The year is 1979. Spurs were on a world tour and had traveled to Hamilton, Bermuda, to play a friendly match against a Bermuda Select XI to finish off the post season world tour on the 6th of June. A number of first team players of which included club captain Steve Perryman, Gerry Armstrong, Ossie Ardiles and countless others were unavailable to make the trip because of injury, or because they had already gone away on holiday. Spurs traveled to Bermuda with a first team squad containing just nine players, and only seven of those players were footballers. The other two who had traveled to Bermuda for the match were Mike Varney (Spurs’ club physio) and Peter Day (Spurs’ club secretary). The seven Spurs first team players who were starting for Spurs that day were Barry Daines, Don McAllister, Colin Lee, John Lacy, John Pratt, Milija Aleksic (Milija played outfield during the match as a midfielder), Terry Naylor, Chris Jones and Gordon Smith. Because Keith Burkinshaw’s Spurs side were short of numbers for the friendly match Spurs (this was the first to time to my knowledge that this had happened in a Spurs match in recent history) they asked the home side whether some of their players could be part of the Spurs squad for the match. In what must have been a fantastic experience for the Bermudan players, all four would play in that match for Spurs against their own side, although all four players started on the bench for Spurs, with Peter Day and Mike Varney starting for Keith Burkinshaw’s side.

The Bermudan players were Marischal Astwood, Ralph Bean Senior, Alan Marshall and Simmonds. Alan Marshall was a midfield player, but following his introduction in the second half of the match he would play for Spurs as a full-back, because Spurs were short of numbers in that position. A then 27 year old Ralph Bean Senior made a fine impression on the game following his introduction in the second half, and he scored a goal and also registered an assist after creating a goal. Spurs won the match 3-1. Chris Jones and Colin Lee got the other goals for Spurs, in what would have been a memorable game and day for most of the Spurs players involved. It was certainly a day that won’t be repeated in regards to how Spurs lined up, and also with how many players that they were missing. Although that was a very special day, it wasn’t actually the first time that Spurs had played a friendly match in Bermuda, as they had travelled there to play a match in the 1960s. They would also later travel back to Bermuda to play another friendly in the December of 1986. However, after reading about some of the Spurs players who played in that friendly match all those years ago in 1979, I thought that I’d write a short piece about the match, but also try to collect the memories of some of the players who played in it for Spurs. I was lucky enough to speak to former Spurs players Don McAllister and John Pratt about the day and game, and also former Bermudan footballer Ralph Bean Senior, who I had the great pleasure of speaking to recently.

Thanks must go to Ralph Bean Senior’s old team North Village Community Club, who were kind enough to put me in touch with Ralph. Below are some memories of the trip, day and match from three of the Spurs players who played for Spurs on that day.

Memories of the match from some of the Spurs players who played that day:

Don McAllister: It all started when we won the Japan Cup in an end of season tour. I think that we played a game in Malaysia (I could be wrong). We had a great time in Japan visiting things like a sumo fighters training camp, and of course Tokyo. So we win the cup and some prize money, we could take it home and lose most of it to the tax man, but the club asked if we would be interested in going to Bermuda and for those who could bring out their family, but obviously there would be some of the guys unable to come. I had been to Bermuda a couple of years before when I had finished playing with Washington Diplomats recovering from surgery, after the end of season tour a couple of years earlier. So I knew what a beautiful place it was. We arrived and stayed in a resort called Coral Island, and our families (those available were already there). But there was a little problem. We had to play a match because the club could not just pay for the players holidays, and we were short of players. So new players included Mike Varney, Peter Day the club secretary, and local guest players. And a great day in the history of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club was had by all. Plus we had a great holiday in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

John Pratt: Although I can’t remember the game, from that trip I can remember that our families also went, and that they met us there (we did a world trip and had ended up in Bermuda). I always remember that we were there for seven days, and for six of those days it was raining! But it was a very nice trip and I met up with my mate Clyde Best (ex-West Ham player), who I had played with in America. But as for the game I haven’t got a clue about it, but it was a very relaxing trip. 

Ralph Bean Senior: We had normally hosted English teams before like Aston Villa and Coventry, and each time they had beaten us because of how good they were. We knew that Tottenham were just finishing their league season and that they were coming to Bermuda for a bit of rest and relaxation. But while they were here they decided that they would play a friendly game with our Bermudian national team. But on that particular trip they didn’t bring their full list of players, as they might have been going off somewhere else on vacation. So they were short of a few players, especially outfield players anyway. And so our national coach decided that if Tottenham wanted then they could use a couple of players to make up their numbers. Of course I was one of those players that they decided to bring to Tottenham. But I was a little bit surprised when they (Tottenham) decided to put me on the bench and allow one of the goalkeepers (Milija Aleksic) to play out on the field before letting an outfield player play, but I was content and it wasn’t a problem. Then at half-time the Bermudian team were thinking that Tottenham weren’t going to use me, and that I might as well play the second half with them. So anyway later on in the second half Tottenham decided to bring me on as a substitute, because the goalkeeper that they were using had run out of steam. So that’s when they decided to bring me on as a sub, and when I did come on the field at the beginning they didn’t pass me the ball to see if I could play or not.

