PUSH AND RUN

 Frank Brettell, the first manager of Spurs in 1898-99 was a full back for Everton and then a Sports' Journalist at the Liverpool Mercury, a secretary at Bolton Wanderers in 1896, before moving to London and getting the Spurs job! He then went to Portsmouth for a couple of years and then Plymouth Argyll, retiring in 1905.
Before football he was a teacher and fathered 10 children, helped by Lavinia Spearman! His % record is the best in Spurs history 63 matches 37 wins 58.7%.
Poch comes 4th with 293/159 54%.

The longest serving manager was Bill Nicholson who looked after the Spurs from 1958 till 1974. This period included 832 games winning 408 and covering a hugely successful period in the club's history included the League and Cup Double, more FA Cup wins and success in Europe. Bill's record with Spurs was 832 games 408 wins 49%. (see below)

Nicholson had learned his game from following "The Spurs Way", a possession based game involving what was known as "push and run" inspired by Arthur Rowe (1949-55). Spurs won the Second Division in 1949-50 and then the First Division title the following year. They came second in 1951-2.


I met Arthur Rowe (above) who when in retirement became the Football Coach at Ardingly College in Sussex, a school Charterhouse still play against.

One of the Charles Buchan annuals from the 1950s had a series of photographs to show young readers what this meant.

Nicholson learned this from Robert Smyth McColl, who learned his trade from Peter McWilliam. a Scot who played at Newcastle United and managed at Spurs from 1913-27 and  1938-42.  He oversaw 750 games, winning 331 games.
The Spurs "nursery" side, Northfleet FC, included Bill Nicholson as a player.

Party to this style of football was Vic Buckingham, another player under McWilliam, who took his coaching ideas to Ajax and Barcelona, establishing what is now known as Total Football. Some of you close to my age may remember the Dutch style in the 1974 World Cup Finals.

In history "The Directors" ran the Spurs side in 1908-13 with a 42% win rate.