Tottenham Hotspur Football Club

The club is also frequently referred to as Spurs. Its home stadium is White Hart Lane, Tottenham, in the London Borough of Haringey (N17).

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. In 1963, Spurs became the first British club to win a European trophy - the European Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1980s, Spurs won several trophies: the FA Cup twice, FA Community Shield and the UEFA Cup 1983-84.

The club's Latin motto is Audere est Facere (lit: "To Dare is To Do"), and its emblem is a cockerel standing upon a football. The club has a long-standing rivalry with near neighbours Arsenal and matches between the two teams are known as the North London derby.

History

From formation to the first league title

In 1882 the Hotspur Football Club was formed by grammar school boys from the bible class at All Hallows Church. They were also members of Hotspur Cricket Club and it is thought that the name Hotspur was associated with Sir Henry Percy (Sir Harry Hotspur) who was "Harry Hotspur" of Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 1, and who lived locally during in the 14th century and whose descendants owned land in the neighbourhood. In 1884 the club was renamed Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Club to distinguish itself from another team called London Hotspur.

At first Spurs played in navy blue shirts. The club colours then varied from light blue and white halved jerseys, to red shirts and blue shorts, through chocolate brown and old gold and then finally, in the 1899-00 season, to white shirts and navy blue shorts as a tribute to Preston North End, the most successful team of the time.

In 1888 Tottenham moved their home fixtures from the Tottenham Marshes to Northumberland Park where the club was able to charge for spectator admission. An attempt to join an aborted Southern League, instigated by Royal Arsenal (later Arsenal), failed in 1892 when they were the only club of the 23 applicants to receive no votes. They turned professional just before Christmas 1895 and were then admitted to the Southern League and attracted crowds nearing 15,000. Charles Roberts became chairman in 1898 and stayed in post until 1943.

In 1899 Spurs made their final ground move to a former market garden in nearby High Road, Tottenham. In time the ground became known as White Hart Lane, a local thoroughfare. Tottenham were the considerable beneficiaries of the escalating unionisation of the northern professional game in the 1890s. Both John Cameron and John Bell, formerly Everton players came to play for Tottenham as a result of the conflict caused by their organisation of the Association Footballers' Union, a forerunner of the Professional Footballers' Association. As a direct result of this in 1900, Tottenham won the Southern League title and crowned this achievement the next year by winning the FA Cup - becoming the only non-League club to do so since the formation of the Football League. The cup was presented to Spurs captain Jack Jones with coloured ribbons on, tied there for the first time by the wife of the Spurs director, Morton Cadman, thus starting the long held tradition of tying ribbons in Cup competitions, which continues to this day.

Tottenham won election to the Second Division of the Football League for the 1908-09 season, immediately winning promotion as runners-up to the First Division. Their record between 1910-1911 and the Great War was poor and when football was suspended at the end of the 1914-15 season, Tottenham were bottom of the league.

When football resumed in 1919, the First Division was expanded from 20 to 22 teams. The Football League extended one of the additional places to 19th-place Chelsea (who would have been relegated with Spurs for the 1915-1916 season) and the other to Arsenal. This promotion - Arsenal had finished only fifth in Division 2 the previous season - was controversial, and cemented a bitter rivalry (begun six years earlier, with Arsenal's relocation to Tottenham's hinterland) that continues to this day. Tottenham were Division Two Champions in 1919-20 and in the following year, on April 23, 1921, Spurs went all the way to their second FA Cup Final victory beating Wolves 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

After finishing second to Liverpool in the League in 1922, Spurs experienced a steady decline, culminating in 1928's relegation. Spurs were unable to advance beyond the quarter finals of the FA Cup, getting that far three years running 1935-1938. On September 3 1939, as Neville Chamberlain declared war, Spurs were seventh in the Second Division. League Football was abandoned for the "duration".

Following the war, football was an extremely popular interest attracting thousands of supporters each week-end. By 1949 Arthur Rowe was manager at the club and developed the “push and run” tactical style of play. This involved quickly laying the ball off to a team-mate and running past the marking tackler to collect the return pass. It proved an effective way to move the ball at pace with players' positions and responsibility being totally fluid. Rising to the top of the Second Division, Tottenham ran away with their first ever league title, winning the First Division Championship in 1951. Playing heroes included Alf Ramsey, Ronnie Burgess, Ted Ditchburn, Len Duquemin, Sonny Walters and Bill Nicholson and Danny Blanchflower.