It just so happened that the ball bounced towards me and I got it and scored a goal. After that they realised that I could play a bit and so they started to play the ball to me, and later on in the game I managed to create a goal for one of the other Tottenham players, and in the end they won 3-1. It felt really good to play for Tottenham and around that time I was about 27 and I don’t know whether the coach here thought that if Tottenham had saw me playing then they would have given me a trial or something. But maybe I was too old for that. It was a very long time ago, but it was a nice time for me and going back that far to that game I didn’t think that anyone was interested anymore.

(Graham is pictured the fourth across from the left, of the back row.)

Graham Lawrence was a versatile footballer throughout his playing career as he could play in a variety of positions. Scouted by Spurs’ then Chief-Scout Dickie Walker, Dagenham born former footballer Graham Lawrence joined the ground-staff at Spurs for the beginning of the 1958/59 season and he would stay at Spurs until the end of the 1959/60 season. Primarily a youth team player at Spurs, Lawrence did also play for the A team and the reserves on occasions. After leaving Spurs in 1960 he joined Brighton & Hove Albion (after impressing against them in a mid-week game for Spurs). Graham also played for the likes of Cambridge United and Wisbech Town later on in his career. I recently had the great pleasure and privilege of interviewing Graham in person about his time at Spurs.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

Graham: My earliest memory was when I was playing for the school, and then I progressed from there up the grades, and I played for the school side in football and cricket. Dagenham was a big supplier of professional footballers and West Ham was the nearest team, but there was also Tottenham. There was quite a few people from the school who progressed up the stages, and there was also Jimmy Greaves who was in the school further over in Dagenham.

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

Graham: I played for Glendale which was a local football club for juniors, and so I played for them. I got spotted for them by the old West Ham centre-half Dickie Walker, who was a scout for Tottenham and he would go to the junior clubs and like in my case where he suggested that I went to Tottenham. I used to get the Green Line bus from Dagenham to the ground in Tottenham. I went into the ground-staff at Tottenham, which was what they used to call it, and I would clean the boots of the players. We had four teams at Tottenham with 48 players in total, and we used to train with the professionals in the morning and then after lunch we used to clean the boots. I used to play in the A side then, but you also had the Tottenham first team, the second team and also the Mid-week A side, who I also played for. 

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

Graham: As a boy my dad used to take me to watch Dagenham as we supported them, but we’d also sometimes go to watch West Ham play, and the fans there then were mostly dockers. There was no bad language used at the ground then, we just used to have fun. I used to like to watch a number of players play for West Ham, like Geoff Hurst.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

Graham: We had four particular coaches at Spurs then, and also one who was part-time who used to coach the youth team. Sometimes we didn’t used to play regularly as they would have players on trial, and you wouldn’t be able to play. I can’t remember the names of the coaches at Spurs, who coached me, apart from Johnny Wallis. But I remember that one of them used to run a pub in Wisbech for a while in recent years. Sometimes the second and third team coaches used to take the training. I do remember that the first team players used to do what they liked within reason. 

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

Graham: When I was at school I used to play on the right flank, because I could run fast. I later played (at Spurs) at right-half, full-back and inside-forward. Then when I went to Wisbech they played me at centre-forward, and I used to score quite a few goals at centre-forward. I used to score goals after running in from the wing.

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

Graham: Dave Mackay was one, and also Cliff Jones. Dave Mackay was a really hard player and he even broke his leg, but along with him I also looked up to Danny Blanchflower and John White. People like Danny Blanchflower and John White were no different to anybody else, and Blanchflower didn’t have an arrogance about him as he was quite an easy-going sort of person. I also liked Ron Henry and an inside-forward called Tommy Harmer, who was very frail and tiny, and when the pitch was muddy they used to have to play someone else because Tommy couldn’t stay on his feet. I remember that he played at Norwich once for the reserves in the Football Combination, and I remember that he started kicking off and telling me where to go and what to do. I also remember once how Ron Henry got into a little scuffle once outside the ground with a reporter, as I think that the reporter was trying to get information out of him. The players in them days used to do a lot of betting, such as with cards and snooker as well, and when they used to play cards in the snooker room after training they used to bet with quite a lot of money, but then the top earners were only getting £20 a week then. But Bobby Smith did used to get in a bit of trouble because of his gambling. Another thing that I remember was how fast that Johnny Brooks was. 

