My interview with former Spurs player Len Worley:

Regarded by supporters of Wycombe Wanderers as a legend of the club, winger Len Worley’s nickname during his playing days was “ the Stanley Matthews of amateur football ” for a reason. A fine dribbler and crosser of the ball, Worley was primarily a winger, whose tricky feet made life difficult for opposing defenders. The Chalfont St Peter born player first played for his local village side, before beginning his career as an amateur as a sixteen year old with Wycombe Wanderers back in 1954. Worley spent most of his career (he made 512 competitive appearances in total for the ‘ Chairboys ’) at Wycombe Wanderers over a 15 year spell. Helping Wycombe to get to the FA Amateur Cup final at Wembley, the former right winger who represented England at youth and amateur level then joined first division side Charlton Athletic as an amateur back in 1956. Worley made one competitive appearance for Charlton before returning to Wycombe. Len then joined Tottenham Hotspur as an amateur later on in the 1950’s, he spent a year there making one competitive appearance for the first team. That came in a league game against Sheffield Wednesday in October 1959. Worley filled in for Terry Medwin who was away on international duty with Wales. That same month Worley was offered a professional contract by Spurs however, he declined this offer and returned to playing amateur football with Wycombe who he spent another ten years at. Upon leaving Wycombe in 1969, Worley continued to play amateur football. He played for the likes of Chesham United, Wealdstone, Slough Town and Hayes. After retiring from playing Len went into the property business and he also owned a sports shop. Recently I had the great pleasure of catching up with Len Worley to discuss his time at the Lilywhites.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

Len: I suppose the most significant thing that happened was I was playing for Chalfont St Peter youth club (under 18’s) and at the end of the season Wycombe Wanderers came to play the Chalfont St Peter senior team in a friendly. And the Chalfont St Peter’s senior side found themselves short of one player, so they rang the youth club and said have you got anybody that can sort of step in and play against Wycombe Wanderers in a friendly? And so they got in touch with me and I went on and played and the manager of Wycombe said to me how would you like to play for Wycombe next season? And I thought yeah fantastic! I was only 16 at the time and so the following season when I’d just turned 17 I went to Wycombe and after three or four reserve team games I got into the first team, and then at the end of that particular season I was off with the England youth team to play in the European youth championships. So it was all pure luck, being in the right place at the right time but it made a huge difference to my career and it sort of got me going if you were.

What are your earliest memories of your time at Spurs and how did you come about joining the club?

Len: Well there were a number of professional clubs that wanted to sign me and I had had a season at Charlton Athletic and they were keen to sign me as a full time professional but I didn’t really want to move to the east end of London. So I went back to Wycombe and then Tottenham came in and were very keen, and so I thought oh yeah Tottenham are a big club, so I’ll go and see how things pan out. I played a season mainly in the reserve team as I was understudy to Terry Medwin, and at the end of the season Bill Nicholson the manager said “ look Len we can’t keep paying you ten pounds a week under the counter. I want you to sign full time pro. ” And so I said I’m not sure because the main reasons that I had doubts were one because I was playing for the Great Britain Olympic team and hoping to get to to the Olympics, and I was also playing for the England amateur side. I was also studying to be a surveyor and Wycombe were keen to have me back, and in those days maximum wage was 20 quid a week, so obviously going back to Wycombe I was being paid, and equally I was being paid to be a surveyor. And of course there were was also the chance of playing in the Olympics. So that was the reason why I decided to move away from Tottenham but obviously if I had the same decision to make today then they wouldn’t be offering me 20 pounds a week, they’d be offering me something like 20 thousand pounds a week which is totally different. So very briefly that was how it all planned out. However, there was another factor and that was that Wycombe were a so called top amateur side and we were playing in front of big crowds of up to 14,000 and we’d got to the amateur cup final and played in front of 95,000. And I was also playing for the England amateur side, so it was quite a wrench to give all of that up for the gamble and the chance of playing for Tottenham. So in those days that was my decision but today I would probably make a different decision however, today I’m 83 and not 23.

What was your time at the Lilywhites like on the whole?

