"It was Twenty Years ago today!"
article published November, 2017, but first written in 1997 by the late Brian Judson

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Full Record of Spurs -v- Liverpool

Prem          Pl   W   D   L  For-Ag  Pts
Home           5   1   2   2    6-8    5
Away           5   1   2   2    6-10   5
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Total (Prem)  10   2   4   4   12-18  10
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1)  49  24  10  15   73-58  62
Away (Div 1)  49   4  14  31   38-95  24
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Total (Div 1) 98  28  24  46  111-153 86
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Total (Prem)  10   2   4   4   12-18  10
Total (Div 1) 98  28  24  46  111-153 86
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Grand Total  108  30  28  50  123-171 96
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There has been no finer sight in football than the sight of the terraced Kop swaying, brandishing scarves, as they sang "You'll Never Walk Alone". They were worth a two goal start to Liverpool as teams changing in the respective dressing rooms below the Anfield pitch were invariably uplifted or disheartened by the booming choir as they changed. Tottenham's record at Anfield from 1912 to 1985 was awful, although, under Bill Nicholson, they strung together a number of draws and came close to recording wins. No one who was there will forget the stunned expression on Garth Crook's face in 1985 when it dawned on him that he had been the player who had finally ended the long jinx. There was a moment when no one seemed to realise Tottenham had actually won a match at Anfield before Crooks was buried under an avalanche of players celebrating the first win at Liverpool since the days of RMS Titanic.

But these days, all is not well in the Anfield boot room. Something indefinable is missing from Liverpool this season. The overall impression is that Liverpool are not pulling in all directions. When Bill Shankly was manager at Liverpool in the 1970s, he once pointed to Roy Evans, then a humble coach for the juniors, that he believed that Evans had it in him to be the greatest manager Liverpool would ever have. Since being appointed manager in January 1994 following the dismissal of Graeme Souness, Evans has struggled to get Liverpool playing consistently. Players have been hit by inexplicable loss of form at critical moments of the season. Evans' judgement in the transfer market has not been at its best. His biggest faux-pas has been to sign Stan Collymore and then see the player refuse to bow to his diktat when ordered to move closer to Liverpool instead of living in Birmingham and commuting each day. The fact that Aston Villa are now experiencing the same problems with a player who clearly believes he knows best is beside the point.

To his credit, Evans has recognised that Liverpool need to rebuild and has sacked former giants, Barnes and Rush, and started to bring in younger elements. But the team has yet to gel properly.

Liverpool have dropped points to most of the teams at the bottom of the table. They have drawn at Southampton (1-1), lost at West Ham (0-2), drawn at Bolton (1-1), lost at Everton (0-2) and drawn with Wimbledon (1-1). This is not the sort of performance we have come to expect from Liverpool.

Over the years, there have been many absorbing games involving Liverpool and Tottenham. Like it or not, possibly the best game occurred on September 2nd 1978 when Liverpool shattered Tottenham, 7-0. Even the most fanatical Tottenham supporter has to admit that Liverpool were a bit special that afternoon. The best goal was the last when McDermott volleyed a ball from well out to the right of the goal, deceiving Daines.

Funnily enough, the first time I ever saw Liverpool did *NOT* involve Tottenham. Liverpool and Leyton Orient were going great guns in the old Division 2 and were eventually promoted as Champions and runners-up respectively. The game was a 2-2 draw at Brisbane Road in March 1962. Liverpool were still in red shirts white shorts in those days and had not yet acquired the polish they later achieved. But even then they had a colussus of a centre-half in big Ron Yeats and a striker called Ian St John. (There was a church near Anfield that once displayed a poster 'What happens when the Lord cometh?' to which some wag had scrawled 'Move St John to inside-left!')

Tottenham's first visit to Anfield following Liverpool's promotion was on Good Friday 1963. We were awful as we crashed 5-2 and yet the following Monday, with the bulk of the team that had played at Anfield, we crushed Liverpool, 7-2. Jimmy Greaves scored 4 (including a penalty).

A year later, Tottenham were fighting hard for the Championship and again played Liverpool over Easter. But Tottenham's best days were fading fast. Blanchflower had already retired, Mackay was out with a broken leg and Anno Domini was catching up on the team. Liverpool beat us home and away 3-1. Mullery's goal in the Easter Monday game was his first for Tottenham after transferring from Fulham. His transfer had been delayed to allow him to play for Fulham against Liverpool in the hope that Fulham would beat Liverpool!

Season 1966-67 saw the start of a sequence in which Spurs drew at Liverpool but could not win the matches. They were astutely planned tactical games by Bill Nicholson.

In 1969-70, for example, Perryman, who had just made his debut for Tottenham, was selected to fulfill a harrying role. In one moment, he slid into a tackle on Tommy Smith, then slid into another with Ron Yeats and then into Geoff Strong. These three were the toughest tacklers in the game in those days. Bill Shankly demanded of Bill Nicholson after the game, "Whir did ye fin' tha boy? No one does that at Anfiel'!"

Tottenham have played Liverpool in every competition they have competed in at the same time as Liverpool. By far the most disappointing result (other than the Milk Cup Final at Wembley) was our elimination on the away goals rule at the Semi-Final stage of the 1972-73 UEFA Cup. Had it not been for that, we would have qualified for three successive UEFA Cup Finals.

In January 1985, Spurs played at Liverpool in the FA Cup. That was my only visit so far to Anfield. The journey north by coach wasn't too bad, although we were delayed by a blizzard as we drove on the M6 past Crewe. We fought like tigers but lost by the only goal of the game. The din, of course, was terrific and it was a magical experience to see the Kop in full flow live and not through television.

My final thoughts concern a more recent visit to Liverpool. We were thrashed 6-2. Sedgley and Sheringham scored our goals but we were totally outclassed. And yet at the time we were more optimistic than we had been for a long time that Spurs were at last starting to show signs of being on the verge of being a great team. Time has, of course, proved that to have been a mirage in a desert of hopes and prayers that has, in the main, existed since the summer of 1984. I hasten to add that I have not forgotten the Gazza inspired events of 1991 but there were special factors at play then.

And on Saturday? Will we win? Will we win, heck! But there is a little voice inside me suggesting that Tottenham could win. Note, for example, Liverpool's depressing record against teams at the bottom of the table. They will also, doubtlessly, be feeling low after being eliminated from Europe by Strausborg. There has never been a better time to catch Liverpool with their pants down! If we do win, it'll only be 1-0 since we seem to be incapable of getting to 2 .... unless we play Sheffield Wednesday, of course!

Cheers, Brian

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