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

Graham: It was enjoyable even though I didn’t make the grade to get into the first team, but I didn’t know that at the time as I used to train with the reserves and the A side, and I trained then with players like Roy Moss and Brian Fittock. I was always hopeful at Spurs but it was enjoyable, although all of the time that I was at Spurs they only signed one lad onto a contract (Dennis Walker), but also in them days they were able just to go out and buy somebody. Bill Nicholson’s favourite player from my group of players was Frank Saul, who was brought up to the first team, but he was a favourite of Bill Nicholson’s, and Frank was like a centre-forward. Because there were 48 players at Spurs then sometimes I couldn’t get a game on a Saturday for them.

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

Graham: From Spurs I was picked up by Brighton & Hove Albion (after impressing in a mid-week game against them for Spurs), where I progressed from their junior side and A side to the reserve side. After that I was taken on by Wisbech and when I arrived at the station I was picked up by the manager Jesse Pye, who used to play for Wolves and was a top player for them. I was sponsored by a farmer at Wisbech, who used to invite me to his home for dinner. It was enjoyable at Wisbech, as the people there all knew who you were, and also I was the only full-time player there. From there I went to Cambridge United, who I played for in the Southern League, but I later played for Cambridge City before deciding that I’d had enough. I did play for the village side for a couple of seasons with three other ex-pros who had dropped down to play for them, and like them I needed a permit to play. Although I didn’t make the grade at Spurs I was happy with the way that things worked out in the end.

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

Graham: I think that the greatest moment was being invited to go to Tottenham. I also remember when Spurs won the Eastern Counties League (in 1959/60) when I was there, but I had to go there with a sore head on the day. As we were all messing about in the shower at the ground, and Frank Saul had thrown a scrubbing brush across the shower and it had hit my head. That was in the afternoon and then later on I still played in a match, but we had some fun at Spurs during my time there. 

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

Graham: I think that that would be Danny Blanchflower. He would help you and talk to you during matches, whereas some of the other players thought that they were the bee’s knees. But Danny Blanchflower was quite a happy lad who got on with everybody, even if you were just like me and on the ground-staff he would still talk to you. Also there was Dave Mackay and Tony Marchi who I played with, and Tony went to Italy, but he was a good player. Jimmy Greaves was also a good person to play with in matches, and I used to play against him in a school competition. Also there was Tommy Harmer and Cliff Jones. Cliff Jones was the quickest player in the team and at running down the line. You also had big Maurice Norman and Johnny Brooks, and Johnny was very quick in sprint training. Not forgetting John White, who was the king of Spurs at one time, and when he joined after coming from the services I can remember the day that he arrived. He would stand up against people like Dave Mackay, and he was a very good player.

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories or ones which stand out from your time in the Tottenham youth team and reserves?

Graham: I remember once that we went to Copenhagen with Spurs with the junior side for a competition. We traveled by train to Copenhagen, and we traveled from Holland where we got the train, and we got there in a day. We traveled over night and I can remember that we were spaced out in a cabin, and I remember that one of the lads (one of the junior players) had got smelly socks on, and so we put his feet out of the window! 

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

Graham: Ron Henry could be a very tough player, and so I would say that he was the main one.

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

Graham: I was close to a number of lads at Spurs like Brian Fittock. As I used to talk to him and go about with him. I used to talk to Roy Moss as well, and I remember that he was one of the players who used to get a lot of the games. I also remember David Sunshine, as there used to be a record shop down the road from the ground in Tottenham where he used to be, and I used to have to get the Green Line bus to Dagenham. He used to get off halfway on the journey, but I used to always travel with him on the bus. I also knew Micky Harris as we both went to Brighton together after leaving Spurs. 

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

Graham: I would advise them to get a trade. As I was lucky as although I didn’t make the grade I did have somewhere to go to afterwards. I think that you’ve got to try and understand whether you are or aren’t going to make it, and I think that you can tell yourself. As there’s a good number of players who don’t make the grade. Getting that trade helps you when don’t make the grade in football.

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: Tottenham was the club that me and my son Daniel mainly used to go to, but I also went with him for quite a few years to Norwich. If there were two games on the telly then it would always be Tottenham that I would watch. 

Peter John Garland was a hardworking midfield player who liked to pass the ball, and he had a good passing range too. The Croydon born former player who played for Spurs during the 1980s and 1990s, would make one competitive first team appearance for the club during his time in north London, but he did make additional first team appearances in friendlies. However, Garland was a regular and important player for the Spurs youth team and the reserves. After leaving Spurs in 1992, the one time England Under 17 international signed for then manager Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United side. Peter later played for the likes of Charlton Athletic, Wycombe Wanderers and Leyton Orient. I recently had the great pleasure and privilege of interviewing the Spurs fan and former player about his time at the club.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

Peter: That would be playing for my grassroots team which was called Selsdon Juniors. We were out of Croydon and we were a good team and we had some good players, like Gareth Southgate, who was in our team. I really enjoyed playing for them, and then because I was local I ended up training with Crystal Palace, before then training with Arsenal for a while. But Tottenham was always my team and so at 14 a Tottenham scout asked me if I would like to come to Tottenham, and Arsenal had offered me schoolboy forms, but as Tottenham came I said that I was going to go to Tottenham. So I left Arsenal and signed schoolboy forms with Tottenham, and then at 16 I signed the YTS forms.

