Milija ALEKSIC

Milija Alesksic joined Spurs from Luton in December 1978 for a fee of £100,000. Born of a Yugoslav father, Aleskic was often 3rd choice 'keeper behind Barry Daines and Mark Kendall in his early days at White Hart Lane. Milija made his Tottenham debut on January 16th 1979 in a 3-0 home win over non league Altrincham in a F.A. Cup 3rd replay. Aleskic played in his first North London derby on Boxing Day 1979, in a 1-0 defeat at Highbury. In January 1980, in a 3rd F.A. Cup replay at Old Trafford, Aleskic was involved in a terrible accidental collision with Manchester United forward Joe Jordan. The injury resulted in a broken jaw and the 'keeper being stretchered off. Aleskic returned to the side in December in a three match spell which illustrated his team's inconsistency in the league, Tottenham scoring 10 goals whilst 11 flew past poor Aleksic! Ipswich were beaten 5-3 at home, Spurs lost 4-1 at Middlesbrough and then drew 4-4 at home to Southampton.

An injury to Barry Daines gave Aleskic an opportunity to reclaim the number 1 jersey in time for the F.A. Cup semi-final with Wolves in April 1981. With the game finishing 2-2, Milija kept his place for the replay which Spurs won 3-0 at Highbury. The Londoners also required a replay to beat Manchester City 3-2 in the final and Aleskic picked up the only major medal of his career. With the arrival of England goalkeeper Ray Clemence in August 1981 Aleskic's time at Spurs was drawing to a close. He made two final appearances in early May 1982, when Spurs drew 2-2 with Liverpool and defeated Swansea 2-1, both at White Hart Lane. In 1982, after a brief loan period back to Luton, the 'keeper left England for South Africa. In a short career at Spurs that was beset with injuries, Aleskic made 25 league and 7 F.A. Cup appearances. (Tony Smith)