Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham – What is the story behind Tottenham’s greatest rivalries?
Thomas Frank will be looking forward to his first London derbies in charge of Tottenham.
It is difficult not to feel as though Tottenham are the heartbeat of the Premier League’s London derbies.
The Lilywhites’ greatest rivals are, without doubt, Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham – even if Simon Jordan doesn’t agree with the latter.
However, while the animosity between Tottenham and those three clubs is so great, it does not feel as though the separate rivalries between the Gunners, the Hammers and the Blues are as fierce.
The thought of players moving between Tottenham and Arsenal or Tottenham and Chelsea seems ludicrous, whereas Arsenal and Chelsea continuously trade players with each other.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Kudus became the first player to move between Tottenham and West Ham for 14 years this summer, while players have moved between West Ham and Chelsea and Arsenal far more recently.
It is clear that Spurs, for whatever reason, have the fiercest rivalries within the M25, and Tottenham News takes a closer look at their feuds with West Ham, Chelsea and Arsenal.
West Ham
Ultimately, just as with all the rivalries on this list, the feud between fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the London Stadium is due to the fact that both clubs are based in London.
However, each rivalry has its own particular nuances and has been heightened by certain events and incidents, both on and off the pitch.
In 2011, Spurs signed key players such as Jermaine Defoe and Scott Parker from West Ham, which caused unrest among the Hammers fanbase and might explain why it took 14 years for the next bit of business between the two clubs.
Five years prior, West Ham beat Tottenham on the final day of the 2005/06 Premier League season in a match which is often referred to as ‘Lasagne-gate’.
Tottenham needed to match Arsenal’s result to qualify for the UEFA Champions League ahead of the Gunners. However, they were beaten 2-1 after a large number of their players fell ill before the crunch clash after eating lasagne at the team hotel.
While there is certainly no love lost between the two sets of fans, Tottenham often mockingly refer to West Ham’s clashes with the Lilywhites as the Hammers’ ‘Cup final’, while they insist that they are more focused on their other two rivals on this list.
Chelsea
Younger fans will perhaps view the rivalry between Tottenham and Chelsea as particularly one-sided, considering the Blues went on a 16-year unbeaten run in league competition against Spurs in the 1990s and 2000s.
Chelsea often get the better of Spurs, who have only won once at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. However, the London rivalry between the Lilywhites and the Blues dates back many years, to a time when Spurs were more successful in the battles between the two clubs.
In 1967, Chelsea and Tottenham competed in their first-ever all-London FA Cup final. Spurs won 2-1, with former Chelsea players Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables in the side, creating a feeling of lasting resentment.
This rivalry was intensified in the 1974/75 season, when both teams were at risk of being relegated from the First Division. Tottenham claimed a 2-0 win over Chelsea that year, which eventually led to the Blues’ relegation.
Fast forward to the 2015/16 season, and perhaps the most famous game between Tottenham and Chelsea in a match which is now known as ‘the Battle of the Bridge’.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were chasing down Leicester City in an attempt to win their first Premier League title. They needed to win in West London, and after leading through goals from Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, the visitors blew a 2-0 lead in a highly aggressive game, with Eden Hazard scoring an equaliser late on to confirm the Foxes as Premier League champions.
Nine Tottenham players were booked that evening, a Premier League record for one team. Meanwhile, Moussa Dembele was handed a six-match ban for violent conduct, and a post-match brawl broke out as Spurs’ title hopes went up in smoke, much to the delight of their rivals.
Arsenal
The North London derby.
If you were to ask Spurs fans who the club’s greatest rival is, the large majority of them would respond, ‘Arsenal’.
It is clear why these two clubs are rivals – the Emirates Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are located less than five miles away from each other, in neighbouring boroughs. However, many Tottenham fans will gladly point out that Arsenal aren’t originally from North London.
In 1913, the Gunners relocated from South-East London to North London, in what Tottenham saw as an encroachment of their territory.
The North London derby is perhaps the most anticipated Premier League fixture for neutral football fans, and while Arsenal have often been the dominant force in this rivalry, securing league titles at White Hart Lane, Tottenham have enjoyed some famous days against their noisy neighbours.
In 2001, the rivalry reached a fever pitch when Sol Campbell left Tottenham to join Arsenal on a free transfer in one of the most famous and controversial transfer sagas in football history.
Both sets of fans love to poke fun at each other, with Arsenal often celebrating ‘St. Totteringham’s Day,’ the day when Tottenham can no longer mathematically finish above their rivals in the league.
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