A fitting place for Bill in new stadium plans

The famous Bill Nicholson Gates will provide a fitting home for a statue of the Club's greatest-ever manager at our planned new stadium.

The famous Bill Nicholson Gates will provide a fitting home for a statue of the Club's greatest-ever manager at our planned new stadium.

The black iron gates found at the entrance to the West Stand at White Hart Lane have been retained in exciting new plans for the Northumberland Development Project announced today and to be submitted to Haringey Council this week.

The gates will remain in position between the two listed buildings with historic links to the Club - the former White Hart pub and the Red House - which, along with the Grade II listed Warmington House and the Dispensary, will now be refurbished and brought back to life as a pub and coffee shop.

Further to that, the Club can reveal that the statue will be positioned in the centre of the gates thereby re-creating the iconic photograph of Bill at the gates, taking pride of place on the south west approach to the stadium.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, commented, "This seemed an ideal way to make Bill a part of the fabric of the new stadium, continuing the memories of how much of a role he played at the current stadium and in the heritage of our Club. I think it will be a much-loved feature of the new designs and fans will enjoy walking past Bill and maybe stopping for a photograph or two."

Bill Nicholson OBE first walked through those gates on March 1, 1936 after he was invited for a trial by chief scout Ben Ives.

He was initially taken on as a ground staff boy before turning professional in August, 1938. He made 395 appearances in total and was part of the famous ‘push and run' team that won the Second Division title in 1950 and First Division crown in 1951.

But it's as a manager that Bill turned Tottenham Hotspur into one of the biggest clubs in world football.

He took over in October, 1958, won his first game 10-4 and led us to the famous ‘double' of championship and FA Cup in 1961, the first double of the modern era.

The FA Cup followed in 1962 and we became the first British team to win a European trophy with success in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1963.

Bill went on to lead the team to another FA Cup in 1967, League Cups in 1971 and 1973 and the UEFA Cup in 1972.

He resigned as manager in September, 1974, but was soon back as consultant to Keith Burkinshaw in July, 1976. He received the honour of being named Club President in 1991 and finally retired at the end of the 1996-97 season, although he remained as President.

In 1999, he had the road leading to the stadium from the High Road named after him - Bill Nicholson Way.

Bill passed away in October, 2004. His legacy lives on - and via this statue, his presence at the club will be recognised by generations to come.

The photograph below shows the area of the refurbished listed buildings in the new plans.

The photo shows, from left to right - the former White Hart Pub; the Bill Nicholson gates; the Red House; the Tottenham and Edmonton Dispensary; Warmington House.