Len: On the whole it is difficult to describe really to be honest with you because was playing in a professional club as an amateur I didn’t really sort of get to know the players very well, because I wasn’t training with them. I was just basically playing with them on a Saturday and so the only guy that I got to know well was Cliff Jones, because we were in the same national service unit together in St John’s Wood, London. So Cliff and I were there together so I got to know him for about 18 months and he was actually a Tottenham player at the time as well as playing for our unit at the same time. So he was probably one of the best players that I actually played with or against actually.

Could you talk me through your competitive debut for Spurs against Sheffield Wednesday on the 17th October 1959 and how it came about?

Len: It was simply that Terry Medwin was on international duty and Bill Nicholson called me up to take his place. I travelled up by train with the team and played the match, and then traveled back again and that was it. 1959 is an awful long time ago so it was not a really significant memory for me because I played a lot of reserve team games with people like Johnny Brooks and Terry Dyson and people like that, so obviously that was more memorable than just the one first team game.

Did you have any footballing heroes/inspirations and if so who were they?

Len: Well the obvious one was Stanley Matthews as he was my idol and I based my game on him, and I was funnily enough recognised as the amateur Stanley Matthews. Because I used to like to take the ball up to the fullback and dribble past him and take people on and be a little bit of a showman really, and just to have my name associated with him was an honour in itself to be honest. Not only was he somebody that I looked up to but I did actually meet him on two or three occasions as well which was great. He was a great player and a star of the time in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

What was it like to represent your country at youth and amateur level?

Len: Clearly whenever you represent your country it’s special and I think to be suddenly playing for Wycombe Wanderers first team and also going to play for the England youth team in Italy in the European championships was really special. Particularly when they get in touch with you and tell you that you’ve been selected and you go up to London and get fitted out with your blazer and your trousers, and your instructions are given to you about where you meet, the plane you are going on and where you are staying in Italy, and who you are playing against is really quite special. We didn’t do very well mind you but it was just an honour to be participating really. A similar sort of thing happened with the England amateur side when we were going to play in the European championships which again happened to be in Italy, and again the same sort of thing happened. So it was just a proud moment and I’ve relished it ever since, I mean at the end of the day there are not too many people who are lucky enough to represent their country, particularly at football. I’m also still lucky enough to be able to run around a tennis court and to be able to walk up the golf course.

Could you describe to me what type of player you were and what positions you played in during your time at Spurs?

Len: Always I played as a number seven from the age of about ten until I finished playing at about 41, I never changed. I played number seven right the way through my career.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

Len: No one particularly influenced me at Spurs but as I say Cliff Jones was someone who I got to know better than anybody simply because we were in the army together and I looked up to him as a player. However, because I didn’t train on a daily basis with them I really didn’t get to know anyone in particular. I did sort of speak to people like Danny Blanchflower and Dave Mackay but I didn’t get to know them well because they were just your teammate who you wouldn’t come across very frequently. So as I say I spent 15 years at Wycombe and played over 500 games for them and then various other clubs such as Slough and Wealdstone and Hayes and Chesham, and as I say I finished when I was 41 and so I had a good innings really. The only reason I stopped really was because when you get to that age you tend to lose your pace and your playing against players who just want to get you, and also as I was running a business I couldn’t afford to get inured, and so it was about right that I gave up and concentrated on my tennis than on football, and I was lucky enough to play for my County which is nice. So I’ve been lucky. 

Were there any players at Spurs who you would watch closely to try and improve your game or look to learn from?

Len: No not at all as I didn’t get to know them well enough and so it was only Cliff Jones that I did know well.

What prompted you to leave Spurs and could you talk me through your career after you left the Lilywhites?

Len: Well as I said earlier I was prompted to leave because I had the opportunity to play in the Olympics, I was playing for the England amateur side and I was studying at the time and I wanted to complete my studies, and I was about to get married. Also Wycombe were keen to have me back and so they were the main reasons and also I felt much more comfortable playing for a team like Wycombe than I did for a team like Tottenham for some reason, because I was a different type of individual and character. However, as I say today would be a different answer to that question, but in those days 20 quid a week was quite good but it wasn’t that good. I mean I was going back to Wycombe and getting paid ten pound a week to play for them plus furthering my career. After leaving Wycombe I went to Slough and then Hayes, Wealdstone and Chesham. 

