please log in to view this image Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea at White Hart Lane on Thursday 22nd December the 17th round of the 2011-12 Premier League season (16th game for Spurs). Spurs come into the game in 3rd place on 34 points with Chelsea in 4th place on 32 points. This will be the 186th time the two teams have met. Chelsea are one of the few major English football teams who never played Spurs during the Victorian Era, as they were only founded in 1905 and were admitted into the Second Division of the Football League without ever having played a match before. This was due to the rivalry that existed at the time between the Football League and the Southern League with the former desperate to make in-roads into the lucrative markets which London and the South-East provided. The first meeting between Spurs and Chelsea was a friendly played at Stamford Bridge in February 1908 and ended in a 2-2 draw. The same venue saw the first Football League Division One encounter in December 1909 and Chelsea won that match 2-1. The return fixture at White Hart Lane was won by Spurs 2-1 and in between those two matches the clubs met in the old second round (today's fourth round) of the FA Cup in a match which Spurs won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. Spurs and Chelsea would meet for another three seasons in the First Division before the outbreak of World War One with honours even at two wins for Spurs, two wins for Chelsea and two drawn matches. 14 games were played during the First World War and these featured many players who 'guested' for both clubs. Five of Tottenham's "home" games were played at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium. Spurs and Chelsea had finished in the bottom two places in the last season of the First Division when war broke out and when football resumed in 1919, the Division was expanded from 20 to 22 teams. Arsenal engineered a 'promotion' to the First Division at Spurs' expense but Tottenham easilly won the Division Two Championship and the next season had two emphatic wins over Chelsea 5-0 at home and 4-0 at the Bridge. The teams would meet for another five seasons in the First Division and two seasons in the Second Division during the inter-war period - season 1929-30 was the last time Spurs & Chelsea played League games outside the Top Flight of English Football. Spurs only lost two of those 14 League matches. During World War Two, 16 games were played between Spurs and Chelsea Spurs returned to the First Division in season 1950-51 and did the 'double' over Chelsea winning 2-0 away and 2-1 at home on their way to the first Football League Championship. Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea contested the first all-London FA Cup Final in 1967 at Wembley with Spurs winning 2-1 thanks to goals scored by Jimmy Robertson and Frank Saul. The first meeting in the Football League Cup came in the 1971-72 Semi-Finals with Chelsea winning the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-2 and Spurs only managing a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane. Both clubs were founder members of the Premier League in 1992-93 and both have been ever-present for the 20 seasons of the competition, along with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United. Chelsea have very much had the upper hand during the Premier League Era with 22 wins to Tottenham's 3 with the remaining 13 matches drawn. A second domestic Cup Final was contested in 2008 when Spurs beat Chelsea in the Football League (Carling) Cup Final 2-1 after extra time at Wembley. A Dimitar Berbatov penalty and a Jonathan Woodgate header ensured the silverware would once again reside in North London. Chelsea's dominance over Tottenham Hotspur has abated in the past few seasons, with Spurs winning three, drawing three and losing two of the past eight meetings in all competitions between the two clubs. Last season's fixture in December at White Hart Lane resulted in a 1-1 draw with Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring for Spurs after 15 minutes and Didier Drogba getting Chelsea's equaliser after 70 minutes. Drogba's injury time penalty was saved by Heurelho Gomes. The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in April was won by Chelsea 2-1 with Spurs taking a 19th minute lead through Sandro and Frank Lampard equalising on half time. Salomon Kalou scored the winner after 89 minutes. During the summer, Spurs signed former Chelsea midfielder (2004-05) Scott Parker from West Ham United. Overall, Spurs have won 68, Chelsea have won 72 and 45 of the 185 matches between the two clubs have been drawn. please log in to view this image Full History of Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea Matches 1908-2011 please log in to view this image They Played for Spurs & Chelsea.... Clive Allen Les Allen Jimmy Armstrong Frank Arnesen (Director of Football both clubs) Eddie Baily Ted Birnie Danny Blanchflower (Spurs player, Chelsea manager) Derek Brazil Johnny Brooks Bill Cartwright Sid Castle David Copeland Carlo Cudicini Jason Cundy Kerry Dixon Gordon Durie Mark Falco William Gallas Lee Gardner George Graham (Chelsea player, Spurs manager) Jimmy Greaves Frode Grodas Eidur Gudjohnsen Tommy Harmer (Spurs player, Chelsea coach) Alan Harris (Chelsea player, Spurs asst. manager) Micky Hazard Glenn Hoddle (Spurs & Chelsea player & manager) Stewart Houston (Chelsea player, Spurs asst. manager) Percy Humphries Steve Kelly John Kirwan Colin Lee Scott Parker Gustavo Poyet Graham Roberts Max Seeburg Buchanan Sharp Bobby Smith Neil Sullivan Andy Thompson (Spurs player, Chelsea coach) Sid Tickridge Jimmy Townley Terry Venables (also Spurs manager) Keith Weller Ernie Walley (Spurs player, Chelsea asst. manager) Harry Wilding Clive Wilson Vivian Woodward please log in to view this image Tottenham Hotspur Premier League Player's Squad Numbers 1993-94 to 2011-12 Chelsea Premier League Player's Squad Numbers 1993-94 to 2011-12 Premier League London Derbies Season 2011-12 please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Buzzing for this one. Thanks again 6061. Evening games against rivals always have the best atmosphere! Quietly confident providing we have Bale and Defoe fit enough to make the squad, they'll be key to breaking Chelsea down. Gutted Lennon's out, usually gives Cole a tough time. Hopefully Ledley can heal in 4 days we'll have Younes back so our aerial threat will be there. Going for 2-1 Spurs. Rafa and Walker
Thanks as ever 60 61. I so hope is Bale is fit and flying for this one, I was at the Lane when we beat them 2-1 during that run-in that took us to fourth spot. He was awesome that day, cut Chelsea to pieces.
So it's only relatively recently that Chelsea have overtaken us as far as wins are concerned then? Before the dominance of the PL we were quite a way ahead in victories. This is what having a top coach does for us,it gives us back our ability to match the teams we often used to beat regularly as the last 8 matches and the cup final have shown. It will be close on Thursday. I have to repeat that I would prefer Pav to play rather than Defoe.
Not sure it was that Ensil. We went for years without beating any top club let alone Chelsea and I think it was because we had too many less than average managers. What I am certain of though is that when we are on top form we normally do well against Chelsea. I"d like to get their former manager Ancelotti at WHL.
Would have been on our way in trying to change that last season only for the ref to f*ck that up for us! Funny that, refs and f*cking us over...
We couldn't win at Stamford Bridge when they were ****e, either. The last time we won there was in 1990.
The Chelsea game is the most important to me every season as my brother is a Chelsea fan.We've had a bet going on since 1970 of 10pounds(alot of money then) on who finishes higher in the league.I was doing ok up until the EPL started,just aswell I moved to Spain before it's creation. I get a wumming phone call from him after every defeat,so please lets win this time. Great work as usual 6061.
I didn't know Keith Weller played for us? Almost every week I have this response to this thread and it is fascinating to remember some of the players from my childhood. I vaguely remember Weller playing for Leicester, but not Spurs.
Spurs & Chelsea from season 1965-66... please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
That's their trainer - Harry Medhurst. He was a decent goalkeeper with Brighton, West Ham and Chelsea in his day and was a pretty good cricketer too, playing for Cambridgeshire. please log in to view this image