The 1960s and 1970s

Nicholson had joined Tottenham Hotspur as an apprentice in 1936. The following 68 years saw him serve the club in every capacity from boot room to president. In his first game as manager on 11 October 1958, Spurs beat Everton 10-4. This was their record win at the time and a sign of things to come. He subsequently guided Tottenham to major trophy success three seasons in a row in the early 1960s: the double in 1961, the FA Cup and European Cup Semi-final in 1962, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. Key players included Danny Blanchflower, John White, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and Jimmy Greaves.

After 1964, the "Double" side began to disintegrate due to age, injuries and transfers. Nicholson rebuilt a second successful team with imports like Alan Gilzean, Mike England, Alan Mullery, Terry Venables, Joe Kinnear and Cyril Knowles. They beat Chelsea to win the 1967 FA Cup Final and finished third in the league.

Nicholson added the League Cup (1971 and 1973) and the UEFA Cup 1971-72 to Tottenham's illustrious history before he resigned at the start of the 1974-75 season due to both a poor start, and his disgust at seeing rioting fans in Rotterdam in a UEFA Cup final, which Spurs lost.

Nicholson had won 8 major trophies in 16 years and his spell in charge was without doubt the most glorious period in the club's history. However, what he left behind was an ageing squad and Spurs could no longer claim to be a true force in English football. Nicholson wished to select his replacement and lined up a 'dream team' of Johnny Giles and Danny Blanchflower to take over, but the Spurs board ignored his advice and appointed ex Arsenal player Terry Neill, who narrowly avoided relegation at the end of 1974-5. Never accepted by the fans, Neill left the club in 1976 and was replaced by his assistant Keith Burkinshaw that summer.

Tottenham slipped out of the First Division at the end of the 1976-77 season, after 27 years in the top flight. This was soon followed by the unwise sale of their Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Pat Jennings to arch rivals Arsenal, a move that shocked the club's fans and proved to be a serious error. Jennings played on for another eight years for Spurs' rivals, while Tottenham took until 1981 to replace him with a goalkeeper of genuine class in Ray Clemence from Liverpool.

Despite relegation, the board kept faith with Burkinshaw and the team immediately won promotion to the top flight, although they came mighty close to missing out. A sudden loss of form at the end of the season meant the club needed a point in the last game at Southampton. To great relief, the game ended 0-0 and Tottenham won promotion. In the summer of 1978 Burkinshaw rocked the football world by signing two Argentinian World Cup stars Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa which was the kind of transfer coup never seen before in British football. But it took time for a new team to be forged into a successful unit.

The 1980s

Spurs opened the 1980's on a high with an FA Cup replay win over Manchester City, 3-2, thanks to Ricky Villa's memorable solo goal. They repeated against QPR the next season in another reason and were in contention for four domestic trophies, including the First Division title in which they threatened Liverpool at Easter but ended up fourth. Liverpool also denied Spurs in the League Cup Final in extra time and Barcelona won at home in the Cup Winners' Cup semis after a 1-1 draw at the Lane.

Key players such as Steve Archibald, Garth Crooks, Glenn Hoddle, Osvaldo Ardiles, and long-serving Steve Perryman inspired Tottenham to UEFA Cup glory in 1984, but several weeks before this victory Burkinshaw announced he would be leaving at the end of that season. Spurs had lost a manager who won three trophies in four seasons and managed a remarkable run at the top that made Spurs a major club.

New manager Peter Shreeves and owner Irving Scholar took over with Shreeves managing to a third place finish in 1984-85 and slumping the following season, while Scholar attempted to restore the club's financial fortunes.

Luton Town manager David Pleat was appointed the new manager, and for much of 1986-87 it looked as though it would be a very successful season. Playing with a five man midfield (Hoddle, Ardiles, Hodge, Allen, Waddle) backing Clive Allen, Tottenham remained in contention for all domestic honours. Arsenal stopped Spurs in the League Cup final,^[1] they missed on the first division title, and as favorites for the FA Cup over newcomers Coventry, stumbled 3-2 in a disappointing end to a great season. Pleat quit in October 1987 following allegations about his private life. He returned a decade later, but his short spell in charge was one of the great 'if only' stories in the club's history. Former Spurs player Terry Venables was named Pleat's successor, and after two league seasons, guided the club to third place in 1989-90 and an FA Cup win in 1991. The new-look Tottenham team included two players who starred in England's run to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup – Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker.