What are your earliest memories of your time at Spurs?

Peter: When I first came to Tottenham I used to travel up a couple of times a week, and we used to train behind the ground (White Hart Lane) in an indoor AstroTurf area. Spurs had two youth teams and they had the A league and the B league as such, and so on a Saturday you used to play for one of those. I can remember when I was still at school and I had been playing with the South East counties Division Two team, and I had been doing quite well. I got a phone call on a Monday from Keith Blunt, and he said that he wanted me to play in the FA Youth Cup for the main team. And there were a few of the older lads in there like Vinny Samways, and so that was a good achievement for me.

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

Peter: I loved Glenn Hoddle and that’s why Spurs was my team. I used to think that he was brilliant, and I also thought that Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa were fantastic. But Glenn Hoddle was just fantastic with his passing and everything, and it was just a shame that he had already left Spurs when I had actually came to the club. But then when I signed you had the likes of Chris Waddle and Paul Gascoigne, which was great. And actually Chris Waddle was a good friend to me when I eventually left Spurs and went to Newcastle.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

Peter: Keith Blunt was very good in the youth team when I started off there, and there were some good players there like Shaun Murray. I was going in there thinking that me and him were like the same position and that I’ve got to be better than him to play. But Keith Blunt helped me and after playing at Spurs I got picked for the England youth team which was good. But then once I moved on it was Ray Clemence who was the reserve team manager, and I really respected him because he was such a good person, but he helped me out too. 

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

Peter: I played central midfield, and I could either play holding midfield or attacking midfield. I liked to pass the ball as I liked Glenn Hoddle, and I liked the way that he was, and so I wanted to be like him. So one of my strengths was my passing of the ball.

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

Peter: Paul Gascoigne was just phenomenal and he was on a different level to everyone else, but when Nayim came to Spurs he was like the most technical and gifted player that I’d been in the team with. He was so calm on the ball and just brilliant, but Gascoigne was just the best by far. It’s a shame that he got that injury because he would have just went on and been the best ever. 

Could you talk me through your memories of your competitive first team debut for Spurs against Norwich City in the April of 1991. And how did that day come about?

Peter: I was a sub in an FA Cup match at Blackpool which we won, but I never got on. Then when the Norwich game was coming around Paul Gascoigne had just had an operation and so Spurs had told me that I was going to be on the bench that day. They needed Paul Gascoigne to have some minutes and I think that he played about an hour before I got the call that I was being brought on, and I was thinking wow! I didn’t expect it as there were some other good players on there who played in the same sort of position, but Terry Venables told me to get on there, and it was just magnificent and a dream come true.

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

Peter: I really enjoyed it and I learnt a lot but there just wasn’t as many opportunities as you would have liked. Sometimes if a player got injured and you’re in the reserves then you think that you’re going to step into that position in the first team, but sometimes it wouldn’t happen and they’d give someone else a chance. There were no transfer windows then, but at the end of the day you train all week and you just want to play and at the end of it I just wanted to play, as Spurs had a a big squad with big players and so I ended up getting a move. But I loved my time at Spurs and I learnt a lot, and I met some great people and I was coached by one of the best coaches in Terry Venables and I really enjoyed my time there. I’m just glad that I did get on to make my debut for the club that I support, and still support now.

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

Peter: Like I said Spurs had a big squad and it just came about that the old comedian Kenny Lynch, who was a friend of mine was also good friends with Kevin Keegan. He rang me up and said that he had been telling him about me and that he’s had a look at you, and he’s spoke to his scouts who have given you good reviews, and would you like to go up there and sign for them. So I said let’s give it a go and Newcastle at the time were down at the bottom of the First Division as such, but I signed for them on transfer deadline day. I played the last game of the season for them when we needed to stay up against Leicester, who were going for the play-offs, but we beat them 2-1 in the last minute of the game and Newcastle stayed up. Then the season ended and I went home and then Sir John Hall had came in to Newcastle and given Kevin Keegan millions and millions of pounds to go and buy the players. So he started buying all new players and so then I’m up in Newcastle as a reserve team/first team player again, but more likely to be playing in the reserves. I was a London boy and I just thought to myself that I could be back in London with all of my family instead of being up here doing the same. At the time Gavin Peacock was playing for Newcastle and his dad was assistant manager at Charlton. Keith used to know me as he used to always try and get me on loan from Spurs when he was manager of Maidstone. So after explaining the situation to him he said that he would see what he could do, and then Kevin Keegan said to me that I could down to Charlton but only play for their reserves, and not their first team and we’ll see what happens.

