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This preview was written by Brian Judson

Full Record of Tottenham Hotspur -v- Coventry City

Prem            Pl   W   D   L   For-Ag  Pts
Home             7   1   2   4     7-11   5
Away             7   3   1   3    10-10  10
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Total (Prem)    14   4   3   7    17-21  15
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1)    24  14   6   4    50-30  39
Away (Div 1)    24   8  10   6    33-30  29
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Total (Div 1)   48  22  16  10    83-60  68
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2)     8   6   2   0    18-5   14
Away (Div 2)     8   2   1   5     9-13   5
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Total (Div 2)   16   8   3   5    27-18  19
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Total (Prem)    14   4   3   7    17-21  15
Total (Div 1)   48  22  16  10    83-60  68
Total (Div 2)   16   8   3   5    27-18  19
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Grand Total     78  34  22  22   127-99 102
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Both of last season's matches were drawn. Paul Smith's report on the home game showed that things have scarcely changed since last February. In that match we dominated most of the game (as at Bradford last weekend!) and yet could not kill them off. Graham's post match remarks were very similar to those made last weekend. He had declared himself pleased with the performance, despite the failure to take the chance to leap up the table, saying "We dominated, but didn't kill them off". Wasn't that what he said last weekend?

Last season's away game was played in appalling conditions on Boxing Day. Sol Campbell put us ahead after 17 minutes after Ginola had flicked on Anderton's corner. John Aloisi equalised with just ten minutes left after Ogrizovic and Walker had both made super saves to prevent a goal.

Our record against Coventry City in the Premier League is appalling. In recent years we have developed a habit of losing matches against them. This is something we _must_ correct if we are to climb the League table! It is no good beating quality teams if we fall over playing against the bread and butter teams.

No one who saw the final match of season 1996-97 will forget that game. Spurs were safe from relegation but Coventry had to win to stay up and hope that both Sunderland and Middlesbrough lost their league matches. Spurs chose that game to play one of the most supine displays of all time, allowing Coventry to stay up. Effectively, Middlesbrough were relegated because of the points deducted because they failed to play Blackburn Rovers on the date they were supposed to have done so. Had they fulfilled that league fixture, Coventry would have been relegated irrespective of winning at Tottenham as Middlesbrough had a better goal difference.

Another very disappointing home match was the game played on 21st March 1970. The previous Monday had been transfer deadline day and Spurs had been the day's biggest spenders, swapping Jimmy Greaves, who had not played in the Spurs team since the infamous evening of 28th January 1970, for Martin Peters. Peters was valued at £146,000 and Greaves at £54,000, making the deal the first £200,000 deal in football. Shades of the £15M deal invested in Alan Shearer by Kevin Keegan when manager at Newcastle!

Peters had a quiet debut but still scored. His first goal was typical of the 46 goals he scored in the League. He ran through on the blind side of Coventry's defence to head the ball home. But, because of deficiencies elsewhere, we lost the match, 2-1.

In 1979-80, Tottenham beat Coventry, 4-3. What made this game unusual was the fact that Hoddle scored two penalties. In recent years, there have been so few penalties awarded to us that I am beginning to think we should request that the penalty kick is added to the list of endangered species!

Although not relevant to this preview, I cannot resist commenting on the 1980-81 5th Round cup tie we played against the "Sky Blues". The old West Stand had been demolished and work was going on, laying the foundations for the new West Stand, where I was soon to spend many happy years as a season ticket holder. But it was that match that first provided us with clues that our name was 'on the cup' that year. Is there anyone there that day who has forgotten the look of horror on Dyson's face when he made that awful back pass that enabled Ardiles to nip in and score? At least, that's how I remember it.

It was also against Coventry that an incident happened that led to a total breakdown in communications between Archibald and manager Burkinshaw. It was in the first home game of the 1983-84 season. I remember noticing Archibald pull up and feel his leg. He indicated to the bench that he wanted to come off but Burkinshaw ignored him. In the end, my recollection is that Archibald walked off despite Burkinshaw's instructions to stay on the pitch. After that, although Archibald played in the majority of our matches, it was clear that neither of them were prepared to compromise on the issue and that their relationship had broken down. At the season's end, Archibald left for Barcelona and Burkinshaw left the club, muttering something about there once being a football club over there, motioning to the West Stand, as he did so. One wonders how Burkinshaw would have got on with Alan Sugar .........

The home game with Coventry in season 1988-89 had a chequered history. I was on honeymoon and had to miss the start of the season scheduled for 27th August 1988. We were in Alnwick that Saturday and I wondered how we had got on as, of course, being on honeymoon, one doesn't bother with newspapers .... And looking at the football results, I couldn't find Spurs listed. But there it was in the stop press that the game had been postponed because work had not been completed on the refurbishment of the East Stand and so a Safety Certificate could not be provided, hence enforcing the postponement of the fixture. The Football League tried to deduct points from our total but, as with a later, more dramatic situation, Spurs talked their way out of trouble and merely paid a fine. When the game was eventually played in mid-November, Paul Stewart scored our goal in a humdrum 1-1 draw.

Finally, we should note that 'Juke Box' Durie scored the only hat-trick of his career in our colours against Coventry on 28th March 1992 when we won 4-3, the "Nicest Man on Earth" (Gary Lineker) scoring the other goal. Is there anyone like me who still wonders why on earth Durie, complaining about feeling homesick for Scotland whilst at Chelsea, signed for us when Tottenham is not that much closer to the Gorbals?

And today's outcome? The omens are not good. Firstly, most clubs competing in Europe find that following a match in Europe a League fixture goes down like a lead balloon with the players who find it hard to motivate themselves. Secondly, we do not, in recent years, have a particularly good record against Coventry. And, unfortunately, I understand that we do not have any female officials to annoy the misogynistical Gordon Strachan.

So, I hope for a draw at best, say 1-1, but fear we will lose. If we win, I'll be a very happy man but I'll be looking for signs of six pink pigs flying in perfect formation in the direction of White Hart Lane!

Cheers, Brian

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