When they created this job I was doing build-up to the Olympics at the Daily Mail but the chap who took the job didn't last too long and they asked me to come and do it. The stadium looked completely different when I first got hooked on the Double-winning team. The directors shallow pockets ended up driving McWilliam away in December 1926, when Middlesbrough tried to poach him with an offer of 1,500 a year, against his current 850 salary. click here to learn how to listen and enjoy audio shows. One evening, I remember sitting in the office at the Red House on the High Road where the club had started and something collapsed behind me. McWilliam stayed with Boro until his dismissal in 1934. Club historian John Fennelly looks back at what supporters were reading on their way, at half-time and heading home afterwards when NORWICH CITY visited in March 1938. . He was really very good at football from a very young age and he got into the schoolboy muratti when he was 11 years old which was very young indeed and I can remember my Dad telling us what a great honour it was. My plan was to stay for a couple of years but here I am 100 years later! After that, Ill never forget our win over the league champions, Leeds United, in 1975, which we needed to avoid relegation. The sights and sounds and smells made such an impression on me. There is an insatiable appetite for football as well now. According to club historian John Fennelly, they almost walked to the title in 1920 with a record 70 points, six clear of Huddersfield Town. I'm also responsible for the PA system, THTV on the jumbotron on matchdays, commentary for the blind - all the things under the 'media' umbrella. Sun 25 March 2018, 17:25|Tottenham Hotspur. By the time things were getting back to normal he had assembled a squad of players way too good for the Second Division. After two goals in 10 senior games, Tull joined Northampton Town in October, 1911, in a deal that saw defender Charlie Brittan move to White Hart Lane. John Fennelly, who watched his first Spurs game at White Hart Lane in 1966, has been named as the Clubs new Historian. Walter's story will also be told in the new museum, which will play such an important part at our wonderful new stadium. We have that now. Get your digital subscription/issue of Tottenham Hotspur Publications Magazine on Magzter and enjoy reading the Magazine on iPad, iPhone, Android devices and the web. John Fennelly's most popular book is Tottenham Hotspur Annual 1989. When I first started working on the local paper, I used to interview the old members of staff, who had been at the club since before the second world war. It was a crazy game, with us winning 3-2 thanks to Harry Kanes two late goals, and it was just a crazy day overall. But working with him for 30 years has taught me a lot and I am proud to follow him and to take on such a key role at a club with such a rich heritage.. Creighton Road was the one where Bill Nicholson lived and it was about a mile from the stadium. Cheers! MattP.S. On the field, we had three players Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay and John White but the main man was Bill Nicholson. There was also a thing about people bringing cockerels to the matches in the 1960s, I think because the cockerel was on the clubs badge. The crowd watch the game against Manchester United in April 2016 (top), the view leading to the lower East Stand, a pie stall inside, and home fans outside (middle), a view of the ground from the south-east corner and a young fan gets his picture taken by an image of the new stadium (bottom). 1: How did you start in journalism? There was also an unusual one a charity match between the FA Cup-winning teams of 1991 and 1981, with the likes of Glenn Hoddle and others. The 1991 team were considerably fitter but there was, quite clearly, more skill in the 1981 team. Danny Blanchflower was a footballer from Belfast whos most well-known for captaining the Tottenham Hotspurs team that won the double in the 1960-1961 season. If you cant make it to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium you can still show your support and download a digital version of the programme to keep yourself up-to-date. But Bill Nicholson got us right up for the second leg and that night I think we would have beaten any team that had ever been or ever will be. Sky this week published a case study revealing that Game Zero, our Premier League match against Chelsea here in September, achieved net zero carbon emissions. Its amazing how these sort of things gather momentum but it is the little stories about White Hart Lane that I love. ))), our new mobile phone service. You cannot make direct comparisons to todays team because the fitness levels are different but the 1960s team had that skill level. This month we celebrate 100 years since he became a professional at Spurs as John Fennelly recounts the life and times of a man who only played 10 games for us yet warrants a unique place in our history. He quickly made his mark, with the team avoiding relegation in 1913/14, although there was a disappointing slump toward the end of the season, with only one victory in the last nine games. Read reviews from world's largest community for readers. Spurs and Arsenal had to groundshare at White Hart Lane as Highbury had been requisitioned as