A History of Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur has always been the purists’ club of choice and the roots of their association with the beautiful game runs through the club like a stick of Blackpool rock. From Arthur Rowe to current manager Ange Postecoglou, Spurs are synonymous with some of the most attractive teams England has ever produced without quite getting the trophies that their football deserves - supporting Spurs is an honour as well as a burden at times.
With over 150 years of following the ups and downs of the Lilywhites between them, former Daily Mirror Chief Sports Writer Harry Harris and Paul Trevillion, the acclaimed artist behind Roy of the Rovers and You Are The Ref, have combined forces to produce a personal history of their beloved club since the war.
Paul first attended a Tottenham game in 1934, and was instantly attracted to the great Dixie Dean appearing for Everton at White Hart Lane in a famous FA Cup tie. Paul went on to draw the great striker hundreds of times and eventually got to meet his hero. Harry started following the club as a child in the early 1960s and his early obsession was with Jimmy Greaves, spending all his pocket money on old press photographs of the record-breaking Spurs striker. Perhaps these early obsessions set the pair of them on the way to their respective careers?
On The Pitch and Off The Drawing Board is packed full of anecdotes and behind the scenes stories from Spurs’ past, from the time Harry Harris challenged then manager Terry Neill to a race around the White Hart Lane pitch to Paul helping Gazza with his shooting training at Wembley just months before that free-kick in the FA Cup semi-final.
This book is a must for all Tottenham fans.
My love affair with the world’s greatest football tournament began as a 14 year-old as I was there to see England lift the trophy at Wembley. Later in life I was privileged to write Pelé’s official autobiography and tell the inside story of the great man’s first World Cup at the age of 17 and interviewed many of The Greatest Ever World Cup Team, Brazil 1970. How I pulled off becoming the only journalist to interview Diego Maradona one-to-one in the back seat of Ossie Ardiles’ car in 1986 must be one of the most off beat World Cup stories of all time. As Chief Football Writer for the Daily Mirror I was at the Azteca Stadium to witness both the Hand of God and the Greatest Ever World Cup goal within minutes of each other.
At Italia ’90 it was all about Gazza’s tears, and I was there to document all the behind the scenes stories. Four years later, I was at the press conference following Maradona’s failed drugs test. At France ’98 I witnessed David Beckham’s red card and the incredible fall out. Prior to the 2002 tournament I won the award of “Sports Story of the Year” by breaking Roy Keane’s bust up with Mick McCarthy, while I was also at the press conference when Ruud Gullit announced he was leaving the World Cup squad. In my career with the Mail, Mirror and Express I have known and become friends with most of the Boys of ‘66. My greatest wish - to see England win the World Cup in 2026 after 60 years of hurt!
,My World Cup memories began in the 1950’s when my art was starting to appear regularly in the national press. Even though I had a press pass, I always chose to stand behind the goal. In World Cup year 1958 my Master Vending series of cards featured Matthews, Finney and Charlton started the bubble gum card collecting craze, but it was at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden where I was totally captivated by a 17 year-old, exceptionally gifted Brazilian named Pelé. 1966 and I was at Wembley when England won the World Cup and I became friends with Gordon Banks, George Cohen, Bobby Moore, Jack Charlton, Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt with Alan Ball ‘Player of the Tournament’ becoming a close friend.
I have been blessed over the years to have known and captured in pen and ink a multitude of world class players and coaches - Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Tom Finney, Sir Alf Ramsey, Bobby Moore, Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne and many more. I have special memories of World Cup ‘74 (when Scotland wore sock tags!) and working with the great coach Don Howe, World Cup ’90 when I became Paul Gascoigne’s official artist. World Cup USA ’94 meant new, exciting art for Pelé with Umbro, billboard posters for Budweiser and a unique commission with Jack Charlton and the Republic of Ireland team. Every World Cup year brings something special with the ‘new’ legends on the block, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s World Cup 2026 and at 92 years old I am still as excited as I was in 1958.
- ISBN-13
- 9781915616135
- Publisher
- Empire Publications
- Imprint
- Empire Publications
- Publication date
- 12 June 2024
- Format
- Hardback
- Pages
- 224
- Dimensions
- 210 x 230 mm
- Language
- English