Premier League

In 1990, a slump in the property market left chairman Scholar on the verge of bankruptcy. Venables joined forces with businessman Alan Sugar to take over Tottenham Hotspur PLC and pay off its £20 million debt, part of which involved the sale of Gascoigne. Venables became chief executive, with Shreeves again taking charge of first-team duties. His second spell as team manager lasted just one season, before he was dismissed in favour of joint coaches Ray Clemence and Doug Livermore. Tottenham's first Premier League season ended with a mid-table finish and Venables was removed from the club's board after a legal dispute with Sugar. Ossie Ardiles became the club's next manager in 1993.

Under Ardiles, Tottenham employed the Famous Five: Teddy Sheringham and Jurgen Klinnsman up front, Nick Barmby just behind, Darren Anderton on the right and Ilie Dumitrescu on the left. Klinsmann was a sensation, scoring freely and becoming a firm fan favourite. Ultimately these expensive signings made little difference to Tottenham's form and Ardiles was sacked in September 1994.

During the 1994 close season, Tottenham was found guilty of making illegal payments to players and given one of the most severe punishments in English football history: a 12 point deduction, a one year FA Cup ban, and a £600,000 fine. Sugar protested and the Cup ban and points deduction were quashed.

Ardiles was replaced by Gerry Francis. He initially turned around the club's fortunes dramatically. Tottenham climbed to seventh in the league, and reached the FA Cup semi-finals, an embarrassment for the FA was averted after Spurs lost 4-1 to eventual winners Everton. Francis was unable to take the club forward from this point and his judgement in the transfer market was flawed.

1996-97 saw Tottenham finish in tenth place, and at the end of the season star striker Teddy Sheringham was sold to Manchester United after contract negotiations broke down. In November 1997, with Spurs second from bottom and in danger of relegation, Francis was sacked. Christian Gross, coach of Swiss champions Grasshoppers, was appointed. He failed to turn around the club's fortunes, however, and the team battled against the drop for the remainder of the campaign. Legendary striker Jürgen Klinsmann was re-signed in January, but initially failed to recreate the form of his first spell at the club. Four goals in a 6-2 win away to Wimbledon in the penultimate game of the season was, however, enough to secure survival.

Gross, despite having finished the last season on a high by only losing one of their last nine games, was sacked just three games into the following season, and George Graham was soon hired to take over. Despite heavy criticism from fans due to Graham's previous association with Arsenal, in his first season as Spurs manager the club secured a mid-table finish and won the League Cup. In the final against Leicester City at Wembley, full-back Justin Edinburgh was sent off after an altercation with Robbie Savage on the hour mark, but Spurs secured a dramatic victory through Allan Nielsen's diving header in the 93rd minute of the game. Spurs also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle after extra-time, after the referee had not given Spurs a definite penalty for handball in normal time. To cap a good season, star player David Ginola won both the PFA Players' Player of the year 1999 and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1999 awards.

However, another disappointing league finish followed in 1999-00. In 2001, Sugar's patience broke. He sold his controlling interest to ENIC Sports PLC, run by Daniel Levy.

Team management passed to Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle who took over in April 2001 with the team lying thirteenth in the table. His first game saw defeat to Arsenal in an FA Cup semi-final. The club captain, Sol Campbell, defected to Arsenal on a Bosman free transfer that summer.

Hoddle turned to more experienced players in the shape of Teddy Sheringham, Gus Poyet and Christian Ziege for inspiration, and Spurs played some good football in the opening months of his management. Season 2001-02 saw Spurs finish in ninth place, as well as reaching the League Cup final, where they lost to Blackburn Rovers, having been the favourites after their 5-1 demolition of Chelsea in the previous round.

The only significant outlay prior to the following campaign was £7 million for Robbie Keane, who joined from Leeds United. 2002-03 started well, with Tottenham in the top six as late as early February. But with just seven points in the final 10 games, the club finished in tenth place. Several players publicly criticised Hoddle's management and communication skills. Six games into the 2003-04 season, Hoddle was sacked and David Pleat took over on a caretaker basis until a full-time successor could be found.

