Bill Nicholson spent his entire career at Tottenham, joining the club as a 16-year-old. When his playing days A/ere over; Nicholson became a coach under Arthur Rowe, the architect of the "push and run" side that had won the title in 1951. He took over as manager in 1959, and assembled a team which took Rowe’s ideas to dazzling new heights. His team combined superb ball skills with steely resolve, featuring players of the stature of Blanchflower and Mackay. In 1960-61 he guided Spurs through a glorious campaign which saw the team win 31 of their 42 league games, scoring I 15 goals in the process. They secured the championship by an eight-point margin, then beat Leicester City 2-0 in the FA Cup Final, despite going into the game with an injury-ravaged squad. No twentieth-century team had won the Double, and many thought the demands of the modern game meant that it was unachievable. Nicholson proved the doubters wrong.
Spurs retained the Cup the following season, and in 1963 Nicholson became the first manager of a British club to win a European trophy. Spurs beat holders Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the Cup Winners’ Cup Final in Rotterdam. Victory over Chelsea in the 1967 FA Cup Final meant that Nicholson had brought the trophy to White Hart Lane three times in seven years.
Nicholson stepped down during the 1974-75 season but remained associated with the club into his 80s.
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