60 years on, Bale, Davies and Rodon reflect on the Double with Cliff Jones
Thu 06 May 2021, 19:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
On the 60th anniversary of Tottenham Hotspur’s historic League and FA Cup Double success, some of the Club’s current players caught up with one of the heroes of 1961.
Cliff Jones played an instrumental role in the Double-winning campaign, scoring 19 goals, and retains a close connection to the Club to the present day, regularly attending home matchdays.
The former Welsh international was joined by the Club’s current trio of Dragons - Gareth Bale, Ben Davies and Joe Rodon - who quizzed Jones, now 86, on his recollections of that momentous season.
During the conversation, Cliff said: “It was very special, winning the first 11 games of that season and going on from there. Our manager Bill Nicholson always used to tell us ‘you play the way you train’, so he made sure you trained accordingly - you didn’t mess with him and you didn’t want to find out on a Monday morning that you’d been called to his office…but I was a good lad, I never had to go to his office.
“I always remember going on tour to Russia and Bill taking us to the Bolshoi Ballet - we thought ‘are you having a laugh?’. It was the most amazing experience and Bill was curious as to why the performers were so fit. When we got back to London, he brought Bill Watson, a former weightlifter, on board. Our fitness levels shot up after that because of the weightlifting.”
There was also a special moment during the conversation as Cliff was joined by his wife, Joan, to tell the story of their eight-hour road trip from Swansea to London following his signing for the Club in 1958.
Rodon, 23, made the same move last October and has featured 13 times in his maiden season in N17.
