Formed: 1882
Nickname: Spurs

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1963
• UEFA Cup: 1972, (1974), 1984

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 2 (1961)
• FA Cup: 8 (1991)
• League Cup: 4 (2008)

History
• The origin of their name remains something of a mystery – most suggest it is a reference to 14th century nobleman Sir Henry Percy, the Harry Hotspur of Shakespeare’s Henry IV part I – but what is certain is that Hotspur FC were formed by grammar school pupils at All Hallows Church, with the team settling on their white shirts and blue shorts in the 1899/00 season as a nod to England’s then top side, Preston North End FC.

• First moving to their long-term home at White Hart Lane in 1899, they became the only non-league side to win the FA Cup in 1901, and were admitted to England’s top division for the first time in 1910; they were not an instant sensation, but won a second FA Cup in 1921, and finished as runners-up to Liverpool FC in the first division in the following season.

• Spurs’ fortunes dwindled in the years before World War II, but they were a force to be reckoned with afterwards, with the “push and run” tactics of manager Arthur Rowe helping a side featuring the likes of Alf Ramsey and Bill Nicholson win the league title for the first time in 1951.

• Former wing-half Nicholson oversaw Tottenham’s golden age as they won the double in 1960/61, the FA Cup the following season and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963; Danny Blanchflower and all-time top scorer Jimmy Greaves were among the stars of that selection, while the likes of Terry Venables and Alan Mullery helped Nicholson’s re-jigged Spurs win the inaugural 1971/72 UEFA Cup.

• Keith Burkinshaw led Spurs to success in the 1983/84 UEFA Cup, as Glenn Hoddle and Argentinian Osvaldo Ardiles captured fans’ imaginations; Venables and Hoddle would both dominate headlines in subsequent spells as Spurs’ managers, but while great players like Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, David Ginola and Jürgen Klinsmann graced White Hart Lane, top trophies have been harder to come by in recent decades.

• Tottenham did, however, finish fourth in the Premier League in 2009/10 and safely negotiated the UEFA Champions League play-off round at the start of the next season to reach the group stage for the first time. It proved a debut to remember for Harry Redknapp’s side, who finished ahead of holders FC Internazionale Milano to reach the last 16 as Group A winners.

Club records
Most appearances: Steve Perryman (854)
Most goals: Jimmy Greaves (266)
Record victory: Tottenham 13-2 Crewe Alexandra FC (FA Cup, 3 February 1960)
Record defeat: 1. FC Köln 8-0 Tottenham (UEFA Intertoto Cup, 22 July 1995)