Bobby Arber was at Spurs as a coach during the 1990’s, a time at the club which saw him become youth team manager and also manager of the Spurs reserves, and in total Bobby was with Spurs for almost ten years. A former Arsenal youth and reserve team player, Bobby would also play for Leyton Orient as a first team player, before later joining Southend United on loan, for a spell. Arber would later play in South Africa, for Rangers FC, before returning to England, where he played non-League football for a while. He did however, finish his playing career in America. However, I recently had the great pleasure and privilege of interviewing Bobby about his memories of his time with Spurs, as a coach.

How did you come about joining Spurs as their youth team manager/Under 18’s head-coach, before also becoming reserve team manager? And could you talk me through your memories of your time at Spurs?

Bobby: I was very much linked with Pat Holland, and we were big friends outside of the club, and so it seemed like quite a natural progression for me to go to Spurs. In those days we had the South-East Counties League Division One and Two, and so I was in charge of the younger team, which had Peter Crouch and Ledley King, and also Luke Young and Stephen Clemence, and they’re lads who I all still keep in contact with now. Pat Holland would later leave Spurs to go to Leyton Orient, and so I then took the Spurs reserve team for a year, as Chris Hughton had gone up to the first team. Pat returned to the club a year later, and at the time I was still in charge of the reserves, but the then Spurs manager George Graham asked me to watch some overseas matches at that time, but that’s how it all came about. My time at Tottenham was a very, very good time, and they were very good memories. When I first joined Spurs, Terry Venables was the manager, and he attracted loads and loads of good players. John Moncur Senior was the head of recruitment at Spurs at the time, and he helped to get a lot of good players to Spurs, such as Sol Campbell. Although they never really played together, Sol and Ledley King would have been the best. Stephen Carr was another who I coached, who was one of the best alongside Sol Campbell, Ledley King, Luke Young and Peter Crouch.

I was still coaching at Spurs when David Pleat came back to Spurs, and we probably didn’t see eye to eye at times. I met with Liam Brady after he invited me over, and so that’s how I went to Arsenal. There was no we don’t like Spurs, or we don’t like Arsenal, as it was just about focusing on developing players, and on the academy. I found that Arsenal were more intense on beating Spurs in games at that level, than Spurs ever were, when I was there. Pat Holland was all about developing players, which was what we were good at, and a lot of players came through the system at Spurs during our tenure, and who went on to play in the first team. Some had great careers, like Ledley, who should have been the best, but obviously injuries held him back. I remember when Ledley retired, and they were having a presentation for him at Park Lane, and I was asked to go up and give a speech about him, which was nice. However, they were all really good times.

You were in charge of the Spurs youth side that won the 1996 Milk Cup, in Northern Ireland. What are your memories of that successful tournament?

Bobby: The Spurs side was very young compared to some of the other sides at the tournament, and so I played three at the back so that we could have a little bit more security on the pitch. Ledley King was still a schoolboy footballer at that stage, and while I still played the older players from that group of players, I still picked Ledley, because he was just so good. I don’t think that we had the best team at that tournament, but I think that we had the best spirit. We got better as the tournament went on and we went on to beat Blackburn in the final, and they had been the favourites to win the tournament, but we played very well on that day. Now when I say that Ledley was the best player of that group, no one now can really argue otherwise. I can remember picking Ledley for the reserves when he was still a schoolboy footballer, and David Pleat was asking me why I was picking Ledley over the more experienced players, and he wasn’t too happy. But then after the game he said well done, and me and David get on better now than what we ever did at Spurs. But as I said, Ledley was the best, while Peter Crouch was a late developer and Luke Young was someone who gave his all every single time, although I never expected him to play for England. Also, Stephen Clemence was a good player, who had a very, very good career, as well as Jamie Clapham.

Whereas today a lot of youngsters want to go on their computers and play video games, then when I was a coach all they wanted to do was play football. When we used to get back to White Hart Lane, we’d ask Bill Nicholson questions, and the players would always be asking us whether we were ready to play football yet. And so it was a really good time, but from all of my coaching skills I would say that from the actual practices, that Pat Holland showed me them all, from his time at West Ham. And so all of the stuff that we did at Tottenham was West Ham stuff.

During your time at Spurs you would coach many very good players. What was it like to coach such quality players on a day to day basis?

