Tottenham Legends and Others Who Played For Spurs And Fulham
By Logan Holmes
From past masters Alan Mullery, Cliff Jones, Terry Dyson to today’s more recent players – Scott Parker, Dimitar Berbatov, Adel Taarab and Darren Bent, they all played for both clubs. Over the years there have been many other players who have performed admirably for both Spurs and Fulham.
Alan Mullery captained England in Malta in 1971 [Photo: Logan Holmes]Spurs Legends at the Cottage
There have been many players who have played for both Tottenham and Fulham, serving both clubs with distinction but the player who is probably best loved by both sets of fans is Alan Mullery. He started his career at Craven Cottage but was transferred to Spurs in March, 1964 for £72,500 as Bill Nicholson endeavoured to rebuild his ‘Double’ winning squad and replace some legendary players. Mullery had the unenviable task of trying to fill the boots of Danny Blanchflower and he found it a difficult task in the early days. The fans were slow to accept Mullery but in time through his hard work he gradually won them over and was part of the 1967 FA Cup winning time. When Dave Mackay moved on in 1968, Mullery became captain and led them to success in the 1971 League Cup and the 1972 UEFA Cup win.
In season 1971-72 Mullery was out for a lengthy period through injury and when fit he couldn’t displace John Pratt. Mullery asked to go out on loan and returned to Fulham. Unexpectedly, however, he returned to White Hart Lane when Pratt was injured ahead of the UEFA Cup semi-finals. He captained the team in the 1st leg at White Hart Lane against AC Milan which Spurs won 2 – 1 and then led by example in the away game scoring an early goal as Spurs drew 1 – 1. In the Final against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham brought a one goal advantage to the home game and it was Mullery who headed the goal to increase their lead. In the process, he knocked himself out but battled on as Spurs held on for the draw which saw them lift the trophy. Mullery enjoyed the celebrations around the pitch long after thel other players had departed to the changing rooms. As it turned out, it was to be Mullery’s last contribution in a Tottenham shirt as he was transferred to Fulham in the summer for £65,000.
He played for England on 35 occasions but unfortunately became the first England player to be sent off in a full England international in 1968 European Championships.
He played at Craven Cottage for four years and along with Bobby Moore they reached the FA Cup Final of 1975 with Mullery winning the Football Writers’ Player of the Year award that season.
An inspirational player he went on to become manager at Brighton, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace and QPR.
Cliff Jones ended his career with Fulham having served Tottenham for over ten years. He was a vital member of the successful Tottenham of the 1960s making over 400 appearances and scoring 176 goals. In recognition of his service he was allowed to leave for a minimal fee of £5,000 even though he had scored six goals in eight appearances that season. He had cost £35,000 when signed from Swansea town in February, 1958 but broke his leg during pre-season training. He joined Fulham in October, 1968 and played for two seasons at Craven Cottage. A fast, tricky winger who loved to take on his defender and who would courageously dive in where others feared to goal. For a small player he could jump to amazing heights and headed numerous goals against taller defenders. A true Tottenham legend.
[Photo: Logan Holmes]Terry Dyson joined Fulham in June, 1965 having spent eleven years at the club. After years of waiting patiently he came into the team at the start of season 1960-61 and was a regular as Spurs won the League and FA Cup. He missed out on the following season’s FA Cup triumph but regained his place for the next year’s European Cup Winners’ Cup success when he was one of the heroes, scoring twice in the Final against Atletico Madrid. He spent three years at Craven Cottage before joining Colchester United.
Current Fulham Squad:
Four current players on Fulham’s books have previously played for Tottenham.
Scott Parker is the most recent player to swap the Lane for the Cottage. Tottenham’s summer transfer activity when they signed a number of midfield players made the chances of Parker playing regularly for Spurs unlikely. To be guaranteed of playing in the Premier League he signed for Fulham and scored his first goal for the club in the recent home defeat to Swansea.
Dimitar Berbatov joined Fulham from Manchester United in the summer of 2012 having spent four seasons at Old Trafford after his acrimonious transfer north in 2008.
Adel Taarabt is on loan with Fulham from QPR whom he joined from Tottenham in the summer of 2010 having spent the previous season on loan at Loftus Road. He helped the west London club win the Championship title but found it more difficult to impress in the Premier League and QPR were relegated last season. He had made his Tottenham debut as a substitute in a memorable 4 – 3 win over West Ham at Upton Park in 2007.
Darren Bent is in loan from Aston Villa where he failed to impress manager Paul Lambert. He joined Villa from Sunderland whom he joined from Spurs in 2009 after an uneasy relationship with Harry Redknapp. In two seasons at White Hart Lane he scored 25 goals in 79 League and Cup appearances.
Past Players:
Ray Evans was a full back with Spurs who made his debut in 1969. He had come through the youth system but found it difficult to get into the team ahead of Joe Kinnear. He made numerous appearances in the early 1970s but Kinnear always returned for the crucial matches. He was a member of the losing UEFA Cup losing team of 1973-74 but when Terry Neill replaced Nicholson as manager, Kinnear returned. Evans went to Millwall and after two years moved on to Fulham where he spent two year before going to Stoke City but he had also played in America during the summer months.
John Lacy was part of the Fulham FA Cup team beside Bobby Moore and was signed for Tottenham by Keith Burkinshaw in the summer of 1978. Needless to say his signing was overshadowed by the arrival of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa. He found it difficult in his first season in what was a tough year for Spurs, newly promoted to the 1st Division. The signing of Paul Price and the development of Paul Miller and Graham Roberts put his place under threat and when he lost his place at the start of the start of the 1981 FA Cup run, he never regained it. He left for Crystal Palace in the summer of 1983.
Simon Davies joined Tottenham from Peterborough with Matthew Etherington and made over 120 appearances before joining Everton in 2005 for £4 million. He became a regular player and was a member of the team which lost the 2002 League Cup Final to Blackburn Rovers. He joined Fulham in 2007 and made over 160 appearances for them before being released last summer having struggled with injury in the previous two seasons.
Bobby Zamora joined Tottenham from Brighton but in six months at the club his chances were limited and he only scored one goal, the winner in a Cup game against West Ham United. He joined West Ham when Spurs signed Jermain Defoe in 2004. After four years he joined Fulham.
Fulham was one of Tony Parks clubs on leaving Spurs. [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]Stephen Kelly came through Spurs youth scheme and impressed on loan at lower league clubs. On returning to Tottenham, however, Kelly made only 37 appearances and the lack of first team football saw him transferred to Birmingham City in 2006. After three years the Republic of Ireland international returned to London with Fulham on 2009. He signed for Reading in January, 2013.
Danny Murphy, made 170 appearances for Liverpool and joined Spurs in 2006 after two seasons with Charlton Athletic. Limited opportunities saw Martin Jol transfer him to Fulham eighteen months later. In five seasons with Fulham he made just under 200 appearances at Craven Cottage before being released in the summer of 2012 when he signed for Blackburn Rovers. He announced his retirement in October to continue with media work.
Other players to spend time with both clubs included: Steve Archibald, Tony Parks, Phil Gray, Paul Mahorn and Paul Konchesky.
Older players were Alfie Stokes who had seven years at Tottenham and then went to Fulham for a season. Harry Lowe spent a season at Fulham after over thirteen seasons at White Hart Lane. Charlie Walters who was centre half in Tottenham’s 1921 FA Cup winning team was transferred to Fulham in 1926 after seven years with the club. Taffy O’Callaghan who played for Spurs in the 1920s and 1930s had two season with Fulham before the War.