The story of the League and Cup Double could be said to start on the day
\nthat Danny Blanchflower signed for Spurs in December 1954. Rowe’s great
\n‘Push ‘n’ Run’ team was beginning to break up. Blanchflower had a
\nreputation for being a bit of a rebel as he had not seen eye to eye with
\nhis managers at Barnsley and Aston Villa. But Rowe saw him as the player
\nwho would lead Spurs to honours in the future.<\/p>\n
When Blanchflower was greeted by club captain Alf Ramsey on arrival at
\nWhite Hart Lane, there were already players on the books who would form
\npart of the Double team. But Rowe was not destined to lead Tottenham’s
\nfortunes for much longer, as he was taken ill with the worry of Tottenham
\nsliding down the table in season 1954-55. He left to nurse himself back to
\nhealth and Jimmy Anderson, a loyal servant to Tottenham for over 50 years,
\nwas appointed manager.<\/p>\n
Anderson undoubtedly left much to Bill Nicholson, who had been appointed
\nclub coach on his retirement the week before Blanchflower arrived. But it
\nwas Anderson who picked the team and signed the players. Bobby Smith was
\nsigned during season 1955-56 as Spurs struggled at the foot of the table
\nand had a long run in the FA Cup. But Blanchflower fell out with manager
\nAnderson when he made some tactical changes during the Semi-Final at Villa
\nPark after Manchester City had taken the lead, sending Maurice Norman up
\nfront to add his height to an attempt to equalise. There was a public row
\nbetween captain and manager through the press which ended with
\nBlanchflower being sacked as captain and dropped for a vital relegation
\ngame against Cardiff. Spurs survived the relegation scare and went on to
\nhave two good seasons under Anderson, finishing second and third in
\nDivision One. During that spell, Peter Baker, Maurice Norman and Cliff
\nJones became first team regulars as they either established themselves or
\nwere transferred in from other clubs.<\/p>\n
But at the start of season 1958-59, Spurs made an awful start to the
\nseason and manager Anderson was taken ill with the worry of it all. He
\nresigned as manager and Bill Nicholson took over on the morning of October
\n11th 1958. Their opponents that afternoon were Everton, whom it must be
\nsaid were playing even worse than Tottenham. It was mooted on Merseyside
\nthat Everton’s sole ambition that season was to be relegated in record
\ntime. Spurs thrashed Everton 10-4 (the only time Spurs reached double
\nfigures in the Football League) but their defence demonstrated why Spurs
\nwere deep in trouble by conceding four goals they should never have
\nconceded.<\/p>\n
Throughout the rest of that season, Bill Nicholson’s priority was to avoid
\nrelegation. He took a long hard look at the team and decided that Danny
\nBlanchflower was a luxury he could not afford. So in January 1959 he
\ndropped Danny Blanchflower and played young Bill Dodge in his place. His
\nreasoning was that Blanchflower and Iley were both attacking wing-halves
\nand Iley was the younger player. Dodge would have more defensive
\nresponsibilities. Blanchflower responded by demanding a transfer as he was
\ncoming to the end of his playing career and reserve team football was no
\ngood to him. But out of the FA Cup, beaten by Third Division Norwich City,
\nNicholson took another long hard look at the team and made two momentous
\ndecisions.<\/p>\n
For the away game at Wolves, Blanchflower, who had returned to the first
\nteam a fortnight earlier, was appointed captain for the first time in
\nNicholson’s reign. A fortnight later, with the football world expecting
\nNicholson to sign Mel Charles from Swansea, Nicholson struck further north
\nand signed Dave Mackay from Hearts. Between them, Blanchflower and Mackay
\nsteadied the team’s nerves and relegation was averted.<\/p>\n
During the summer, Nicholson had a further look at the team and decided he
\nneeded a better goalkeeper than John Hollowbread, who had held the fort
\nafter first choice ‘keepers Ditchburn and Reynolds had both broken fingers
\nin the early weeks of the previous season. He signed Bill Brown from
\nDundee. As a precaution, Nicholson also re-signed Marchi from Juventus as
\ncover for Blanchflower and Mackay.<\/p>\n
Spurs made a good start to the 1959-60 season but it was clear there was
\nstill something missing. In October, Spurs signed John White from Falkirk
\nand Tommy Harmer’s days at Tottenham were numbered. Two months later,
\nNicholson signed Les Allen, a reserve team player from Chelsea, in
\nexchange for Johnny Brooks, an England international but a very
\ninconsistent and highly annoying player. It was said of Brooks that even
\nhe did not know what he was going to do next such was his unpredictable
\nform.<\/p>\n
The team was now in position. Ron Henry had replaced Mel Hopkins at left
\nback following the Welsh international being sidelined through a broken
