Five... players who starred for Spurs and Fulham

As we head to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in the Premier League on Monday evening (8pm), we take a look at players who have starred in the famous white shirts of both clubs down the years - here are five who made their mark...

Cliff Jones

Spurs, 1958-68; Fulham 1968/69

A player synonymous with our successes throughout the 1960s, Cliff Jones spent two years across London with Fulham at the end of his professional career. Having made his name initially with Swansea Town – playing alongside his brother, Bryn – he joined us in February 1958, and he made his debut in our colours in a 4-4 draw at Arsenal! By then, he already had 16 Welsh caps to his name and featured for his country at the 1958 World Cup that summer. Over the next 10 years, he was a genuine star at White Hart Lane. A courageous, flying winger with wonderful close control, superb heading ability for his 5ft 7ins size and a real eye for goal, Cliff played his part in our 1961 Double success before adding the 1962 FA Cup and 1963 Cup Winners’ Cup to his medal haul, while he was an unused substitute in the 1967 FA Cup Final. Just over a year later, he left us for Second Division Fulham having scored 159 goals in 378 games for Spurs. Unfortunately, he struggled with injuries in west London, while the Cottagers were relegated at the end of the 1968/69 and Cliff moved into non-league football with Kings Lynn in July 1970.

Alan Mullery

Fulham 1958-64; Spurs 1964-72; Fulham 1972-75

Midfielder Alan Mullery spent eight years in N17, either side of two spells with Fulham during a career in which he made almost 800 club appearances in English football. Mullery was just 17 when he debuted for Fulham in the Second Division in their 5-2 win over Leyton Orient in February 1959, playing alongside his hero, Johnny Haynes. He helped Fulham win promotion that term and his reputation grew rapidly, which prompted Bill Nicholson to sign him for Spurs in March 1964. Replacing the great Danny Blanchflower, initially it took some time for Spurs fans to warm to him but after seeing his energy, enthusiasm and commitment on the pitch, Mullery soon changed their minds. He was excellent in our 1967 FA Cup Final win over Chelsea and captained us to League Cup success in 1971 but suffered a pelvic injury in October that year which kept him out of action for six months. In an effort to recover to full fitness, he was loaned to Fulham but was recalled after a month due to an injury crisis at Spurs. On his return, he headed the goal in the second leg of the 1972 UEFA Cup Final against Wolves which clinched the trophy for us. That was his last appearance in our colours as he then joined Fulham permanently, spending another four seasons at the Cottage and helping them to the 1975 FA Cup Final.

Dimitar Berbatov

Spurs 2006-08; Fulham 2012-2014

One of the most talented players of his generation, Dimitar Berbatov first came to these shores to play for Spurs and was with Fulham when he left England for a move abroad. The mercurial Bulgarian was signed by Martin Jol in the summer of 2006 and wasted no time in endearing himself to the Spurs faithful. He scored on his home debut against Sheffield United and ended the 2006/07 campaign with 23 goals in our colours before matching that tally the following season. Among his highlights was a four-goal haul in a 6-4 defeat of Reading, while his penalty in the Carling Cup Final of 2008 was one of the coolest we’ve ever seen and helped us to beat Chelsea to lift the trophy. Berba left us in September 2008 to join Manchester United and, after four years at Old Trafford, he returned to London to reunite with Jol at Fulham. Still as good as ever, Berbatov added another 19 Premier League goals to his name in west London before heading off to Monaco in January 2014.

Mousa Dembele

Fulham 2006-12; Spurs 2012-19

Powerhouse midfielder Mousa Dembele scored a fine solo goal for Fulham in January 2011 – one that was voted their ‘goal of the season’ by the club’s fans. The fact it came in a 4-0 FA Cup defeat of Spurs might have been one of the reasons we signed him! The Belgian international joined the Cottagers from AZ in the Netherlands and featured 80 times during his two-year spell before moving to N17 in August 2012. A player who could dominate midfield on his day, he had an incredible ability to retain the ball in the tightest of spaces and was very rarely dispossessed when on the ball. Injuries hindered his progress at Spurs at times but in the later years under Mauricio Pochettino, we saw the best of Mousa. He was genuinely unplayable at times and it’s no coincidence that he was in the heart of our midfield during two of our best-ever Premier League campaigns of 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Scott Parker

Spurs 2011-13; Fulham 2013-16

Scott Parker spent the last six years of his playing career with spells at Spurs and Fulham before moving into his first managerial role with the Cottagers. By the time Harry Redknapp signed him for us in August 2011, the midfielder had already enjoyed time with West Ham United, Newcastle United and Chelsea, having initially come through the ranks at Charlton Athletic. He featured 34 times for us during 2011/12 and ended the campaign starring for England at Euro 2012, while also playing regularly for us the following season. Parker swapped north for west London in August 2013 and, although Fulham were relegated to the Championship at the end of his first season, he remained at Craven Cottage for the next three years before retiring from playing in June 2017. After a season here at Spurs as our Under-18s coach, Scott returned to Fulham as first team coach before taking over the manager’s role from 2019-21. He guided them to Premier League promotion in his first full season in charge but couldn’t keep Fulham in the division and suffered relegation in May 2021. He recently left his post as manager of Bournemouth.