Tottenham: Anna Howells, Spurs XY, external
Wolves were one of the founding members of the football league and won the league three times in the 1950s with manger Stan Cullis.
Then, in the 1960s it was Spurs under Bill Nicholson who took the limelight.
So, some historical similarities.
Later there were a couple of memorable meetings. Spurs won the inaugural Uefa Cup final in 1972 with Martin Chivers’ two goals at Molineux, and the Alan Mullery winner at White Hart Lane.
Then there was the 1981 FA Cup semi-final with a late penalty wrongly awarded to Wolves for a tackle by Glenn Hoddle. The tackle was outside the penalty area and Hoddle won the ball cleanly. Spurs won the replay held just down the road, taking Spurs (and Ossie) to the 100th Wembley cup final.
Wolves meanwhile suffered with ownership changes and receiverships, and dropped into the Fourth Division in 1986. To their credit they have recovered on and off the field and, since 2018, have been back in the Premier League, where I am sure their fans feel they belong.
Overall, both clubs have proud histories, but I think currently, given our Champions League final exploits, stadium and more, it is tough to see Wolves considered quite as big as Spurs.
Wolves: Dazzling Dave, Always Wolves Fan TV, external
Some may think that Wolves are minnows compared to Tottenham with their stadium and all the trappings of a ‘top six club’ but we played an important part in making football the game it is today.
Wolves were founder members of the English Football League back before the existence of Spurs and have won the top division three times to be champions of England. We have won 17 major trophies including four FA Cups and two League cups.
Our heyday was undoubtedly the 1950s. In 1953-54 Wolves played a number of floodlit friendlies against top European sides. Most famously Wolves beat Honved, whose team largely consisted of the Hungarian national side who had just beaten England twice. This result meant Wolves were proclaimed ‘champions of the world’ – a title never bestowed on Spurs.
This series of European friendly matches was the catalyst for the formation of the European Cup, now known as Champions League, so all things considered the football world have big reasons to thank Wolves.
Wolves are the only team to have won all four divisions in the football league. They’re back on the up and are now ranked in the top 20 of the world’s biggest football brands. However, I think it best not to compare Spurs and Wolves and just consider them two big teams. But Wolves will always be the biggest in my eyes.
