26/12/2005		Ted Ditchburn - Tribute
		Ted Ditchburn, goalkeeper in the Push and Run team of 1949-50-51, was rated by those lucky enough to have seen him play as Spur's greatest ever ‘keeper. He made 505 senior appearances for the club between 1940 and 1958, held the club record of 418 League games from 1957 until 1975, and remains the record holder in terms of consecutive appearances with 247 in the league plus a further 22 in the FA Cup. Ted joined the club groundstaff in 1937 and featured for nursery club Northfleet United and in the reserve and ‘A’ teams prior to the war. He signed professional forms during May, 1939 and made his senior debut against Chelsea 12 months later. Serving in the RAF Ted played twice for England in wartime internationals and travelled far and wide with service teams Wanderers and the Tommy Walker XI. A model of consistency, Ted missed just a handful of games between 1946 and 1954. Given his Full international debut against Switzerland in 1948, Ted gained six caps over the next eight years and was a member of the 1950 World Cup squad in Brazil. He also gained Second and First Division title medals in 1949-50 and 1950-51. In addition to his Full caps, Ted also won two 'B' caps, plus representative honours for the Football League XI, FA XI and Football Combination XI. Released by the club in 1959 Ted joined Romford as player/manager and ended his career in 1965 with a stint at Brentwood Town. For a number of years Ted ran a sports outfitters shop in Romford. He lived in retirement at Wickham Market, Suffolk with his wife Joan. Born at Gillingham on October 24, 1921, Edwin George Ditchburn passed away in Suffolk on December 26, 2005.
01/11/2004		Bill Nicholson 1919-2004
		"It’s better to fail aiming high, then to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high; so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory." On Wednesday, August 8th, 2001, the full gravity of Bill Nicholson’s profound effect on my life became clear. It was the night of his second testimonial, and a night when the full impact of his name hit me squarely between the eyes. And although Bill had barely been hands-on for quite a few years, his mere presence even managed to bring north London’s traffic to a standstill, causing his own testimonial to be delayed. This was the impact of the man I’d quite simply known as ‘Mr. Tottenham Hotspur’. Looking out over the verdant White Hart Lane turf, I took my seat in the Park Lane Upper and waited for a football match against Fiorentina of Italy. Football, and more so Tottenham Hotspur had been my lifelong obsession, yet for once that was all overshadowed by the presence of just one man. The best description I’ve read of Bill was that he was the heartbeat of our famous club, and in a world that seems to have gone crazy, the standards and philosophies of one William Nicholson will live long and true in the hearts of millions. That heartbeat will reverberate forever. . A number of eloquent scribes have perfectly encapsulated what Bill Nicholson meant to Spurs. I trust you won’t mind an indulgent moment where I describe what he meant to me, a disciple of the great teams that he produced, and a devout follower for over four decades. I’m not from north London. In fact, I come from another part of town that’s totally surrounded by a number of other League clubs. Yet it was the famous white shirt; the proud, crowing cockerel; and Bill’s deep-rooted belief that the game should be played a certain way that lured me across the river. Until then I was a nomad, drifting in search of something I hadn’t seen, but felt inside it must exist somewhere. And then, one unforgettable autumn afternoon back in 1960, I found it and fell in love. Bill’s first game in charge was a 10-4 home win against Everton, and as obtuse as it may sound, everything from then on just got better. Later, my own Spurs debut saw a 6-2 destruction of Aston Villa, with goals from White [2], Smith, Allen, Dyson, and a solo effort from a chap called Mackay. It took Bill but two seasons to take us to the ‘Double’ – the first in modern times – rescuing us from relative obscurity to the pinnacle of the British game. Furthermore, it was Bill Nicholson’s astute tactics, and eye for detail that put the name of Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the world’s football map. His teams simply mesmerized. Not just through their style and commitment, but by the foundations put in place by a visionary and perfectionist; a man of dignity, grace, and passion; a man who demanded results, and got them in the required style – known globally as ‘The Tottenham way’. Again, Bill’s impressive list of achievements have been well documented, and have embellished a life that was totally dedicated to the club of our dreams. Bill Nicholson gave us hope where there was none; he gave us success out of an oasis; and he gave us a name synonymous with the best in the world. At his testimonial, I glanced around to see men of my age with tears rolling down their cheeks. I saw faces in the crowd that I’d recognized from earlier days, with each and every one stood in respect of a man who changed their lives. I could not speak; such was the size of the lump in my throat. I feigned a cough to choke back my feelings for a man who peppered my life with happiness and great times. And now, on hearing of Bill’s sad passing, all I have is memories. I can still see the blue and white paint of the old, rickety stands. I can feel the cold, stone terrace of yesteryear under my feet. I can still see distant images of the glory, glory nights, and those glistening white shirts under the floodlights that lit up my youth. And as Greavsie pops in another goal, the sounds are there too, with the chants of ‘’Nicholson, Ncholson’’ ringing in my ears, followed by the mesmeric ‘’Macnamara’s Band’’. Nobody can ever take that away. Bill, you will always be remembered for breathing life in to a run-down, otherwise forgotten part of London. You were quite simply the greatest individual name in the history of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, and will never be forgotten, especially by those who saw your teams wherever they played, or sat by a million radios. Moreover, you will forever live in the hearts of everyone whose lives you touched, be it players, colleagues, opponents, friends, or fans. I am left to contemplate what would have happened had you not joined us. What would have been our future had the scout who discovered you back in 1936 taken the evening off, and how the future of the club would have panned out without your guiding hand. In passing on my deepest condolences to your family, and those who were closest to you, may I remind the uninitiated who you were; Mr. William Nicholson – the heartbeat of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. - RIP. ‘’It’s no use just winning’ we’ve got to win with style’’ Keith Palmer
23/10/2004		A Sad Day in our History
		There have been many great days in the history of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club but today, everyone associated with the club is mourning the passing of the greatest Spur ever to grace our wonderful Club. We have lost a gentleman, a friend, a father figure and quite literally a legend. By doing our work, the Tottenham Tribute Trust talks to and meets ex Spurs players, all of whom have nothing but praise for Bill Nicholson. October 23rd 2004 will go down in history as the end of an era. As we mourn the passing of Bill Nicholson at the age of 85, over the next few weeks we will have the opportunity to remember and celebrate the life of the man who put the Glory Glory into Tottenham Hotspur. Rest in peace Bill. Daniel Wynne
03/09/2004		An update on our progress
		After over a year of making and processing grants the TTT are still here to process and assist in any new claims. If you feel you know someone who has fallen on hard times and would benefit from our support please contact us. We also fully respect wishing for our help to remain confidential.
