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Here is Brian Judson's preview of the game.

The views expressed are that of the writer, and not necessarily the webmaster! In particular, I am very much in favour of Ferdinand being first choice at the moment.

Our complete results against Leyton Orient/Clapton Orient/Orient FC are as follows:

Season    Div  Home  Away

1908-09    2   0-1   0-0
1919-20    2   2-1   4-0
1928-29    2   2-1   3-2
1962-63    1   2-0   5-1
1977-78    2   1-1   1-1

Football Lge  P  W  D  L   F - A  Pts
Home(Div 1)   1  1  0  0   2 - 0   2
Away(Div 1)   1  1  0  0   5 - 1   2
====================================
Total(Div 1)  2  2  0  0   7 - 1   4
====================================
Home(Div 2)   4  2  1  1   5 - 3   5
Away(Div 2)   4  2  2  0  13 - 4   8
====================================
Total(Div 2)  8  4  3  1  18 - 7  13
====================================
Total(Prem)   0  0  0  0   0 - 0   0
Total(Div 1)  2  2  0  0   7 - 1   4
Total(Div 2)  8  4  3  1  18 - 7  13
====================================
Grand Total  10  6  3  1  25 - 8  17
====================================

Football League Cup

          Rd    H     A
1980-81    2   3-1   1-0
1985-86    2   4-0   0-2

We have never previously met in the FA Cup.

There will be many of you who will recall our last visit to Brisbane Road. I remember going myself and being disgusted by our performance. We were, if I recall correctly, largely outplayed. This was the season after we had finished third in the old Division One to Everton and Liverpool. Hopes were high that we would have another good season but we eventually fell away to finish 10th after a very disappointing season. Ultimately, manager Peter Shreeve and his assistant, John Pratt, paid the price.

Further back in time, I remember attending Brisbane Road for our first ever League Cup tie against Orient (as they were then known) in season 1980-81. It was at the start of a memorable season that saw Spurs win at Wembley thanks to that Ricky Villa goal against Manchester City. I remember John Lacy scoring the only goal of the match.

I missed the match at Brisbane Road during our promotion season of 1977-78. Peter Taylor scored Spurs' goal in what I think was a drab 1-1 draw. Later that month, of course, we recorded our record League victory (in terms of a winning margin rather than goals scored) when we thrashed Bristol Rovers 9-0.

We then have to go right back to season 1962-63 for the last clash I can remember seeing between the two clubs. We were superb against Leyton Orient (as they were then known) and won 5-1, with Medwin, White, Allen and Jones scoring plus an own goal by Bishop. Dave Dunmore, a former Spurs centre-forward, who had been the make-weight in the deal that had taken John Smith from West Ham to Tottenham, had made the further move to the homely East London club only a year after leaving Tottenham.

All of our previous matches had been played in Division 2. Seasons 1908-09 and 1919-20 had been promotion campaigns for Tottenham. Season 1928-29 was a disappointment to Tottenham fans as we dropped too many points to figure in the promotion race even though we beat Clapton Orient (as the club was then known) home and away.

Orient have, in fact, had a chequered history. They were founded in 1881, a year before Tottenham. They have played at four different grounds and can also claim to have played two League matches at Wembley Stadium in season 1930-31. They played Division 3 (South) matches against Brentford and Southend United on 22nd November 1930 and 6th December 1930 respectively. Both games were won, 3-0 and 3-1 respectively. Clapton Orient were elected to the Football League prior to the start of season 1905-06. They played in Millfields Road and Lea Bridge Road Clapton before World War 2 but moved to their present address in 1946. Over the years, Orient have yo'ed-yo'ed up and down the League ladder and have come very close to slipping to the Conference.

They are somewhat fortunate to be playing Tottenham tomorrow. They were losing 2-0 to Northwich at half-time in their televised Second Round replay, which I watched. Orient scrambled a lucky goal soon after the break and then grabbed an equaliser as the non-League visitors tired. With penalties looming, the Victoria goalkeeper made a hash of a clearance which struck the very rotund Scott Houghton on his backside and flew into the unguarded net, thus giving Orient a very fortunate victory. It also gives Houghton a chance to play against his former side. Houghton is best remembered at Tottenham for scoring two goals against Luton Town on November 16th 1991. Gary Lineker scored the other two goals in a 4-1 win which, if I recall correctly, saw the floodlights go out for about twenty minutes and Paul Stewart drop back to midfield for the first time.

On paper, this should be a walk-over for Tottenham but I am not taking anything for granted. We have been the victims of giant-killings in the past. Who can forget our dismal display against Port Vale and Bradford City at the tail end of the 1980s? With our woeful away form, we need players in the team who will be prepared to work hard because Orient will try to harry us into making mistakes. Nevertheless, I think a bold approach should be made to play with Doherty, Armstrong and Rebrov up front with Ferdinand on the bench should any of them be injured. I would prefer Armstrong to Ferdinand because Armstrong is a speedier player. And my prediction? It will be a lot closer than some people think and I would not be surprised if we only win 1-0.

The 4th Round draw will be made on Sunday. Let us hope we are still in the Cup when the draw is made!

Assuming we are able to sing, "We're on the road to Cardiff!" doesn't have quite the same resonance as "We're on the road to Wem-ber-lee!", does it?

COME ON YOU SPURS!

Cheers, Brian

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