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

Len: I suppose it would be getting my first amateur England international cap and probably playing at Wembley which is something totally different to any other experience that you get. To suddenly be playing in front of 95,000 people on a pitch that’s absolutely perfect is brilliant but unfortunately we lost the match to Bishop Auckland who were a top amateur side. Also the amateur game when I played was quite high profile as I’ve just said and can you believe 95,000 people watching an amateur cup final. When I played for my first international cap we played at Peterborough and yet there were ten thousand people there watching an amateur international match. You know things were totally different then to what they are now, I mean everything now is focused on the Premier League which is the thing and nothing else gets too much of a look in. Whereas in my day the amateur game got headlines, and the professional game was professional which was fair enough but the amateur game as I say was highly thought of.

Who was the greatest player that you have had the pleasure of sharing a pitch with? 

Len: Probably Cliff Jones funnily enough and I shared a pitch with him on a number of occasions both in the army and in the practice matches at Tottenham. So yeah he was definitely the best player who I shared a pitch with.

What was it like to don on the famous Lilywhite shirt of Tottenham Hotspur and how did it feel to play for them at one of the highest points in their history?

Len: I guess that it was an honour at the time but as I said earlier because I didn’t really feel to be part of the team as a whole and the club as a whole, it didn’t have quite the same significance. If I had been training regularly with the players and meeting them on a day to day basis then I think that it would have been totally different, but because I was the sort of guy that just came into play as and when it wasn’t quite the same and it didn’t have the same meaning.

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories of your time in the Tottenham reserves?

Len: I can’t even pinpoint a special time or match, I just remember playing with people like Johnny Brooks who could have been a really top class player but he didn’t quite make it. I can also remember playing with Terry Dyson and Bill Brown and one and two other players, but there was nothing that was very significant. My memories at Wycombe were far more significant because they somehow mean much more to me for some reason It was local boy came good type thing.

Who was the toughest player that you ever came up against?

Len: That’s a difficult one but there was a guy who played for Chelsea who was a left back whose name I can’t remember, but he would sort of take the legs of you if he had the chance.

Do you have any interesting stories from your time at Spurs that you’d like to share?

Len: There’s nothing that is really very interesting, the only interesting bit was the fact that Bill Nicholson felt that he couldn’t afford to pay me ten pounds a week under the counter. It’s amazing really a club like Tottenham saying something like that. They said to me you either turn professional or not, and I decided not to.

Were you particularly close with any of your old Spurs teammates during your year there?

Len: No not all but in a way I was sort of an outsider as you could probably imagine just turning up on Saturdays to play for whatever Spurs team I was due to play for. I came and went and that was it really, and I guess that Bill Nicholson always had hope in the back of his mind that I would probably turn full time professional for Spurs. But when it came to the crunch I declined for the reasons that I’ve outlined to you.

Do you ever have any regrets about turning down the professional contract that you were offered by Spurs just a short time before they did the double?

Len: Yes I suppose on reflection I in a way I regret it because I was never quite sure whether I’d achieve my potential and I guess if I’d turned full time pro then I would have then had full time training and full time coaching. And then perhaps it would have allowed me to achieve my full potential, which I never quite know whether I did or whether I didn’t. So I guess that’s the only question mark that I’ve got.

After all these years how do you look back on your time at the Lilywhites and is Spurs a club who you still hold close to your heart?

Len: Obviously I always look to see how they get on and how their results are and I obviously watch them on television etc, etc. However, again I haven’t quite got that affinity with a club like Tottenham that I have with a club like Wycombe because there is a huge difference playing one game for Tottenham’s first team and 500 odd games for Wycombe Wanderers first team. 

My interview with former Spurs player Dennis Bond:

Walthamstow born midfielder Dennis Bond made his debut for his first professional club Watford as a 16 year old. And the boyhood Spurs fan would go onto make many appearances during his first spell at the ‘ Hornets ‘ before the former England schoolboys player joined Spurs in 1967 for £30,000. A good passer of the ball, Dennis who was also a skilful player who went onto make 27 competitive first team appearances for Spurs under legendary former manager Bill Nicholson before leaving the Lilywhites in 1970 to go to Charlton who he enjoyed a good spell at. However, Bond would then move back to his first club Watford in 1972 and would go onto make a further 179 league appearances for them, scoring 21 goals. Dennis finished off his playing career with Dagenham in the Isthmian League. Even after retiring from the game Bond still kept strong links with his second club Spurs and he even used to play for the old veterans team. I had the great pleasure of catching up with Dennis Bond recently to look back on his three year spell at Tottenham Hotspur.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