In May 2004, Tottenham signed French team manager Jacques Santini as head coach, with Martin Jol as his assistant and Frank Arnesen as Sporting Director. Santini quit the club in bizarre circumstances after just 13 games. He was replaced by Jol. The big Dutchman became a favourite with the passionate Spurs crowd and secured a ninth place finish.In the 2005-06 campaign, his first full season, he almost managed to secure a Champions League place. In the event, Spurs missed out on the final day of the season, and finished in 5th place, securing a UEFA Cup place. It was clear progress was being made. When Arnesen defected to Chelsea, Spurs appointed Damien Comolli as Sporting Director.

During 2005-06 Spurs spent six months in fourth place but ended fifth. Going into the final game of the season, they led rivals Arsenal by a point, but were forced to play their match at West Ham with half the team suffering from Norovirus, a viral form of gastroenteritis, commonly known as "Winter Vomiting Disease". Spurs lost and were pipped to a Champions League place, but it was success nevertheless in gaining a place in the UEFA Cup.

Season 2006-07

For the 2006-2007 season, Tottenham changed kit sponsors to Puma and shirt advertisers to Mansion.^[2] Spurs home shirt saw the removal of the blue shoulders, with the away kit changing from cyan shorts to navy shorts, and the alternate kit changing from yellow to chocolate brown. Spurs wore an 'all-white' kit where possible for European fixtures, continuing a long-standing tradition. A notable signing was Dimitar Berbatov from Bayer Leverkusen, who managed 23 goals in all competitions .

The season began with Jol losing holding midfielder Michael Carrick to Manchester United and club captain Ledley King to injury for the best part of the season. The acquisition of Pascal Chimbonda, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Didier Zokora, Berbatov and Steed Malbranque essentially meant a new side had to gel.

2006-07 was marred by injuries, particularly in defensive areas with Ledley King, Paul Stalteri, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Young-Pyo Lee, Anthony Gardner, Jermaine Jenas, Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio all suffering long-term injuries while Didier Zokora, Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon all suffered injuries causing Jol to rarely have a settled XI to pick for extended periods.

Premiership form in the first half of the season was erratic, although there was a rare home win over reigning-champions Chelsea in November. Away form was poor during the first half of the season but saw a vast improvement in the second half with just two away losses from January to the end of the season and just one defeat in their final six away games, against Chelsea just 36 hours after playing a UEFA Cup tie in Spain.

The improvement in Spurs' away form, good home performances and an excellent late season lifted Spurs into fifth position in the final table and therefore into the UEFA Cup for the second year running. Tottenham showed definite signs of attractive and effective football as Martin Jol made his mark on the squad. Spurs reached the FA Cup quarter-final round but lost to Chelsea 1-2 having drawn 3-3 away. The League Cup run took them to the semi-finals, where they faced Arsenal. The home leg ended 2-2, but hopes of glory ended in the away leg losing 3-1 in extra time. In the UEFA Cup, Tottenham progressed to the quarter-finals, where they faced the cup holders and eventual winners Sevilla in the quarter finals, and were eliminated from the competition 4-3 on aggregate (2-1 away and 2-2 at home).

The highly effective Berbatov-Keane strike partnership was rewarded when they were named joint Player of the Month for April, a rare occurrence in the history of the award.

Season 2007-08

Prior to the 2007-08 season, Tottenham completed their first signing by buying the highly-rated 17 year old left sided Welsh player Gareth Bale from Southampton for an initial fee of £5 million which might rise to £10 million, depending on his and the team's performances. Irishman Robbie Keane was rewarded on May 28, 2007 with a new five year contract with the club until 2012. Spurs also completed the signing of Adel Taarabt on a permanent basis following his loan from RC Lens: the fee was undisclosed. On 8 June Spurs signed defender Yuri Berchiche from Athletic Bilbao, to join the Spurs Academy. On June 29, Spurs bought England forward Darren Bent, from Charlton Athletic, for a reported fee of £16.5 million, a club record, to be paid over a period of three years. Another major capture was French central defender and Under-21 captain Younes Kaboul from AJ Auxerre for a fee of about £8 million. On 25 July Spurs announced the signing of 17 year old midfielder Danny Rose from Leeds United.^[3] German midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng joined from Hertha BSC Berlin on 31 July, for an undisclosed fee.

