Saturday 15th December 1973, White Hart Lane, London, SEASON 1973-1974, DIVISION ONE 
Tottenham 0 CITY 2 (Booth, Bell) Att: 17,066
City: MacRae; Pardoe, Donachie, Doyle, Booth; Towers, Summerbee, Bell; Marsh, Law, Leman – substitute Colin Barrett (52 mins for Pardoe)
At the third time of asking Ron Saunders gained his first victory in the league as City manager. That his baptism had included three consecutive away games, plus a home League Cup replay with York City, made it difficult to gauge whether this was a slow start or a difficult one. Saunders said all the right things in the following week’s home programme, stating that he thought City had been worth the points in each of his first three league games in charge. The win took City up to 15th and dropped Spurs a place below, as can be seen from the table taken from that evening, after the completion of the 20th round of games. Spurs’ League form, featuring this sixth home defeat of the season, was spiralling out of control, after a highly promising display in the UEFA Cup against Dynamo Tbilisi the previous Wednesday had suggested there might be reason for optimism.
First Division Table 73/74 – after 20 games
Table showing lower league standings 15th Dec 73 relative to top three places, occupied by a charging Leeds United (34 points), Liverpool (27) and the unexpectedly buoyant Burnley side that had already beaten City twice this season in Charity Shield opener and at Turf Moor in the League.
1 Leeds United 34
2 Liverpool 27
3. Burnley 26
++++++++++++++++
15 CITY 18
16 Tottenham 17
17 Wolves 15
18 Stoke City 14
19 Man United 14
20 Birmingham 13
21 Norwich City 12
22 West Ham 11
Side bar carries a story about future City manager Mel Machin’s arrival at John Bond’s Norwich City as a spirited left back
Martin Peters expresses disappointment at Spurs’ stuttering form in Shoot
Certainly, anyone who thought that Saunders, with his brusque sergeant major type approach to football management, might batter the creativity out of City’s artistic squad, would have been mildly pleased by the football on display at White Hart Lane. Saunders had built up a reputation for brutal training regimes and a no-nonsense approach to discipline. But, as Brian Glanville stated in his Sunday Times report:
“Anyone who feared (…) Saunders would turn his team from artists into artisans was amply reassured yesterday. City won by two goals, would have won by four if not for Jennings’ glorious goalkeeping, and played in the process, football that was crisp, calm, clever and inventive…”
Perhaps Rodney Marsh, “the very essence of individualism”, as Glanville had put it, was typical of the effect the new manager was having. The big striker had volunteered for several extra fitness sessions and was beginning to look leaner and hungrier for it, leading the Tottenham defence a merry dance in the process. Tony Book tried to put his finger on the season’s disappointing form up to this point:
“When I took over, I was in a difficult position really, because I couldn’t go in and be hard with them (ex-team mates) and the same things went on again, until Ron arrived. I felt and several people felt that this season two or three
players would fade out of the scene. I think now, with Ron coming, these players could stay on the scene another two seasons….”
We can only speculate who Book was attempting to allude to, but the likes of Lee, Pardoe and Summerbee had perhaps become a little stale after the glory years. City were in transition, with the arrival of youngsters like Leman, Lester, Colin Barrett – who substituted Pardoe here – and Tony Whelan breaking through. The great trophy-winning side would gradually be dismantled and Book would build another great City squad towards the end of the decade. In the meantime, Saunders and season 1973-74 would continue to represent an uncomfortable stepping stone between the two eras bookending the decade of the 70s.
One player almost certainly performing his final season, Denis Law, put in a sterling effort here and was unlucky not to be on the score-sheet. The papers all agreed that this had been one of the most fluid City performances of the season so far and the hope was that the tide would now turn under the leadership of Saunders and Book. With a League Cup quarter final at Highfield Road coming up, City looked set to begin the long climb back into the form of previous seasons.
Rodney Marsh takes on Phil Beal, watched closely by Ken Barnes on the City bench
Quite apart from the shocking attendance at White Hart Lane, the drop across the board was becoming obvious everywhere, as Stoke and Southampton felt the pinch and even Liverpool’s visit to Norwich failed to stir the interest. Hooliganism and the difficulty of travel during the energy crisis was taking its toll.
no repartee 