Tottenham Hotspur are aiming to go 10 games unbeaten at the start of the season as they take on Leicester today, something they last did in the 1990/91 campaign.
Tottenham’s Dele Alli celebrates scoring their second goal in the recent win over Manchester City
Tottenham Hotspur, the last remaining undefeated team in the Premier League, will be looking to extend their record to 10 league games without losing when they meet the team that pipped them to the title last season, Leicester City.
But with their current nine matches without defeat the best beginning to a season since 1990/91, we take a look at how the beginning of that campaign set Spurs up over the rest of the season.
Tottenham’s current record stands at: 5 wins, 4 draws, 0 losses, with 13 goals scored and an impressive three goals conceded.
Gary Lineker and Gary Mabbutt of Tottenham Hotspur celebrate the striker’s goal
The 1990/91 season saw Spurs record a start of 10 games without defeat, with a side boasting the likes of Gary Linkeker, Paul Gascoigne and Gary Mabbutt.
Those early games produced 6 wins, 4 draws, 0 losses, with 17 goals scored and four conceded.
Highlights included a 2-0 win at Leeds, a 2-1 win away to future FA Cup Final opponents Nottingham Forest, as well as big home victories against Manchester City and Sheffield United. There was also a creditable 0-0 draw at Highbury.
The genius of Tottenham’s Paul Gascoigne as he breaks away from Sheffield United’s Vinnie Jones
Spurs lost their eleventh game of the season, at home to title holders Liverpool. Disappointingly, Tottenham’s impressive early form would falter massively in the second half of the season, with Terry Venable’s group winning just three of their final 21 league matches having been third after 17 games. They ended up a disappointing 10th, with Arsenal winning the league and Liverpool runners up. Lineker and Gascoigne were the club’s top scorers with 19 goals each.
Worryingly for Spurs, their disappointing final position in 1991 came, not only after an impressive start, but also a third place finish the year before. Though Tottenham will be adamant that a Champions league spot is the minimum Mauricio Pochettino’s side walk away with this year, El Tel’s exciting 90s side did at least lift the FA Cup – the last time the North Londoners have won the competition.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Gary Mabbutt raises the FA Cup
However, this Tottenham team are a different beast compared to the performances of the 1990s, where form was temperamental despite some outstanding attacking players at the club’s disposal. Crucially in that decade, managerial continuity and philosophy was often a problem, something Pochettino has used to turn Spurs into one of the best teams in the division over the last couple of campaigns.
The club’s best ever record is 16 matches before defeat, managed at the start of the double-winning 1960-61 season. If Spurs manage that with a tough November on the horizon, they may find themselves title favourites.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
