Tottenham – ‘Match Off’ – 27th August,1988 Know Your Tottenham History

The postponement of last season’s opening encounter against Everton due to the riots in Tottenham and around London, is not the first time that Spurs have had to call off their first game of the season. It also happened in 1988 in rather embarrassing circumstances. Spurs were due to play their first game at home to Coventry City on Saturday, 27th August but during the summer, work on the redevelopment of the East Stand had been taking place. Although the work had not been completed assurances had been given that they would pass the necessary safety regulations to enable the fixture to go ahead as arranged. On the day of the match, six hours before kick-off, the safety authorities refused to issue the certificates and the match had to be called off.

 The fans of both clubs were not best pleased as the opening game is always one to be savoured as clubs look to get th eseason started on a positive note. The Coventry City fans had made travel arrangements while the Tottenham supporters had been eagerly anticipating the debut of their summer signing, Paul Gascoigne, from Newcastle United. His debut had to wait for another week when Tottenham would travel to the north-east to play Newcastle at St.James’ Park – surely there could be no better place for Gascoigne to make his debut.

#knowyourtottenhamhistory  26th August, 1961