YE1 Spurs

Ex-Spurs striker Steven Slade gives a refreshingly honest account on what it is like to play top-level football when you do not necessarily enjoy the game, and offers invaluable insight as to some of the elite characters he shared both the training pitch, and the White Hart Lane turf with, including Jürgen Klinsmann, Nayim, and Paul Gascoigne.

Steve also shares some immensely sad and distressing events which have occurred at different points in his life.

Spurs' 1995/96 campaign began with a bizarre Intertoto Cup escapade, as a squad made up of "the youth team, a couple of reserves, and some mercenaries" took to Brighton for two 'home fixtures', and succumbed to the club's heaviest ever competitive defeat out in Cologne, arriving home to news that UEFA had then banned us from Europe.

The ban was later lifted, while Gerry Francis' first full season played out solidly, though narrow failure to qualify for the 1996/97 UEFA Cup, and a disappointing FA Cup exit on penalties prevented the campaign from being anything exceptional.

Our review of this latest dogdy 90s season begins with Nicholas Frankel's account of the 7-1 debacle away at Newcastle in late-December '96.

From there, Ian, Bob, Sim, and Peter pick up the story of continued Spurs decline under Gerry Francis, who would not last much longer after a disappointing 10th-place Premiership finish, and poor domestic cup displays, including humiliation at the hands of First Division champions-elect Bolton Wanderers.

Bob Jordan joins our South East London Spurs entourage, as YE1 Daily turns its attention to 1997/98's relegation battle.

The blow of losing Teddy Sheringham, who had been leading goal scorer in four of the previous five seasons, was softened by the arrivals of marquee Newcastle pair David Ginola and Les Ferdinand, though boss Gerry Francis would resign in November, leaving unknown Swiss League marvel Christian Gross to steer us narrowly away from the drop.

Ian and the team take the opportunity to look over a trophy-winning season, for only the second time since beginning this YE1 Daily series at the start of Covid-19 lockdown.

With the Premiership campaign a draw-ridden borefest under the guidance of George Graham, 1998/99 would undoubtedly peak on Worthington Cup Final day against Leicester City, as Allan Nielsen's diving header was enough to win what was our last ever trip to the old Wembley Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur entered the new millennium managed by former Arsenal boss George Graham, unaffectionately known to Spurs supporters as the "man in the raincoat", and modestly bankrolled by Alan Sugar, whose ten-year tenure was coming to a rather unhappy end.

Ian, Matt, Sim, and Peter are the pundits today, while Nicholas Frankel recounts his trip to Kaiserslautern for our dramatic and hugely disappointing UEFA Cup exit in November 1999.

Week seven of YE1 Daily begins on the border of the current millennium, and revisits the final months of both George Graham, as Spurs manager, and chairman of the day Alan Sugar, before he sold a controlling stake in the club to ENIC Group.

ENIC's first move was to reuinify a disillusioned fanbase by appointing legendary ex-player Glenn Hoddle as manager, whose opening match was an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Old Trafford.

With Sol Campbell having done the unthinkable, our first full season since both ENIC's takeover and club icon Glenn Hoddle's appointment as manager, was led on the pitch by veteran stars Teddy Sheringham, Gus Poyet, and Les Ferdinand.

2001/02 saw Tottenham Hotspur finish some way off European qualification in the Premiership once again, as well as fail at the final hurdle of the Worthington Cup, on what remains our only ever trip to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

As extra context for tomorrow's YE1 Daily review of Tottenham Hotspur season 2001/02, we are relaunching last month's discussion as to whether or not Sol Campbell may "ever be forgiven", or at least understood, for his controversial decision to move across North London in July 2001.

The second YE1 Daily of the week recalls Tottenham Hotspur's quintessentially "mediocre" 2002/03 season.

Assessment of Glenn Hoddle's second full season, the 10th-place Premier League finish, pathetic domestic cup campaigns, and our extremely ageing playing squad make up the agenda for Ian, Dan, Sim, and Peter.