\nnose whilst playing for Wales. And during the summer of 1960, Nicholson,
\nreflecting on Tottenham’s failure to win the Championship, decided to drop
\nTerry Medwin, switch Cliff Jones to the right wing to partner John White
\nand to bring in Terry Dyson, the smallest player on the books, on the left
\nwing. He also signed John Smith from West Ham with the intention of
\nreplacing Blanchflower, who was looking increasingly frail on the field.<\/p>\n
Blanchflower did not see it that way, of course. To complete the story,
\nSmith was so frustrated that he only made 21 appearances for Tottenham in
\nfour years at the club and had left for Coventry before Blanchflower
\nfinally made the decision to retire in 1964.<\/p>\n
In July 1961, during pre-season training, Blanchflower quietly told
\nchairman Fred Bearman that Spurs would win the Double during the coming
\nseason. Spurs started like a house on fire, winning the first 11 games on
\nthe trot. They drew the 12th with Manchester City, which prompted
\npredictions from the press that Spurs were about to crack. Spurs won the
\nnext four games on the trot before losing their first game of the season,
\n2-1, at Sheffield Wednesday. Again, the press predicted Spurs were about
\nto crack but Spurs resumed their triumphant progress with the only hiccup
\na 4-4 draw against Burnley, after being 4-0 ahead. By Christmas, they were
\n11 points ahead of Sheffield Wednesday and it seemed just a matter of how
\nmany points Spurs would win the League by.<\/p>\n
Spurs now concentrated on the FA Cup. They beat Charlton Athletic, 3-2, in
\nthe Third Round. The draw then pitched them against Crewe Alexandra, who
\nhad been crushed 13-2 the previous February. This time Spurs were merciful
\nand only bothered to win 5-1. The 5th Round saw Spurs win 2-0 at Aston
\nVilla. The draw then gave them an away tie at Sunderland, then in the old
\nSecond Division. Spurs nearly came a cropper there and were fortunate to
\nsurvive a 1-1 draw. But at White Hart Lane, Spurs re-exerted their
\nauthority and crushed Sunderland 5-0. For the Semi-Final, it was back to
\nVilla Park for a tie against Burnley, probably the only club who could
\nmatch Tottenham at their best in those days.<\/p>\n
Before the match, Jimmy Adamson pointed out to Danny Blanchflower that
\nBurnley had never lost a match at Villa Park in their normal playing
\nstrip, knowing full well they could never use it because of a clash of
\ncolours with Villa’s. But at that time, Spurs were regularly beating Aston
\nVilla and had not lost there since before WW2. In the event, Spurs had no
\ntrouble in beating Burnley once Bobby Smith had thumped them ahead.<\/p>\n
Through to their first Final since 1921, Spurs could now switch their
\nattention back to the League. Their long lead had been chipped away and
\nonly three points stood between them and Sheffield Wednesday. Spurs were
\ndropping a lot of silly points and Nicholson became thoroughly
\nexasperated. “We’ve become lazy” he roared through the press on Easter
\nSaturday as Spurs prepared to play Preston North End, struggling to avoid
\nrelegation. The Spurs players were annoyed with the public criticism from
\nthe manager and took it out on Preston. Once the whistle went, it was
\nalways going to be a question of how many Spurs would bother to get. The
\nfive they got widened the gap at the top of the table again.<\/p>\n
And so to April 17th 1961. Spurs had one hand on the Championship.
\nSheffield Wednesday knew the odds were against them. Spurs were a goal
\ndown after Megson had scored following a free-kick. But within a minute of
\nthat goal, Smith had plundered an equaliser and within seconds of that,
\nLes Allen had snatched what was destined to be the winning goal.<\/p>\n
When the whistle ended the game, the crowd streaked onto the pitch and
\nrefused to go home until Danny Blanchflower led his champions out on to
\nthe balcony in the old West Stand.<\/p>\n
Spurs eased up alarmingly over the last few weeks and failed to beat
\nArsenal’s record of 66 points for the season. They were more interested in
\nsaving themselves for the Cup Final against Leicester City.<\/p>\n
The Cup Final was a huge disappointment. Mackay was nothing like the
\nplayer he had been during the season and Spurs were ultra-cautious on the
\nWembley turf, keenly aware of the injury hoodoo. But it was Leicester who
\nfell victim to the hoodoo in those distant pre-substitute days when
\nChalmers and Allen collided and Chalmers did not get up until after some
\nvery lengthy treatment. Leicester refused to accept the script that
\nTottenham should win, urged on by their captain, a certain Frank McLintock
\nwho was to achieve notorious fame some ten years later. But Spurs
\neventually scored two late goals from Bobby Smith and Terry Dyson and
\nSpurs had achieved the first modern League and Cup double.<\/p>\n
By Brian Judson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"