Club legend 'Fenners' retires after 38 years at Spurs

John Fennelly, our pioneering former Press Officer and Programme Editor, Head of Publications and Club Historian, has hung up his boots after 38 years at Spurs.

Born in Dublin, 'Fenners' moved to Cheshunt with his family in 1965, a goal-kick away from our former training ground, and went to his first match at White Hart Lane in 1966.

He started his career in the media as a copy boy with top sports agency Hayters in Fleet Street aged 17. After spells at the Tottenham Weekly Herald covering Spurs, he returned to Hayters, working on most national newspapers, magazines, TV and radio.

He became the Club's Press Officer in 1984/85, the first role of its kind in English football, starting a 38-year relationship with Spurs where he worked alongside the likes of Keith Burkinshaw, David Pleat, Terry Venables, Gerry Francis, George Graham, Glenn Hoddle and Martin Jol. As Programme Editor, he won the prestigious 'Programme of the Year' award on numerous occasions and as Head of Publications, he introduced 'Hotspur Magazine' and oversaw the huge 'Opus' project in 2007/08. After the sad loss of Andy Porter in 2014, Fenners took on the Club Historian role until his retirement this week.

News of John's retirement was met by universal admiration from legendary former players, managers and colleagues.

Glenn Hoddle described him as 'great servant of the Club'; Jurgen Klinsmann said 'Fenners, you taught me a lot, your energy was always around the Lane, you made it a special place'; Martin Jol added, 'Fenners, you are part of the heart and soul of Tottenham Hotspur'.

The final word to Fenners himself...

"It’s strange but our club has been a constant in my personal and professional life. You try to fight but it gets you in the end! And I couldn’t be happier that it did because I’ve had the best of times and met some great people.

"As a kid in Cheshunt, we lived at the top of Brookfield Lane. It was not far from the training ground and I could look over the garden gate and watch the players jog by in the summer - followed by Jimmy Greaves on the back of a milk float!

"When I started work at 17 as a copy boy in Fleet Street, my beat for phoning in the reporter’s match reports included White Hart Lane. When I finished my apprenticeship on the Enfield Gazette, I was immediately offered the job of covering Spurs for the Tottenham Herald. We had just been relegated! It was a key job with a massive Spurs following in those pre social media days when it was the only way to read about the club in weekly detail.

"I left there for an evening paper - and Spurs asked me to write regularly for the programme on a freelance basis. When I then started work on the Mail on Sunday, I was often used for Tottenham games - home and away - as I had such good contacts at the Lane!

"In the end, when they created the role of Press Officer - the first in the Football League and on into the Premier League - I took it on initially for a couple of seasons intending to go back to the Street but it was such a good fit that I stayed for 38 years!

"Initially I came to cover basketball as well as football. Chairman Irving Scholar’s vision was to build an arena on stilts at the front of the Lane to house a Spurs basketball team, but it never happened. I love how the Club is now as I leave. What a stadium! What a training centre! Both world class and we are more competitive on the field these days than ever before in my time.

"Off the field we are also set up to really grow the brand with the ambition to make dreams a reality. We always had the vision, but never seemed to make some great ideas work. We have that now. My first game was in 1966 at the age of 12. So one regret is that I have never seen us win the league. But then I’d never seen us reach the Champions League Final either!

"So, the trajectory is upwards and I’m certain we’ll soon get there. I certainly hope so.

"So, come on you Spurs!"