Toppenham Hotspur
Spurs are top of the table, leading the Premier League and not second either
28th November 2020
Tottenham Hotspur haven’t been top of the league this far into the season since before the Internet existed, so if you think I’m going to miss the first ever opportunity to write a blog about it, you are sorely mistaken.
I can’t just wax lyrical about my beloved Spurs, but luckily for me the COVID lockdown restrictions earlier in the year that resulted in the full suspension of the football league, give me an excuse to write about the last time English football was halted, and more importantly what happened during the original ‘Project restart’.
The last time football was suspended was during The First World War. The final league season was 1914/15, when Chelsea and Tottenham finished 19th and 20th respectively, and under normal circumstances both would have been relegated from the top flight in the 1915/16 season had it gone ahead as planned.
It wasn’t until hostilities ceased in November 1918 that thoughts began to turn to what would happen when the league resumed, and eventually it was decided to expand the First Division from 20 to 22 teams.
But who would be included? As the top two in the Second Division in 1914/15, Preston and Derby deserved promotion but would Chelsea and Tottenham still be relegated? Or would the promoted teams also include Barnsley and Wolves, who’d finished third and fourth in Division Two?
Rather than make a decision, a vote was held at the Football League AGM on 10 March 1919, and clubs were invited to try and persuade other members as to why they should be elected to the First Division.
However, somewhat surprisingly, this was not a straightforward choice between allowing Tottenham to remain in the top flight or choosing to promote Barnsley, who finished third in Division II. Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris was also pushing hard for his club to be included.
Norris in some way ‘convinced’ chairman and owner of Liverpool, John McKenna, to recommend Arsenal over Spurs. After a private meeting with Norris, McKenna made a speech recommending Arsenal’s promotion ahead of Spurs thanks to the former’s longer spell in the League (Arsenal joined in 1893, Spurs in 1908. Note that this completely ignored the fact that Wolves — who finished in 4th ahead of Arsenal — had been members of the league since its inception in 1888.)
Bribery or blackmail, nothing has ever been proven but let’s look at the facts:
- McKenna was known to have feared that Norris would expose his team Liverpool’s underhand behaviour (Manchester United and Liverpool were accused of fixing the last game of the season).
- Norris was caught breaking the leagues wage-cap rules making under-the-counter payments to Sunderland’s Charlie Buchan as an incentive for him to join Arsenal in 1925;
- He was known to have used Arsenal’s expense accounts for personal use to pay for his chauffeur etc.
- He was also found guilty of pocketing £125 from the sale of the team bus (that’s over £7,500 in today’s money).
- Norris sued the Daily Mail and the FA for libel when they reported these financial irregularities, but in February 1929, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Hewart, found in favour of the FA, and they subsequently banned Norris for life from football.
Banned. For. Life.
I’ll leave you to make up your own minds about what this convicted felon may or may not have done behind those closed doors. If you’re in the mood for some further reading on the subject, I’d recommend Ralph L. Finn’s “Arsenal — Chapman To Mee”, here is an excerpt:
The resulting vote determined that Chelsea would remain in the top tier and inexplicably Arsenal were also promoted.
So there you have it, just one of the countless reasons Tottenham fans despise the vile, corrupt, cheating, wretched wandering scum from Woolwich.
If you think they are harsh words, not only are you wrong, but the late, great Peter Cook said it even better than me as his character Clive slagging off Derek:
Derek supports Arsenal and you can see it in his face — that drugged zombie look that comes from substance abuse, genetic malfunction or even the occasional visit to Highbury….
See the rest on page 383 of his book “Tragically I was an only twin” (be warned, NSFW).
It wouldn’t be a Patently blog without somehow finding a way to squeeze in a little IP action, so to go with the theme of top flight football, here are a selection of our favourite football related trademarks:
Harry Kane
The Tottenham talisman and England captain owns a trademark, compromised of his initials HK and HARRY KANE beneath it.
Gareth Bale
The Wales and Tottenham winger registered his goal celebration in 2013. It comprises an image of hands shaped into a heart, with the number 11 in the middle. He actually surrendered this mark almost immediately, but it still looks cool.
Jesse Lingard
Jesse Lingard filed four applications to trade mark his goal celebration. These comprise of the mark ‘JLINGZ’ and images of his celebration.
Lionel Messi
Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi finally registered his name as a trade mark back in 2018, after a seven-year legal battle. His original application in 2011 was challenged by a Spanish cycling brand, which was the proprietor of the mark MASSI. They argued that the names were too similar and would cause confusion. However, the EU’s General Court ruled that the footballer was way too famous to be confused with a cycling brand. Messi owns over 75 registered marks, forming one of the biggest portfolios in the sport.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo has fewer registered marks (which, of course, puts to bed the debate about who the greater footballer is). However, he’s taken a huge step by expanding his brand, teaming up with a Portuguese hotel group, Pestana. He has opened Pestana CR7 in his hometown of Funchal, on the island of Madeira. He has registered the marks CR7, CR9 and CRISTIANO RONALDO.
Tottenham Hotspur
I have to finish with the most majestic and beautiful trademark in sports…
Come on you Spurs!
