17 March 2007 - Robinson's Long-Distance Delivery

On 17 March 2007, Tottenham beat Watford with help from a rare goal from keeper Paul Robinson, who scored from 88 yards out.

Spurs were the clear favorites, having risen to eighth in the table after three straight wins, while Watford were  one spot off the bottom by virtue of goal differential. But, playing before a crowd of over 36,000 at White Hart Lane, Spurs took longer than expected to take control of the game, eventually taking a 1-0 lead with a 41st-minute goal from midfielder Jermaine Jenas.

The game was still in the balance midway through the second half when Robinson delivered his unlikely goal. Taking a free kick about five yards outside his own box in the 63rd minute, he sent the ball over the entire Watford defense. It came down in front of keeper Ben Foster, but bounced over his head and into the goal. It was the first (and, to date, only) goal of his career.

Tottenham stretched the lead to 3-0 with a goal from Hossam Ghaly in the 85th minute, but Watford cut the final margin to 3-1 with an 89th-minute strike from Darius Henderson.

8 February 2012 - A T'riffic Result For 'Arry

On 8 February 2012, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was acquitted of tax evasion charges. The decision cleared the last roadblock for him to take over as England manager, but it didn't happen.

The charges stemmed from Redknapp's time at Portsmouth. In 2002, the club sold striker Peter Crouch to Aston Villa, triggering a fee due to Redknapp in his position as manager. According to prosecutors, club owner Milan Mandaric deposited a portion of the fee, amounting to around £200,000, into an account held by Redknapp in Monaco, thus avoiding taxes in the UK. Redknapp and Mandaric admitted to the deposit, but claimed it was an investment and not a fee related to the Crouch sale.

Highlights of the two-week trial included the revelation that Redknapp had named the Monaco account after his dog Rosie and his claim that he has never used a computer or sent an email, fax, or text.

The jury ultimately found both men not guilty, relying in part on the defense's argument that, for men who deal in substantial sums, the amount involved was too small to justify such efforts to avoid the payment of taxes.

During the trial, Redknapp was considered by many to be the favorite to replace Fabio Capello as England manager. But although Capello resigned on the same day as Redknapp's acquittal, the FA opted instead for West Brom manager Roy Hodgson.

Redknapp ended up leaving Spurs later that year.

4 February 2004 - Manchester City Shines In London

On 4 February 2004, despite being a man down, Manchester City came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Spurs 3-4 in a fourth round FA Cup replay.

The teams had played to a 1-1 draw in Manchester over a week earlier to set up the replay at White Hart Lane. There, Spurs eased to a 3-0 lead in the first half with goals from Ledley King (2'), Robbie Keane (19'), and Christian Ziege (43'). As if the score advantage wasn't enough, Manchester City dropped to ten men for the second half as midfielder Joey Barton, who had already been booked earlier in the match, received a second yellow card in the 45th minute for arguing with the referee.

But manager Kevin Keegan must have delivered an amazing speech at the break, as City roared back to life in the second half. Sylvain Distin started the comeback, heading the ball past Spurs keeper Kasey Keller in the 48th-minute. A few minutes later, City goalkeeper Arni Arason scrambled to save what look liked a certain Tottenham goal to keep the margin at 3-1.

In the 69th minute, Paul Bosvelt closed the gap to 3-2 with a deflected goal, then Shaun Wright-Phillips got the equalizer in the 80th minute.

The last goal came in the 90th minute, as striker Jonathan Macken gave City their first lead of the day, which they held to emerge as 3-4 victors.

15 December 2001 - Ferdinand Hits The Jackpot

On 15 December 2001, Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand scored the Premier League's 10,000th goal, helping to deliver a win for his team and £10,000 to charity.

The milestone goal came during a match against Fulham at White Hart Lane in the Premier League's tenth season. Ferdinand, who had been a prolific scorer at QPR and Newcastle, was in his fifth year with Spurs, but had failed to recapture his previous form. He scored ten goals for Tottenham across all competitions in the 2000-01 campaign, the first time he had cracked double digits for them.

