Since childhood, I have supported two football teams; Tottenham Hotspur and my own town team Swansea City. Ironically the two teams have been intrinsically linked by players appearing for both teams at some point in their careers. Welsh international Ronnie Burgess captained Spurs to the League Championship in 1951, and a few years later was transferred to Swansea. He subsequently became manager of the club before moving onto Watford.
Swansea players Terry Medwin and Cliff Jones were transferred to Spurs in the late fifties, and Cliff Jones was an integral part of their double winning team in 1960-61. They became the first team in the 20th Century to win the League Championship and FA Cup in the same season. With apologies to Gento of Real Madrid, Cliff Jones was at the time rated the best left winger in the world.
In recent times, we’ve witnessed Gylfi Sigurdsson and Kyle Naughton moving to Swansea with Michael Vorm and Ben Davies going in the opposite direction.
Co-incidentally my interest in the two teams occurred in 1961. Tottenham were the most successful team in the land, but I only saw them once live on television when they defeated Leicester City 2-0 in the FA Cup Final. In those grey days, the only live football televised was the FA Cup Final and the European Cup Final. Tottenham’s Cup Final team was: Bill Brown, Peter Baker, Ron Henry, Danny Blanchflower, Maurice Norman, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones, John White, Bobby Smith, Les Allen and Terry Dyson. No substitutes were allowed in those days.
I cajoled my dad into taking me down to the Vetch Field to watch Swansea Town play for the first time. They were in the middle of a sixteen unbeaten run which steered them clear of the relegation zone to finish in 7th place at the end of the season. How the current team could do with a current run as they hover ominously just above the relegation zone with twelve games remaining.
The Swansea Town X1 that appeared that day were: Johnny King, Alan Sanders, Harry Griffiths, Peter Davies, Mel Nurse, Roy Saunders, Len Allchurch, Reg Davies, Brayley Reynolds, Colin Webster and Graham “Flicka” Williams.
This is my dilemma. Tottenham has not won the League Title (now called the English Premier League) since 1960-61, fifty five years ago. They are currently lying second in the table, three points behind league leaders Leicester City, and producing great football.
Given a choice would I be happier for Spurs to win the Premier League, or for the Swans to avoid relegation? The rules state I can’t have both. It’s a tough call, but given the strength of Tottenham’s squad I believe they can win the Premiership next season if they miss out on the current campaign. However, if the Swans are relegated, it is unlikely I will see them play again in the top flight. They were the envy of other clubs on how to run a Premiership team on a modest budget, but for some unaccountable reason they have lost their way. Huw Jenkins, Chairman of Swansea City, has stated publically that whatever happens they need to regroup. I hope that process takes place in the annals of the Premiership.
