Woolwich host Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 27th September 2014 (KO 17:30) in the 6th match of the 2014-15 Premier League season.
Woolwich come into the game in 4th place in the Table on 9 points with Spurs in 9th on 7 points. This will be the 255th time the two teams have met.
Spurs v Woolwich is now one of the great rivalries in World Football but the fixture had very different beginings back in November 1887 when the clubs first met in a friendly played on Tottenham Marshes. Woolwich, then called Royal Woolwich, had been formed just a year earlier as Dial Square and were essentially the works team for the munitions factory situated in Woolwich, Kent, while Spurs who had been formed some five years earlier in 1882 still had many of the youngsters who founded the club playing for them. Spurs won that first encounter 2-1, although the game was cut short by 15 minutes, due to poor light conditions because of the Woolwich team getting lost and turning-up late for the start.
Seven more friendlies were played between the two clubs from 1888 to 1896 with Spurs winning four and Woolwich winning three before their first competitive match in March 1899. By this time, Woolwich were re-named Woolwich Woolwich and the clubs met in the United League with the Gunners winning 2-1 at the Manor Ground in Plumstead while Spurs won the return match 3-2 at Northumberland Park.
Two matches were played within the same week in April 1900 in the Southern District Combination League with Spurs winning 4-2 at White Hart Lane which was followed by a 2-1 win to Woolwich at Plumstead in a game abandoned after 75 minutes due to "bad language". History doesn't provide the answer as to who was the guilty party! From 1901 to 1920, the clubs met in various minor competitions, friendlies and matches played during the First World War.
Tottenham Hotspur joined the Football League in season 1908-09 and won promotion to the First Division on their first attempt. The following season they played Woolwich in December 1909 and lost 0-1 at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, while the reverse fixture at White Hart Lane ended in a 1-1 draw with John Curtis scoring Spurs' first League goal against the Gunners.
The teams met for three more seasons before Woolwich's relegation at the end of the 1912-13 season with Spurs winning three matches, Woolwich winning two and one game drawn.
September 1913 proved to be a hugely important date in the history of both clubs as Woolwich controversially moved from south of the River Thames into the territory reserved for Tottenham Hotspur and Clapton (later Leyton) Orient, in clear violation of the rules and regulations governing such relocations as stipulated by the Football League. Despite bitter protests, Woolwich's move to Highbury (more correctly called Woolwich Stadium) was allowed.
White Hart Lane was requisitioned by the Army during WWI, so Spurs played many of their wartime matches at Highbury.
When League football resumed after the war in 1919, it was decided to once again expand the First Division from 20 teams to 22. The normal way of doing this had always been to add the top two clubs from the Second Division to those who were already in the First Division. However, there were complications arising from allegations of match-fixing from Liverpool and Manchester United during the final matches of the last season played before the League was suspended and it was felt that they would forfit their Top Flight status as a result.
From nowhere, Woolwich, who had finished sixth (later corrected to fifth) in the Second Division before the war were 'elected' to take Tottenham Hotspur's place in the First Division. Allegations of bribery persist to this day and Henry Norris (Woolwich's Chairman) was later given a lifetime ban from football from the Football League for underhand financial activities.
Spurs and Woolwich played their first Football League match after World War One in the First Division in January 1921 with Spurs winning 2-1 at White Hart Lane while Woolwich won the return match at Highbury 3-2. All 150 League games played to date have taken place in the Top Flight of English football.
Highbury was taken over by the Army during the Second World War and Spurs returned the favour by allowing Woolwich to play their wartime matches at White Hart Lane. Woolwich won the first FA Cup meeting between the two teams 3-0 in the 3rd Round in January 1949. The clubs have played five FA Cup matches to date with Spurs winning two and Woolwich winning three.
The first Football League Cup match took place in November 1968 with Woolwich winning the first leg of the Semi-Final 1-0 at Highbury and Spurs drawing 1-1 at White Hart Lane the following month. Of the 12 League Cup matches played so far, Spurs have won 3, Woolwich have won 6 and three games have been drawn.
Both Woolwich and Tottenham Hotspur were founder members of the Premier League in season 1992-93 and both clubs are among the seven (Liverpool, Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa are the other five) who have been ever-present during the 21 seasons of the competition.
Woolwich went two goals ahead by halftime in the 2010-11 fixture at the Emirates in November through Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh but Spurs came back strongly with goals from Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart (penalty) and Younes Kaboul to secure a 3-2 win.