Against Fulham, however, he got off to a quick start, scoring in the 20th minute to put Spurs up 1-0. Thanks to the Tottenham defense--anchored by goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, who kept a clean sheet--it was the only goal they needed, but they got a trio of insurance goals from Darren Anderton (40', from a Ferdinand assist), Simon Davies (71'), and Sergei Rebrov to set the final margin at 4-0.

To commemorate the landmark goal, the Premier League awarded Ferdinand £10,000 for donation to the charity of his choice. He selected two cancer charities, splitting the money evenly between them.

28 July 2008 - Making £7M The Easy Way

On 28 July 2008, Tottenham confirmed the £19M sale of striker Robbie Keane to Liverpool, but his stay at Anfield lasted barely 6 months.

Keane had already been well-traveled, playing for Wolves (1997-99), Coventry City (1999-2000), Inter (2000-01), Leeds United (2001-02) before joining Spurs in August 2002. He had a very successful six years at White Hart Lane, scoring 82 times in 197 league appearances and helping to victory over Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup Final.

His success drew the attention of Liverpool, who pried him away from Spurs. The four-year deal included £1.3M in performance incentives that raised the total value to a potential £20.3M. Upon arriving in Liverpool, Keane announced that he had "been a Liverpool fan all [his] life" and that the move was "a dream come true."

But it was a short-lived dream, as he failed to replicate his previous form. After only five goals in nineteen league appearances, Liverpool sold him back to Spurs for £12M. He later went on loan to Celtic and West Ham before joining the LA Galaxy in 2011.

22 May 2011 - A Goal In Time For Pavlyuchenko

On 22 May 2011, a pair of goals from Spurs striker Roman Pavlyuchenko relegated Birmingham and set a new Premier League record.

On the last day of the season, Birmingham went into their match against Tottenham in the table's seventeenth place, one spot above the relegation zone and level on points with eighteenth-place Blackpool and nineteenth-place Wigan.

Playing at White Hart Lane, Birmingham--who had won that season's League Cup--went down 1-0 to a goal from Pavlyuchenko in the 49th minute, but drew level thirty minutes later with a strike from Craig Gardner. Then, as they pushed forward for the goal they needed to secure their top-flight survival, Pavlyuchenko struck again with a match winner in the 93rd minute to seal Birmingham's drop. (As it turned out, even a draw would not have been enough for Birmingham, as Wigan won their match at Stoke.)

For Tottenham, the win kept them in fifth place and qualified them for the next season's Europa League.

Pavlyuchenko's goal was the 1,063rd of the Premier League season, setting a new English scoring record for a 38-game season. The record was broken the following season, however, as Premier League teams scored a total of 1,066 goals. 

21 February 2008 - Gazza's Days Get Darker

On 21 February 2008, former England star midfielder Paul Gascoigne's tragic battle with alcoholism and depression resulted in his compulsory admission to a mental hospital for treatment. Unfortunately for all involved, it did little good and he continues to struggle with his problems.

Gascoigne, popularly known as "Gazza," enjoyed a remarkable career that started in 1985 with Newcastle and included spells at Tottenham (1988-92), Lazio (1992-95), and Rangers (1995-98), among others. Meanwhile, he was capped 57 times by England between 1988 and 1998, including a standout performance in the 1990 World Cup that sparked "Gazzamania" back in England.

But throughout, he struggled in his personal life with addiction and other issues, including depression and bipolar disorder. His problems grew worse after his retirement in 2004, followed by a short and unsuccessful spell as manager of Kettering Town that ended with his sacking in 2005 after only 39 days in charge. He claimed later that he was drinking up to four bottles of whisky and vodka per day.

