Fan stories: Anfield '85 - 'The emotion...I could cry thinking back to some of the games'

A match at Anfield will always stir the emotions of two Spurs fans who can say ‘I was there’ the day we finally ended the ‘Titanic’ hoodoo.

Mo Keenan, James Martin and the fans who travelled to Liverpool that day will never forget the date - March 16, 1985.

It was the day we finally beat the all-conquering Reds - champions of Division One (as it was then, before the Premier League era) six times in the 1980s (1980, '82, '83, '84, '86 and '88) - on home soil for the first time since March 16, 1912.

Yes, incredibly, it was the same date - March 16 - and how we were reminded that we hadn’t won at Anfield since the Titanic had sunk!

As we prepare to travel to Anfield again in a huge match in the Premier League on Saturday, the memories come flooding back again for Mo and James, who both replied to our ‘memories of Anfield’ Tweet via @SpursOfficial this week...

Below: Mo Keenan

Mo Keenan
‘Even now I get goosebumps...’

“It was my first trip to Anfield. I was 16 at the time. I grew up in a Tottenham-supporting family. My dad Ron, bless him, he’s gone now and my brothers Dave and Terry. They used to go all the time and being a girl in that era, I guess my parents were hoping I might grow out of it! I never did. Once you are bitten by the bug...I’ve been a Season Ticket holder for 20 years now!

“Dave had six or seven friends, one of them worked for a dry-cleaning company and had a van so we all used to jump in, chip in for petrol and go to various away games together.

“We parked up and went straight to Anfield to get the atmosphere. I remember it was a warm day. We were at the opposite end to where the goal was scored, Garth Crooks scored at the Kop end. We went crazy when it went in, all crammed in that corner. I remember how quiet the place went after we scored and the noise from us - even thinking about it now I’m getting goosebumps!

“On the way up I remember my brother saying to me ‘don’t expect too much today, we haven’t won here in 70-odd years!’ and that still sticks in my mind. I said afterwards ‘I thought you said don’t expect too much!’ It was incredible - just that feeling that we’d seen something special.”

Below: James Martin, centre, with his parents

James Martin
‘The scenes were amazing on the final whistle...’

“I travelled up on the Supporters Club coach, we were picked up early that morning on the High Road and one thing I’ll always remember is that we saw the players’ coach on the way home! The players were all waving to us out of the window! It was an amazing day.

“I remember the goal as well. Bruce Grobelaar saved a shot (from Micky Hazard) and Garth Crooks scored the rebound. I remember that plain as day. The scenes were amazing on the final whistle. The emotion...I could cry sometimes just thinking back to some of these games.

“The Club is amazing and I’m so glad my dad (Derek) took me to White Hart Lane - not that I had much of a choice! He’s 80 now and he still remembers the Club going back years and years. He was born in 1936, started going in the late 40s and saw both championships, 1951 and 1961. I first went in the early 1970s.

“It’s unbelievable how much the Club can mean to you. Every time I watch Spurs I think about my dad. I’ve taken my children, three girls, they are adults now, but I took them all for their first game. It’s special.

“I was last at Spurs for the West Brom game (a 4-0 win last month). That was fantastic. This is the best side I’ve seen in 50 years. I’ve never known us like this. The Bale side was good with the Champions League run but this side is so consistent. It’s an unbelievable team. There is something special happening.”