I played for Charlton’s reserves in my first game and we beat Chelsea 1-0 and I scored the goal and so then Charlton said that they wanted to sign me. So I said let’s do this and I signed for Charlton and spent three and a half years there before I got injured. I also went to Wycombe on loan after Martin O’Neil phoned me up, and  I had five games with Wycombe who were in the play-off positions against the top five teams. I had a months loan there and things were going well when Martin O’Neil asked Charlton to extend my loan, but they said no as you’ve got to sign him permanently. I went back and asked Charlton why they were doing this and so I had a bit of a fallout with Charlton as they could have let me play and help Wycombe for the rest of the season. So when that didn’t happen and I went back to Charlton the atmosphere between me and the manager wasn’t that great, and I still had a year left. I spoke to Martin O’Neil, who said come and sign for me, but when I went to sign he left just before as he’d got the job at Leicester and so that all fell through.   So I had to go back to Charlton, but when I started off I was not involved at all when one day I got a phone call asking me what I wanted for pre-match meal today. I said what do you mean as I’m not in the squad? But they said yes you’re in the squad to play against Wimbledon to play tonight in the cup. I’d been training with the youth team as that was where they’d put me. But when I got to the hotel (I thought that it was a joke) all the lads were laughing saying that it was nice of me to come and watch them tonight. So we were all having a laugh about it.

I remember when we went into the team room and the manager named the team and I found out that I was starting. I played and scored and we beat Wimbledon 4-3 in the cup. I played a couple more games and we I played in the return leg at Wimbledon which we also won. In the next game that I played after that I was given man of the match, but then the manager dropped me again as he said that it was my fault that we lost 1-0. So we fell out and I was dropped and so I had come back in after not being fancied and done well, but then they dropped me again. So then they said that they’d pay me to leave, but then Patsy Holland who was one of the youth team coaches at Tottenham had gone to Leyton Orient. So he said to me come down to Leyton Orient, and so I went to them and signed a years contract. We played a game for Leyton Orient against Wales in a friendly when I was on trial there, and I scored a goal in that game and so they signed me for a year. Then Patsy Holland stayed and had a lot of old players playing like Alvin Martin and Peter Shilton, but then Patsy got the sack after five months and Tommy Taylor came in. All he wanted to do was play the long ball, but being Tottenham I was brought up to pass, pass, pass. And so every time that you went to pass across the pitch he’d stop the training and make you do press-ups. So they then said that they weren’t going to renew my contract at the end of the year, so I said that’s fine.

Then non-League Crawley we’re just opening their ground and the manager of Crawley who I knew had phoned me and said why don’t you come down as we’re opening the ground and we want a couple of ex-players in the team. So I ended up going to Crawley and then my dad was manager at Dulwich Hamlet, and so after a while at Crawley I went to play for Dulwich Hamlet, with my dad as my manager. And also my brother and friends were in the team as well. 

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career? 

Peter: Just playing for Spurs because I was a Spurs fan, and getting on that pitch was great. Also representing my country at youth level was good, but apart from making my debut for Tottenham I also scored on my full debut for Charlton, which was also good.

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

Peter: I would have to say Paul Gascoigne as he was just on a different level. 

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories or ones which stand out from your time in the various Tottenham youth teams and reserves?

Peter: We always used to have good cup runs with the youth team in the FA Youth Cup, and one day we got through to I think the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup after playing Manchester City. They were the team to beat and they came down to White Hart Lane and we beat them, so that was good. You met good people and I was just enjoying my football at Tottenham and to start your career at a team that you supported was just better than anything. You were playing football and you were getting paid for something that you loved doing which was great, and I did love doing it. 

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

Peter: When I played for Charlton I played against Roy Keane and he was at Nottingham Forest at the time, just coming through. He was tough, and strong and quick. He wasn’t just an enforcer but he was also a good player. 

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

Peter: After I left Spurs and moved to Newcastle, Chris Waddle (he was at Marseille at the time) rang me the day that I joined from Marseille to say to me congratulations, and he asked me what I was doing and I just said that I was sitting in the hotel room. And he said to go down to the bar in half an hour and my best friend will come down and pick you up and take you out for dinner tonight. Every time that Chris used to come back home from Marseille we would always go out together in Newcastle, and I always appreciated that. I used to have to clean his boots at Spurs. As for at Spurs I used to have to go back to south London so you didn’t really have too many friends then, as a few of the lads were staying in lodgings. They are your friends and you would do anything for them but at the end of the day you’re all competing to play at the weekend. And also everyone had their own lives outside the football. 