For the 2007-08 season, Tottenham announced an all-white kit. The away kit is all navy blue, while the third kit is all yellow. There is also a shirt to celebrate the club's 125th anniversary, which is white and sky blue halves and was worn for just one game, against Aston Villa F.C at home on October 1, 2007, the closest game to the anniversary. The score was 4-4; Spurs were 4-1 down at half time, but in the last 22 minutes Spurs scored 3 goals with Younes Kaboul scoring in the last minute. At half-time around 50 of the Spurs legends came onto the pitch to an ovation.

Regardless of their ambitious off-season transfers (reported not to be approved by the Dutchman Martin Jol) their season started in disappointing fashion, with the club near the relegation zone, and a defeat at home to rivals Arsenal. Martin Jol's position as manager was seen to be insecure after a well publicised meeting between club officials and the then-Sevilla boss Juande Ramos whose full name is Juan de la Cruz Ramos Cano. Chairman Levy then issued a statement publicly backing Jol.

Following continued woeful form, on October 25, during a UEFA Cup match with Getafe CF it became apparent that the game would be Jol's last in charge. During ITV4's live coverage of the game, it was reported that Martin Jol had tendered his resignation before the match which was accepted by Levy. Subsequently, it became clear that Jol was actually going to be sacked by Levy following the game, which Jol found out in the course of the game through the reaction of Spurs fans to a news leak from someone within the Club. During the Getafe game many Spurs supporters voiced their support for "Big" Martin Jol. After the match a board statement confirmed Jol and Chris Hughton had left the club. It also claimed that the move was at their request. Development coach Clive Allen and youth team boss Alex Inglethorpe took temporary charge of the first team. Gus Poyet, the former Spurs midfielder, had been linked to Ramos in an assistant-boss role.^[4]

The media and fans were critical of the Board, Levy in particular, at the way that events were handled ^[5]. Jol was reported to have agreed a severance deal in August (Times Online 22 August 2007)and was subsequently regarded by many as a 'dead man walking'. Certainly, the widely reported first approach of Ramos by the board, and subsequent comments of directors in the media did nothing but publicly undermine the manager and the team from just a couple of games into the 2007-08 season.

It was confirmed on October 27 that Spaniard Juande Ramos had signed a contract with Tottenham to become head coach running until season 2010/2011, with Marcos Álvarez also joining him at Tottenham. Ramos resigned as Sevilla FC coach despite having signed a contract until the end of the season with the Spanish club and after more than two months of competition. ^[6] Also announced on October 29 was the appointment of former player Gus Poyet to the coaching staff as one of two first-team coaches alongside Marcos Álvarez, working under head coach Ramos. On 18th December 2007, Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-0 in the quarter-final of the Carling League Cup with goals from Jermain Defoe and Steed Malbranque, despite playing for the majority of the game with 10-men against a team that was unbeaten at home all season. They went on to draw 1-1 with Arsenal in the first-leg of the Carling Cup semi-final, with a goal from Jermaine Jenas. The replay at White Hart Lane is on 22nd January.

On 24th December, it was announced that Tottenham had reached an agreement with Cardiff City for the transfer of Chris Gunter for a reported fee in the region of £3 million.

Stadium

Tottenham Marshes

Tottenham played their first matches at Tottenham Marshes on the available public pitches and remained there for six years. It was at this ground that Spurs first played arch rivals Arsenal (then known as Royal Arsenal). Spurs were winning 2-1 until the match got called off due to poor light after the away team arrived late.^[7] There were occasions on which fights which broke out on the marshes, in dispute of the teams that were allowed to use the best pitches. Crowds were increasing and a new site was needed to accommodate these supporters.

Northumberland Park

In 1898 the club moved from the marshes to Northumberland Park and charged an admission fee of 3d. They only remained at this ground for a year as in April 1899 14,000 fans turned up to watch Spurs play Woolwich Arsenal. The ground was no longer able to cope with the larger crowds and Tottenham Hotspur were forced to move to a new larger site. They moved 100 yards down the road to their current ground.