In February 2008, police were called to the Newcastle hotel where he was staying while recovering from a hip operation. After he threatened to harm himself, he was taken into custody and compelled to enter a mental health facility. But by the end of the year, he was again deep into his alcoholism, reportedly drinking up to 30 cans of beer per day.

After promising signs of recovery in 2009, Gascoigne again relapsed in 2010, culminating in two separate October arrests for drunk driving and possession of cocaine. A series of rehab attempts and relapses followed, most recently by his January 2017 entrance into a new rehab program. 

4 January 2005 - Mendes Denied

On 4 January 2005, Tottenham were denied three points when a Pedro Mendes goal against Manchester United wasn't given, despite the ball being a full meter over the line. The match ended as a scoreless draw.

The two teams met at Old Trafford with Spurs having won six of their previous seven to rise from 15th in the league to 7th. United were on a similar streak, holding down 3rd place after winning eight of the last nine matches. The hosts controlled most of the match, enjoying the better of possession and taking a handful of decent shots, but were repeatedly denied by Spurs keeper Paul Robinson.

Spurs had a few chances of their own, but the day's most memorable moment came in the 89th minute. Mendes, seeing United keeper Roy Carroll off his line, fired a shot from near the midfield line. Carroll raced back and appeared to catch the ball easily, but dropped it. It bounced into the goal, crossing well over the line, as Carroll scrambled to knock it away. Unfortuately for the visitors, neither referee Mark Clattenburg nor linesman Ray Lewis saw the ball clear the line, so neither awarded the goal and the match ended 0-0.

Ultimately, it had little impact on either club, as United finished in 3rd separated by several points on both sides and Spurs ended up in 9th, though the extra two points would have pushed them up to 8th.

22 December 2007 - Bendtner Rises To The Occasion

On 22 December 2007, Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner set an English record by scoring only 1.8 seconds after coming on as a late substitute against Tottenham Hotspur.

Although Bendtner had signed with the Gunners back in 2005, he had spent the 2006-07 season on loan at Birmingham and was eager to establish a place in the Arsenal first team. By December, he had scored crucial goals in the League Cup and the Champions League, but had not yet opened his Premier League account.

His moment finally came in the North London derby, as Arsenal hosted Tottenham. With Bendtner on the bench, Arsenal took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Emmanuel Adebayor (48'), but Dimitar Berbatov (66') drew Spurs level. The visitors had a chance to go ahead in the 72nd minute after the referee awarded a penalty for a Kolo Toure foul on Berbatov, but Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia saved Robbie Keane's tame attempt.

Two minutes later, with the match level at 1-1, Arsene Wenger made an attacking change, sending Bendtner on for midfielder Emmanuel Eboue. The Danish striker immediately positioned himself near the far post for a Cesc Fabregas corner kick, then charged into the goalmouth to head the ball past goalkeeper Paul Robinson. It was Bendtner's first touch of the ball, coming only 1.8 seconds after he entered the match, and proved to be the game winner. It is also the fastest goal scored by a substitute in English football history.

22 November 2009 - That Must've Been One Heck Of A Half-Time Talk

On 22 November 2009, Tottenham Hotspur recorded their record Premier League victory, beating Wigan 9-1 with five goals from striker Jermain Defoe.

Nobody would have predicted that score at half time. After going up 1-0 with a 9th-minute header from Peter Crouch, Spurs seemed to lose focus and created few other chances in the first half. As manager Harry Redknapp said later, "they needed reminding at the break."

Whatever he said to remind them must have worked, as the goals began to flow soon after the restart. Defoe netted his first of the day in the 51st minute, followed by his second just three minutes later, and his third just four minutes after that. Then, after a goal from Aaron Lennon (64'), Defoe added two more (69', 87'). Spurs finished the scoring with late goals from David Bentley (88') and Niko Kranjčar (94'). Meanwhile, Wigan's lone goal came from Paul Scharner in the 57th minute.