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

Peter: I think that you need to keep your feet on the ground, enjoy what you’re doing and just keep working hard and never stop learning. Because everyone will help you, and you need to watch the players who play in your position to see what they’re doing. But just enjoy it and just be happy when you’re playing. 

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?

Peter: Yes. I loved my time there and I learnt a lot from some very good people, and like I say they’re my team and I support them. I still go and watch them and also my son supports them as well.  

(This photograph is from Tottenham Hotspur FC)

John Gilroy was a fast, skilful and direct winger, who also had a good eye for goal. The former Spurs player from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, was at Spurs for a good number of years during the 1960s as a youth and reserve team player. After leaving Spurs, Gilroy would later move into non-League football, where he played for Hatfield Town FC, before later playing amateur football. I recently had the great pleasure and privilege of speaking to John at length about his memories from his days at Spurs.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

John: As a youngster around Welwyn Garden City there wasn’t a lot of work around, and so there wasn’t enough for the youngsters to have bikes and things like that. So all that there was was football, and I used to kick a football about all of the time. Me and my best mate Billy used to play football all of the time, and sometimes even a tennis ball. If we didn’t have a ball then we would go around gardens and take one. Then when I went to junior school, and they had a team there I used to play at centre-half, and then after that I got into the junior county team and that’s when it all kicked off. I went to senior school and the teacher there was called Phil Mowbray, and he was a Spurs scout, and when I started playing for the school team he asked me if I would go down to Tottenham. I used to go there on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and I’ll always remember that on the first night that I went there Danny Blanchflower was taking the training, and as somebody who had always followed Spurs, he was my hero. After Danny Blanchflower stopped taking the training Laurie Brown took it a few times, and then the others were Roy Low and Eddie Clayton. 

What are your earliest memories of your time at Spurs?

John: I used to go training on a Tuesday and Thursday in the ball court, and they used to have like 25 or 30 players in the ball court, and there would be two teams playing and then the rest would be standing by the wall for a time. Bill Nicholson used to come and walk by and have a chat with us, and then you’d have the other ten players who were in the smaller gym, and they’d do ball skills. I was 15 in April, and just before that in February/March there was a series of trials down at Cheshunt. Initially there was 40/50 players who were vying for four apprentice places. In the first game that I played we were playing against QPR’s youth team and they had players like Frank Sibley, and they actually beat us 7-1 but I actually made the one goal that we scored. Then it was brought down to 22 players and there was like four more trials, and then it came down to this final trial in mid April. I was playing at outside-left and the player who was playing right-back had just been picked to play for England Schoolboys at Wembley along with Paul Shoemark. That was one of the best games that I’ve ever had as I gave this full-back a really difficult game, and I also scored a wonder goal. The ball was crossed from the right and then the keeper got up and punched it and I then came running in from the left wing and hit it into the far corner of the net on the half volley. I think that it was that goal which made Bill Nicholson and Eddie Baily choose me as one of the apprentices. 

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

John: As a footballer it was Danny Blanchflower. I used to admire John White, Dennis Law and George Best. I always used to say that that forward line of Charlton, Law and Best at Man United was unbeatable. I also obviously liked Jimmy Greaves and I also liked Ron Henry, who was one of the coaches in the evening. And I also liked Dave Mackay, and my dad actually bought me his book which described how he went to Hearts and then Tottenham, and that was fascinating reading. 

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

John: In the early days I used to get on well with Eddie Baily, and he used to take you to one side in the early days and try and tell you what you should have done instead. Obviously there was Danny Blanchflower when he was there, and when he was talking I was just listening to the things that he was saying. But I would say Eddie Baily because his knowledge of football and what he could do with a football even at his age then was excellent. He used to tell you to take a corner and hit the near post as there would be somebody standing there to flick the ball on. I would mess it up and he then used to come over and he would tell you what to do while actually hitting the post while he was talking to you. So he was a good influence on me.

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

John: I had a bit of pace and with my pace I was pretty skilful on the ball, and I played mainly on the left wing at Tottenham. But I could also play up front, although most of the time I did play outside-left. I was able to take people on outside and go down the line, and then when I came up to the full-back rather than going down the line I would cut inside. And I scored quite a few goals cutting inside like that on my right foot. My big strength was my pace.

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

John: Stephen Pitt used to play at outside-right and he had a bit of pace and his control was good. He used to take full-backs on and beat them, and I used to watch him closely as he was my type of player, and he had been at Spurs a couple of years before me, and I wanted to do the same as what he had done. My first year as an apprentice Stephen Pitt played for the first team against Blackpool, but I used to enjoy watching him play and train.

