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Here is Brian Judson's preview of the game
Full Record of Spurs -v- Manchester United
Prem Pl W D L For-Ag Pts
Home 9 3 2 4 14 -12 11
Away 9 0 1 8 4 -18 1
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Total (Prem) 18 4 3 12 18 -30 12
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1) 51 20 19 12 89 -64 63
Away (Div 1) 51 9 9 33 55 -101 28
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Total(Div 1) 102 29 28 45 144 -165 91
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2) 4 2 1 1 10 - 3 5
Away (Div 2) 4 1 2 1 3 - 3 4
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Total(Div 2) 8 3 3 2 13 - 6 9
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Total (Prem) 18 4 3 12 18 -30 12
Total (Div 1) 102 29 28 45 144 -165 91
Total (Div 2) 8 3 3 2 13 - 6 9
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Grand Total 128 35 34 59 175 -201 112
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Spurs -v- Manchester United is always a game that is keenly looked forward
to. Over the years there have been some great games between the two sides.
Many famous players have appeared for both clubs over the years. I can
mention Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes, Roger
Byrne, Tommy Taylor, and many other great players who have worn the shirts
of Manchester United.
The greatest of stars was George Best. I don't care what anyone says about
Ryan Giggs : he is simply unfit to be mentioned in the same breath as
Best. For a few years in the mid-1960s, Best was the greatest player in
the world. He had it all ...... and he threw it all away, blown away in an
orgy of girls and booze. He has paid for his excesses in recent years as
he is now living on borrowed time. Anyone who has seen him on TV in recent
years and who can remember Best as a player will have been shocked and
saddened by his appearance.
Probably the best games between the two clubs came in the 1960s during the
brief era when Spurs and Manchester United were the best two clubs in the
country. In 1966-67, Spurs very nearly completed a second League and Cup
double, finishing third behind Manchester United and Nottingham Forest and
winning the FA Cup. They were only four points behind the Champions and
poor form in October and November 1966 cost Spurs the Championship.
But the well of sympathy that had built up in the wake of the Munich air
crash of February 1958 was slowly lost and soon people were rejoicing in
the fact that Manchester United were relegated to Division 2. They soon
returned to the Championship but inexplicably lost to Southampton in the
1976 FA Cup Final. A year later, they prevented Liverpool from winning a
unique treble but lost manager Tommy Docherty as a result of his
infidelity and affair with a colleague's wife. Anyone remember the old tag
we used to chant : "Who's up Mary Brown?"
The Busby era that ran from 1945 to 1969 was probably the best era for
football as it should be played. Busby built three great teams but
unfortunately the greatest did not reach its apotheosis due to the Munich
Air Crash. The team that won the European Cup in 1968 was nowhere near as
good as its predecessors but it did have George Best.
The Ferguson era which is due to end next summer has seen more titles won
and a dominance over the domestic scene that no other club has ever
matched. But the club does not have the same measure of popularity that it
had during Busby's time. The dark side of Manchester United's psyche is
personified by the ugliness of Roy Keane. Keane can be a genial Irishman
but he can also be a thug and has paid for it by a number of early baths
throughout his career. To his credit, he has recognised that he has a
problem with his temper, unlike some other players I could mention.
There have been some great goals over the years - I have only space to
recall Jimmy Greaves' goal against them in October 1965 when he streaked
away to score in a 5-1 victory and a goal that Bobby Charlton scored
against us when we looked set to snatch a draw in a Cup-tie in February
1968.
How will we fare this afternoon? I fear that with our very long injury
list we will be up against it. Dean Richards is expected to make his debut
for Tottenham, probably at the expense of Chris Perry. Richards will
probably have a horrendous debut because Manchester United will
undoubtedly put a great deal of pressure on him, banking on the fact he
will not have built up an understanding with the players around him. I
suspect most people will be satisfied with a point this afternoon and that
a win will be a very welcome bonus should we achieve that success against
all the odds.
Cheers, Brian
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