When the Year Ends in One
How Tottenham Hotspur's 1991 FA Cup Win Saved the Club and Transformed English Football
Published on 12. May 2025
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-83680-138-2 (ISBN)
Description
The inside story of Tottenham Hotspur's tumultuous 1991 FA Cup campaign, as told by the players, staff, fans and broadcasters who lived it. Essential reading for every Spurs fan!
From Ewan Flynn, author of the critically acclaimed Amazon best-seller We Are Sunday League.
For manager Terry Venables, and his talented, eclectic and sometimes wayward squad, hazards abounded on that year's fabled road to Wembley. Tottenham Hotspur plc was out of step with Tottenham Hotspur FC; fans were organising in protest; the Midland Bank was getting ready to call in Spurs' astronomical debt. Everything seemed to depend on Paul Gascoigne - poised to become the world's greatest player - and the price tag on his head. Could he avoid the dual perils of injury and his spiralling white-hot fame?
This exhaustively researched and irreverently written book:
Features exclusive interviews with players, club staff, fans and broadcasters who lived the trauma and triumph of Tottenham Hotspur's 1991 FA Cup campaign
Takes the reader inside Spurs during the most tumultuous season in the club's history
Gets to the bottom of what really happened with Gazza and that tackle in the cup final
Reveals how the struggle for Spurs facilitated the Premier League breakaway and ensured the survival of Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV
Spurs fans inside Wembley Stadium didn't know it, but the big beasts encircling their wounded club would - for better or worse - determine Tottenham's future and irrevocably transform the whole of English football.
From Ewan Flynn, author of the critically acclaimed Amazon best-seller We Are Sunday League.
For manager Terry Venables, and his talented, eclectic and sometimes wayward squad, hazards abounded on that year's fabled road to Wembley. Tottenham Hotspur plc was out of step with Tottenham Hotspur FC; fans were organising in protest; the Midland Bank was getting ready to call in Spurs' astronomical debt. Everything seemed to depend on Paul Gascoigne - poised to become the world's greatest player - and the price tag on his head. Could he avoid the dual perils of injury and his spiralling white-hot fame?
This exhaustively researched and irreverently written book:
Features exclusive interviews with players, club staff, fans and broadcasters who lived the trauma and triumph of Tottenham Hotspur's 1991 FA Cup campaign
Takes the reader inside Spurs during the most tumultuous season in the club's history
Gets to the bottom of what really happened with Gazza and that tackle in the cup final
Reveals how the struggle for Spurs facilitated the Premier League breakaway and ensured the survival of Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV
Spurs fans inside Wembley Stadium didn't know it, but the big beasts encircling their wounded club would - for better or worse - determine Tottenham's future and irrevocably transform the whole of English football.
Reviews / Votes
"A fascinating look back at one of Tottenham Hotspur's greatest seasons. This book tells the story not just of sporting success but of a crucial moment in the club's history, as they moved from one era into another. Some of the most important Spurs figures ever - Paul Gascoigne, Irving Scholar, Alan Sugar, Terry Venables, Gary Lineker - all share the stage. A must read for anyone interested in Tottenham Hotspur, or this pivotal moment in English football." -- Jack Pitt-Brooke * The Athletic * "I loved this book, and I loved remembering a time when Tottenham did win things when the year ends in one - all Spurs fans will." -- Max Rushden * TalkSPORT * "This is sports writing at its finest-deeply researched, elegantly written, and genuinely insightful about both the game itself and its wider cultural significance. In telling the story of one tumultuous season, Flynn has captured the moment when modern football was born." * soccerbooks.co.uk *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Hove
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 144 mm
Width: 224 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
414 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83680-138-2 (9781836801382)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ewan Flynn is a freelance football writer focusing on the game's rich history. His work has featured in The Independent, The Blizzard, When Saturday Comes, FourFourTwo and on BBC Radio. His first book, We Are Sunday League, is a bitter-sweet real-life story from football's grassroots. Born in Edmonton, north London, Ewan is a lifelong Spurs fan and attended his first game at White Hart Lane in 1989.