COATES, Ralph (1971-81)

Position: Forward
Height: 5ft 7ins
Weight: 11st 11lbs
Born: Hetton Le Hole, County Durham, 26 April, 1946
Died: Luton, 17 December, 2010
Also played for: Burnley, St Georges (Sydney, Australia) on loan, Orient.

Spurs Record:
Debut: 14 August, 1971 v Wolverhampton Wanderers (FL) (a) drew 2-2
Appearances: League 173(15), FA Cup 11(1), League Cup 19(3), Europe 26
Goals: League 14, League Cup 1, Europe 9

Although he won local representative honours as a schoolboy Ralph Coates was overlooked by the country’s professional clubs when he left school, so took a job as an apprentice fitter at Eppleton Colliery.  It was while playing at centre-forward for the Colliery’s Welfare side that he was noticed by Burnley and taken on by the Lancashire club famous for producing home-grown players.  Coates scored regularly for their junior sides and even made his League debut in December, 1964 at centre-forward but it was felt he was never going to grow big enough to be a leader of the line.   

Coates came through just as traditional wingers were being forced out of the game by the need to work back but the new role of the wide midfield player that was still developing seemed perfect for Coates.  He possessed the pace and ability to beat a full-back and cross the ball but was also willing to funnel back and do the hard work in defence and midfield.

In his time at Turf Moor, Coates collected eight England Under 23 caps, played for the Football League four times and won two full England caps. But, following Burnley’s relegation in 1971, Bill Nicholson was quick to move in when Burnley made clear what it would take to secure his transfer, with Coates making his first appearances as a Spurs player for England against Malta and Wales at Wembley in May, 1971.

At White Hart Lane, Coates’ honesty and ceaseless hard work were appreciated from his first game, making his debut against Wolves at Molineux in August 1971. It wouldn’t be the last time he featured against Wolves that season. He brought a real energy to the side and, while not a prolific goalscorer, he chipped in with his fair share and assisted many more for the likes of Martin Chivers and Alan Gilzean. He liked to be involved in the game at all times and that meant dropping deep where the action was most frenzied.

While Coates perhaps never hit the heights many expected of him, he still played an important role in our successes of the early 1970s.  A member of the team that won the UEFA Cup in 1972, playing both legs against Wolves, and reached the final of the same competition in 1974, the highlight of his Spurs career came in the 1973 League Cup Final against Norwich City.  Substituting for the injured John Pratt, Coates scored the only goal of the match with a shot from the edge of the box that fizzed along the ground before creeping in at the foot of the post.

Coates was allowed to play for the St George’s club of Sydney in the summer of 1978 before a move to Orient on his return to the UK.  Well into the veteran stage, he continued to turn out in local non-League football but was to be seen again in a Spurs shirt, returning in May 1981 as a substitute in Barry Daines' Testimonial against Crystal Palace.