Bill Nicholson:in memoriam
Another sad event to note: the passing of Bill Nicholson. Nicholson’s great achievement was to manage the Spurs team of the early 1960s, which did the “double” in the 1960-61 season. That was a legendary team. Its mark of 12 straight victories to start the season still stands and will be hard to beat. What the straight facts don’t convey is the style of that team. They played football at its best. The comparison to Wenger’s current Arsenal squad is apt. At the heart of each team is “push and run” (as it was termed under Nicholson) or “one-touch” (as we’re more likely to say now) executed to perfection, supplemented by sublime individual skill (Blanchflower and White for “Bill Nick”; Pires, Henry and Bergkamp for Wenger). There’s another interesting comparison: if Dave Mackay has a modern counterpart it’s PatrickViera; both tremendous combinations of toughness, stamina, savvy and skill. It remains to be seen if Arsenal can repeat as Champs and, perhaps, do a Double (or Triple?) While Nicholson's Spurs were never quite the same after the tragic death of John White (struck by lightning) and Mackay's leg injuries, they produced much magical football. Good on yer, Bill!