A peerless Tottenham great, Danny Blanchflower, once memorably described
his football philosophy: "The game is about glory, doing things in
style, with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not
waiting for them to die of boredom". Many Spurs fans have adopted this
as an article of faith and those of a certain age have anointed Alfie
Conn as the keeper of the flame. Alfie, whose father Alfie senior had
played with distinction for Hearts, was born and brought up in
Kirkcaldy. He attended a rugby playing school, playing for the school on
Saturday mornings and a junior football club in the afternoon, where he
was spotted by Rangers. Success came quickly for this precocious
youngster. By his early twenties he was a first team regular with Cup
Winners Cup and Cup Winner's medals to his name, when, aged 22, he
became Bill Nicholson's last signing, joining Spurs for £150, 000 in
July 1974. Nicholson was undoubtedly enticed by the prospect of another
in his long line of successful Scottish imports, a skilful,
ball-playing, pacy forward to invigorate an ageing team. With his shaggy
hair and matching sideburns, moustache and apparently indolent
approach, Conn's attitude infuriated his old-school manager, but in the
event he played only one game for the great man, debuting as a sub in a
league cup game at home to Middlesbrough on September 2nd 1974.
Injuries
precluded Alfie from any further appearances until his league debut in
December, coming on as sub at home to Newcastle, by which time Nicholson
had ended his long reign. Conn's breakthrough performance was in the
return at St James Park five weeks later. Struggling under new manager
Terry Neill, Spurs lay 16th in the league and earlier in the week
Nottingham Forest, then in Division 2, had knocked them out of the cup
in a home replay. Alfie notched a hat-trick in a 5-2 win, stroking home
the opening goal in the 14th minute after early Newcastle pressure. His
second and Spurs' fourth came shortly before half-time and then in the
second-half he seized on a loose ball in the goalmouth to score his
third. He played in all of the remaining league games that season bar
one, cementing his place in the hearts of the fans who swiftly became
entranced by his breathtaking dribbling and daredevil impudence.
Nominally a right-sided midfielder, Conn was irresistibly drawn inwards,
running headlong at defences with an heroic recklessness. His balance
and control unhinged the most reliable and organised opponents, shirt
outside his shorts, bony frame and straggly hair weaving intricate
patterns, defenders left trailing in his wake. Close control and wit saw
him through, rather than sheer pace. Without apparent tactical acumen,
caught up in the moment he responded to instinct alone.
However, the
newly crowned King of White Hart Lane failed to herald a change of
fortune. As the end of the season approached, Spurs were firmly mired in
the quicksand of relegation. When they faced Luton in April, Spurs were
third from bottom, their opponents one place below. Minutes from the
end, Conn took the ball round the keeper to score the winner to secure a
precious 2-1 victory. He scored again in the next home game, a 2-0
victory against Chelsea but when they reached the final game of the
season at home to the then mighty Leeds, Spurs needed to win to stay up.
They began with an intensity to match the passion of the crowd and went
one up early on with a Cyril Knowles curling free kick. Conn, inspired,
destroyed the legendary fortitude of the Leeds defence, culminating a
superlative performance in a surging run, beating three men to score
Spurs' final goal in a 4-2 victory. He promptly compounded the torment
by taking the ball into the Leeds half and sitting on it. Bremner, Giles
and co were distinctly unamused, but Alfie simply could not resist the
moment. (Alan Fisher).
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