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This preview was written by Brian Judson

Full Record of Spurs -v- Middlesbrough

Premier       Pl   W   D   L  For-Ag  Pts
Home           4   1   2   1    4-6    5
Away           4   2   1   1    4-3    7
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Total (Prem)   8   3   3   2    8-9   12
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1)  25  15   4   6   62-40  36
Away (Div 1)  25   3   6  16   25-52  13
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Total (Div 1) 50  18  10  22   87-92  49
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2)   1   0   0   1    2-5    0
Away (Div 2)   1   0   0   1    0-3    0
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Total (Div 2)  2   0   0   2    2-8    0
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Total (Prem)   8   3   3   2    8-9   12
Total (Div 1) 50  18  10  22   87-92  49
Total (Div 2)  2   0   0   2    2-8    0
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Grand Total   60  21  13  26   97-109 61
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This is the perfect game for Tottenham to bounce back from their recent dismal spell. Middlesbrough have been dumped out of the two domestic cup competitions by teams from lower down the League and have no hope of winning honours this season. They have not enjoyed the best of luck in many ways this season but some of the problems can be attributed to the poor management skills of Bryan Robson, who has been heavily criticised in recent weeks by some of the travelling Middlesbrough fans.

Over the years, Middlesbrough have not shone particularly well in all three domestic competitions. They remain one of the few Premier League sides who have yet to win a major domestic honour. Their last silverware of any note, other than for winning the equivalent of the old Football League Division 2 championships in seasons 1926-27, 1928-29, 1973-74 and 1994-95 (in the modern Division 1 format), was as long ago as 1895 and 1898 when they won the FA Amateur Cup Finals. Other than that, it has been their lot to have been perennial runners-up.

Middlesbrough have slightly the better of the exchanges over the years. But after Middlesbrough were relegated to Division 2 at the end of season 1953-54, which ended 25 years of membership in the top flight, Middlesbrough have not enjoyed the best of fortunes. In fact, during the 1980s, the original club was wound up and the present club rose like phoenix from the ashes of the old one. They have always been regarded as the third North East team behind Newcastle United and Sunderland, most of whose honours were won before the First World War.

Whilst Newcastle United have yet to slip to the lower echelons of the Football League, both Sunderland and Middlesbrough have had one spell in the lower half of the Football League, an experience that neither would like to repeat. Middlesbrough's experience was back in the 1960s, when they slipped to the old Division 3. But they soon regained their spot in Division 2 and after John Neal was appointed manager they enjoyed arguably their best spell in the League. No one who witnessed Middlesbrough's 4-0 demolition of Spurs on September 11th 1974 in the 2nd Round of the Football League Cup, when that round was still a single match, will argue about how good that Middlesbrough side was. Tottenham's managerless team (Bill Nicholson had resigned but stayed on as manager until Terry Neill was appointed) had not a clue what to do that evening.

I remember the last time I saw Middlesbrough. The match was televised by Sky in September 1998 and we crashed 0-3. We made a bright start but Baardsen was soon kept busy defending his goal against what was a modest Middlesbrough side. We were awful once we fell behind, simply because we lacked organisation. Ricard scored twice midway through the first half and there was no way we were going to claw our way back into the game after that. Kinder added a third some three minutes from the end.

It was a dreadful contrast to the first occasion on which I had seen Middlesbrough at Tottenham. That was for our FA Cup 3rd Round tie on January 22nd 1966. We won that tie, which was played on a very heavy pitch, 4-0. Dave Mackay scored twice, one of which was a penalty, and Frank Saul scored twice. If my memory serves me correctly, Middlesbrough were awful. That was hardly surprising since they ended that season being relegated to the old Third Division with Leyton Orient.

Our paths next crossed in the Football League Cup in season 1972-73, which we ultimately won at Wembley, beating Norwich City. It took three matches to dispose of Middlesbrough. We drew 1-1 at Ayresome Park, Jimmy Pearce scoring our goal. The replay remained goal-less even after extra time. That was one of the most boring cup ties I have ever seen as neither side looked like scoring. I remember Bill Nicholson fuming over some of the inept shooting that night. The second replay was also played at Tottenham, as we won the toss for the right to stage the game. This time, we won 2-1, thanks to goals by Gilzean and Peters, but it again required extra time. Two nights later, we beat Millwall.

The closest that Middlesbrough have ever come to winning the Football League Championship was in season 1913-14 when Middlesbrough finished third behind Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa. Some Middlesbrough fans are convinced that Middlesbrough might have won the League if the Second World War had not broken out. They were building a very useful team which was beginning to gel. They had been on the fringe of the hunt for the championship in season 1937-38 and 1938-39. Who is to say they are wrong?

I cannot allow this preview to pass without mentioning one of Middlesbrough's greatest players. Brian Clough spent the majority of his playing career with Middlesbrough. Unhappily for him, it was at a time when Middlesbrough were little more than an average Second Division side. There are still Middlesbrough fans who can remember Brian Clough scoring 5 goals out of a 9-0 thrashing of Brighton and Hove Albion on August 22nd 1958.

If Spurs can get their act together, we ought to win at the BT Cellnet Stadium. Middlesbrough and Tottenham have similar problems in that they lack the depth of a good squad of players and have long term injuries. Gascoigne is no longer an automatic choice for Middlesbrough and may not even be on the bench.

I take Spurs to win 2-0 tomorrow. We need to win if we are to remain in the top half of the table. I think we are a better side than Middlesbrough and we ought to be able to build on our recent run of good results up there.

Cheers, Brian

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