They Played for Tottenham and Reading

Tottenham’s Gylfi Sigurdsson started his career in England with Reading

There are many players who have played for both Tottenham and Reading but there have been only a very small number of players who have been transferred directly between the two clubs. Gylfi Sigurdsson who will be hoping to be in the Tottenham team on Sunday is the most recent player with connections to both clubs. Another player is Bongani Khumalo who is currently on loan with PAOK Salonica spent part of last season at Reading. Many players who came through the Tottenham youth system later played for Reading either on loan or nearing the end of their career.

From Tottenham to Reading

The last player who was transferred directly from Tottenham to Reading on a permanent deal was Darren Caskey in 1996. He played in central midfield and showed promise as a young player, captaining England in the U-18 European Championship in 1993 and he scored a penalty, the only goal of the Final against Turkey. He went on to make 32 League appearances for Spurs and scored 4 goals but joined Reading for £700,000 in 1996 where he made over 200 appearances.

In an excellent article from 2003 by Adam Powley in the magazine, When Saturday Comes, he charts the rise and fall of Caskey, the ‘next big’ thing at Tottenham in the early 1990s.

‘Every season at Spurs, there is talk of a young player being touted as “the new Glenn Hoddle”. The names may change but the hopeful expectation remains the same – that there is a hidden talent in the White Hart Lane nursery who will burst into the first team and provide Tottenham with the ready-made superstar they sorely need. It was Darren Caskey’s misfortune to be one of those great hopes, saddled with expectations he couldn’t pos­sibly live up to. He did better than most, in that he act­ually made the first team…..But his career since then has been one of frustration, punctuated by indifferent form, quest­ionable career moves and plain bad luck.’

Caskey had spent time on loan at Watford before leaving Tottenham and their fanzine, Blind, Desperate and Stupid provided a harsh but revealing appraisal:

"“Caskey was (and is) a class player, capable of providing quality passes from the midfield to the strikers. He’s also a lazy poser, who couldn’t be arsed most of the time he was playing for us.”­"

From Reading to Tottenham

Spurs last signed a player from Reading in February, 1953. It was Johnny Brooks who cost £3,000 with two other players, Dennis Uphill and Harry Robshaw moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal. Brooks went on to play 179 League and Cup matches for Spurs, scoring 51 goals in six seasons at White Hart Lane. He made three appearances for England, scoring in his first two games. He joined Chelsea in 1959 in a £20,000 part-exchange for Les Allen as Bill Nicholson built his ‘Double’ winning team.

Current Players

Both Tottenham and Reading have a player in their current Premier League 25-man squad who has played for the other side. Tottenham signed Sigurgsson from Hoffenheim during the summer. He had first played for Reading, having progressed through their Academy system after coming to England in 2005 aged sixteen. His Reading debut was in 2008 and after two seasons and 42 appearances (20 goals) he was transferred to Hoffenheim. Last season, he spent time on loan with Swansea City where he attracted attention with his performances and goals in the Premier League.

During the summer Reading signed Welsh international full back, Chris Gunter from Nottingham Forest. He had joined Forest from Tottenham in the summer of 2009 having been signed in January, 2008 from Cardiff City. His Tottenham debut was in an FA Cup replay against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. He made 5 League appearances for Spurs.

Early Days

The first player to play for both clubs in the Football League was centre half Sid Helliwell who joined Spurs from Reading in 1827. He made only eight appearances in two seasons at White Hart Lane. Another player who had early connections with both clubs was Bill Lane, a centre forward who graduated from the Northfleet nursery at Tottenham in 1924. In November, 1926 he joined Leicester City and then Walsall before moving on to Reading in 1928 where he spent a year. He made 29 League and Cup appearances at White Hart Lane and scored 9 goals but as at most of his clubs he was regarded mostly as a reserve to step up when required.

Tom Meads played for one season with Reading and then joined Spurs in 1929. He was a combative left-half who was a regular for Tottenham over the next five years. He made 189 League  and Cup appearances for the club and scored 6 goals.

One Who Got Away

A young Tottenham apprentice who was released by the club went on to join Reading in 1980 and then moved to Chelsea where he became an England international making 8 appearances for his country and scoring four goals. Kerry Dixon was a centre forward and after three seasons, 116 League appearances and 51 goals for the Elm Park club, he had nine years with Chelsea where he made over 330 appearances and scored 147 goals.

Career at Reading

Stuart Beavon was a midfield player who developed through the youth system at Tottenham in the 1970s and made 4 League appearances. He joined Reading in 1980 where he spent ten years and made 396 League appearances and scored 44 goals.

Another young striker who left Tottenham without a senior appearance in 1967 was John Sainty. His career with Reading and then Bournemouth, totalled over 220 League appearances.

Club Loyalty

In August, 1930 Tottenham defeated Reading 7 – 1 at White Hart Lane It was the opening day of the season and centre half Alf Messer who had been signed during the summer was making his debut against his former club. Messer had been named captain but declined to lead Spurs against Reading. Tommy Meads was given that honour and he was also a former Reading player. Matt Forster who had played for Tottenham at full back for many years had been transferred to Reading during the summer but he declined the opportunity to to play against his old team.

In total over thirty players have represented both Tottenham and Reading at some time during their careers, including Steve Archibald and Garry Brooke who were both members of Tottenham’s FA Cup winning squad in 1981 and 1982. Many Tottenham youth team players and reserves had time with Reading later in their carers – Kevin Watson, Lee Hodges, David McDonald, John Polson, Brian Statham, Mark Robson, David Leworthy, Alan Cockram, Martin Robinson and Roy Brown.