Dennis: I can remember playing for the England schoolboys team and I can also remember my early years at Watford, but I’ve got loads of early football memories growing up especially of Spurs, because I was a Spurs supporter. Obviously I went to Watford first because I thought that I’d have a better chance of getting on there than at Tottenham. Because at the time Tottenham never really brought a lot of youngsters through their ranks however, it all worked out fine in the end but as I say I’ve got loads and loads of memories. I was very fortunate and it was just a pleasure to play football. 

What are your earliest memories of your time at Spurs and how did you come about joining the club?

Dennis: Well I was first at Watford and I actually played in their first first team when I was 16 when they were in the third division. However, Spurs bought me when Bill Nicholson was manager and they had some great players there at the time such as Alan Mullery, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones, Jimmy Greaves and Pat Jennings who I knew when he used to play at Watford. Pat came to Watford when he was about 18 or 19 from Newry and it was just nice to meet up with him again at Spurs. However, as I say the players at Spurs at that time were very good players in my opinion and they’ve always had good players as long as I can remember as a supporter.

What was your time at the Lilywhites like on the whole?

Dennis: It was really enjoyable but I would have liked to have played more first team games, but there you go the manager picks the side.

Could you talk me through your competitive debut for Spurs against Liverpool on the first of April 1967?

Dennis: I can’t actually remember the game but I know it was against Liverpool and the thing was that I had actually played against Liverpool the same year in the cup for Watford, so when I went to Spurs I was cup tied. However, just making my debut with Spurs was a big experience for me because as I say I had supported them since I was about eight and my brother-in-law used to walk me across Tottenham marshes from Walthamstow. So yes it was a very proud moment for me but I can’t actually say that it was a boyhood dream because I don’t even think that I dreamt about being a professional, and then all of a sudden I got invited to Watford when I was playing Sunday football for a Sunday football side, and the manager of that side was actually a Watford scout. So he took me along there and I enjoyed myself there playing in the Southeastern Counties League and it just went on from there and I went onto play as a schoolboy for England and I could have went to one or two clubs. However, I got used to it and I stayed at Watford and it worked out.

Did you have any footballing heroes/inspirations and if so who were they?

Dennis: Well I was a big fan of Dave Mackay when he was playing in the double winning side because it was just the way that he played and the way that he was. There were many great players in the Spurs side at that time but Dave Mackay was just one of them outstanding sort of character players.

What was it like to play under legendary Spurs manager Bill Nicholson?

Dennis: It was an honour considering the time that Bill had spent at the club and winning the double and that. Bill had the respect of all of the players because he was that type of man.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

Dennis: I suppose that Dave Mackay was in a way because he was still there when I went to Spurs. He set an example in training and things like that but then I could also say that for people like Alan Mullery and Terry Venables and Jimmy Greaves however, Dave Mackay was the best all round player. He was one those players who could play in goal and still have a good game. Obviously Cliff Jones was still there too and both him and Dave Mackay were my heroes in a way from being in the double winning side. So it was an honour to play for Spurs.

Were there any players at Spurs who you would watch closely to try and improve your game or look to learn from?

Dennis: Although it is not a conscious thing you do basically learn off of the other players, it’s silly sort of things that you learn. Such as Jimmy Greaves used to like the ball early so you got to learn things like that by playing with him and training with him. Learning things from players helps your game and also I’m not saying that it helps their game but it becomes an understanding.

What was it like to play with some of the legendary players that were around at Spurs during the late 1960’s?

Dennis: As I say it was an honour not just to play for Spurs but just to play football as I said earlier because I’m very fortunate. Nowadays parents take their kids over to the park to try and teach them this and teach them that, whereas in my day you just used to go over to the park with your mates to play and have a kick about. At that time you never really dreamed of being a professional footballer.

 

What prompted you to leave Spurs and could you talk me through your career after you left the Lilywhites?

