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This article was written by Brian Judson
Full League Record of Spurs v Wimbledon
Premier Pl W D L For-Ag Pts
Home 6 2 3 1 6-5 9
Away 7 3 1 3 12-10 10
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Total (Prem) 13 5 4 4 18-15 19
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1) 6 3 0 3 11-12 9
Away (Div 1) 6 2 1 3 10-15 7
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Total (Div 1) 12 5 1 6 21-27 16
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Total (Prem) 13 5 4 4 18-15 19
Total (Div 1) 12 5 1 6 21-27 16
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Grand Total 25 10 5 10 39-42 35
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This weekend sees the first of a series of matches involving Tottenham
and Wimbledon. Some spice has been added by the sensational 7.5M ukp
transfer of John Hartson, the former Gooner, from West Ham United to
Wimbledon. Hartson is expected to make his debut for Wimbledon tomorrow
at some stage of the match but he will not be able to play in either cup
tie as he is not qualified to do so on time grounds alone.
These matches have always been hard. Wimbledon seem to win as often as
Tottenham do in these fixtures. In the early days, Spurs found it very
difficult to beat Wimbledon at Tottenham, principally because of the
scatter gun approach of Vinnie Jones in his tackling. Gary Stevens, for
one, was a broken leg victim in this fixture in 1988-89.
When they first reached the top Division at the start of the 1986-87
season, they had a reputation for route 1 football and strongarm
tactics. They now have a more sophisticated brand of football and are
not as bad as they were with the more physical side of football. Yet,
despite this, Wimbledon are usually one of the teams tipped for
relegation simply because they are not a rich club and do not have a
ground with a Grade 'A' qualification at which they can play their home
games. They continue to defy the odds and are, currently, placed 6th in
the table and looking likely to qualify for European competition for the
first time. (On the occasion they won the FA Cup in 1988 English clubs
were banned from Europe because of Heysel.)
I first remember Wimbledon as a club playing in the Isthmian League and
winning the FA Amateur Cup in the 1960s. They later joined the Southern
League which they quickly proceeded to dominate. They were eventually
elected to the Football League in the summer of 1977 when Workington
Town were voted out of the League. Their rise to the top tier of
football has been quite progressive. Unfortunately, the London Borough
of Merton has not helped Wimbledon in their quest for a new ground. They
considered moving to Dublin but FIFA and the IFA and FAI all blocked
that particular idea.
It will be a very close game tomorrow and I suspect there will only be
one goal in it. I also suspect it will not take John Hartson very long
to chalk up his first booking for Wimbledon : in fact, I would not be
surprised if he were to be dismissed for an early bath!
Cheers, Brian
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