White Hart Lane

White Hart Lane was originally a disused nursery owned by the brewery, Charringtons, and located behind a public house. The landlord realised the increased revenues he could enjoy if Tottenham played their matches behind his pub and the club moved in. They brought with them the terrace they used at Northumberland Park which gave shelter to 2,500 fans. Notts County were the first visitors to 'the Lane' in a friendly watched by 5,000 people and bringing in £115 in receipts, Spurs won 4-1. QPR became the first competitive visitors to the ground and 11,000 people saw them lose 1-0 to Tottenham.

In 1905 Tottenham raised enough money to buy the freehold to the land and became the permanent owners of the ground. As the club grew new stands were added. A new main stand was added in 1909, the East stand was also covered this year and extended further two years later. The profits from the 1921 FA Cup win were used to build a covered terrace at the Paxton Road end and the Park Lane end was built at a cost of over £3,000 some two years later. This increased the WHL capacity to around 58,000 with room for 40,000 under cover. The East Stand development was finishing in 1934 which increased the capacity to around 80,000 spectators and cost £60,000. The pitch was renovated in 1952 which uncovered a number of items from the old nursery on the site and one year later the first floodlights were introduced. These lights were upgraded in 1957 which required the cockerel to be moved from the West Stand to the East and then in 1961 floodlight pylons were installed.

The West Stand was replaced by an expensive (and far behind schedule) new structure and the stadium started its long modernisation process. Various developments and upgrades were implemented over the years and in 1992 the lower terraces of the south and east stand were converted to seating and the whole of the North stand followed to become all-seater the following season. The South Stand re-development was completed in March 1995 and included the first giant Sony Jumbotron TV screen for live game coverage and away match screenings. The capacity of the stadium increased to just over 33,000. In 1997/98 season the Paxton Road stand had a new upper tier added which included the second Jumbotron screen and increased capacity to 36,240 and was funded by a rights issue in 1996.^[8]

Future plans

Tottenham are currently thinking about upgrading the stadium to a capacity of 52,000. This could mean that the pitch has to be turned around 90 degrees. It has been suggested that Spurs will make a formal announcement about the expansion, which will involve the rotation of the stadium. It has also been said that they may have to "ground share" with West Ham or possibly use Wembley.^>

Crest

Since the 1901 FA Cup final the Tottenham Hotspur crest has featured a cockerel. Harry Hotspur (from whom the club is said to take its name) was famed for his riding spurs and fighting cocks were fitted with spurs which can be seen in the crests.^[9] In 1909 a former player named William James Scott made a bronze cast of a cockerel standing on a football to be placed on top of the West Stand and since then the cockerel and ball have been the major part of the club's identity.^[10]

Between 1956 and 2006 the Spurs used a coat of arms featuring a number of landmarks and associations linked to local area. The lions flanking the shield came from the Northumberland family's arms. They owned large areas of Tottenham and Sir Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur) was a family member. The castle alludes to Bruce Castle located 400 yards from the ground and which now houses a museum. The trees are those of Seven Sisters which were planted at Page Green by the Seven Sisters of Tottenham and after whom a railway/tube station and main road are named. The arms featured the Latin motto "Audere Est Facere".

In 1983 to overcome unauthorised "pirate" merchandising the club's badge was altered by adding the two red lions as heraldic and the motto scroll. This device appeared on most Spurs' playing kits for the next 23 years.

To rebrand and modernise the club's image, in 2006 both this club badge and the coat of arms gave way to a professionally-designed logo/emblem.^[11] This revamp features a leaner/fitter cockerel and an old-time football together with the club name. The club claims that the rebranding kept much of the original meaning of the name, and emphasized its originality.^[12]

Kit

The first Tottenham kit was navy blue shirt and shorts, but after the first season the club did not have one specific design for many years.^[13] In 1884 the club changed to a kit similar to that of Blackburn Rovers, .^[14] Shortly after moving to Northumberland Road, the kit changed again to red shirt and blue shorts. Five years later, after becoming a professional club, they switched to a chocolate and gold striped kit.

At the end of the 19th century the club switched colours yet again, to the white shirts and blue shorts for which they are now well known for wearing, hence the nickname "Lilywhites". This colour choice is thought to be in homage to Preston North End who had recently done "The Double".

