{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/68c6e64286eb67a6f6d1ccf3/69f38d25ad98579289456046?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"96/97 Season Review (with David Harris)","description":"<p><strong>Gareth is joined by David Harris (Grumpy Old Spurs podcast) to revisit the 1996/97 season — the year when Spurs’ mediocrity didn’t just begin, it fully took hold.</strong></p><p>This was a truly forgettable campaign: a summer so underwhelming we couldn’t even complete the signing of <strong>Tony Thomas from Tranmere</strong>, followed by a season that opened — and continued — with relentless frustration.</p><p>We explore a year defined by:</p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Gary Mabbutt’s season‑ending double leg break after 18 minutes</strong> of the opening game</li><li>A squad ravaged by injuries: <strong>Nethercott</strong>, <strong>Anderton</strong>, <strong>Armstrong</strong>, <strong>Sheringham</strong> — all sidelined early</li><li>A team that <strong>never won three consecutive games</strong> and drifted aimlessly in mid‑table</li><li>The nadir: an <strong>eight‑day winter collapse</strong> featuring</li><li>last‑minute heartbreak at Highbury</li><li>a <strong>6–1 humiliation at second‑tier Bolton</strong> in the League Cup</li><li>the infamous moment when <strong>even our own turf turned on us</strong> against Liverpool</li><li>A season so thin that Spurs began 1997 with their <strong>6th and 7th choice strikers</strong> starting away at Manchester United</li><li>The surreal contrast of moving into a <strong>world‑class training ground</strong> while the team on the pitch fell apart</li><li>And, incredibly, how David’s early legal career helped set in motion the chain of events that would lead to <strong>Sol Campbell’s departure four years later</strong></li></ul><p><br></p><p>All of this unfolds against the backdrop of Euro 96 optimism, Britpop fading, Oasis at Knebworth, Trainspotting, Spice Girls, Gazelles, Fred Perrys — and Spurs feeling older and more tired than the country around them.</p><p><br></p><p>As ever, we tackle this largely miserable season with the <strong>levity, irreverence and gallows humour</strong> that 96/97 absolutely deserves.</p><p>If you want to explore Spurs’ journey through the 1980s and 1990s, Gareth’s books <em>Hot Shot Tottenham</em> and <em>Is Gascoigne Going To Have a Crack?</em> are available here:</p><p><a href=\"https://90sspursbook.square.site/?utm_source=copilot.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://90sspursbook.square.site</a>  </p><p>(and via Amazon in hardback and e‑book formats).</p><p>Please follow the podcast and leave a rating — it really helps.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>","author_name":"Gareth Dace"}