an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) centre. But at White Hart Lane they were right, smack on top of you. John Fennelly, our pioneering former Press Officer and Programme Editor, Head of Publications and Club Historian, has hung up his boots after 38 years at Spurs. He used to shout: Get your goal-time tickets ere. Tottenham Hotspur official 1990-91 handbook by John Fennelly - Goodreads But the club reaped his eye for talent as he signed players who would have a profound effect on Spurs fortunes after the war including Vic Buckingham, Arthur Rowe and Bill Nicholson, who all went on to become managerial greats. John Fennelly, who watched his first Spurs game at White Hart Lane in 1966, has been named as the Club's new Historian. I dont know how it got started but one bloke was sufficiently convinced to climb up and try to steal it. Years later, when I was the organist at the Palmers Green United Reformed Church, I played at the wedding of one of Cliff Joness children. 3: What does the Press Officer's job entail? To stay in the loop aboout more great local stories, subscribe to our email newsletter or see who else weve interviewed here. Danny Blanchflowers episode was written/edited by Matthew Thompson and produced by Owen McFadden. One of my earliest memories of White Hart Lane was training there when I was six or seven on an indoor ballcourt that was on the side of the stadium. of the Spurs players who made the ultimate sacrifice'. I didnt go to the Inter Milan game in 2010-11, when Gareth Bale ran Maicon ragged, but I remember going to the Real Madrid quarter-final tie later in that Champions League season. This week, Club Ambassador Ledley King will attend an educational workshop for local primary school students at Percy House our new enterprise, employment and skills hub on Tottenham High Road, a place where local people will be able to learn more about the impact that Tulls legacy has left in our game and on society today. Back in 2009, on the centenary of his arrival at Spurs, Club Historian John Fennelly put together what is seen as the ultimate guide to Walter's life. Gornik had beaten us 4-2 in the first leg over in Poland and they were a very good side. Tottenham Hotspurs new signing Jimmy Greaves is watched by Dave Mackay, as the debutant is stopped by a sliding tackle from a Blackpool defender in December 1961. One of the things that would probably surprise people about the stadium is how low the ceiling is in the home dressing room. Exclusive interview with our young midfielder OLIVER SKIPP, now an established member of our first team and also a familiar face to todays opponents, who is enjoying every moment in the Premier League spotlight. That is reflected by the fact that back then there was just me - I did the programme, magazine and organised the press on matchday. Soccer Soldier. Tottenham Hotspur official handbook 1993/94 by John Fennelly - Goodreads Read reviews from world's largest community for readers. I dont believe in all of that but so many people tell you about them. There would also be a man selling goal-time tickets, which was a sort of raffle. strong. What a stadium! After leaving school he became a printer's apprentice. The notoriously thrifty directors appreciated this. In addition he was a master of tactics, and probably no famous half-back had relied so much on science pure and simple.. You didnt mess with him. Can you imagine that these days? I ran over to the manager and my mum and dad were in the box just above the dugout and I remember looking up to them and blowing them a kiss. Is that right, son, Bill said. (modern). Mr Fennelly says McWilliam possessed all the attributes a great manager needed, with an uncanny ability to spot talent others had not seen. I think its from Star Wars. Thanks again for taking the time to listen to this special episode all about Danny Blanchflower. A few of my mates are diehard West Ham fans and I got a text off one of them, saying: I cant believe youve done that.. The original copper piece was cast by William James Scott, who had played for the club in the old amateur days, and it went up in 1909. View the profiles of professionals named "John Fennelly" on LinkedIn. We used to watch all the games because he was really very good. I also work closely with PR and marketing. We also do a deep-dive into Dannys childhood neighbourhood on Grace Avenue in East Belfast to find out more about why old red brick buildings have such an important role to play for the people of Belfast today. We are told McWilliam is taking his responsibilities as team manager of Tottenham very seriously, a fact which does not surprise us, having regard to the manner in which he used to play, and that so far as is humanly possibly he intends to make Tottenham players tacticians after his own stamp. It is nothing of the kind. Spurs won 7-0 that day with Duquemin cruelly bagging a hat-trick against his former side. The people and buildings have been chosen to reflect a diverse set of Belfasts people: working-class to Knights, industrial power to sporting prowess, immigrants and survivors, and covers buildings from Arts centres to the old Town Hall, red-brick terraced houses to historic Victorian churches and industrial complexes.The project is a collaboration with Successful Belfast, a project of Belfast Buildings Trust.