favour of Arsenal as they had joined the League before Tottenham. Arsenal despite finishing 6th were now promoted to the First Division at the expense of Spurs. Norris was later given a lifetime ban from the Football League for underhanded financial activities.

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So there you have it, Arsenal migrated into Tottenham’s patch and cheated them out of the First Division. The rivalry was born. To this day Arsenal remain the only club never to have legitimately won their place in the top league in England. The tradition of both clubs have remained strong with Spurs known for its entertaining brand of football and Arsenal caught up in one scandal or another over the years involving financial irregularities and just other general fiendish behaviour. Recent ambition displayed by Spurs has seen them tipped by many as serious contenders whilst the 'fourth is a trophy' approach by Arsenal might just give the rivalry an extra edge this year, courtesy of the envy shown by the Gooners.

COYS!!

About the author:
Suraj Sharma 
Chairman: India Spurs
Twitter @Suraj_Sharma