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Old 30-09-2006, 02:44 PM
Indo_Popper Indo_Popper is offline
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Re: Tottenham Hotspur - the Pride of London

Post-war Push-and-Run success
By 1949 Arthur Rowe was manager, and had devised and developed a “Push and run” tactical style of play. This involved quickly laying the ball off to a teammate 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. To many, "Push and run" was a precursor to Total Football.[citation needed]

Rising to the top of the Second Division, Tottenham ran away with their first ever league title. In 1951 they won the First Division Championship and became the first side to win Second and First Divisions in successive seasons. Playing heroes included Alf Ramsey, Ronnie Burgess, Ted Ditchburn, Len Duquemin, Sonny Walters and Bill Nicholson.


Bill Nicholson's Glory, Glory era
Bill Nicholson 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. He 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 won the 1967 FA Cup and finished third in the league.

Nicholson added the League Cup (1971 and 1973) and the UEFA Cup (1972) 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.