Bobby: It was a pleasure, and every day that we went in was great. We wanted to win at Spurs at youth level, but that wasn’t just it. I remember that when I was in charge of the younger South-East Counties League team, that we were playing against teams like Wimbledon’s under 18 side, whereas our team was basically an under 16 team. So we basically used to make sure that they were organised and that they worked their socks off, but again our team spirit used to get us through. As a club we were always together, first team and academy. I can remember doing a training session, when all of a sudden I felt that someone was standing behind me, and it was Terry Venables. I asked him how long he’d been standing to which he replied long enough! So he’d always be interested and asking you questions of what was going on, and he was just terrific. He used to ask all of the coaches questions of what they were going to do in in game situations. 

What was your time at Spurs like on the whole?

Bobby: I’ve got to say that my time at Spurs was a pleasure, just like it was at Arsenal as well. At Spurs we had a great team, the same at Arsenal, and I think that it’s important not to change staff all of the time, as it doesn’t help the players. So the players knew what we wanted, and I think that they believed that we were saying the right things to them. And the proof is in the pudding, with how many players progressed at Spurs, players who I’d forgotten to mention earlier, like Ian Walker and Nicky Barmby. I remember when Ledley King first came to Spurs, and this is a great story. Anyway, John Moncur Senior had told me that his cousin was coming down to train with Spurs on a Tuesday night, and that he was bringing his mate with him. So his cousin came in, and with him was Ledley. We did some running afterwards and he was miles behind, but Ledley’s ability was so good. I can remember about a week later John asking me how his cousin did, and I told him that he didn’t do bad, but I also said that his mate was different class! And I think that it was Tommy Cunningham (former Spurs youth coach) who was the one who first recommended Ledley to Spurs, as Ledley had been at Leyton Orient before that, like Tommy Cunningham had been. 

Ledley King didn’t know how good he was, as he was like a Rolls Royce, he really was. He could run, he was both footed and he was just so good. I remember speaking to George Graham once, and I spoke to him about this young central defender. He asked me what he was like and if he could head the ball? And I said that I didn’t really know, but after the training session I asked him how he did, and George smiled and told me to never send over a central defender who couldn’t head the ball, as he was different class!

Were there any people at Spurs who you looked up to, during your time with the club as a coach?

Bobby: Pat Holland was definitely someone, because we worked so closely together. After training we used to do formations on the table and also prepare sessions for the evening, because at the time we used to have to coach the Spurs Under 16 side and the other youth sides, not like today where you didn’t have to do that, but we had to work the whole day. So Pat Holland would have been the main person who I looked up to and latched onto every word from, but there was also obviously Terry Venables, because of the authority that he had at the club. He had great charisma, and the players loved him. Spurs were a lesser team without Terry, because of the names of the players that he brought to the club, like Paul Gascoigne, Darren Anderton and Teddy Sheringham. 

Are there any memories from your time at Spurs which really stand out to you?

Bobby: I always liked it when the players that I had coached had made it for the first team. That was what we were all about, yes we wanted to win, but to actually see the players get better and then progress and reach the first team, is what it’s all about. Some make it early like Ledley King and Stephen Carr, and others like Peter Crouch do it a bit later. My son Mark was a substitute for the Spurs first team against Arsenal at Highbury, and so he was warming-up on the sidelines when Spurs were losing 1-0 and Gerry Francis asked Mark to get ready to be substituted on. But Roger Cross had to remind him that Gerry had already put all three of his subs on! So Mark was gutted that he couldn’t make his competitive debut for Spurs in that game. There were players at Spurs like Kevin Maher and Peter Gain who were just not quite at that first team level at the club, but they still had very good careers. Also, there was David Lee, who is now doing very well as a football agent. So I’ve got a lot of very good memories about Spurs and the set-up, and it was just a joy to go into work everyday.

From your time with Spurs as a coach, and particularly as Youth Team manager, looking back which players really stood out to you for their technical ability and talent?

Bobby: One of the most technical players was Peter Crouch, he really was. If I was going to do a session in the afternoon then Peter wouldn’t be taking shots at goal, instead he’d be doing step-overs and things like that. He was very good at volleying and controlling the ball, and so technically he was very good, like Ledley King, Stephen Carr and Nicky Barmby. Also, there was Danny Hill, who was very technical. Unfortunately he was going to make it big or not at all, but he was a very clever player. Sol Campbell wasn’t the best player, but he had great drive. When he came from Spurs to Arsenal, which was massive at the time, he just took it on his shoulders. I’ll tell you a story which I’ve never really broadcast before, and so anyway I once asked Arsène Wenger whether he’d be interested in signing Ledley King, when I was with Arsenal. And Arsène Wenger was up for it, and it never happened because Ledley’s loyalties and also his agents loyalties were with Tottenham. Stephen Carr was another player who was very good for Spurs, and he was someone that I coached.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement/contribution in your time as a coach with Spurs?

