Gary Lineker’s First Tottenham Goal – Know Your Tottenham History

Gary Lineker joined Tottenham from Barcelona during the summer and the prospect of him linking up with England colleagues Paul Gascoigne and Chris Waddle had Tottenham fans in a state of rapture. To have the three top England players together at White Hart Lane was a very exciting prospect. Shortly after Lineker signed, however, Waddle was sold to Marseille. For Tottenham fans this moment has come to be regarded as the first sign that Spurs was becoming a selling club when their better players moved on to further their careers.

23rd September, 1989

Norwich City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Scorers: Gascoigne, Lineker

Lineker took time to settle at White Hart Lane and failed to score in the opening six League and Cup games and results were poor. They had defeated Luton Town in the opening game at home but had taken only one point from the next four League matches, including a 4 – 1 defeat at home to Chelsea the previous weekend.

The match against Norwich at Carrow Road proved a turning point for Lineker and the team. He scored a headed equaliser to earn Spurs a point and then scored a hat-trick in the next match as Spurs defeated Queen’s Park Rangers at White Hart Lane. Spurs went on to win four consecutive League matches. Lineker proved his worth as he finished the season as top scorer with 27 League and Cup goals including a second a hat-trick in the return match against Norwich.

Team: Thorstvedt; Thomas, M., Butters, Mabbutt, Van den Hauwe; Samways (Robson), Gascoigne, Fenwick, Sedgley; Lineker (Walsh), Stewart

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