Five... strikers who played for Spurs and Chelsea

Three of our most illustrious marksmen of the 1950s and 1960s kicked-off their careers at Chelsea.

The lethal partnership of Bill Nicholson's double-winning team of 1960/61, Bobby Smith and Les Allen, made the journey from Stamford Bridge to N17 in 1955 and 1959 respectively. They were later joined by Jimmy Greaves, who moved from Chelsea to AC Milan before signing for us in December, 1961.

Here are five strikers to wear both the famous lilywhite and blue shirts...

Bobby Smith

Chelsea 1950-1955; Spurs 1955-1964

A classic 'old-fashioned' centre-forward, Bobby was top scorer in the double season of 1960/61 before forming one of the most feared strike partnerships in club football with Jimmy Greaves. Tough and uncompromising, Smith was signed from Chelsea for £16,000 in December, 1955 with us one place off the foot of the table. He delivered the goals to help stave off the threat of relegation before spearheading our attack in the 'glory, glory years' of the early 1960s. He scored 33 goals in the double season, 28 in the league, five in the FA Cup, including the opener in the 1961 FA Cup Final. Alongside new strike partner Greavsie, he added the 1962 FA Cup - again, scoring in the final - and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. Bobby became the first player to score 200 goals for Spurs in 1963, eventually reaching 208 goals in 317 appearances before moving to Brighton in 1964. He had further spells at Hastings and Banbury. Bobby passed away in 2010.

Les Allen

Chelsea 1954-1959; Spurs 1959-1965

Born in Dagenham, Les joined us from Chelsea for £20,000 in December, 1959, in a deal that took Johnny Brooks to Stamford Bridge. He scored 52 goals in his first 96 appearances for the Club, including 27 in our double-winning campaign, forming a lethal partnership with Bobby Smith - the pair racked up 60 goals between them as we lifted the league title and FA Cup. However, Jimmy Greaves' arrival in December, 1961, restricted his opportunities and Les departed for QPR in 1965. Father of another marksman, Clive, Les later managed QPR, Woodford Town, Swindon Town and had a spell in Greece.

Jimmy Greaves

Chelsea 1957-1961; Spurs 1961-1970

One of the all-time greats, arguably the greatest English striker of all time, Greavsie scored a record 357 league goals for Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham between 1957-1971. He began his career at Stamford Bridge - scoring on his debut against Spurs, aged just 17 - and his 124 league goals in four seasons prompted a move to Italian giants AC Milan. Greavsie's Serie A adventure was short-lived, much to our benefit, as Bill Nicholson got his man in December, 1961. Greavsie went on to score 266 goals in 379 appearances for us, a record that stood for 53 years until toppled by Harry Kane at the start of February. Greavsie won two FA Cups and the European Cup Winners' Cup at Spurs, and posted a host of records. He also scored 44 goals in 57 England caps. He missed the 1966 World Cup Final due to injury, but was later presented his medal in 2009. After retiring, Jimmy overcame personal problems to become a much-loved TV pundit and entertainer. He passed away in 2021.

Colin Lee

Spurs 1977-1980; Chelsea 1980-1987

Colin Lee made a spectacular start to his Spurs career when he scored four goals on his debut in a famous 9-0 win against Bristol Rovers in our season back in the Second Division in 1977/78. Signed from Torquay United in October, 1977, the versatile striker was thrown straight into the team by Keith Burkinshaw and responded with goals on 21, 25, 73 and 86 minutes to claim a debut matchball. He went on to contribute 11 goals as we were promoted back to the top flight, and 21 goals in 71 appearances before joining Chelsea in 1980. He spent seven years at Stamford Bridge, winning the Second Division title in 1984 and the Full Members Cup at Wembley in 1986. He finished his career at Brentford before managerial spells at Watford, Wolves, Torquay, Walsall and Millwall, later returining to Torquay as Chief Executive.

Clive Allen

Spurs 1984-1988; Chelsea 1991-1992

Harry Kane may have become the Club's all-time record goalscorer, but he'll be hard-pushed to topple the record for goals in a single season, an incredible 49 set by Clive Allen in 1986/87. The last of those 49 was an early goal in the 1987 FA Cup Final. Would that set us on the way to a trophy that team surely deserved? Unfortunately not, as Coventry City hit back to win 3-2. Clive's goals fired David Pleat's team to third in Division One, the FA Cup Final and semi-final of the League Cup. Instead, the honours were individual for Clive - the Golden Boot and PFA Player of the Year. Previously with QPR, Arsenal and Palace, Clive scored 84 goals in 135 appearances for us before moving to Bordeaux in 1988. He returned to England and Manchester City in 1989 and had spells at Chelsea, West Ham, Millwall and Carlisle, scoring seven goals in 16 appearances in that short stint at Stamford Bridge. He returned to Spurs as a coach in 2004 and remained on the coaching staff until 2012. He's now a popular pundit and co-commentator, including calling matches for SPURSPLAY.

Clive and Rob Daly on SPURSPLAY