This preview was written by Brian Judson

Full League Record of Spurs v Man Utd

Prem          Pl   W   D   L   For-Ag  Pts
Home           6   1   1   4    6- 8    4
Away           6   0   1   5    2-11    1
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Total (Prem)  12   1   2   9    8-19    5
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1)  51  20  19  12   89 -64  63
Away (Div 1)  51   9   9  33   55 -101 28
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Total(Div 1) 102  29  28  45  144 -165 91
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2)   4   2   1   1   10 - 3   5
Away (Div 2)   4   1   2   1    3 - 3   4
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Total(Div 2)   8   3   3   2   13 - 6   9
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Total (Prem)  12   1   2   9    8-19    5
Total (Div 1) 102 29  28  45  144-165  91
Total (Div 2)  8   3   3   2   13 - 6   9
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Grand Total   122 33  33  56  165-190 105
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This week's match will almost certainly be a much more difficult match for Tottenham than the cup tie of a week ago. For starters, the visitors will have a very different eleven from the one that played at White Hart Lane. Now they have qualified for the quarter-finals of what used to be known as the European Cup, when true champions played for the highest European club trophy, Manchester United will almost certainly be a much more relaxed side. For the next three months, they are free to switch their attention to domestic affairs without worrying about their next flight to Europe.

There have been changes, though. Brian Kidd has left for the hot seat at Ewood Park where he will find that avoiding trips to places like Burslem and Bradford will be a higher priority than considering flights to Barcelona and Madrid. Also, Schmeichel, he of the spitting expletives, has announced he is going home at the end of the season, weary of the eternal round of matches and the non-stop travelling. This will leave a huge hole in the United defences as Schmeichel has been instrumental in saving many shots that might otherwise have been goals. They may well be considering the situation at Tottenham where Spurs have two potentially good goalkeepers in Ian Walker and Espen Baardsen.

In the past, games between the two clubs have, by and large, been played in the spirit of the game. I can remember season 1967-68 when Spurs played them three times in one week. They were drawn against them in the FA Cup when they set out in defence of the FA Cup they had won by beating Chelsea the previous May. Chivers scored two goals in a titanic thriller only days after signing from Southampton. The replay at Tottenham the following Wednesday (none of this rubbish about providing 10 days notice of a game to the police in those days) saw the game go to extra time and Robertson score the only goal of the game. Then, on the Saturday, the two clubs clashed again in the League. Spurs were leading for much of the match until Manchester United made two late strikes. And, as far as I can recall, there were no bookings or dismissals. I can remember Bobby Charlton applauding a fine save by Pat Jennings. These days someone would probably try it on by appealing for a penalty ....

Although there have been titanic games over the years, I think that up to about the start of the '70s, they were played in the spirit of the game. I suspect it was the violence handed out by the neanderthal element in the ranks of their supporters that had a lot to do with the evaporation of the admiration for Manchester United. I remember how overjoyed many people were to see the club tear itself apart on the question of what to do about George Best when he started to go AWOL before matches. That was probably one of the contributory factors that led to their relegation in 1973-74.

Part of the problem was the long shadow cast by Matt Busby. His successors all found it difficult to breathe until Alex Ferguson came along.

Those of us who can remember the pre-Munich Busby Babes will hesitate for a long while before we concede Ferguson's teams could possibly match the potential the Babes never attained for no fault of their own. Certainly Giggs is nowhere near as good as Best, who played in the mid-sixties and early seventies, at his best. Possibly the only player of Ferguson's team who could walk into Busby's might be Beckham. Schmeichel, of course, is superior to most of Busby's 'keepers, although Harry Gregg might run him close.

Although I do not expect to see many goals this week, I thought I would point out that our record victory against Manchester United is 6-1, played on 10th September 1932. Manchester United were dreadful in the 1930s when they were the poorer of the two Mancunian teams. It is hard to credit they came to within one point of relegation to the Third Division (North) during the 1930s.

And the result this week? I think there will be only one goal in it if there is a definite result but I suspect the most likeliest outcome is a draw. It will be a low scoring match with goals coming late in the game if there are any.

Cheers, Brian

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