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Spurs Supporters Club
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BILL NICHOLSON
William Edward "Bill" Nicholson OBE (26 January 1919 - 23 October 2004) was an English football player, coach, manager and scout who devoted his life to Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
He made his full international debut for England on 19 May 1951 against Portugal at Goodison Park, Liverpool, and made an immediate impression by scoring with his first touch of the ball after only 19 seconds.Unfortunately this was his only international appearance, because of injuries, the dominance of Billy Wright, and on many occasions he put his club before his country, saying "My duty is to get fit for Tottenham. Well, they pay my wages, don't they?".[citation needed] Of his only appearance he said "Stan Pearson nodded it back and I ran on to let go a first time shot which, from the moment I hit it, I knew was going in. But for the next game they brought back Billy Wright and I accepted that because he was the better player".[citation needed] Nicholson is the only player to have scored for England with his first touch in international football and subsequently never play at that level again.
On 11 October 1958, Nicholson was called to the Tottenham boardroom and appointed manager of the club in succession to Jimmy Anderson. At the time the club was sixth from the bottom of the First Division and there was little indication that the greatest period in the history of the club was about to begin. That afternoon, in the club's first game under Nicholson's management, Tottenham Hotspur beat Everton 10-4 at White Hart Lane. This represented a new club record, surpassed only by their 13-2 (10-0 at half-time) FA Cup replay win over Crewe Alexandra in the 1959-60 season. Less than two years later Spurs wrote their place in the history books when they won the Football League championship and the FA Cup in the 1960-61 season, the first "double" of the twentieth century. Spurs dominated the opposition that year, winning their first eleven games and scoring 115 goals in 42 games. The following year they won the FA Cup again, and narrowly missed a place in the European Cup Final, losing to Benfica in the semi-final. In the 1962-63 season, Nicholson again put Spurs in the history books when they became the first British club to win a major European trophy. In Rotterdam on 15 May 1963, Spurs defeated favourites Atlético Madrid 5-1 to win the European Cup Winners Cup. In 1967 Nicholson's Spurs won their third FA Cup in seven years by beating Chelsea in the first-ever all-London final. This was followed by a string of trophies in the early 1970s the League Cup was won in 1971 and 1973, and the UEFA Cup in 1972. With a general change in attitudes in British football in the early 1970s, in particular negative tactics and player power, Nicholson felt that the industry was in contrast to his upbringing and personality. He therefore resigned as manager of Spurs in September 1974, shortly after Spurs had lost the 1974 UEFA Cup final to Feyenoord. He left Spurs with great dignity and respect from everyone at the club, and is considered one of the most important figures in the club's history.
Football League First Division Winner 1951, 1961
Winner 1950
Winner 1961, 1962, 1967
Winner 1971, 1973
Winner 1951, 1961, 1962 Shared 1967
Semi Final 1961 Winner 1963
Winner 1972
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