Dennis: Well I wanted to get more first team football and Charlton happened to come along so it was an opportunity to kickstart my career again. I’m not boasting but I had a good name at Watford which was why Spurs bought me and it was getting back into the limelight sort of thing if that is the right word. So after spending some time at Charlton I then went back to Watford and then from Watford I went to Dagenham who were in the old Isthmian League, it was actually quite funny because one day I bumped into Frank Saul and he actually finished off his career with Dagenham as well. 

Could you describe to me what it was like to score your first goal for Spurs in a 3-2 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park in 1970?

Dennis: Well it was actually a penalty and I think that the regular penalty taker was injured and if I can remember correctly Alan Mullery said to Bill Nicholson that Bondy could take a good penalty after Bill had asked whose going to take it. I’d taken penalties at Watford so it wasn’t as if it was anything different, and so Mullery said to me where are you going to put it and I I said that I was going to hit it to the left hand side of the goalkeeper. And fortunately I managed to do it. I think that Gordon West was in goal if I remember correctly.

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

Dennis: I suppose it would be signing for the Spurs because as I say I was a big fan. Even when I was at Watford the result that I would look for was always Spurs and remembering that my brother in law used to walk me across the marshes every home game, I was always a big fan. Back then the supporters used to pass you down to the front.

Who was the greatest player that you have had the pleasure of sharing a pitch with? 

Dennis: My best all round player was Dave Mackay but there were a lot of other players such as Bobby Moore who was a great player, but he was a different type of player to Dave Mackay. It’s difficult to say who was the greatest but for an all round player I’d have to say Dave Mackay. However, the greatest goalscorer that I had ever seen was Greavsie and fortunately enough Jimmy was best man at my wedding. Another great player was Cliff Jones and the way that he used to soar up in the air behind tall defenders was incredible. I actually still see Cliff now and again. 

What was it like to don on the famous Lilywhite shirt of Tottenham Hotspur and how did it feel to represent the team that you’d supported as a boy?

Dennis: As I say it was great and an absolute honour. When it came that I was going to be an apprentice footballer at Watford then that was what you wanted to get to but as I say playing for the team that you’ve supported all your life is just an honour. 

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories of your time in the Tottenham first team?

Dennis: I suppose that the Everton goal would be one as well as playing at Manchester United and other such big grounds as Glasgow Rangers. The atmosphere at the grounds years ago was just terrific due to the big crowds that they had and that brought excitement, they were all genuine supporters of their own clubs in them days. I know that the stadiums have all got a bit bigger now but in them days it was all terracing.

Who was the toughest player that you ever came up against?

Dennis: Tommy Smith I would have to say because he was hard and honest.

Do you have any interesting or funny stories from your time at Spurs that you’d like to share?

Dennis: We had some good times and while I can’t really say anything but when me and Cliff Jones have a little chat now we have a little laugh about what things happened. It was a different way of life as a professional footballer in those days and the difference was that you met the ordinary supporter, and when I first went to Spurs the players used to meet friends and the likes in the Bell and Hare. After the games you used to go to the pub and meet the ordinary supporter and had a chat whereas nowadays the players are so far adrift from the ordinary supporter which is unfortunate but yeah it was a different way of life in the football fraternity. Money wise I’d say that we earned a bit above the man in the street however, not like it is today but as I say we used to meet the man in the street. I can remember when I first got married I lived in Cheshunt so I could walk to the old Spurs training ground and when I used to go to White Hart Lane I used to get the bus. And I used to travel down with one of the young apprentices such as Les Boughey who I still see today. 

Were you particularly close with any of your old Spurs teammates?

Dennis: I suppose Cliff Jones because I used to room with Cliff when we went aboard and away. Also Jimmy Greaves was another one who I was close to as he was my best man at my wedding, and if we weren’t playing on a Saturday we used to go to Walthamstow dogs with our wives at night. And then after the dogs finished we used to go and have a beer somewhere.

After all these years how do you look back on your time at the Lilywhites and is Spurs a club who you still hold close to your heart?

Dennis: I still hold them close to my heart and I used to play for the veterans side and I used to go and watch every home game before they stopped the complementaries. I have however, been to the new stadium as one of the supporters who used to come and watch the veterans team phoned me up and asked me if I’d like to go down and see the new stadium, and so he took me down there.