It was Tottenham's biggest margin of victory in a top-flight match and pushed them back into fourth place, behind Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal, which is how the final table appeared. Defoe's haul made him only the third player to score five in a Premier League match (after Alan Shearer and Andy Cole).

4 November 1933 - Don't These Things Usually Go In The Other Direction?

On 4 November 1933, winger Alf Day earned his first (and last) cap for Wales, despite never having made a league appearance for his club.

Born in the Welsh town of Ebbw Vale in 1907, Day began his career with non-league sides Cheshunt and Northfleet United before moving to Tottenham in 1931. By 1933, he was toiling in the Spurs reserves when the club's secretary, Arthur Turner, received a call from Ted Robbins, his counterpart at the Football Association of Wales. Robbins asked Turner if he could recommend anyone to help fill out a depleted Welsh side for an upcoming match against Northern Ireland.

Turner recommended Day despite the fact that the 26-year old had yet to break into the Spurs first team. His word was good enough for Robbins, though, and he called Day up as a starter for the match. It ended as a 1-1 draw.

Day remained with Spurs until 1936, then spent time with Millwall, Southampton, Tranmere Rovers, and Swindon Town before World War II interrupted his career in 1940. He continued to play unofficially for Swindon during the war, but retired before league play resumed.

3 August 1952 - Singer, Actor, Spurs Superstar

On 3 August 1952, World Cup winner and Tottenham Hotspur Hall-of-Famer Osvaldo "Ossie" Ardiles was born in Bell Ville, Argentina.

The midfielder made his professional debut in 1973 for Argentinian club Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba and he earned his first international cap for Argentina's senior side that same year. Five years and two clubs later (Belgrano, 1974, and Huracán, 1975-78) he was a regular for the national team, starting in every match but one of Argentina's World Cup-winning campaign.

After the 1978 World Cup, he moved to Tottenham where he quickly became a fan favorite along with his fellow Argentinian teammate Ricardo Villa. The central midfield pair brought success to Spurs, helping them win back-to-back FA Cups in 1981 and 1982 (during that time, Ardiles also co-starred with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and Pelé in the 1981 film Victory and recorded the single "Ossie's Dream" with Chas & Dave in 1981). Villa left in 1983, but Ardiles remained and went on to win the 1984 UEFA Cup with Tottenham. He left Spurs in 1988, but returned to manage the club briefly from 1993 to 1994.

In 2008, he and Villa were jointly inducted into Tottenham's Hall of Fame.

8 July 1980 - Ireland's Lucky Striker

On 8 July 1980, L.A. Galaxy striker and all-time Republic of Ireland scoring leader Robbie Keane was born in Dublin.

Keane began his professional career in 1997 with Wolverhampton and scored twice on his debut for the club. After only two seasons there, he moved to Coventry City in 1999 for £6 million, a British record at the time for a teenager, and again notched a brace on his club debut. He stayed with Coventry for only a single season and spent the next three seasons with three different clubs: Inter (where he made only 6 appearances in the 2000-01 season), then Leeds United (where he played from 2000-02), and Tottenham.

He enjoyed relative stability at Tottenham, playing there for a total of eight seasons from 2002 to 2011, broken by short spells at Liverpool (19 appearances in the 2008-09 season), Celtic (16 appearances in the 2009-10 season), and West Ham (9 appearances in the 2010-11 season), before moving to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2011. Over the course of his club career, he has scored 312 goals in 708 appearances.

In 1998, while still with Wolves, Keane earned his first cap for Ireland. He has since played for them a total of 108 times. In September 2004, he scored his 21st goal for Ireland to match the record set by Niall Quinn, then passed it with a brace the next month. His current tally stands at 67.

6 May 1961 - Spurs Do The Double

On 6 May 1961, Tottenham Hotspur completed their Double by winning the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory over Leicester City. Spurs were the first team to win the FA Cup and the League in the same season since Aston Villa did it in 1897.

