Anyone associated with Manchester United must have been a little bit sick of Tottenham by the end of the 2024/25 season. Four times the clubs met, each time the north London club victorious, most memorably in the final of the Europa League.
The final in Bilboa may have been rewarding to Tottenham supporters, their 16-year trophy drought finally ending. Yet to any neutrals who chose to watch that match, the entertainment was in short supply. Let us hope that the live Premier League match between the two clubs at Old Trafford this weekend is slightly more exciting.
A repeat of the corresponding league fixture 40 years ago would be more than acceptable. The live BBC match in December 1986 gave us goals, mistakes, moments of brilliance, comedy, bravery, and a welcome palate cleanser after the depressing EastEnders omnibus. As an armchair supporter, it was a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.
Both clubs were experiencing underwhelming league campaigns as they prepared to meet at Old Trafford. With his feet only just under the managerial hot desk, Alex Ferguson was trying to steer United away from any relegation danger after the sacking of Ron Atkinson. And Tottenham boss David Pleat was striving to find more consistency as his team sat in mid-table.
Ultimately, Pleat would find a formula for success. His five man midfield - Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles, Paul Allen, Chris Waddle, and latterly Steve Hodge - would provide the ammunition for 49-goal Clive Allen, as the club chased success on three fronts. They may have ended the season without a trophy, yet the 1986/87 season saw Pleat's Tottenham provide thrilling football.
The 3-3 draw at Old Trafford was Tottenham's season in a nutshell; entertaining without quite getting over the line. But they fully played their part during an afternoon that left the television viewer breathless.
Sometimes the hype for a fixture of this magnitude is too much. But back in 1986 there was just the five minutes build-up for the live BBC coverage. Commentator John Motson informed us that Bryan Robson, Gordon Strachan and Norman Whiteside were returning for United, before co-commentator and Sunderland manager Lawrie McMenemy gave us his thoughts. And then the chaos began.
Immediately Tottenham went close, goalkeeper Chris Turner saving a Graham Roberts header with Clive Allen striking the post from a yard out. But it would be United that took the lead in the 12th minute with a training ground routine from a free kick. Robson played the ball into Peter Davenport who played in Strachan down the right. Strachan's cross was finished from close range by Whiteside.
Tony Galvin and Clive Allen both tested Turner, before centre back Kevin Moran missed a golden opportunity to double United's lead. Played through by Davenport, Moran slid his effort past Ray Clemence, but the wrong side of the post. Sadly for Moran, he would find the back of the same net in the second half.
The miss did not seem too costly when Davenport capitalised on a mistake a few minutes later by makeshift right back Paul Allen. Taking advantage of Allen's poor touch, Davenport fired past Clemence from a narrow angle in the 36th minute, as United went into the break with a two goal advantage.
Allen would later move back into his regular midfield role, when Danny Thomas was introduced in the second half, and Tottenham instantly gained a foothold in the match. Hoddle's corner was met my a superb diving header from Gary Mabbutt, "a terrific goal" in the words of Motson, and a header that made its way on to the memorable 101 Great Goals BBC video.
Tottenham's equaliser just two minutes later may have found a home on Danny Baker's Own Goals and Gaffs video. Hoddle surged forward and tried to chip Turner, who could only palm the effort skywards. As the ball dropped towards United's goal, Moran inexplicably hooked the ball over the line, as Tottenham's travelling fans celebrated the quick turnaround and McMenemy groaned in disbelief.
The match continued to go back and forth. Davenport was denied another goal as referee David Hutchinson ruled that Moran had fouled Clemence, but it appeared as if Tottenham would win their first league match at Old Trafford in ten years as an act of bravery from Clive Allen gave the visitors the lead with 17 minutes remaining.
Allen may have put Tottenham's noses in front, but his header from a yard out came at a cost to his own hooter. Suffering a broken nose after Strachan's attempted clearance made contact with him rather than the ball, Allen's 22nd goal of the campaign saw the match turned upside down, although Motson debated whether Allen would claim the goal.
"If you'd got kicked in the head, you'd want to claim it as well," McMenemy drolly observed. With just one substitute available, Allen received the magic sponge to his face and continued. Managers must have welcomed the rule change the following league season to allow for two substitutes, with Ferguson forced earlier in the match to replace centre back Paul McGrath with forward Frank Stapleton.
It would be Tottenham's substitute that would have the final say in the match. Danny Thomas, attempting to cover a typical Robson thrust into the box, mistimed his challenge, bundling over United's skipper with a minute remaining. Davenport scored from the spot, although Clemence possibly should have saved the effort.
Sadly it had to end. "If football's going to be like that, then let's have a lot more of it," Motson understandably stated as the players headed to the tunnel. Certainly the 35,957 crowd at Old Trafford could have no complaints with what they had seen. "The real winners were the millions of armchair fans, thrilled by a classic North-South confrontation," Harry Harris wrote in the Mirror.
As well as extolling the entertainment, most match reports concentrated on the task ahead for Ferguson. The Guardian's Stephen Bierley did not hold back. "Everywhere - defence, midfield and attack - he has problems and he will thoroughly earn his first year's salary." The task Ferguson faced at Old Trafford was laid bare during this exciting afternoon.
"United's problems run deep," Bierley added. "They have crept on the club like rising damp." Not a million miles away from the situation of the club in the post-Fergie years. Michael Carrick's return to Old Trafford has provided encouragement, and a win on Saturday over United's bogey team from last season would add to the momentum.
Either Carrick or Thomas Frank would take a boring victory at the weekend. But let's hope for a bit of entertainment in the style of that December 1986 meeting between the two clubs. In a season of relatively few thrilling matches, surely isn't too much to ask for?
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