Liverpool Away, Tottenham’s Hoodoo at Anfield Broken,Let’s Keep It That Way.
By Alan Hill
Gone are the days of Tottenham’s record against Liverpool at Anfield being linked with the sinking of the Titanic. For too long, the year 1912, was irrevocably associated with a Spurs away win over Liverpool and the loss of that ‘unsinkable’ ship.
[Photo: Alan Hill]Rafa Benitez must have a good agent. He is everywhere I look at the moment. He is currently starring in the Chelsea farce. He was staring out of the programme at me from the previous time we beat Inter as their manager at the time, following Jose Mourinho who left them after delivering an Italian treble. He managed Liverpool, our next opponents with some success for years…it’s like he is haunting me. Go away.
Now where was I? Oh yes, Liverpool at Anfield. One of the pleasant bonuses which comes with our steady improvement in recent years is the step by step laying to rest of the taboos that have dogged us for so long in relation to our performance against certain other teams. Every time the next game came along we would hear, “Spurs have not beaten Chelsea for X years. Spurs have not beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford since…Spurs have not won at Anfield in several generations….” It really used to grate, like being made to eat humble pie 4 or 5 times a season, year after year after year. I effected to shrug it off, make a joke of it but it was so annoying, particularly when in so many games we were winning and then it would slip away with minutes to go. Often against Liverpool. We started to put it right under Harry Redknapp, beating Liverpool in one of his early games. We have done it home and away. Coming back from 3-1 and 4 – 2 down to get a draw against Arsenal, beating Chelsea in the league after already having defeated their Premier League winning team in a Wembley Cup final. Then this season, 4 points out of 6 from Manchester United when they are romping away with the league. I think the final one to put to bed will be finishing above Arsenal in the race for the Champions’ League. Let’s hope we will achieve that in the next couple of months.
That brings me back to Liverpool. Even in our relative halcyon days of 1981 – 82, they still somehow always seemed to come out on top. I have blogged before about their 1982 extra time League Cup victory, so won’t go there again. I have a very selective memory when it comes to losing streaks. I tend to rub them out as soon as possible. Focus on the next game or something else altogether. That is probably why I was surprised to find the programme for the F.A. Charity Shield from 1982 in the loft. It’s incredible the detail I can remember from matches I have attended but when we’ve lost? Na. If I have that programme, I must have been there. In those days I wouldn’t have purchased it in a newsagent or on the internet (what internet?) like you can now. So I’m leafing through it, trying to drag the memories back. I am pleased to say it’s made more difficult by the fact that Spurs and I were regular visitors to Wembley in those days, so it’s easy to confuse the visits.
[Photo: Alan Hill]The programme contained a few gems including a history of Tottenham’s victories at Anfield entitled “When the cockerel crowed at Anfield”. It also said, “Although 1911-12 saw Tottenham again do the double over the ”Reds” it was to be significant, for the win at Anfield on March 16thwas their last on that ground – 70 years ago.”
Thirty years later we have come full circle. With our bright young managers the future looks rosy on the pitch for both clubs.
For a Spurs supporter, the 1982 Charity Shield against Liverpool was a bit of a non-event. We were missing Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa. We lost 1-0 to a 32nd minute strike from goal machine Ian Rush. We had come so close to being the best team in the land but it was downhill from there. I’ll always believe our long term dominance of British football was prevented by the Falklands war.
Tottenham 1982 [Photo: Alan Hill]It didn’t work out for Spurs back then. Let’s hope this time it really is our turn.