Tottenham had already won the league in a season that saw them hold onto the top spot from the first week to the last. They had endured only seven losses all season, but one of those came at the hands of Leicester City, who won 2-3 at White Hart Lane in the first week of February.

Playing before a crowd of 100,000 at Wembley, Leicester suffered an early setback with an injury to right back Len Chalmers (who remained on the pitch in diminished capacity until the 80th minute). They nonetheless maintained their composure and held the dynamic Spurs attack in check for 65 minutes. Then, in the 66th minute, Spurs winger Terry Dyson sent the ball in for forward Bobby Smith, who powered the ball past keeper Gordon Banks. Nine minutes later, the pair connected again, with Smith providing the assist for Dyson's header.

It was the third FA Cup for Tottenham, who went on to win it again the following season, then four more times for a total of seven.

25 April 2004 - The Invincibles Take The Title

On 25 April 2004, Arsenal drew 2-2 with Tottenham at White Hart Lane. The point they earned was enough to clinch the Premier League title with four matches remaining.

The Gunners were near the end of an incredible season, having gone undefeated in the league. They started the day on 81 points, nine clear of second-place Chelsea and with a game in hand. Playing before a crowd of 36,097 at the home of their fierce derby rivals, Arsenal never looked in danger of losing the title.

They went ahead after only three minutes, as Thierry Henry recovered the ball from a failed Spurs corner, sped down the pitch and fed it to Dennis Bergkamp. The Dutchman delivered a precise cross for captain Patrick Vieira, who provided the final touch that put the ball into the net. Bergkamp started the attack for Arsenal's second goal in the 35th minute, beating the Tottenham defenders with a through ball to Vieira, who then gave it to Robert Pires for the finish.

Amid constant pressure from Arsenal, Tottenham fought back, cutting the deficit to one with a goal from Jamie Redknapp in the 63rd minute. Then, in stoppage time, Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann fouled Robbie Keane, who converted the ensuing penalty kick to earn the draw.

The result put Arsenal ten points clear of Chelsea, who had lost that day to Newcastle and had only three games left. Arsenal drew two of their last four, but finished the season undefeated.

20 February 1940 - Nothing Funny About That Scoring Record

On 20 February 1940, Jimmy Greaves was born in the London's East Ham district. He would go on to become the greatest goalscorer in the history of the English top flight.

He got off to a great start, scoring on his professional debut with Chelsea in 1957. In four seasons at Stamford Bridge, he scored a total of 132 goals in all competitions, making 169 appearances. While there, he twice finished as the First Division's top scorer, including a 41-goal league tally in 1960-61 that remains a club record (as does his all-competition total of 43 the same season).

After a brief unhappy period with AC Milan, he returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur, where he stayed for nine seasons. It was one of Spurs' most successful periods, as they won the 1963 European Cup Winner's Cup and two FA Cups (1962, 1967). During his time with Spurs, Greaves was a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side, but was injured in their last group stage match. Because he missed the remainder of the tournament, including the Final, he did not receive a winner's medal at the time. But after an FA campaign, he received his medal in 2009.

After leaving Tottenham, Greaves played briefly for West Ham, making 40 appearances between 1969 and 1971, when he retired. In all, he scored a record 366 goals in 528 English top flight appearances. Afterward, he became a television pundit famous for his catch-phrase, "it's a funny old game."

3 February 1960 - Spurs Cruise Over Crewe

On 3 February 1960, Tottenham Hotspur secured their record win, a 13-2 victory over Crewe Alexandra in a Fourth Round FA Cup replay. It is also Crewe's record loss.

The fact that the tie had gone to a replay was surprising, since, at the time of the original match, Crewe were sitting 16th in Division Four--83 places below Spurs, who were at the top of the First Division. But Crewe managed to hold the league leaders to a 2-2 draw on 30 January, forcing a replay at White Hart Lane.

