This preview was written by Brian Judson

Full Record of Derby County -v- Spurs

Premier       Pl   W   D   L   For-Ag  Pts

Home           2   1   1   0     2-1    4
Away           3   1   0   2     4-6    3
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Total (Prem)   5   2   1   2     6-7    7
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1)  24  13   4   7    41-25  31
Away (Div 1)  24   3   8  13    29-60  16
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Total (Div 1) 48  16  12  20    70-85  47
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2)   1   0   1   0     0-0    1
Away (Div 2)   1   0   1   0     1-1    1
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Total (Div 2)  2   0   2   0     1-1    2
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Total (Prem)   5   2   1   2     6-7    7
Total (Div 1) 48  16  12  20    70-85  47
Total (Div 2)  2   0   2   0     1-1    2
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Grand Total   55  18  15  22    77-93  56
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Two very tired teams will drag themselves from the dressing room to the pitch at around 2.55pm on Saturday afternoon. Both teams played difficult Cup replays last night with both teams just managing to survive until the final whistle. It will be interesting to see just how much has been taken out of both clubs.

Derby's first visit to White Hart Lane was as long ago as 3 October 1908, during Spurs' first season in the Football League. It was a 0-0 draw. In those days, Derby yo'yo-ed between the two divisions.

Our first clash with them in the old First Division was as long ago as 21 September 1912. Spurs lost 2-1.

I did not see Derby for the first time until 1969-70 when a Dave Mackay inspired "Rams"' side returned to the old First Division for the first time since they had been relegated at the end of season 1952-53. Mackay, of course, was playing in a much different role to the swashbuckler he had been during Tottenham's greatest years. At Derby, he played as a sweeper behind the very young Roy McFarland. That Derby team was a very attractive team, managed by an equally young and brash manager called Brian Clough. Spurs won that game 2-1 thanks to goals by Greaves and Morgan. The win gained revenge for the 0-5 thrashing we had sustained in our visit to Derby County earlier that season. That was the last home appearance in the League for Jimmy Greaves, who was soon to be sensationally dropped and sacked only a couple of weeks later. The goal Greaves scored that day was to be the last ever goal he would score in a Tottenham first team shirt. I don't think any of us realised its significance at the time.

The Derby County team of that period was a very exciting one. Many of them who played for Clough at Derby followed him down the road to Nottingham Forest a few years later after Clough fell out with Derby Chairman, Sam Longson. The John O'Hare and Kevin Hector partnership was a very effective one with O'Hare the target man and Hector scoring the bulk of the goals. Alan Hinton provided most of their crosses and Archie Gemmill worked very hard in midfield. Then there was the canny John McGovern, who could be combative when required. And few Tottenham supporters of that era will forget Roger Davies very quickly. For a very tall and gangly player, Davies was an effective goalscorer. He was mostly a substitute but he scored quite a few goals as Tottenham know to their cost. I still have nightmares about that Cup replay of February 1973 .............

After the departure of Clough, Derby slowly slid down the table until they were relegated at the end of season 1979-80. They spent four seasons in the old Second Division before making the further drop to the old Third Division at the end of season 1983-84. Two seasons were spent in that Division before they began to climb back to the top. On returning to the old First Division at the start of 1987-88, Derby must have hoped that they were back to stay but after only four seasons, Derby were again relegated and missed being founder members of the Premier League. They returned to the top flight at the start of 1996-97.

Of the managers who followed Clough to the Baseball Ground, the most interesting appointments were those of Peter Taylor and Arthur Cox. Taylor had by then fallen out with Clough, breaking up their long-time partnership born in the days when they were at Hartlepool. Taylor spent only two seasons at Derby but could not recreate the glory days, proving it is always a mistake to return to old stamping grounds.

Cox produced a very attractive side and he was a very popular manager at Derby. If memory serves me correctly, the only reason he left Derby was due to increasing problems with his back which made it agony for him to do much.

Probably the match most Spurs supporters recall when talk gets round to Derby County is the game that was played on 8 September 1990 when Gazza scored a hat-trick from a succession of free-kicks. Peter Shilton was in goal, a long way below his peak as a 'keeper, by then already enmeshed in his growing gambling debts that were eventually to crush him. From increasing distances from the Derby goal area, Gazza scored from free-kicks that left Shilton as transfixed as Lot's wife, although, of course, he did not become a pillar of salt! We did not know it, of course, but we were seeing a preview of a certain goal to be scored by Gazza on Sunday, 14 April 1991 ................. I remember how Shilton, still as perfectionist as ever, stamped his feet and had tantrums each time Gazza left him flummoxed.

And so to this week's match. As I say both teams will be tired, although I don't expect it will reach the stage where they'll prop each other up and go to sleep. It won't be a pretty game, however. I wouldn't be surprised given the fact the two teams are draw specialists this season if the result was a 0-0 draw. But we must hope that Ginola has one shot left in his locker as we need a win to boost ourselves up the table. Too many draws in recent weeks has left us teetering on the edge of the bear pit we were sucked into last year. We must not lose sight of the League through concentrating too much on the Cup .......

COME ON YOU SPURS!

Cheers, Brian

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