A BULMERSHE COLLEGE OUTING: A CRUSHING EVENING... (MAY 1971, WHITE HART LANE...)

 A BULMERSHE COLLEGE OUTING: 

A CRUSHING EVENING…

SPURS 0-1 ARSENAL, 3RD MAY 1971…

Two of my best mates at college were John Follett, a Millwall fan and Martin Phipps who followed Spurs. Mart was a decent centre-forward himself and when Spurs were to have a pertinent say in whether Leeds or local rivals Arsenal won the league-title on May 3rd, 1971, it was suggested that a few of us should travel to White Hart Lane on that memorable Monday. One of the lads borrowed his mother's car for the occasion and around lunchtime we set out from Reading. We were aware that a huge crowd was expected but what we saw when we arrived at the ground was not entirely anticipated. 

It was not an all-ticket affair and queues were forming all round the stadium for the evening kick-off but it was only 3.20pm! The car was left too close to the ground for my liking but no parking restrictions were visible and I made no comment. We had intended to find a food-joint but due to the throng of people, we had little choice but to join the fairly orderly, snaking lines of expectant supporters. By all accounts, some 100,000 people were locked out of the ground that night and 51,192 forced themselves through the turnstiles… 

The entrances were opened very early, unsurprisingly. I guess this was done to shift the ever-growing mass of spectators but the mood began to change. Orderly queues became panicky and people rushed and pushed towards the turnstiles from any position. We were fortunate, for we were able to twist and wrestle clear of the stampede and make for an opening gate. And so it was that we witnessed a famous match. 

A no-score draw would have given Arsenal the title by the narrowest of margins, 0.013 of a goal. A win would obviously have been preferable but defeat or a score-draw would have sent the trophy to Elland Road, leaving Arsenal to contest the FA Cup Final against Liverpool the next week, maybe as a mere consolation. Spurs had finished third in the league but well behind the other two protagonists and their players had been promised a £400 pounds bonus per man, should Arsenal lose, thus nullifying talk of handing the title to their rivals. 

Leeds actually played in a testimonial match that evening in Hull, alleviating their problem of huddling around radios and twitching… 

The crowd noise was deafening yet I felt like I shouldn't have been there. I didn't really belong. Pat Jennings saved early from Charlie George but Spurs then linked well, culminating in Martin Peters' drive clipping the Arsenal crossbar, yet the Gunners ended the half in the ascendancy. Bob Wilson was injured at the feet of Joe Kinnear, almost precipitating a punch-up, then Alan Gilzean failed to get a touch to Cyril Knowles' low cross and Arsenal creaked. As the game noisily yet nervously careered towards a 0-0 draw and Arsenal's title, Jennings made a fine save from Jon Radford's header but Ray Kennedy headed George Armstrong's resulting cross into the net off the crossbar. Three minutes to go, Arsenal were in the lead but also in a cleft stick. An equaliser for Spurs would mean the title going to Leeds & Arsenal's nerves looked terribly frayed as the players defended desperately and Wilson pounced on the ball in a crazy goalmouth melee as the seconds ran out. 

RAY KENNEDY'S HEADER SOARS INTO THE SPURS' NET...

Odd really that Spurs had won at Leeds earlier in the season and Jack Charlton had not been impressed by that or Arsenal’s eventual victory at Spurs. My mates and I struggled off the terraces and joined the throng filing from the ground, squeezing through sardine-packed exits and spilling onto the street. We clutched at each other as we tore away from the marauding masses to locate our transport back to Reading. 

The car looked different somehow. The hood and trunk sections were scratched and curiously the roof was crushed in, to the horror of the owner's son. We could do no more but sympathise and attempt to push out the dents from inside the car. We alerted the police but as the crowds finally began to disperse, the constabulary was of little use except to explain that young children had been placed onto the vehicle earlier in the day when the crowd congestion had been at its worst. They said that the car might even have saved lives… 

We never did find out how the driver's mother reacted to the damage but that game, over fifty years ago has remained in my memory ever since. 

And Arsenal won the FA Cup too…