My interview with former Spurs player Graham Thomson:

Graham Thomson of King’s Lynn, County Norfolk was a creative, skilful and pacy inside forward during his playing days at Spurs. Making his debut for his old club King’s Lynn at the very young age of 15 years 9 months and 5 days (this still stands as a record at King’s Lynn) Thomson transferred to Spurs in 1955, when legendary manager Arthur Rowe was still in charge. Although he never played a competitive game for Spurs’ first team during his time there, Thomson played regularly first for our juniors and then for our old A team, he also played for our talented reserve side which contained a number of internationals. Thomson was also a member of the Spurs A team that impressively won the 1960/61 Eastern Counties League. I had the great pleasure of catching up with Graham recently to discuss his spell at the Lilywhites which lasted from 1955 to 1962.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

Graham: I was a young lad and like everybody else I used to kick a tennis ball in the streets. A chap from South Lynn called Jack Thorpe used to look after the A team at King’s Lynn and he invited me to go and train at the club as a young lad and so I used to go there, and the manager at that time was a chap called Paul Todd. While there I used to play for the A side with all the local lads and then I got into the reserve side, and then one night King’s Lynn were playing Bradford Park Avenue at The Walks, and I got picked to play on the right wing and I was just 15 years old. I can remember beating the fullback and going to the byline and pulling the ball back and the centre forward was called Steve Bloomer and he scored.

What are your earliest memories of your time at Spurs and how did you come about joining the club?

Graham: I started to get on at King’s Lynn and because I was 15 several clubs were interested in me. A chap called Percy Hooper who was a goalkeeper at King’s Lynn, came and saw my father and he wanted to take me for a trial with Spurs at Wellesley road Great Yarmouth. In them days that was in the Eastern Counties League with the likes of the Tottenham A team, and so my father and Percy Hooper took me to Wellesley road and Bill Nicholson came. He was the coach at Tottenham at the time and he came, and he played right half and I played on the right wing. So Spurs were interested in me and they wanted me to go on the ground staff, and in them days you went on the ground staff if you showed potential and you would sweep the terraces and do those sorts of jobs (there were three other lads on the ground staff with me). When I turned 17 that was the age that were you good enough to be a professional or were you going to be sent home. However, I got called into the office and Bill Nicholson signed me as a professional.

Was it difficult for you being a young lad from Kings Lynn and then moving down to the big smoke in London?

Graham: Yes it was. I was put in digs just outside White Hart Lane which was strange at first being a King’s Lynn lad however, it turned out to be alright and I was able to see all of the football matches and everything which was great.

What was your time at the Lilywhites like on the whole?

Graham: It was both very good and very hard. Bill Nicholson was a very hard taskmaster but part of it was that I was a good sprinter so he wanted to make a winger of me but I wanted to be in the midfield. I can remember playing for the youth side in the FA Youth Cup in Brentford and I scored a hat-trick and when I came in the dressing room after the game I was so thrilled and all as I’d done ever so well. However, Bill Nicholson gave me the hairdryer treatment because I was running with the ball whereas the Tottenham style in them days was push and run, and because I was running with the ball they weren’t very happy. Playing with the likes of Blanchflower, Maurice Norman who was also a Norfolk lad was great and they were great memories. Also playing with Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Smith was also great. When we won the FA Cup in 1961 and me and my wife went to Wembley and then afterwards we went to the celebrations at the Savoy hotel in London, so they were all good memories that I have from my time at Spurs.

Did you have any footballing heroes/inspirations and if so who were they?

Graham: There were so many of them! I used to look up to Danny Blanchflower and Dave Mackay but there were so many of them because they were all great players. I was also very friendly with Cliff Jones.

 Could you describe to me what type of player you were and what positions you played in during your time at Spurs?

Graham: Because I was quick they tried to make a winger of me but I didn’t like that because I used to like to play in midfield however, I had to do what I was told, and that’s why I got very disillusioned with the game. I used to keep coming in from the wing into the midfield and getting it wrong because I wasn’t staying out wide, and that was in the days of wingers.

How difficult was it for a young Spurs player like yourself to break into the first team back in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s?

Graham: It was very difficult because in those days you had three teams. You had your first team, your reserves and the A team. The A team was for young lads who had just signed professional and our team used to be selected from 15 or 16 players every week. You did well to even get into that A team and Tottenham at that time had three full internationals in the reserves in them days, that was the talent at that club at the time so it was very difficult to get into the first team.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

Graham: Cliff Jones would have been one as he used to talk to me a lot and advice me because he was also a winger. Maurice Norman was another influence because he was a Norfolk lad like I was.