Bobby: I think that as I said before, it’s not winning matches and leagues, it’s about developing players. The young players have got to have a winning mentality, but you don’t want them to feel fear when they are playing. So I think that we allowed the players to express themselves and be themselves to the best of their ability, knowing that we were on their sides. And that if something went wrong then they could talk to us off the pitch, and not be afraid to ask you questions. So I think that that is a triumph, as I think that a lot of youth players today find it a bit difficult to talk to someone of authority. I’ll keep going back to Ledley King, as he was really the outstanding player of Tottenham’s youth team along with Sol Campbell and Stephen Carr.

The Spurs Academy/youth team group of the late 1990’s had a very talented group of players. What do you remember of that group of players, and their success as a team?

Bobby: I can remember that Spurs team well, and one day we were playing Arsenal at Highbury, in the final of the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup. Pat Holland had taken the team, but I sat next to him at the game, because we could bounce off each other as we had that good communication between each other. At half-time I asked Peter Crouch whether there was any chance of him winning a header in the game, and after half-time he scored a headed goal after a cross had been whipped into the box, and he just looked at me. So that was a good memory, but Arsenal at the time had the likes of Ashley Cole in their youth side coming through to the first team. But today it doesn’t happen like that, as you only get one every couple of years who makes it at clubs.

What would your advice be to the Spurs Academy players of today, as they look to make it in the game?

Bobby: I think that you should listen to your coach and your parents, but once you cross that line you’ve got to show a great attitude and work as hard as you can, and then your own ability will come with that. If you practice diligently, and work hard and train everyday then you’ve got a chance. Oliver Skipp when he was younger wasn’t a standout in my opinion, but his excellent attitude has been very important to his career. Your attitude is so important.

After all these years how do you look back on your time with Spurs? And are they a club that you still hold close to your heart?

Bobby: I still hold very, very fond memories of my time at Tottenham. I was at Arsenal for nearly 20 years, and I’ve got just as many fond memories of my time at Arsenal as I do at Spurs. So I wish Spurs just as much success as Arsenal, as they are both clubs that I have great memories of being at.

As a midfield player Neil Douglas was a very tough tackling one, who played the game at a good intensity. From Hamilton, in Scotland, Neil was scouted by one of Spurs’ Scotland scouts and would join Spurs in 1960, playing there for a while in the youth team, and also in the old Wood Green league, on occasions. Neil was on the ground-staff at Spurs for just under a year during the early 1960’s. I recently had the great pleasure of speaking to Neil about his memories of his time at Spurs as a youth team player.

What is your earliest footballing memory?

Neil: I remember when I got picked for the primary school football team, and I remember playing in a blue jersey for that team, and I must have been about nine then. So that would be my first footballing memory.

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

Neil: I had played with the school team and we got to a cup final, which we won. My mother told me that some guy was at the door of our house, and that he said that he was from Tottenham Hotspur. After that I’d played for the Hamilton district team and the Lanarkshire Schools team, but because I was travelling down to London in Easter of 1960, I missed out on being capped for Scotland’s Schoolboy team, which is what I had been told. I can remember getting the sleeper train down to London from Glasgow, where I was met by a guy called Harry Evans. I played against Crystal Palace in a South-East Counties League game at 11 o’clock on a Saturday, before we went to White Hart Lane to watch Spurs versus Manchester City, I think it was. In the Crystal Palace game I played well, but I was a small lad up against really big players. And I think that we won against Crystal Palace in that game. I later got put up at a hotel at Russell Square, by Spurs.

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

Neil: There were quite a few of the Rangers players that I was a fan of, as I supported them. I was also a fan of Dave Mackay, when he was at Hearts, as he was my type of player, and someone who like myself, liked tackling. Unfortunately when I was at Spurs, Johnny Wallis didn’t like me making slide tackles, as while I was good at it up in Scotland, the guys in England were just a bit too fast. So Johnny used to always tell me to get off the floor! I was also always a fan of John White, who played for Scotland at the time, and it was a pleasure to meet him. I went to the movies a couple of times with John, at Spurs, and he was in the army on national service, when I first went down to Spurs. He was staying at the same hotel as myself, and one night rather than going to a show, he asked me if I wanted to go to the movies, and so we went and watched a film. And we did a couple of times after that, as well. So him and I were very friendly.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

Neil: You always looked up to Danny Blanchflower and people like that, and obviously Bill Nicholson as well. Whenever Bill came into a room there was complete silence. There were also people like Dave Mackay, who was first class, and also Bobby Smith, who was quite a character. So my experience at Spurs was really first class.

