Wed 22 April 2015, 08:00
Tottenham HotspurWe're approaching 200,000 votes as fans name their Ultimate Team - and next up, the big decision as to who will lead these Spurs greats.
It's time to name a manager with four of the club's greats up for stewardship - Bill Nicholson, Keith Burkinshaw, Terry Venables and David Pleat.
We're looking for someone to set out a tactical blueprint and man-manage a team of superstars. The great Bill Nicholson delivered eight major trophies, including our famous league and cup Double in 1961, during his time at the helm, while Keith Burkinshaw led us to back-to-back FA Cup wins and a UEFA Cup success in the early 1980s. The likes of Terry Venables and David Pleat have also been key to our endeavours over the years. Who would you pick to lead your side?
In the meantime, here's a special video on the manager contenders...
BILL NICHOLSON (1958-1974)
Mr Tottenham initially joined the ground staff at the Lane in 1936 and went on to play 341 times for us between 1938-54, winning the Second Division title in 1950 and the First Division crown in 1951 as part of our famous 'push and run' team. He took over as manager in 1958, won his first game 10-4 against Everton and didn't look back, delivering the league and FA Cup double in 1961, the FA Cup in 1962, European Cup Winners Cup in 1963, FA Cup in 1967, League Cup in 1971, UEFA Cup in 1972 and League Cup again in 1973. In short, the greatest ever.
KEITH BURKINSHAW (1976-1984)
Led the team back from relegation into Division Two with promotion into the top flight in 1977-78 and then the double coup of World Cup winners Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa provided the extra spark that lead to success in the early 1980s. Under Keith, we won back-to-back FA Cups in 1981 and 1982 and then the UEFA Cup in 1984.
TERRY VENABLES (1987-91)
An FA Cup winner (1967) during his playing days at the club between 1966-69, Venables cut his coaching teeth at Palace and QPR - we played his QPR team in the 1982 FA Cup Final - before joining La Liga giants Barcelona, bringing the title back to the Nou Camp for the first time in 11 years in 1985. He joined us in 1987 and assembled a team including the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker and Gary Mabbutt that finished third in 1989-90 and then memorably beat Arsenal at Wembley on the way to lifting the 1991 FA Cup.
DAVID PLEAT (1986-87, caretaker spells 1998, 2001, 2003-04)
A tactical switch proved a masterstroke in the 1986-87 campaign as David changed to a 4-5-1 system at Oxford in November. We won 4-2 and didn't look back with the team finishing third in Division One, runners-up in the FA Cup and the reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup, playing some superb football along the way. Clive Allen spearheaded the attack in spectacular fashion with a club record 49 goals.