Were there any players at Spurs who you would watch closely to try and improve your game or look to learn from?

Graham: There was a player at Spurs at the time called Johnny Brooks and he had a body swerve and I always used to look at him when he did his body swerve, because the whole crowd used to swerve with him! So Johnny Brooks was a player who I used to look at. 

 

What prompted you to leave Spurs and could you talk me through your career after you left the Lilywhites?

Graham: Well I got called up for national service so I had two years to serve but luckily enough they posted me to Didcot. So every Saturday I used to ring Bill Nicholson up at ten o’clock to see where I was playing on the Saturday, so for two years I would do my national service playing for the army. I was actually married very young and my wife spent a year in London with me before I got called up for my national service and so she went home to King’s Lynn while I did my two years national service. Then when my time was up in the national service I had a meeting with Bill Nicholson again and because in them days you only used to sign yearly contracts, and so I was retained but the trouble was that my wife didn’t fancy coming back to live in London again. So with great regret I left Spurs. I came back and played a little bit with King’s Lynn when Len Richley was the manager, but in them days I played part time. I played for Spalding in the Midland league, also March Town in the Eastern Counties League and enjoyed my time there as it was very nice. However, in them days clubs would come after you and offer you a little bit more money so you could get some good money.

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

Graham: When I was at Spalding we had a very good cup run in the FA Cup and we beat Grantham where Terry Blyth the ex Norwich City was player manager. And we beat Grantham so we made the pot for the first round of the FA Cup and we got drawn against Newport County away and we lost 5-3, but that was one of my greatest memories.

Who was the greatest player that you have had the pleasure of sharing a pitch with?

Graham: That has to be Jimmy Greaves. When I was at Tottenham as a young lad I got picked to play for the FA youth eleven and playing in that team was John Lyall the West Ham player and along with him was Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Moore and Ken Shellito who I can remember being in that team. However, Jimmy Greaves was just brilliant even though he didn’t do a lot of running but he did score the goals.

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories of your time in the Tottenham A team team and reserves?

Graham: We had a very good A side and we won the Eastern Counties League one year as young lads. Then when I got into the reserves which I thought that I did very well to get into the reserves, because in them days you had Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin who were all international wingers so it was a job to break into that side.

Who was the toughest player that you ever came up against?

Graham: Dave Mackay and in practice games you used to keep clear of him because he was very tough. 

Were there any players at Spurs who you were particularly close to?

Graham: Mostly it would have been Cliff Jones during my time at Tottenham. It was recently our sixtieth wedding anniversary and Cliff was going to come down but he was ill so they put a video up, and he had recorded a message on it which was very good of him. 

What would your advice be to the young Spurs players of today as they look to break into the first team?

Graham: If I had my time again for a start I wouldn’t go to a big club instead I would go to a smaller club where I would have more chance to go on. And then if I was good enough then I would get on. So my advice would be to go to a smaller club. 

Do you have any regrets about leaving Spurs when you did?

Graham: Oh yes I do. My father never did forgive me for leaving Spurs.

After all these years how do you look back on your time at the Lilywhites and is Spurs a club who you still hold close to your heart?

Graham: I always look for Tottenham and I’m still very keen on them it’s just a shame that it was so difficult for me to breakthrough there with all of the great players that they had at the time.

My piece on one of Spurs’ last surviving former players from the early 1950’s – John Gibbons:

Back in the year 1950 Tottenham Hotspur football club was being moulded by manager Arthur Rowe into a side capable of achieving great things. During the 1949-50 season Rowe had guided Spurs to win the old second division, and get them promoted back to the first division where they belonged. With players such as goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn, commanding centre half Harry Clarke, wing halves Ron Burgess and Bill Nicholson, and centre forward Len Duquemin, Spurs had a richly talented squad of players with talent and potential aplenty. During the 1950-51 season with Arthur Rowe’s revolutionary push and run style of football, Spurs would go onto spectacularly clinch the first division title for the first time in their history. This was not only a historic time in our clubs history, but also in the history of English football. To have been a player and have been on the books at Spurs during this magical time in the clubs history in the 1950’s, must have been a sensational and invaluable experience. One young man named John Ronald Gibbons experienced just that after joining Spurs during the 1949/50 season from Ipswich Town. Gibbons who was then a budding centre forward who had previously had first team experience with QPR and Ipswich Town, weighed around 11 stone and stood at five feet, ten inches tall. A bustling centre forward who liked to chase the ball, Gibbons stayed at the Lilywhites for three seasons and although he didn’t make a competitive appearance for the first team, he did play in a talented A and reserve team. Still going strong at the age of 95 John still follows Spurs and enjoys watching football. With the help of John’s son Paul I was able to write this brief piece on his footballing career and time at Spurs. Born John Ronald Gibbons on the eighth of April 1925 in Charlton south-east London, the young John Gibbons used to collect Will’s and Ogden’s football heroes cigarette cards. These cards would have had the likes of the great former Everton striker Dixie Dean on them, players who the young football fan John would have undoubtedly looked up to.

Gibbons’ footballing career started off at local club Charlton Rovers’ youth team who he played for. However, when the Second World War broke out young John’s hopes of becoming a footballer (John was also interested in cricket) would have been temporarily disrupted. He joined the army in 1943 and spent around five years there before being demobbed in 1948. After being demobbed the then young footballer made his first foray into senior football when he joined County Kent based club Dartford F.C in the same year. Gibbons made his competitive debut for Dartford in a 9-2 defeat to Bristol City in one of the earlier rounds of that seasons FA Cup (John scored a brace in this game). After impressing for Dartford during his first month there, Gibbons caught the attention of former QPR player and then chief scout at the west London club – Alf Ridyard. Ridyard was impressed so much by John’s performances for Dartford during his first month there that he wanted the young centre forward to come with him to QPR. Dartford however, were reluctant to let their recent acquisition leave however, they were unable to stop John leaving them as he had signed ‘ M ’ forms and therefore had no ties to them. A regular and consistent performer for the ‘ Hoops ’ reserve team who he scored roughly around 16 goals in 20 appearances for. Gibbons made his competitive first team debut for QPR on the 23rd of October 1948 at Loftus Road. One newspaper at the time said on Gibbons debut that the “ Choice of John Gibbons to lead Queen’s Park Rangers attack against West Ham at Loftus – road today raises the question whether it is wise for a young player to make his league debut in a full-blooded Derby game. ” Gibbons played around another seven first team games for the ‘ Hoops ’ scoring two goals. He also helped QPR get promoted from the third division to the second division that season and was awarded with a QPR shield.

After doing his bit at QPR John Gibbons departed the west London club to join Ipswich Town in the May of 1949, he played a few matches for Ipswich’s first team before leaving them in the March of 1950 to join Spurs. Former QPR player George Smith knew Tottenham manager Arthur Rowe and would have most likely recommended John to him. During that 1949/50 season John Gibbons made five appearances for our reserves in the Football Combination League (statistics for goals scored are unfortunately not available). In the following seasons he would go onto play for Spurs in the Football Combination Cup, the Eastern Counties League (he made 20 appearances in that league during one season alone), the East Anglian Cup and the Metropolitan And District League Professional Clubs’ Cup amongst others. However, one of the highlights of John’s time at Spurs was helping them win the Metropolitan And District League Challenge Cup. He played in most of the games leading up until the final when he scored two goals against Headington United to help Spurs to a 6-2 victory to clinch the trophy. John played with future Spurs great Tommy Harmer in the Eastern Counties League, a certain Viv Buckingham in the Football Combination League and also a very young Mel Hopkins in the Metropolitan And District League Challenge Cup. Gibbons would also mix with the likes of first Spurs team players such as Bill Nicholson and Alf Ramsey who he remembers as gentlemen. He liked and respected these players as well as Arthur Rowe, but above all else he enjoyed his time at the Lilywhites. What an experience it all must have been for John to pull on that Lilywhite shirt during one of the greatest times in the clubs history. And for him to have been at the club and playing in a talented reserve side during that time is a testament to his ability as a footballer. After leaving Spurs in 1953 Gibbons returned to Dartford where he saw out the rest of his footballing career. We as Spurs fans should be  proud to call John one of our own.