The match at White Hart Lane in April 2011 was a six goal thriller with honours even. Theo Walcott and Rafael van der Vaart scored goals within the first 10 minutes before Samir Nasri put the Gunners 2-1 up after 12 minutes. Woolwich went further ahead with a Robin van Persie goal on 40 minutes but Tom Huddlestone made it 2-3 by halftime. Van der Vaart scored the only goal in the second half from the penalty spot.
The fixture at White Hart Lane in October 2011 was won by Spurs 2-1 with goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Kyle Walker with Aaron Ramsey scoring for Woolwich. The Gunners won their home match in February 2012 5-2. Louis Saha had put Spurs ahead after 4 minutes and an Emmanuel Adebayor penalty put Tottenham further ahead after 34 minutes. But Woolwich pulled two goals back before half-time through Bacary Sagna and Robin van Persie. Tomas Rosicky put Woolwich in front just after the break and the rout was completed with a brace from Theo Walcott.
During the 2012 summer transfer window, Spurs signed former Woolwich striker Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City after having spent a season on loan.
The match on 17th November at the Emirates resulted in a 5-2 win for Woolwich. Emmanuel Adebayor put Spurs ahead after 10 minutes but was sent-off eight minutes later for a rash tackle on Santi Cazorla. Woolwich then scored three times to make it 3-1 at halftime - Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud grabbing the goals. Santi Cazorla put Woolwich further ahead on the hour mark but Gareth Bale pulled one back for Spurs before Theo Walcott scored the fifth for Woolwich just before the final whistle.
Spurs won the match at the Lane in March 2013 2-1 with Gareth Bale scoring after 37 minutes and Aaron Lennon adding a second two minutes later. Per Mertesacker pulled a goal back for Woolwich six minutes into the second half.
Olivier Giroud scored in the 23rd minute to give Woolwich the points in the September 2013 Premier League game at the Emirates. Woolwich ran-out 2-0 winners in the FA Cup 3rd Round match played at the Emirates in January 2014 with Santi Cazorla & Tomas Rosicky scoring a goal each. The 2013-14 League game at the Lane in May 2014 finished in a 1-0 win to Woolwich after Tomas Rosicky scored in the second minute.
As far as Football League / Premier League matches go, three player have both scored nine goals for Spurs against Woolwich - Billy Minter and Bobby Smith.
Three Woolwich players have each scored eight goals against Spurs - Robert Pires, Emmanuel Adebayor and Alan Smith.
There have been three hat-tricks scored during North London Derbies - Terry Dyson for Spurs and Ted Drake & Alan Sunderland for Woolwich.
Jimmy Robertson & Emmanuel Adebayor are the only two players to score for both Spurs & Woolwich in a North London Derby.
Woolwich's David O'Leary has played in the most North London Derbies (35) while both Gary Mabbutt & Steve Perryman played 31 games with Spurs.
Overall, Spurs have won 91 of the 254 matches played against Woolwich with the Gunners winning 104 and 59 matches drawn.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Clive Allen
Charlie Ambler
Bob Arber (Woolwich player, Spurs reserves manager)
David Bentley
David Black
Anton Blackwood
Jimmy Brain
Laurie Brown
Walter Bugg
Lycurgus Burrows
Sol Campbell
Herbert Chapman (Spurs player, Woolwich manager)
Damien Comolli (Director of Football at both clubs)
Freddie Cox
James Delvin
Wilf Dixon (Spurs assistant manager, Woolwich trainer)
Jack Eggett
Tom Fitchie
Theo Foley (Woolwich assistant manager, Spurs reserves manager)
William Gallas
George Graham (Woolwich player, manager of both clubs)
Vic Groves
Tom Hatfield
Stewart Houston (Assistant manager at both clubs)
Joe Hulme (Woolwich player, Spurs manager)
George Hunt
David Jenkins
Pat Jennings
Bill Julian
Peter Kyle
Neil Lacy
Bill Lane (Spurs player, Woolwich scout)
Peter McWilliam (Spurs manager, Woolwich scout)
Tom Meade
Billy Minter
Terry Naylor
Terry Neill (Woolwich player, manager of both clubs)
Jamie O'Hara
Tom O'Shea
George Payne
Ron Piper
Tom Pratt
Rohan Ricketts
Jimmy Robertson
Andrew Swan
Walter Thomas
Erik Thorstvedt
Steve Walford
Ernie Walley (Spurs player, Woolwich coach)
Charlie Williams
Willie Young
Carlito Brigante
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