When the Year Ends in One

How Tottenham Hotspur's 1991 FA Cup Win Saved the Club and Transformed English Football

Ewan Flynn author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Pitch Publishing Ltd

Published:12th May '25

Should be back in stock very soon

This hardback is available in another edition too:

When the Year Ends in One cover

The inside story of Tottenham Hotspur's tumultuous 1991 FA Cup campaign, as told by the players, staff, fans and broadcasters who lived it. Essential reading for every Spurs fan!

From Ewan Flynn, author of the critically acclaimed Amazon best-seller We Are Sunday League.

For manager Terry Venables, and his talented, eclectic and sometimes wayward squad, hazards abounded on that year's fabled road to Wembley. Tottenham Hotspur plc was out of step with Tottenham Hotspur FC; fans were organising in protest; the Midland Bank was getting ready to call in Spurs' astronomical debt. Everything seemed to depend on Paul Gascoigne – poised to become the world's greatest player – and the price tag on his head. Could he avoid the dual perils of injury and his spiralling white-hot fame?

This exhaustively researched and irreverently written book:

  • Features exclusive interviews with players, club staff, fans and broadcasters who lived the trauma and triumph of Tottenham Hotspur's 1991 FA Cup campaign
  • Takes the reader inside Spurs during the most tumultuous season in the club’s history
  • Gets to the bottom of what really happened with Gazza and that tackle in the cup final
  • Reveals how the struggle for Spurs facilitated the Premier League breakaway and ensured the survival of Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV

Spurs fans inside Wembley Stadium didn't know it, but the big beasts encircling their wounded club would – for better or worse – determine Tottenham's future and irrevocably transform the whole of English football.

"A fascinating look back at one of Tottenham Hotspur's greatest seasons. This book tells the story not just of sporting success but of a crucial moment in the club's history, as they moved from one era into another. Some of the most important Spurs figures ever - Paul Gascoigne, Irving Scholar, Alan Sugar, Terry Venables, Gary Lineker - all share the stage. A must read for anyone interested in Tottenham Hotspur, or this pivotal moment in English football."

-- Jack Pitt-Brooke * The Athletic *

"I loved this book, and I loved remembering a time when Tottenham did win things when the year ends in one - all Spurs fans will."

-- Max Rushden * TalkSPORT *

"This is sports writing at its finest—deeply researched, elegantly written, and genuinely insightful about both the game itself and its wider cultural significance. In telling the story of one tumultuous season, Flynn has captured the moment when modern football was born."

* soccerbooks.co.

ISBN: 9781836801382

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

256 pages