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Spurs' cup record against Crystal Palace:

FA Cup

1923-24
1st Rd v Crystal Palace (a) 0-2

1969-70
4th Rd v Crystal Palace (h) 0-0
Replay v Crystal Palace (a) 0-1

1986-87
4th Rd v Crystal Palace (h) 4-0
Mabbutt, C Allen (pen), Claesen, O'Reilly (o.g.)

2003-04
3rd Rd v Crystal Palace (h) 3-0
Kanoute (3)

2015-16
5th Rd v Crystal Palace (h) 0-1

League Cup

1980-81
3rd Rd v Crystal Palace (h) 0-0
Replay v Crystal Palace (a) 3-1
after extra time, Villa, Hoddle, Crooks
Hoddle was sent off in this game.

Let's win it in Bill's memory!

Today - 26th January, 2019 - would have been Bill Nicholson's 100th birthday. If you use the search box towards the bottom of this page, you can find a wealth of material on this web site and the web in general about the great man.

This morning I posted the following three links to Spurs Odyssey features about simply the greatest manager in our history:-

· Unique insight by Norman Giller written in August 2016

· "Living near a legend"

· Bill Nicholson's Memorial Service

Under "Sir" Bill's magnificent leadership, Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed the glory days to which present day manager Mauricio Pochettino referred in his press conference for this game. He said:-

"Our glory, I watch the [pre-match] video about the glory, it’s with Nicholson. It’s black and white. I watch it nearly every week and to create again that feeling, you need time. Four or five years, that’s nothing in the history of the club."

No less than 8 of our 17 major trophies won in all our history were achieved with Bill Nicholson at the helm. Three of those eight trophies were the FA Cups won in 1961, '62 and '67. With the League Cup gone this year, this is surely the season for us to go on and win not only tomorrow's Fourth Round match at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace, but the Final, in memory of our most famous manager!

There is a long way to go yet, of course, and Spurs are hamstrung by injuries. This preview includes a less than glorious memory from Bill Nicholson's era:-

No FA Cup preview of a meeting with Crystal Palace would be complete without reference to an infamous match played almost 49 years ago to the day at Selhurst Park on Wednesday 28th January, 1970. Palace were a struggling First Division side, but had come away from a muddy White Hart Lane with a 0-0 on the previous Saturday. Those were the days when you didn't have to wait for a week and half for a replay to be played.

Spurs took a strong team to Selhurst Park, but manager Bill Nicholson obviously thought that some of them didn't "turn up" as the 1-0 defeat (courtesy of a Gerry Queen goal) led to the dropping of four high profile players including the one and only Jimmy Greaves, who never played an official first team game again for Tottenham.

The late Brian Judson wrote the following about this event 20 years ago:-

"Steve Perryman was substituted in the second half because Bill Nicholson was incensed that some of the lazier members of the team were using him to do their running. It was not very often Nicholson came down to the touchline but he was furious that night with the supine display of his team. In the papers the following morning Nicholson had a lot to say about his team, none of it to their credit except for Perryman. That match, as I have said before, was Greaves' last as a first team player, though not his last in a Tottenham shirt, as he later played for Spurs Reserves against Arsenal Reserves, which was briefly highlighted on Match of The Day, as Reserve team games were then played on Saturday afternoons."

Other victims as I recall them included Cyril Knowles, and Alan Gilzean, but both made their way back to Bill Nicholson's favour. Jimmy Greaves, of course went to West Ham in the move that brought us Martin Peters. Steve Perryman had only made his club debut that season, and at the age of just 18 would be eased back into the team.

Roger Hoy, who had made his professional debut at Tottenham Hotspur, was a Palace player in 1970 and played in the game against us. Sadly, Roger died at the age of 71 in November in New South Wales, Australia having emigrated a number of years ago. Palace lost their fifth round game in 1970 4-1 to Chelsea, who went on to win that year's final against Leeds after a replay.

I was at that Selhurst Park game in 1970, but due to illness I did not make it to White Hart Lane the last time the two teams met in an FA Cup game. That was a fifth round match and we fell to a somewhat surprising defeat - again 1-0. Full back Martin Kelly scored the goal. Alan Pardew was the Palace manager. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino's focus was upon achieving Champions League football, which we did with a third place that year.

Palace went all the way to the Final, but lost to Manchester United 2-1. They beat Reading (away) in the quarter-final and Watford in the semi-final. Pardew didn't last half the next season at Selhurst Park, and his last managerial job was with West Brom last season, between November and April.

The team news for this game is not good for Spurs, following the Carabao Cup defeat at Chelsea. Ben Davies, who had to leave the field injured after 33 minutes has a groin problem and will definitely miss this game. Moussa Sissoko suffered a knee injury and will be assessed prior to the game. The absences of Harry Kane and Dele Alli will be felt for over a month yet, but at least we will have one of ouir top scorers back next Wednesday, because Son Heung-min's South Korea were surprisingly knocked out of the Asian Cup by Qatar in yesterday's quarter-final.

No doubt, with Wednesday's Premier League games in mind, both managers will make changes. Does Trippier start this game, having been rested at Stamford Bridge? Kyle Walker-Peters might play at right or left back. Will this be another start for Llorente, or Lucas Moura, or perhaps both? Ww'll just have to wait and see. Mauricio Pochettino did suggest earlier in the week that Victor Wanyama could make a return tomorrow. Victor's last game was the 1-0 away win at Palace in November, when Juan Foyth scored his first club goal. Foyth could also play tomorrow.

Roy Hodgson has crucial games at Southampton and then home to Fulham to contemplate. Palace have won 4 of their last 8 games, and shocked Manchester City in omne of those. They also scored three goals at Anfield last week, which was as many as the rest of the Premier League had so far this season. The "Eagles" will be a threat. Zaha has been in good form, but he hasn't scored since September. Andros Townsend, if selected, will be keen to prove a point to his former manager, and he has scored a couple of cracking goals in recent games.

It should be a good atmosphere for this 4pm BT Sport game, and I hope our players are fired up by the travelling support and the spirit of Bill Nicholson. Let's win it in Bill's memory! I'll go for a 2-0 Spurs win.

Match referee Kevin Friend has been in charge of our home defeat to Man City and our away win against Cardiff this season. VAR is in operation for this game. Mr Friend's last FA Cup game in charge of us was our 3-0 quarter-final win last season at Swansea.

· Did you know? - Spurs fans will be housed in the Arthur Wait Stand. Arthur Wait was chairman of Palace between 1958 and 1972, and was therefore the chairman at the time of that 1970 FA Cup tie. This is only our third away game against Palace in this competition, and we are yet to win one!

· Spurs' record in recent London Derby matches

· "It was Twenty Years ago today!" - On 27th January, 1999 we had yet another meeting with Wimbledon and another 0-0. This match was the first leg of a Worthington Cup semi-final which would lead to success at Selhurst Park in the second leg!

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