Fulham vs Spurs | Boot in both camps | Alan Mullery

Think of players connected with Spurs and Fulham, and there's really only one legend in the frame - Alan Mullery.

Born in Notting Hill, 'Mullers' joined the groundstaff at Craven Cottage in 1957 and having impressed in youth and reserve football, signed professional forms in December, 1958. He made his debut in February, 1959 and helped Fulham gain promotion to the old First Division for the 1959/60 season.

Alan joined us on 14 March, 1964, making his debut a week later against Manchester United. He went on to make 373 appearances for us between 1964-1972, winning the FA Cup in 1967 and then, after being named captain in 1968, lifting the League Cup in 1971 and UEFA Cup in 1972.

That UEFA Cup triumph is one of those famous old Spurs stories - Alan had actually gone back to Fulham on loan for game time as he recovered from a serious injury. Recalled from that spell in April, 1972, he scored huge goals against Milan at the San Siro in the semi-final and then a header in the second leg of the final against Wolves to claim the trophy in his final match in a Spurs shirt - he was chair-lifted for a lap of honour by joyous fans around the Lane on his own.

Alan returned permanently to Craven Cottage in 1972 and it was no less eventful - his goal in an FA Cup tie with Leicester City earned him Match of the Day's Goal of the Season for 1973/74, playing alongside Bobby Moore, he led Fulham to the 1975 FA Cup Final and was named FWA Footballer of the Year. The following year he received an MBE for his services to football.

Capped 35 times by England and a goalscorer at the 1970 World Cup, Alan went on to manage Brighton, Charlton, Palace, QPR, Brighton again, ATM in Malaysia and finally Barnet in 1996. Now 82, he remains a popular matchday host at Spurs and Brighton.

Revisit 'My Spurs life in pictures' with Alan Mullery

Mullers | Fulham, Spurs and me...

Speaking to us back in 2015 after he'd been elected into the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame, Alan reflected on his big switch across London in 1964...

What do you remember about joining Spurs in 1964?

Alan: “Bill Nicholson came to Fulham and said ‘I want to sign you and take you to Tottenham’, but I didn’t believe him. I was very happy at Fulham, my wife and I lived in a place called Worcester Park, which was only 20 minutes away from Fulham’s training ground and it was a big chance to take because the fella who had just finished playing was the great Danny Blanchflower. To come in and take his place in what was basically the double-winning team - with the addition of Jimmy Greaves - was an absolute nightmare, to be fair, and I was very worried about it. But after two or three months I got into the swing of it and it was wonderful to play in front of 60,000 people as well. It was great and I really enjoyed it. I had eight and a half years here and eight of them were fantastic, the other six a bit tough, but I got over that. Now, it’s part of my home.”

What do you think now when you look back at your days at Spurs?

Alan: “Being a kid born in Notting Hill and being one of the first players to play for England at football, we had a lot of boxers, cricketers - my cousin, John Murray, played for England many times - and I look at that and the achievement of playing here at Spurs, winning the FA Cup against Chelsea in 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and the UEFA Cup in 1972, playing in Europe, travelling all over the world, it was absolutely fantastic. When I look at it, I became an England player, captain of England, captain of Tottenham, won three trophies, played nearly 400 games - it can’t get better, can it? That was the highlight of my career, eight and a half years at Spurs. I still come here every home game and love it.”

We have to remember, it wasn’t all about Spurs though - you made your name as a teenager at Fulham and then went back in 1972 and led them to the FA Cup Final in 1975.

Alan: “Yes, my second spell at Fulham was great and let’s be honest, it might just be the last time they get to the FA Cup Final. It was amazing at the time, Bobby Moore and I - he was 36, I was 34 - to go back to Wembley, that was something special, but we lost on that occasion to West Ham.”