Off The Shelf | Clive Allen - now available on SPURSPLAY and all platforms
Thu 17 August 2023, 14:45|
Tottenham Hotspur
Legendary former striker Clive Allen tells his story in the latest episode of our all-new official podcast Off The Shelf, now available on all platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google and SPURSPLAY, our home of exclusive live and on-demand video.
We've all heard the song, 'he was born to play for Spurs', but Clive takes it to a more literal level as he explains. "I was at Wembley when my dad, playing in the double side, won the double (6 May, 1961). I was in my mum's tummy and I popped out two weeks later, so I always say it's in my blood. I grew up with my father telling me he played for the greatest Tottenham team ever... football has been a way of life."
The podcast reunites Clive with host Michael Dawson, our legendary former centre-back - the pair spent years together as coach and player with Clive part of our coaching staff from 2003-2012 and Daws a player here 2005-2014.
Clive's greatest season in front of goal still stands as a Club record - his astonishing 49 goals in 1986/87, where David Pleat's squad thrilled everyone with their attacking brand of football, but it was so near yet so far as we finished third in the old First Division, lost to Coventry City in the 1987 FA Cup Final and fell to Arsenal in the semi-finals of the League Cup.
And it all started at Oxford away on 22 November, 1986. "David Pleat got us all in for a meeting as said, 'right lads, this is how we're going to play, with a five-man midfield'. Glenn Hoddle would play just off the front, I was detailed as the lone striker. I remember David saying, 'whatever happens, win, lose or draw, we'll stick by this, it suits us with the players we have'.
"You can imagine it at Oxford. We went 1-0 down, players were looking to the dugout to see if we'd change it, but we turned it around, I scored two, Chris Waddle scored two and we didn't look back. It was unbelievable, how it suited us. For me, it was brilliant. I think we went 13 unbeaten, we were scoring freely, playing fantastic football."
Clive also tells the story of how he ended up lending Diego Maradona a pair of boots ahead of Ossie Ardiles' Testimonial in May, 1986 - and how he still has them, signed by the Argentina legend.
All episodes of Off The Shelf will appear first and exclusively on SPURSPLAY. After that, they will be available on all your usual podcast platforms including Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify and Google.
Introducing... Off The Shelf
We are delighted to launch our all-new, official podcast, Off The Shelf.
Off The Shelf will bring you even closer to our great Club, telling often untold stories from the current playing squad to the legends who went before them, the staff who keep everything ticking over behind the scenes and, of course, our fans, the heartbeat of Spurs.
In our first series of podcasts, we'll speak to legendary former skippers and Club Ambassadors Ledley King, Gary Mabbutt and Jenna Schillaci; our esteemed captain and World Cup winner Hugo Lloris; another goalkeeping legend, Heurelho Gomes; Academy graduate Oliver Skipp and from Spurs Women, defender Molly Bartrip, who has a compelling story to tell and Clive Allen, who still holds the record for goals in a single season with his 49 in 1986/87.
Each podcast is dedicated to its subject, shining a light on their careers, and the stories that define them. How did Ledley feel when he was told he’d have to retire? What has it meant for Hugo to captain our Club for almost 10 years?How did Jenna react when she was told she couldn’t play football as a young girl? How did Skippy climb through the ranks from Academy to first team? How did Molly overcome serious health issues to reach the top of the women’s game? What was the one thing Gomes wished for when he left home in Brazil to pursue his dream in Europe? How did Gary Mabbutt cope when he was told being diagnosed as a diabetic was the end of his career? What did David Pleat say to the team before switching to a five-man midfield in the 1986/87 season? You’ll hear those answers and more...
And who better to present our podcast than one of our modern-day greats and fans' favourite, Michael Dawson! 'Daws' joined us in January, 2005 and spent nine years at the Club, making 324 appearances in all competitions for us until departing in the summer of 2014.
Michael finally retired after 20 seasons as a professional for Forest, Spurs and Hull City in August, 2021, and stepped straight into new roles as our Club Ambassador and as a panellist on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports. A true leader, Daws radiates enthusiasm - his love for the Club shines through.
Joining Daws is our Senior Club Journalist, Paul Miles. 'Milesy' has been at the Club since 2000, interviewing our players and managers for 23 years - including every game of Daws' Spurs career! You may have seen him in the last couple of years as part of our N17 Live matchday team.
All episodes of Off The Shelf will appear first and exclusively on SPURSPLAY.
After that, they will be available on all your usual podcast platforms including Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify and Google.
