Glory, Glory Lane

LANE CLOSURE

LANE CLOSURE

Glory, Glory Lane is the life-affirming history – including a momentous last season – of a world-famous football stadium, home to Tottenham Hotspur for 118 years. A Victorian structure turned wraparound 21st-century all-seater, it became a theatre of dreams for supporters – from English working class to multi-cultural and new-money – all attracted by teams which played the ‘Spurs way’ to achieve glory. 

The Lane gave a stage to a conveyor belt of legends from John Cameron to Dele Alli via Peter McWilliam, Arthur Rowe Bill Nicholson, Arthur Grimsdell, Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Jimmy Greaves, Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles, Jurgen Klinsmann, Ledley King and Gareth Bale. It provided unforgettable memories in unforgettable atmospheres – heart-lifting, heart-breaking, nerve-racking. Its story veers from founders obsessed by Harry Hotspur to Harry Kane by way of Harry Redknapp.

It’s hard to imagine how a new £800m stadium can ever replace the edifice which shut its gates for the last time on Sunday, 14th May 2017, after a victory over Manchester United, having created a daunting legacy.

Glory, Glory Lane is a huge, colourful book packed with photographs and a text which brings alive the big matches, the big goals, the big personalities and the big issues experienced in an iconic stadium built on the site of a former market garden. Written through the eyes of an author whose family have supported the club for the last eight decades. With journalistic objectivity balanced by passion and first-hand experience.

It includes:

  • Forewords supplied by Double winner Terry Dyson and UEFA and League Cup-winning captain Alan Mullery. An appendix which includes a Firsts, Lasts & Onlys section, uncovering fascinating facts, stats and 100 greatest moments
  • Reflections and insights from players and managers of their public and behind-the-scenes experiences at the Lane
  • The memories of fans – many pictured – drenched in emotion during their rollercoaster rides as Lane loyalists. The agony and ecstasy of cup and title wins, promotion, relegation, the heroes, the exit of heroes and threatened moves out of N17
  • The tears of joy and laughter of the European Glory, Glory Nights when supporters celebrated lifting continental silverware and dressed up as angels
  • The tears of sadness and shock through near tragedy when Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the hallowed turf and Michael Watson almost lost his life during a world boxing title fight at the ground

We read how the great managers in the Lane dugout such as John Cameron, Peter McWilliam, Arthur Rowe, Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw built their reputations. How the community responded to the progress of a club formed by a bunch of schoolboys in Victorian England and went on to achieve global status during its tenure at the stadium.

Decade by decade, we discover how the Spurs faithful see their favourites:

  • Win a title in their first season at the venue built by architect Archibald Leitch. And developed by him and others
  • Produce a campaign which leads to an historic FA Cup triumph with Spurs still a non-league club – it remains the only one to do so – in the second
  • Complete promotion at the first attempt after joining the Football League, manufacture gasmasks for the First World War effort and lose their top-flight status to Arsenal following the machinations of a controversial figure at the Gunners (a tale excellently illustrated by Robert Heeg)
  • Secure promotion and their second FA Cup, under McWilliam, and suffer another relegation in the Roaring Twenties. Experience promotion, relegation and Nazi salutes in the Thirties before Arthur Rowe’s Push and Run, promotion and back-to-back championships
  • Savour Bill Nicholson’s most glorious era. Endure the hooligans. Celebrate the Argentines. See the development of commerce. Look on during the Sugar-Venables saga. Revel in the emergence of Gareth Bale. Delight in the last trophy won while occupying the High Road ground. Learn of plans to build a new stadium. Enjoy Champions League. Get excited with the progress of Mauricio Pochettino, Harry Kane and Dele Alli. Appreciate the potential shown in the ‘goodbye’ season and choke up at The Finale. Consider the future. And more

Glory, Glory Lane also breathes life into the world-famous home of the Spurs thanks to exclusive interviews by the author with legends such as Terry Dyson, Alan Mullery, Jimmy Greaves, Darren Anderton, Cliff Jones, and many more.

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Glory, Glory Lane.