This preview was written by Brian Judson

Record of all Cup-ties played against Liverpool.

UEFA Cup

10.04.73 (SF/1) Away    0-1
25.04.73 (SF/2) Home    2-1     Peters 2 
            Spurs lost on away goal rule.

FA Cup

09.03.68 (6)    Home    1-1     Greaves
12.03.68 (R)    Away    1-2     Jones
06.03.71 (6)    Away    0-0
12.03.71 (R)    Home    0-1
27.01.85 (3)    Away    0-1
11.03.95 (6)    Away    2-1     Klinsmann, Sheringham

FL Cup

04.12.72 (5)    Away    1-1     Peters
06.12.72 (R)    Home    3-1     Chivers 2, Pratt
13.03.82 (F)    Wembley 1-3 aet Archibald
31.10.84 (3)    Home    1-0     C Allen

Charity Shield

21.08.82        Wembley 0-1

Screen Sport Super Cup

03.12.85        Away    0-2
14.01.86        Home    0-2

Normally, I would not include the Screen Sport Super Cup, which the Football League introduced to fill the void of English football clubs being banned from Europe in the wake of Heysel. I hold strong views on that event but this is not the place to air them. Suffice to say that I believe Juventus should also have been banned.

The reason for highlighting this tournament is that the second of the two Group A games played against Liverpool (Southampton were the other club in our Group) is that Pat Jennings made his final appearance for Spurs as they did not wish to risk Ray Clemence being injured. This was, in fact, the only match Clemence missed that season. Jennings had made his debut as long ago as August 1964 against Sheffield United. Only Steve Perryman and Gary Mabbutt come closest to matching that time playing for Tottenham.

Of the other games, the first two FA Cup ties against Liverpool (in 1968 and 1971) stick out most in my mind. We had never been paired with Liverpool before so it had a novelty appeal to those of us who saw the game. Greaves (who else?) scored the first goal with one of his extra special whizz-bangs from the edge of the penalty area : a rarity this because it was with the leg he stood on that he scored it with. But there was a very late equaliser that took us back to Anfield. For that match it was Dave Mackay and Cliff Jones who kept us in with a shout, Jones scoring the goal that brought us level. But in front of the swaying Kop, we were eventually borne down and lost the Cup we had won the previous season.

The second of our titanic ties with Liverpool saw us grind out a goal-less draw at Anfield. It was only Pat Jennings who kept us in the game. The replay at Tottenham saw Tottenham dominate the match but saw us lose when Heighway scored the only goal of the game fifteen minutes before half-time. Clemence was kept so busy that night he could have played in a jock strap!

The UEFA Cup tie was one of the few sad occasions where Spurs had won the game but lost the tie. It was a very tight match and somehow Spurs clawed themselves back from being behind to ahead on aggregate through two Martin Peters' goals but a late strike by Liverpool saw us eliminated. That was in fact the SIXTH time we had played Liverpool that season!

We had also played them in the League Cup twice, drawing at Anfield on the Monday night, replaying at Tottenham on the Wednesday night. We had played Southampton, at the Dell in the League, before the first match against Liverpool. We ended the week playing Arsenal at Tottenham and not surprisingly we were beaten by the Gunners.

The game against Liverpool on the Wednesday was a brilliant game. We scored two goals quite early on thanks to Chivers putting himself about in pouring rain that resembled a monsoon. Pratt grabbed a third before half-time if my memory serves me correctly. Liverpool did not make any attempt to try and save the game when they had the wind and the rain behind them.

I have only been to Anfield once and that was in January 1985 when we lost 1-0. I remember the coach trip north. The sun was shining when we left London but by the time we were travelling through the Staffordshire Moorlands, there was a sudden blizzard of snow that left everywhere white but it soon stopped snowing. Spurs lost the game in a match dominated by Liverpool. I may be profoundly deaf but even I could feel the cauldron of noise from the Kop as the stadium grumbled under the weight of the noise emanating from the Kop.

I would have loved to have been there when Klinsmann struck his vital goal in 1995 when we all thought he was going to bring the Cup back to Tottenham. It must have been quite a moment to savour as the Kop was struck dumb. (I'm aware that we won at Anfield in the League in 1985 but this preview only deals with Cup ties.)

I'm looking forward to seeing the game on Sky but I sure wish I could be up there with the boys. There's nothing like a match at Liverpool for atmosphere. But I feel sure that with George Graham pitting his wits for us there's a fair chance we may pull off a shock win. I'm not saying it will happen but there's just a chance it might happen. I envisage the game being very tight and much will depend on whose partners Campbell and on who plays up front.

Cheers, Brian

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