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

John: Initially it started off fine, but in the end I was getting disillusioned by certain aspects of my game. I had a bad ankle injury and in those days you would have treatment on your ankle and you’d have ice in one bucket and hot water in the other bucket. When you’re out you would lose match fitness and I was really struggling keeping up with the pace of matches, and then I’d go over on my ankle again and be out for several weeks and have to have treatment. Then I’d come back and lose my match fitness again, and then on top of that I broke my arm in a game against Millwall. I always seemed to get injuries in training down at Cheshunt apart from the one against Millwall, but all of the other injuries came in training. Like when Tony Want injured my shin in a challenge, and in another week a 50-50 challenge from John Collins left me with ten stitches in my other shin. Professional football when I was starting out wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, and you also had to clean the gym and the ball court and stuff like that. When I signed for Spurs as a pro life did get better. One man who I could never get on with though was Johnny Wallis and if you couldn’t get on with him then it made things difficult. I remember that I scored a hat-trick against Arsenal in the Metropolitan League and yet I was called into Bill Nicholson’s office after we beat them 4-0. He told me that I should have done this and that, even though I had just scored three goals.

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

John: I had this ankle injury and I had lost all of my pace as such even though I was still pretty quick. As I said I started off well with Eddie Baily but then over the five years that I was down there it got to the point where we weren’t getting on well, and in the end I wasn’t getting on well with Bill Nicholson either. I had a chat with my dad and I said that I wasn’t going to make the first team and so I didn’t want to just be in the reserves, and so anyway I left Tottenham at the end of the 1969/70 season. I then went to play semi-pro football for Hatfield Town and I really enjoyed my football then. I also had a job in a factory where I was earning good money, and I was earning £30 a week at Hatfield, whereas Tottenham were paying me £24 a week. So in 1970 I was earning a lot of money. I played for Hatfield for a couple of seasons before a person from Boreham Wood approached me (that wasn’t allowed in those days). They asked me whether I would play under a different name and as I was getting so much per week I was getting cash in hand. I did that for quite a few games and then I got a good job and so I gave up my pro status, and went to play as an amateur after getting a permit. I was playing football with my mates as well on a Saturday and also on a Sunday morning, and I really enjoyed it as it was really good. You could also go out for a drink which you couldn’t do at Tottenham. But at the end of my time at Tottenham I became quite disillusioned about football, and the same kind of thing also happened to John Clancy, who I thought was a really good player. 

You had Graeme Souness who came to Spurs and like Steve Perryman he was a good player, but Steve Perryman had this attitude that he wanted to do everything in training. He was good at fighting for the ball and at passing the ball.

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

John: One of the games that sticks in my mind was when we played Millwall in the London Youth Cup final and we won 4-3. I was having a really, really good game, and for the first goal Steve Perryman got the ball and played it through. I then got the ball and went around two players before putting it around the keeper and sticking it in the back of the net. We also had a few games when we went on tour to Holland and the Dutch people made us feel welcome. I think that we played against Newcastle in the final in the Feyenoord stadium, and they were playing Ajax that afternoon, and so there was about 40,000 people in the stadium, and they watched our final first. So playing in front of all of those people was a bit of highlight for me.

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

John: Jimmy Pearce was a big influence on me and one of the best players that I played with, along with Steve Pitt. When we used to go training down Cheshunt they used to put the A team, reserves and first team all together so I played with and against a number of players. But in my mind it would be Jimmy Pearce, Steve Pitt and also Brian Parkinson as well. Brian had a lot of skill. 

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories or ones which stand out from your time in the Tottenham youth teams and reserves?

John: From playing in the reserves I can remember playing against Cardiff City at White Hart Lane and I scored on my debut with a diving header, and also another memory which stands out was the 4-3 win over Millwall. The best memories though is from when I went on tour to Holland, and you would stay with different families and they would then bring you down to training. At Spurs you had to be very strict with what you ate, and you couldn’t drink and so it wasn’t very social. Also another memory was from the tour to Holland. Over the years of going there we had got to know people and other players. There was one particular time when we were based in Rotterdam and four or five of us went on a train down to The Hague. There was one guy who played for ADO Den Haag’s youth team and he was with us, and we’d only missed the last train coming back! We didn’t have money for a taxi so we started to walk to see if we could hitch a ride or something. We were walking through The Hague for about 15 or 20 minutes and like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris with all of the roads around it, well there was a similar kind of place in The Hague. We all had the same idea to take a bike and cycle back to Rotterdam. Anyway we turned onto this road and realised that we were on the motorway! The police turned up and asked us what were we doing, and we said that we had borrowed these bikes from our friends in The Hague, as we had missed the last train back to Rotterdam.

They (the police) told us a safe way to cycle to Rotterdam, but we all thought that we were going to get in trouble about the bikes, but we didn’t.

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

John: I remember playing Leyton Orient in a league match at Brisbane Road and Eddie Baily came up to me and asked me to give Tommy Taylor a really tough game. And although we won the game and I did well, he was one of the toughest players that I ever came up against. 

