Spurs fan Nick reaches 1,000-game milestone

As a travel writer who has visited all corners of the globe, it’s no surprise to learn how Spurs fan Nick Edwards sees the Club that has been part of his life since April, 1968.

“It is very, very difficult to sum it all up, it’s obviously a passion, but it’s like an anchor for me, because I’ve travelled all over the place, I’ve had ups and downs, friends and family, but Spurs has been a stabilising presence throughout my life, it’s always been there.”

Lovely words, and a lovely occasion. We caught up with Nick, 65, as he racked up a special milestone - his 1,000th Spurs game, against Newcastle United on 23 October. He’s now up to 1,001 and counting, and still remembers the first time he stepped out at White Hart Lane for a First Division match against Southampton at the age of 11, over 54 years ago - 6 April, 1968.

“It was Jimmy Greaves, of course, who scored a couple of goals that day in a 6-1 win,” he recalled. “I was lucky to catch the last couple of seasons of Jimmy (before he moved to West Ham in 1970), believe it or not, in the first three games I saw here, he scored eight goals!

“We didn’t have football in the family, really, I grew up with my mum, auntie and grandma. My mum was much more of a tennis fan but I finally got her to bring me on that day and we were up in the old West Stand, towards the top, and I remember coming into the stadium and seeing this vibrant green of the pitch and then the really acrid smell of this guy’s cigar in the row in front. Those were the days you could smoke inside the stadium. That’s definitely a memory of that day.

“She brought me to the next few games and then - and remember, at that time, kids started doing things more independently at a younger age than they do now - I started coming up to matches on my own, that would have been around 1969.

“I lived in Dulwich, south London. By that stage there were a few kids from school all into it, so we used to travel up by various means. I stood in the old Park Lane, then graduated up to The Shelf, then started going to a few away games. The first time I saw us lift a trophy in person was the UEFA Cup against Wolves in 1972. I went to both legs. I was one of many in the throng on the pitch chairing Alan Mullery around with the trophy... treasured memories.”

Nick has seen just about everything in his 54-year stint, so far, including the two League Cups and a UEFA Cup in the early 1970s, the dreaded relegation in 1977 followed by immediate promotion back to the First Division, the arrival of Ossie and Ricky, and the trophies that followed in the early 1980s. Then Gary Mabbutt, Gazza and the FA Cup in 1991, all the way to qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2010, the Mauricio Pochettino years, the new stadium and, now, Antonio Conte leading us back into the Champions League.

As we all know, it’s those fan stories, the stories behind what we all see, that makes following Spurs so special.

Nick reflected: “I remember the day - not a particularly happy memory - that Arsenal clinched the title here in 1971. I got in at the last minute by diving in under a police horse! It was an incredible atmosphere, and we so nearly denied them.

“Relegation… you wouldn’t have believed that could happen. I saw the escape in 1974, Cyril Knowles, Alfie Conn and the 4-2 win against Leeds (a win that kept us up), but two years later it was our turn, sadly. I went to a lot of games in that season, a lot of Second Division matches, and that was great, places like Mansfield, Hull. One of the most tense occasions I can recall was the final game that season, when we had to make sure we didn’t lose at Southampton to go up, we drew 0-0 but the last 20 minutes, they battered us! But we did it, and we were back, then suddenly it was Ossie Ardiles, Ricky Villa, again, you couldn’t really believe it!

“I was here for the 1981 and 1982 FA Cup Finals, but not the replay of the first one! For Ricky Villa’s famous goal in 1981, I was in Athens again – I'd extended my Easter vacation but had to go back after the first game! As part of my celebration, I climbed into the Acropolis, having had a fair bit of wine to celebrate. In 1984, I was still living in Greece. I went to our quarter-final against Austria Vienna away in that run, but I was sitting in a taverna in Athens watching the second leg of the final when we finally got there with Graham Roberts’ goal, the penalties, Tony Parks’ heroics.

“There have been so many special moments. A memorable European trip was our first time in the Champions League when I was the game against Inter when Gareth Bale introduced himself to the world (scoring a hat-trick in our 4-3 loss, October, 2010).

“I’ve seen so many amazing players like Glenn Hoddle coming through. He’s maybe six months older than me, so it was one of first times I thought, ‘this guy’s actually the same age as me, and he’s out there’. He was incredibly skilful. I love the real dedicated club players like Steve Perryman, I was so pleased to meet him at a Trust barbecue this summer, then Gary Mabbutt, Ledley King, those players who are essentially one-club men.

“So many brilliant players… this side of the millennium as well, Luka Modric, he’s up there and has proved it at Madrid. Obviously I love watching Harry, Sonny and the rest of the team now. So many happy memories, a few not so glorious. Hopefully I’ve not seen it all. I was alive when we won the title in 1961, and the double, but I was only four, so one thing I’m waiting for and determined to stay alive for is to see us win the title again!”

So, 54 years after his first visit to N17, Nick reached game 1,000 last month. It’s a milestone he’s been aware of for a while, as he explained...

“Yes, I’ve been aware of the 1,000 for a few seasons. When I was 11, I started keeping a list in an exercise book, and I never stopped. That’s how I know it’s 1,000 games, and that includes all first team games, home and away. I just kept the list from day one.

“I’ve lived abroad for much of my life, which is one of the reasons I’m so proud to have got to 1,000 games, I’ve lived in many places like Greece, the States, and spent a lot of time in India. I saw the old Lane change, when I first came, it was majority standing, so I was in here with crowds of 55, 56 thousand before we went all-seater. Then they built this incredible stadium, wow, it’s something else.

“One of the things about supporting Spurs is that it’s not just when you’re here watching the games, it’s a really uniting thing when you travel. I’ve travelled a lot, I was a travel writer for so many years, mainly for the Rough Guides, and it’s always something you can find as a point of reference to talk to people about, because so many people around the world follow football.

“It’s been such an important part of my life. Wherever you find yourself and whatever might be going on in your life - crazy stuff, good stuff, bad stuff - come the weekend, you’re either coming here to watch the game or in the old days, when every game wasn’t televised, you were trying to find some way to find the result! The friends I’ve made over the years, the banter... yes, Spurs have always been there. It’s like having a big cockerel beating away inside me where my heart is.”