The Daily Mail, December 22, 1913
 

’SPURS’ MISTAKEN
TACTICS.

——♦——

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY’S
CREDITABLE DRAW.


BRITTLETON’S CLEVER-
NESS.


By P. G. WODEHOUSE.

 

Tottenham H. ...... 1     Sheffield Wed. ... 1

It is all very well to give little Walden penalty-goals to kick, but why do not the brawny athletes of Tottenham pass to the poor child occasionally? He was starved during the second half of Saturday’s game in a way that would have shocked even C. N. Lowe.

For some reason, the ’Spurs’ halves and forwards played almost entirely to Oliver on the left; but, good as Oliver is, he is not a wizard like Walden. Walden, when in form, could dribble through a brick wall without touching a brick. On Saturday he had to make most of his own openings. He would suddenly appear somewhere in the centre and go right through, to the huge delight of the crowd, whose attitude to the ’Spurs’ midget seems to be almost paternal.

Sheffield Wednesday did well to make a draw of it. The ’Spurs had nearly all the game. If Bliss had been in better form they would have got two points instead of one.

It was creditable to the Wednesday to hold the ’Spurs with a practically untried forward line. Brittleton was the man of the hour. I cannot imagine a side with Brittleton in it ever being beaten by much. He was in great form. True, he gave away a goal by fouling Fleming in the penalty area, but these are accidents which may happen to any high-spirited half-back.

It was about midway through the first half that it happened. Walden had started an attack and Fleming was continuing it, when Brittleton broke about fifty-seven varieties of the rules of the game. Walden took the kick and gave Davison no chance.

Just before half-time the Wednesday equalised. It was a soft and unexpected goal. The ’Spurs were going great guns, when suddenly the Wednesday forwards got off. The attack was not particularly deadly, and Webster should have cleared easily. Unfortunately he blundered badly, and Wright scored. It was bad luck for the ’Spurs, for Webster had handled similar crises successfully by the dozen throughout the game.

The second half went almost entirely in favour of the ’Spurs. They did everything but score. Oliver did much good work, and every now and then Walden would electrify the crowd; but Bliss, Fleming, and Cantrell were not wonderful, and the Wednesday backs always contrived to clear. Once Walden forced a corner, and good shots by Oliver and Fleming kept Davison busy, but the Wednesday held out and succeeded in keeping the scores level.

 


 

Walden: Frederick Ingram “Fanny” Walden (1888–1949) was only 5′2″ tall. He played for Tottenham Hotspur from 1913 to 1924.
C. N. Lowe: see an earlier article for more on Lowe.