White and navy blue have remained as the club's basic colours ever since. Soon after the First World War, the cockerel badge was added to the shirt. In 1939 numbers first appeared on shirt backs, and in 1983 Holsten became the first commercial sponsor logo to appear on the shirt. When Thomson was chosen as kit sponsor in 2002 there was a very minor outcry from Tottenham fans as the logo on the front was red, the colour of their closest rivals, Arsenal.^[15] The present sponsor, Mansion, another red logo company, has attracted no comment.

Kit manufacturers

• 1978-1980: Admiral
• 1980-1985: Le Coq Sportif
• 1985-1991: Hummel
• 1991-1995: Umbro
• 1995-1999: Pony
• 1999-2002: Adidas
• 2002-2006: Kappa
• 2006-: Puma

Shirt sponsors

• 1882-1983: No sponsor
• 1983-1995: Holsten
• 1995-1999: Hewlett Packard
• 1999-2002: Holsten
• 2002-2006: Thomson Holidays
• 2006-: Mansion

Ownership

Since 2001 the key shareholder has been ENIC, an investment company established by the British billionaire Joseph Lewis. Daniel Levy, Lewis's partner at ENIC, is Executive Chairman of the club. In June 2007 ENIC International increased its holding to 66% by purchasing former chairman Alan Sugar's remaining 12% holding. ^[16]It is widely believed by fans, players and management, that Levy has played a significant part in the club's turnaround, not least through the acquisition of players and of former Head Coach, Martin Jol. Stelios Haji-Ioannou has 9 per cent through Hodram Inc.^>

Social responsibility

Spurs are in the forefront among British football clubs in developing social and community programmes.^[17] The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is unique amongst Premiership clubs and received the highest level of political support when it was launched.^[18] In recent years Tottenham has contributed over forty times more to charity than the next largest Premier League donor.^{[19][dead link]} In March 2007 the Club announced a partnership with the charity SOS Children's Villages UK.^[20] Player fines will go towards this charity’s children’s village in Rustenburg, South Africa with the funds being used to cover the running costs as well as in support of a variety of community development projects in and around Rustenburg.

Tottenham Hotspur ladies

Tottenham's ladies team was founded in 1985 as Broxbourne Ladies. They started using the Tottenham Hotspur name for the 1991/1992 season and play in the South-East & London Regional Women's League (the fourth tier of the game).

Support

Tottenham have 1.4 million fans in Britain, drawn largely from North London and the Home Counties, with home matches traditionally attracting very high attendances. In several seasons during the 1950s and 1960s, Tottenham had the highest average attendance in England.^[21][22]

Tottenham supporters have rivalries with several clubs mainly within the London area the fiercest of these being with North London rivals Arsenal, however they also share notable rivalries with fellow Londoners Chelsea and West Ham United.

Honours

Domestic Leagues

• Football League First Division / Premier League 2
  • 1950-51, 1960-61

Runners-Up (4): 1921-22, 1951-52, 1956-57, 1962-63

• Football League Second Division 2
  • 1919-20, 1949-50

Runners-Up (2): 1908-09, 1932-33

• Southern League 1
  • 1899-1900
• Western League 1
  • 1903-04
• Football League North and South 2
  • 1943-44, 1944-45

Domestic Cups

• FA Cup 8
  • 1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982, 1991

Runners-Up (1): 1986/87

• Football League Cup 3
  • 1970-71, 1972-73, 1998-99

Runners-Up (2): 1981/82, 2001/02

• FA Community Shield 7
  • 1920-21, 1951-52, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1967-68*, 1981-82*, 1991-92* (*shared)

European Cups

• UEFA Cup 2
  • 1972 First ever Winners , 1984

Runners-Up (1): 1973-74

• European Cup Winners' Cup 1
  • 1963
• European Cup

Semi-Finalists (1): 1961-62

• Anglo-Italian League Cup 1
  • 1972

Pre Season Tournaments

• Kirin Cup 1
  • 1979
• Peace Cup 1
  • 2005
• Vodacom Challenge 1
  • 2007

Top 10 managers of the team's history

Based on win % in all competitions

¹ Includes caretaker manager stints in 1998, 2001 and 2003-04
² Includes his one match as caretaker manager after Santini's resignation.

Hall of Fame

To this date there have been 24 Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame inductees, the latest of which being Martin Chivers in February 2007.^[27]