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This preview was written by Brian Judson

Full Record of Tottenham Hotspur -v- Chelsea

Prem           Pl   W   D   L   For-Ag  Pts
Home            0   0   0   0     0-0    0
Away            0   0   0   0     0-0    0 
==========================================
Total (Prem)    0   0   0   0     0-0    0 
==========================================
Football Lge
Home (Div 1)   28  20   4   4    67-22  45
Away (Div 1)   28  10   4  14    31-39  25
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Total (Div 1)  56  30   8  18    98-61  70
==========================================
Football Lge
Home (Div 2)    4   1   1   2     6-4    3
Away (Div 2)    4   1   2   1     4-4    4
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Total (Div 2)   8   2   3   3    10-8    7
==========================================
Total (Prem)    0   0   0   0     0-0    0
Total (Div 1)  56  30   8  18    98-61  70
Total (Div 2)   8   2   3   3    10-8    7
===========================================
Grand Total    64  32  11  21   108-69  77
===========================================

FA CUP

SEASON    RD   H/A   RESULT

1905-06   3     H      1-1
          3R    A      0-2  [AET]
1952-53   6     A      1-1
          6R    H      2-2  [AET]
          6/2R*        1-0
          (Played at Molineux)
1961-62   3     A      3-3
          3R    H      4-2
1966-67   6     A      0-0
          6R    H      6-0
1979-80   5     H      3-1

FOOTBALL LEAGUE CUP

SEASON   RD   H/A   RESULT

1986-87   3     H      5-0

The above League Cup result was the outcome of the last visit a Birmingham City side has made to Tottenham. That was the season after Birmingham City were last relegated from top flight football. It is hard to believe that a whole generation of Blues fans have grown up not tasting the heady cocktail of top flight football. Indeed for three long years they were in the old Third Division between 1989-90 to 1991-92. They spent two years back in the re-vamped First Division before being relegated again and spending a year in the Second Division. Since Trevor Francis took over as manager in 1996, Birmingham City have improved slightly each season. They are labouring under a huge weight of expectation as their fans expect Francis to steer them to promotion this season. It is still very early in the season but at this stage Watford and Fulham look sure to fill the two automatic places for promotion, condemning Birmingham to the lottery of the play-offs.

In the season Birmingham were last relegated from the top flight, Spurs achieved the double over them in the League. They won the first game at St Andrews in March 1986 when goals by Gary Stevens and Chris Waddle gave us the points. The consolation goal by Andy Kennedy could not prevent Tottenham winning 2-1. At White Hart Lane, played in a month later, Birmingham were beaten 2-0, with John Chiedozie and Mark Falco scoring.

In the League Cup meeting, Clive Allen scored twice, with Glenn Hoddle, Graham Roberts and Chris Waddle completing the scoring. Only 15,542 spectators bothered to watch the match. The Spurs team was : Clemence: Paul Allen, Mitchell Thomas (sub Miller), Roberts, Gough, Mabbutt, Stevens, Claesen, Clive Allen, Hoddle and Waddle. The Birmingham team was: Hansbury; Ranson, Dicks, Hagan, Overson, Kuhl (sub Geddis), Bremner, Clarke, Whitton, Kennedy, Williams.

This match was played early in the career of Julian Dicks before he left Birmingham for West Ham. Other familiar names in the Birmingham team should be Ray Ranson, who played for Manchester City in the 1981 FA Cup Final. There was Roger Hansbury, who I remember playing for Norwich City when they were in the old First Division, Martin Kuhl later played for Portsmouth, David Geddis for Ipswich and Des Bremner for Aston Villa's 1980-81 Championship side. Clarke was Wayne Clarke, the last of the long line of Clarke brothers and Steve Whitton, who also played for West Ham later in his career.

Birmingham have never won any of the game's major honours. They did win the Football League Cup in 1963 but that victory was devalued by the fact none of the League's major clubs, including Tottenham, bothered to enter the competition, which did not become mandatory until the Final was moved to Wembley in 1967. They were also runners-up in the old Inter Cities Fairs Cup competition but this was in a day where very few of the major European clubs bothered to enter that competition. Indeed the closest that Birmingham have come to winning any of the game's major honours was as long ago as 1956 when Manchester City, led by one Don Revie as a player, beat Birmingham City 3-1 at Wembley. That was the match in which Bert Trautmann broke his neck in defending the Manchester City goal when taking the ball off the feet of former Spur Peter Murphy. My abiding memory of that Cup Final is of the Birmingham fans singing their heart out to their anthem of 'Keep right on to the end of the road!', the old Harry Lauder favourite.

My memories of Birmingham are comparatively distant since they have tended to spend more time out of the top flight than in it. I remember them in 1971-72 playing some very attractive football in finishing runners-up to Norwich City in the old Second Division when they had Bob Latchford and a very young Trevor Francis as their strike force.

Further back I remember making the journey to St Andrews to see Spurs play Birmingham in the 1967 FA Cup Quarter-Final. It was a gruelling 0-0 day played under leaden grey skies. Spurs were fortunate to survive in a very niggly game that saw Dave Mackay nearly sent off for hitting Cyril Knowles, who was involved in a long fracas throughout the game with Trevor Hockey. Mackay could see the referee was getting a bit fed up talking to Knowles so Mackay dispensed his own justice and argued successfully against being sent off. In the replay the following Wednesday, Terry Venables struck within 90 seconds of the kick-off and Spurs eventually ran out winners. 6-0. Venables added another shortly afterwards, Greaves and Gilzean both grabbed two each and Saul completed the rout.

My other memory of that Birmingham tie from 1967 was arriving home in time to see Sandie Shaw singing "Puppet On A String" to win the Eurovision Song Contest that year. I don't think I ever saw her sing better than she did that night.

So back to the present! Spurs don't have much slack at the moment with a long injury list so I guess most of those who played Saturday will be playing again on Tuesday night. One familiar face in the Birmingham side ought to be Geoff Horsfield, who, of course, played for Fulham when they beat us last season.

Cup football is unpredictable but Spurs ought to be able to beat Birmingham. I take us to do so, 2-0, despite the long injury list.

COME ON YOU SPURS!

Cheers, Brian

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