[Archibald&Crooks]

Part 1 is here
Part 2 is here

We start part three on 29th December 1984, Spurs were top of the league and entertained Sunderland in front of 26,000 at White Hart Lane. Goals from Hoddle and Crooks completed a pretty routine 2-0 win to keep us top, Everton had won by the same scoreline to keep the goal difference at plus four in our favour.

Arsenal at Highbury were next up, they were sitting in 4th, four points behind us so this was a massive game. My old man ran a boozer back then
which we all drank in so we spent New Years Eve celebrating both the new year and our impending victory against the scum, taunting any gooner who ventured in and the banter was brilliant. The next morning 48,000 packed into Highbury and we duly took our places nursing king size hangovers. And what a brilliant result! We won 2-1 thanks to goals from Mark Falco and Garth Crooks to stay top on goal difference and go 7pts clear of the Shits. Happy New Year!

Four days later we drew 1-1 at WHL in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup against Charlton thanks to another goal from Garth before travelling to QPR where we dew 2-2, Falco and Crooks again scoring the goals. This result knocked us of top spot as Everton had won 4-0, which also made the goal difference level. We then won our replay at Charlton by 2-1, the reward for which was a trip up to Anfield in the 4th Round, four days later, a match which we lost 1-0. We didn't return to league action until the 2nd February, a gap of almost three weeks and off to Luton we went, drawing 2-2, Robbo and Falco securing us a point. Everton had won again so we were now 4pts adrift in second place having just played 2 away games. The bad news was that our next 2 games were also away from home!

The first of these was at WBA, I hated going there then and I hate going there now. Dunno why. I remember this one because it was just SO boring. My mate loved Falco but managed to get himself thrown out of the ground for swearing 2 minutes before Falco came up with a goal to give us a 1-0 win, but it was hardly a good game or performance but we'd got that all important three point to stay 4pts and 4 goals behind Everton.

Then we went to Stoke. Horrible place, Stoke. Well, for the away fan anyway. They were lined up on the top of walls to throw anything they could lay their hands on at the away fans as we drove by and it was just nasty. We won the game 1-0 but we shouldn't have. The Stoke keeper (Peter Fox IIRC) air kicked a back pass to leave Garth Crooks a simple tap in against his old club and even better, Everton only drew so we closed the gap to 2pts. Worryingly, yet again the performance wasn't much, but we were winning again.

Four days later it was Real Madrid at home, a match which we lost 1-0 and league action returned to WHL on the 12th March with a game which we lost 2-1 to Man Utd. Bastards. The result put them 2pts behind us having played a game more, Everton hadn't played. We were pretty pissed off as I’m sure you can imagine. Who we playing next? Someone broke the silence to ask on the sombre journey home. Liverpool away came the answer. Shit. Silence again. We hadn't won there for 70-odd years, or since the Titanic sunk as the newspapers were fond of saying.

On a sunny Saturday the 16th March we eased into Liverpool and the mini bus was rocking. At the time, Harry Enfield's character 'Loadsamoney' was hugely popular and several of the lads thought it hilarious to wave handfuls of tenners at the scousers whilst singing "Loadsa, Loadsamoney, Loadsa Loadsamoney"......We packed into Anfield and were treated to a tremendous performance, the whole team did us proud as we won 1-0 to put the Titanic hoodoo firmly to rest. Little bits of that game still live in the memory.....Garth waving at the Kop as he turned away to celebrate his goal, Ian Rush being clean through only for a stunning Graham Roberts tackle to save us, Phil Neal giving Clemence a V sign as he lay on the floor after Clemence had saved his shot. Brilliant. We'd sung ourselves hoarse and stopped off in Stafford for a celebratory drink. The win put us level on points with Everton but they had a game in hand.

Four days later on the 20th, we drew 0-0 at Real madrid to go out of the UEFA Cup which left us to 'concentrate on the league'. Bah. Our next opponents were Southampton at the Lane and we gave them the sound thrashing they deserved with goals from Ardiles, Hoddle, Crooks, Falco and Brooke. The 5-1 win kept us level on points with Everton but our goal difference had now closed to just the one goal, in their favour.

Just a quick word here about Falco and Crooks. In the last 15 league games, Mark Falco scored 11 times and in the last 12 games, Crooksy scored 9 times, enjoying a streak of scoring in 7 consecutive games. If they'd gone on a steak like that in this day and age we'd be shifting them both on for £20m each.............Since our defeat at home to WBA we'd gone 17 matches losing only once including a run of 14 games without defeat.

Now our next two games were also at home and were massive. Aston Villa and then what was being billed as the title decider against Everton........

Next week the final part as we go into the run in for the title.

[Bill_Oddie]

Terrific stuff, mate. In Oddie news, at around this time my parents had recently bought me a rabbit for my birthday and forced me to wear a bow-tie to my party, so I cried.

[TheChosenOne]

Rivetting stuff Guv...

I have said on here before, and been trying to check things out via "Jim Duggan's Topspurs" it would seem that the 19th of Jan there was no match, this was the scheduled Everton at home game, I had bought tickets for myself and a pal down in the Park Lane seats but snow meant the match was abandoned.

As for Liverpool, my lot had been there three years on the trot, standing in the Kop with some Mickey Mousers who we met on holiday years earlier and we stayed the weekend at theirs as was the practice at the time. The first couple of years we were beaten (not unusual) but the 84/85 season we were in the middle of the roaring Kop and while you say Crooks waving - I can assure we didn't flinch one muscle and the Kop was the quietest place on earth. more so than an Arsenal home game. After the game we went off to the nearest boozer in Anfield and it was like nothing I'd ever experienced - The pub was silent, the Mickeys were stunned. Wow. (although the next year we were stuffed 4-1 with a consolation goal by Chedozie) 1986/87 proved to be another winning season but then it was Clive Allen for us in a another 1-0 ! .. and another quiet day in the Kop.

Your mention of Falco was spooky - There was a photo in my local paper Hertfordshire Mercury yesterday which accompanied an article about Ossie Ardiles and a golf tourney in Nazeing ... in the piccy was Ozzie, Lew Boie (?) John Lacy (!!) Mark Falco & John Pratt.

Unfortunately my scanner is U/s at the mo and I can't reproduce said photo.

Keep it coming Archie !

[steve8]

Remember this season well, including the upcoming game against Everton. I thought we were going to win the league at christmas, but did not expect Everton to be as good as they were!!

By the way, Loadsamoney was 1988, I know because I remember the ladies house I watched it at!! We started & finished in 88, & she was so annoyed that I was laughing at it, I won't say why!!

[Archibald&Crooks]

Yeah, you're right Steve, it was later. Could have sworn it was '85 we did that. I guess some things have gotten confused in the fog of time/my mind.

[topspur]

Great memories, thanks.

I really thought we were going to do it that season.

[tony_parkes]

My first ever Spurs game was away at Anfield in '85. I remember that Roberts tackle very well and Garth's goal.

Nowadays if Garth scored infront of the Kop he wouldn't wave, he'd be more inclined to give a verbose account of the merits of his strike whilst using as many big words as possible and pursing his lips.

[thfc__1882]

omg that was my first game at the lane home 2 sunderland remember gettin hoddles autograph n me old man takin a pic of me n him 2gether good times remember chedozie comin over n takin the ball off me 4 a throw in 2 remember chedozie??????