There, the hosts wasted no time in establishing their dominance. By the 30th minute, Spurs had a 6-1 lead which they extended to 10-1 by the break en route to the final score of 13-2. Inside forward Les Allen had the day's highest tally with 5, followed by center forward Bobby Smith (4), winger Cliff Jones (3), and inside forward Tommy Harmer (1).

Unfortunately, Spurs were not as prolific in the next round where they lost to Blackburn, 1-3. They got their reward the following season, however, winning a league and FA Cup double (including another Fourth Round victory over Crewe in the FA Cup by the relatively modest score of 5-1).

12 January 2008 - Enough Clubs To Fill A Golf Bag

On 12 January 2008, Nicolas Anelka debuted for Chelsea, his eighth club in 14 years.

His appearance that day against Tottenham was a surprise, even to manager Avram Grant. The forward had signed for Chelsea just the day before and he had not even participated in a training session. But an injury to Claudio Pizarro forced Grant to bring Anelka on in the 58th minute with the Blues up 1-0. Although he didn't score, he quickly made an impact, hitting the bar once and forcing a difficult save from the Spurs keeper as Chelsea won 2-0.

Chelsea had paid £15 million to Bolton for the French forward. Combined with the fees paid for previous transfers, Anelka's various clubs had paid a total of £84.8 million for him, an amount that made him the world's most expensive footballer at the time. In addition to Bolton (2006-08), Anelka had played for PSG (1994-97, 2000-02), Arsenal (1997-99), Real Madrid (1999-2000), Liverpool (2002), Manchester City (2002-04), and Fenerbahçe (2004-06).

Anelka scored only 2 goals for Chelsea in that first season, but bagged a league-best 19 in his second season. He scored 59 across all competitions before leaving the club in 2012.

25 October 2007 - They Didn't Give Him Much Incentive To Win It, Did They?

On 25 October 2007, manager Martin Jol guided Tottenham Hotspur in their UEFA Cup tilt against Getafe despite being sacked earlier that day.

Jol, who had taken charge of Spurs in November 2004, led them to 9th-place in the final table that season, followed by consecutive 5th-place finishes in 2006 and 2007. But they had a rocky start to the 2007-08 season, with only one win in their first 10 matches. After only two matches, photographers caught Spurs officials meeting in a Spanish hotel with Sevilla manager Juande Ramos, fueling rampant speculation that Jol's departure was imminent.

Prior to the match against Getafe, Daily Mirror reporter John Cross announced that the Spurs board had in fact sacked Jol, but that he would nonetheless take charge of the side one last time. The word circulated throughout the stadium, leading the Spurs supporters to chant "Stand up for Martin Jol." But it was an unhappy curtain call for the Dutchman, as Getafe won 1-2.

Ramos indeed succeeded Jol, but lasted just under one year before getting sacked himself. Jol, meanwhile, moved to Hamburg. After guiding them to a 5th-place finish in 2008, he moved to Ajax. 

20 August 1960 - Spurs' Journey Of A Thousand Miles Starts Here

On 20 August 1960, Tottenham Hotspur opened their season with a 2-0 win over Everton, starting the journey that would end with a League and FA Cup double. 

Playing before a home crowd of 50,393 at White Hart Lane, Spurs - who had finished the previous season in third place, only two points behind League winners Burnley - created a handful of early chances, but were denied by Everton's goalkeeper, Albert Dunlop. The teams were evenly matched and appeared to be headed for a draw when Spurs center forward Bobby Smith was brought down in the Everton box. The referee played the advantage, however, as Tottenham inside forward Les Allen was in a scoring position and his ensuing shot put the hosts up, 1-0. 

Two minutes later, Smith doubled the lead with a low header and the game ended 2-0. The win sent Spurs to the top of the table, where they remained for the rest of the season to claim their second League title, ten years after their first. They capped the season with a 2-0 win over Leicester in the FA Cup Final at Wembley.