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

John: Jimmy Neighbour, John Cutbush, Paul Shoemark, John Clancy and also Graeme Souness when he arrived from Scotland. I used to always see John Clancy when I used to get the train to Tottenham, and he always used to have a pack of cards on him.

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

John: Go out and do your best, as they used to say in our day. But it’s different now, but in our day we just used to try and enjoy ourselves and do our best.

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?

John: I feel proud of what I’ve done as not many people can say that they played for Tottenham. I only wish that I’d have done things a little differently, and got on better with Johnny Wallis and in the later days Eddie Baily and Bill Nicholson.

As a footballer Harry Alfred Evans was mainly a forward throughout much of his playing career. He started off with Sutton, who he played for after leaving school. He combined playing football with them while working at a wine and spirits merchants as a clerk. Harry Evans’ early years (he was born in 1919) must have been very difficult for him, as he lost his mother, father and one of his sisters to the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1921. The Lambeth born former footballer was brought up by an aunt during those early years. During the Second World War Harry Evans served as a PT instructor in Farnborough, Hampshire. During this period of time he also played football for Woking, Fulham and Romford, before joining Southampton (he also played as a guest for Aldershot) in late 1943. While there the Londoner played with the great Sir Alf Ramsey, but the vast majority of his games for them came during the Second World War. However, Evans did make five competitive appearances for Southampton after the war had ended. The latter years of his playing career saw Harry play for Exeter City and later Aldershot, who he played for in competitive competition. After having to retire from playing not long after returning to Aldershot after a bout of Peritonitis, this meant that he was unable to continue playing, but Evans worked hard to gain a number of important qualifications, of which included coaching qualifications.

Harry Evans took on the role of secretary-manager at Aldershot in the winter of 1950, it was a role in which Evans would remain in until he decided to go to Spurs as assistant manager to Bill Nicholson (after being sacked by Aldershot), after the Spurs manager was impressed by Harry following his application for the role. Harry and his family made home in Winchmore Hill, not too far from White Hart Lane. He was joined by a future Spurs legend in Scotland international John White, who stayed at his house not too long afterwards, and would later marry Harry’s daughter Sandra. In just a short number of years Bill Nicholson and his assistant Harry Evans, and a very talented group of Spurs players made Spurs one of the best teams around. They of course won the double in 1960/61, the FA Cup the following year, and they also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup. The polite and very popular Harry Evans was a big part of this. He was an intelligent footballing man who was respected by the Spurs players and also Bill Nicholson. He was in many ways the perfect assistant to Bill Nicholson, in the sense that he was in some ways like one of the players, such was his popularity amongst them, and also because he was a very sociable person too. I spoke to a small number of people that I know who were around Spurs at the time that Harry Evans was there, to try and get a better picture of what the former assistant manager was like during his all too brief time at the club.

One of the players who was around Spurs when Harry Evans was assistant manager, was youth, A team and reserve team player David Sunshine. In a recent conversation with David Sunshine he recalled to me how friendly a person Harry Evans was, but also how he was the complete opposite of the great Bill Nicholson. Sunshine also told me that in addition to Evans’ first team duties he also took training for the Spurs A team and youth team. Another former Spurs A and reserve team player Derek Tharme recalled to me how on the brief occasions that he came across Evans, how he was a pleasant and reasonable person to speak to. A first team and also reserve team player at the time who would have come across Harry Evans at Spurs more, was Eddie Clayton. I was speaking to Eddie just the other week and I asked him what Harry was like as an assistant manager. He explained to me how Mr Evans always did his best and on occasions would even take first team training when Bill Nicholson was unavailable. Mr Clayton also recalled how Harry Evans was a gentleman who got on well with everybody at the club. Not only was Harry Evans assistant manager at Spurs, but for a time he was also the main man when it came to the impressive scouting system at the club. 

Eddie Clayton’s older brother Ronnie Clayton is the last of the Bill Nicholson, Eddie Baily, Dickie Walker and Charlie Faulkner era. I recently spoke to Ronnie, who actually joined Spurs as a scout when Harry Evans was at Spurs and part of the scouting system at the club. He recalled how in addition to his first team and occasional work with the A and youth teams, that Evans would take training for Spurs’ then very talented and successful reserve team. He also recalled to me with great clarity a conversation that he had with Harry while the pair were watching a reserve team game between Spurs and Crystal Palace in the early 1960s. Ronnie has fond memories (although he didn’t know Harry too well) of both Harry Evans and his son-in-law John White from those great Spurs days in the 1960s. Harry Alfred Evans was without doubt a big and important part in his own right of the success that Spurs enjoyed during the early 1960s. He is an important person in the history of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, and Spurs supporters should be proud of what he achieved in his relatively short career as a coach. Very sadly Harry Evans passed away in the December of 1962 at University College Hospital, after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Those who knew him and who are still around today remember him with such great fondness.