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

Neil: I was kind of a right-half, centre-half or left-half player, which is now what they call midfield. So I would sort of pick the ball up and take it forward, and also make tackles as well. I would never stop running as I was a fit player, and I’m still quite fit now, at 78. So I was a midfield played who did well in a 4-4-2 formation, who liked playing at wing-half. That’s where they played me on the day that we played Crystal Palace, when they played me at left-half on that day.

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

Neil: I watched Dave Mackay and Danny Blanchflower a lot, but I watched Dave Mackay because he was a very tough and tenacious player. I also used to watch Maurice Norman, the centre-half, and watch the things that he did on the pitch. So I just tried to take it all in, and it was just a good experience and time in my life.

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

Neil: It was excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great experience for me. Coming to London I got to see the buses and the underground, that I’d only ever seen before on the TV and at the pictures. But on the whole my time at Spurs was really first class. I got to meet people like Jimmy Greaves and Dennis Law, when they came down to White Hart Lane. There was a player at Spurs called Tommy Harmer, and his career at Spurs was coming to an end, and I’d never really heard of him, but it turned out that he was a legend. He used to go to places like Earl’s Court, and do kick-ups with the ball and I’d actually seen him do it at the gym at Spurs, and his ball control was absolutely first class.

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

Neil: I played for the school team, Hamilton district, Lanarkshire Schools and then Tottenham, and I really enjoyed it. I even won a junior cup medal at Hampden. The highlight would have probably been going to Rangers rather than going to Motherwell, after I left Spurs, but oh well. I just loved playing football, and I played until I was about 30.

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories or ones which stand out from your time in the Spurs Youth side? 

Neil: One memory was moving in with David Sunshine (former Spurs youth team player) and his family. The reason for that was that I had been living just behind Park Lane in Tottenham, with an old lady. I don’t know whether I upset her, but anyway that’s when David Sunshine stepped in and said that his family could put me up. They were the happiest times, and we used to go to Leyton Baths with him and his brother, to go swimming. We also used to go and watch Leyton Orient, and I and the others used to have this ticket/pass which allowed us to go to all the different stadiums for free. So on the whole it really was an experience for me. I went to Germany with the youth team which was great, even though I don’t think that I actually played for Spurs in that youth tournament. But, the camaraderie of being with the team was great, and I used to help out and things like that. After that I was dropped into a league called the Wood Green league, and I deteriorated after that. I realised that the games were basically being played in public parks, like Hackney marshes. I found myself that I just didn’t have it in games. The club were bringing players in on trial a lot, and so that made it more difficult for me.

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

Neil: Again it’s hard for me to answer that, but to me it didn’t matter, as I would have tackled any player. If a player were to tackle me, then I’d make sure that I’d tackle them before the end of the 90 minutes. So nobody really sticks out in my memory, but I never pulled out a tackle, because otherwise you would injure yourself.

Were there any players at Spurs who you were particularly close to during your time at the club?

Neil: I was friendly with John White, and also Dave Mackay, who you could have a laugh with, and there were other great lads like Bert Wilkie and Jimmy Collins. Bill Brown was someone who I never really got to speak with, but I got on well with a lot of the other first team lads. From the youth side there was obviously Monty (David Sunshine), who was a first class guy. I also got on well with the goalkeeper Martin Edney and Alan Dennis, who was always immaculately dressed, and also there was Phil Beal, who was a nice lad.

Could you talk me through your career after you left the Lilywhites and what prompted you to leave the club?

Neil: I knew that I wasn’t going to get higher with Spurs at the time, and I felt a bit disillusioned, and at 15 I decided to call it a day with Spurs. I went up to Motherwell for a while, although I wasn’t on the ground-staff with them. I later played lower league/non-League equivalent football, and I even got to win a cup medal at Hampden Park! I also took up golf when I was 19, and I’m still playing it now!

What would your advice be to the young Spurs players of today as they look to rise up through the ranks at the club?

Neil: Well I think that the only thing that you can do is to listen and take advice, and also believe in yourself.

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

Neil: I must admit that it was so long ago, and only being there for ten months, I think that I dreamt it. Sometimes people will say to me that he played for Tottenham Hotspur, and I’ll say to them that I was there to clean boots and wash the shirts! But, to say that I played with Tottenham Hotspur sounds a bit ludicrous to me. I can remember painting the stanchions at White Hart Lane with the other ground-staff lads. I can also remember players like Jimmy Collins laying cement down on the terraces and doing things like that during the holidays. The weather was always great when I was at Spurs, it really was terrific.