The Double: Tottenham Hotspur 1960-61
The Double: Tottenham Hotspur 1960-61
Author: Ken Ferris (Limited availability)
Blow-by-blow account of Tottenham’s greatest seasonFull of information (can you believe Bobby Smith is now living on an invalidity pension?), and something like a blow-by-blow account of Tottenham’s great double season of 1960-1, charting the games and giving us the low-down on the larger-than-life figures like Bill Nicholson, Danny Blanchflower and Dave MacKay.
The style is a little dry, however, and it certainly lacks the atmosphere and colour of Hunter Davies’ “Glory Game” about the Tottenham team of a decade later. We certainly get the picture of how the players lived - on maximum wages and often in club-owned houses - and we sense how important the FA Cup was in those days, but there is little analysis of the tactics of the football of the time, other than brief description of formations (remember “wing halfs” ?).
So, all in all, something more comprehensive remains to be written about the Tottenham 1960-61 triumph. After all, this was was first time it was done in the whole century - and yet Arsenal would repeat the feat in ten years’ time and be followed by Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. Why? And why couldn’t Billy Nicholson prevent the team, and club, going into gradual decline after the 1960-1 triumphs?
As close as you can get to double success
This book recreates the magical Spurs double season of 1960/61when legends like Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay and Cliff Jones mesmerised opposing teams and captivated the fans. It is based on interviews with all the great players in the side and manager Bill Nicholson. Unfortunately, the book is not available from Tottenham Hotspur since it is not an “official” book. Fortunately, that means you get the true story of the season in all its glory. Danny Blanchflower would definitely have approved.