Martin Peters died on 21st. December 2019 aged 76.
| Tottenham's signing of Martin Peters from West Ham in March 1970 set a
new British transfer record fee of £200 000. The deal included Jimmy
Greaves, valued at £50, 000, moving to Upton Part in part exchange.
Peters had become disenchanted at Upton Park in what many saw as life in
the shadows of fellow 1966 World Cup heroes Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst
and the prospect of a fresh challenge at Spurs appealed to the 'other
World Cup scorer'. Martin Peters was still only 26 years old when he
joined Bill Nicholson's Spurs but already had a wealth of experience on
the international stage. His versatility had earned the comment from
England manager Alf Ramsey that Peters was 'Ten years ahead of his
time'. Martin scored on his debut against Coventry City in the Sky Blues
2-1 victory at White Hart Lane on March 21st and his only other goal of
the season for Spurs came a week later, earning his new team a point in
a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion. Whilst at White Hart Lane Martin's
ability to ghost into positions few other players would have seen made
him a firm favourite with the Spurs fans. Tall and lean, Peters was the
complete midfielder who could pass and shoot with either foot and scored
many goals with his head. Martin won his first trophy with Spurs in the
League Cup in 1971, with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa. Tottenham also
finished 3rd in Division One and reached the FA Cup 6th round. Peters
was the only Spurs player to play in all of the clubs 58 competitive
games, scoring on 19 occasions. The League Cup final victory earned
Spurs qualification to the following seasons UEFA Cup. Peters scored the
only goal of the tie against FC Nantes in the second round 1-0 home win
over the French side. Spurs went on to win the trophy, becoming the
first British side to win a second European trophy, with an exciting 3-2
two-legged victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, the only time to date
(2002) that two British sides have faced one another in a European
Final. (Tony Smith)
|
Martin Peters pictured playing football for Tottenham Hotspur in December 1973.
Photograph George Herringshaw. ©
(Part 2) 1972 -1975.
Further glory followed for Martin Peters in 1972/73 when he captained
Spurs to their second League Cup win in 3 seasons when the Londoners
defeated Norwich City 1-0 at Wembley. Peters had scored in each of Spurs
semi-final games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and had now replaced
the departed Alan Mullery in the affections of the Spurs fans. Tottenham
were also putting up a spirited defence of their UEFA crown, reaching
the semi-final against Liverpool. Peters produced one of his finest
performances for Spurs in the second-leg of this competition. Liverpool
had narrowly defeated Spurs in the first-leg at Anfield and it looked as
if Martin's two superb goals in the second-leg had sent the holders
through to the final, but a late strike from Steve Highway sent Spurs
out on the away goals rule. In August 1974 Bill Nicholson resigned as
Spurs manager and Peters led a party of players who tried to persuade
the great man to stay in charge. The request failed and it signalled the
beginning of the break-up of a great cup side. Martin's 24 goals for
Spurs that season underlined his importance to the club. In his 5 years
at White Hart Lane, Peters made a total of 287 appearances and scored 87
times. As a Spurs player the midfielder appeared a further 34 times for
England, to add to the 33 caps he won whilst at West Ham and scored 9
times for his country. His illustrious international career came to a
close in May 1974 when England lost 2-0 at Hampden Park against Scotland
in the Home Championship. In March 1975 Martin Peters left Spurs for
Norwich City for a fee of £50, 000. His all round ability, energy and
skill made Peters a player who would have graced any side or era. (Tony Smith) |