12/02/2003		Trust gives its first grant!
		The Tottenham Tribute Trust (TTT) is delighted to announce that in conjunction with the PFA Benevolent Fund a grant has been awarded to Les Allen to enable him to undergo a replacement hip operation. As a member of the 1960-61 "Double" winning team, Les Allen is a Spurs legend in the real sense of the word. Les made 137 first team appearances scoring an impressive 61 goals between December 1959 and July 1965. It is quite fitting that Les can be helped as his son Clive and nephew Paul both played in the fund-raising Tribute Match against DC United at White Hart Lane last October alongside Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola, Gazza and Chris Waddle Les contacted the TTT about the need for a hip replacement operation. He explained, "I had pains in my hip but after walking for about 300 yards the pains got worse. I wrote to the TTT after visiting my local NHS hospital and finding out that I would need to wait about 2 years for an operation. Thankfully the TTT agreed to pay half towards the operation with the PFA paying for the other half. I am very grateful for all the help I am receiving" Les said that he will be in hospital for a week, then recovering at home on crutches and on a stick for a couple of months and then, all being well, he will be able to return to the golf course. We will be keeping you updated with Les's progress as we will be visiting him in hospital and at home to check on his recovery. Everybody associated with the Club and TTT wishes Les a speedy recovery from the operation and we look forward to seeing him back on his feet very quickly. The TTT was formed out of an initiative between the Club and The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust. It is an independent organisation comprising a Chairman and five other trustees with the objective of helping former players and staff of the Club that for any reason may have fallen on difficult times. To apply to the TTT for a grant, please download the application form from the website, www.tottenhamtributetrust.com or write to us at the following address: Tottenham Tribute Trust Po Box 2074 Ilford IG1 9HL
10/02/2003		A Message from Chris Smith
		On behalf of us all, welcome to the newly launched web site of the Tottenham Tribute Trust!! For those who may not be aware of who we are and what we aim to achieve, I invite you to read my notes below, and thank you for taking the time to visit our site, we aim to keep you up to date with our long task ahead. The Tottenham Tribute Trust was formed out of an initiative between the Club and The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust. It is a stand-alone independent organisation, which comprises of a Chairman and five other trustees, and our task is to help former players and staff of the club that for any reason may have fallen on difficult times. May I take this first opportunity on our web site, on behalf of everyone at The Tottenham Tribute Trust, to thank Daniel Levy, the Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, for kindly allowing us the opportunity to stage our first fund raising match, against D C United at White Hart Lane late last year. I am pleased to report that we had a large crowd on the night to support the game with all of the net proceeds coming back to The Tottenham Tribute Trust. I hope those of you that were at the match enjoyed it as much as we all did, we were fortunate to see many of our former favourites turn out on the night in support of the cause, and I wish again to thank them all for their time. In many cases after such a successful evening many would say that the hard work has been done, but now we have the hardest task and that’s to try to target the people whom we wish to help. I feel that whilst people may be experiencing a tough time they may not wish to publish this, and even when we do find these people and help them it may also be their request that they don’t wish for this help to be made public, so we have a difficult task ahead, firstly to identify these people and at the same time where asked, respect their request for this help to remain a private matter. This is where we need your help. After consultation and advice from the PFA we have designed an application form, available by clicking the Apply button on the left, which will need to be completed in order for The Tottenham Tribute Trust to consider giving any help or assistance, so if you know of anyone whom has been connected with Tottenham in the past and you feel they may benefit from our help, I invite you on their behalf to send an A4 sized SAE to myself at the address given below. Your help is further welcomed if you are prepared to complete the application form on behalf of the person you feel may benefit from this. As Trustees and in order to remain totally impartial, we cannot be responsible in completing these forms on behalf of any applicant. From time to time we do hope that we may be able with consent, to highlight our help and progress in certain cases through the press and the sports radio stations such as Talk Sport, who have been very supportive of our indicative, thus allowing our cause to reach out to those others that we all may have overlooked. For those of you that may wish to make a donation to the trust, I invite you to send cheques only and made payable to: “The Tottenham Tribute Trust”, or if you may wish to help in fund raising or wish to contact me on any other matter I invite you to do so at the following address: Tottenham Tribute Trust Po Box 2074 Ilford IG1 9HL Email: - info@tottenhamtributetrust.co.uk
10/02/2003		Web Launch!
		Welcome to the launch day of the Tottenham Tribute Trust web site! We will use the page to update you on news and any developments regarding our efforts in helping people as soon as they happen. If you have something you would like to tell us about please do so by e-mailing us at info@tottenhamtributetrust.com If you would like to make a donation to the Trust, we invite you to do so by sending cheques to us at: Tottenham Tribute Trust, PO Box 2074, Ilford, IG1 9HL. All of your generous help will be gratefully received.