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Tottenham Hotspur
England · one of the fourteen clubs in the Normal pool
Tottenham were the first club of the twentieth century to win the English league and FA Cup Double, and the first British club to win a European trophy. Since then they have been the great cup side of English football — and, in the game, the most consistent club in the Normal pool.
The story in brief
The 1960s: Nicholson's Spurs
Bill Nicholson's side, captained by Danny Blanchflower with Dave Mackay, John White, Cliff Jones and Bobby Smith, won the Double in 1960–61. Jimmy Greaves arrived from Milan that December, and Spurs won the FA Cup again in 1962 and, in 1963, the Cup Winners' Cup — a 5–1 win over Atlético Madrid in Rotterdam that made them the first British winners of a European competition. Another FA Cup followed in 1967, with Pat Jennings now in goal.
The 1970s and 1980s: cups
Nicholson's later sides won two League Cups and the first UEFA Cup final, against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1972. After relegation in 1977 and promotion a year later, Spurs signed the Argentina World Cup winners Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, and with Glenn Hoddle in midfield won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the UEFA Cup again in 1984, on penalties against Anderlecht.
The 1990s and 2000s
Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne won the 1991 FA Cup; Jürgen Klinsmann spent a memorable season at the club in 1994–95; and League Cups came in 1999 and 2008, the latter with Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Ledley King.
2010s and 2020s: Bale, Kane and Bilbao
Gareth Bale's rise led to a world-record transfer to Real Madrid in 2013. Under Mauricio Pochettino, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen took Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, lost to Liverpool in Madrid. Kane became the club's record scorer before leaving for Bayern in 2023. Two years later, under Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham beat Manchester United 1–0 in Bilbao to win the Europa League, their first major trophy since 2008.
Tottenham in Treble Winner
Spurs are in the Normal pool but not in Easy. On Normal they come up in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s; the Double side of the 1960s and the 1970s are Hard only.
| Decade | Players | Best-XI rating | Rank | First on | Highest rated in the game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 68 | 76.5 | 85 | Hard | Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith, Dave Mackay |
| 1970s | 74 | 75.4 | 118 | Hard | Pat Jennings, Jimmy Greaves, Steve Perryman |
| 1980s | 99 | 76.7 | 74 | Normal | Gary Lineker, Chris Waddle, Gary Mabbutt |
| 1990s | 122 | 76.5 | 81 | Normal | Teddy Sheringham, Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne |
| 2000s | 188 | 75.2 | 130 | Normal | Harry Kane, Ledley King, Robbie Keane |
| 2010s | 139 | 76.7 | 73 | Normal | Harry Kane, Gareth Bale, Hugo Lloris |
| 2020s | 74 | 74.2 | 220 | Normal | Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Hugo Lloris |
By the game's ratings no club in the Normal pool is more even than Tottenham: every decade sits within a couple of points of every other. The flip side is that none of them reaches the level of the big clubs' best decades. A Spurs spin is a solid pick, rarely a great one.
Drafting tips
- Strikers are the strength. Greaves, Lineker, Teddy Sheringham, Kane: Tottenham's highest-rated players in most decades are centre-forwards.
- Kane is in three decades: the pool places him in the 2000s, where his Tottenham career began, as well as the 2010s and 2020s.
- Jennings in goal. He appears in the 1960s and 1970s cells, both Hard only, and is rated highly in each.
Related: Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Liverpool.