Players who link West Brom and Tottenham
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With Nacer Chadli going up against Tottenham for the first time since his move to West Brom, we thought it might be interesting to look into the history books and find other players that had also represented both clubs.
We’re not even going to get into players that have been heavily linked to one of the clubs whilst playing for the other (like Saido Berahino) and not all of these players have moved directly from one club to the other..
In fact, not all of the players on this list have been full transfers, some have only been on loan and never actually been owned by both of the clubs.
So, who are the players and which ones have had the most impact on either club?
Let’s find out:
Gerry Armstrong
Perhaps best known for his goal against Spain in the 1982 World Cup, Gerry Armstrong started his career in Ireland before moving to Tottenham in 1975 for the grand sum of £25,000.
YouTube: Spain 0 – 1 Northern Ireland – Gerry Armstrong’s goal
More than six months later, he made his debut in Spurs colours in a 3-1 defeat against Ipswich Town.
After scoring just ten goals in 84 appearances, he eventually moved onto Watford for £250,000.
After a short spell at RCD Mallorca, Armstrong moved to West Brom on a free transfer but didn’t stay long as he was loaned to Chesterfield six months later with just eight appearances and no goals under his belt.
Steve Walford
Before Sol Campbell, there was Steve Walford. He moved from Spurs to Arsenal in 1977, although Tottenham actually got a fee for him, unlike Campbell!
His move to West Brom came 12 years later and was only a loan deal. He played four games for the Baggies before heading out to Hong Kong to play for Lai Sun.
Perhaps better known as Martin O’Neill’s assistant manager at pretty much any club ever, his coaching career has been more illustrious than his playing career.
Garth Crooks
Revered for his legendary partnership with Steve Archibald, Garth Crooks was a bit of a pioneer in the game and also someone not afraid to open his mouth instead of letting his boots do the talking.
Having argued repeatedly with his previous manager at Stoke (with some justification), Crooks ended up handing in a transfer request and made the move to Spurs in the summer of 1980.
With 48 goals in 125 appearances, including a goal in the 1981 FA Cup final, Crooks was an effective striker who probably should have played for England.
YouTube: Tottenham Hotspur – Manchester City 3-2 14th May 1981 FA Cup Final Replay
After a spell on loan at Manchester United in the 1983-84 season, Crooks was on the move again.
This time to West Brom, where he made 40 appearances before finishing his playing career at Charlton.
His story didn’t end there, though, he became the first black chairman of the PFA before moving into the media after retirement.
He’s best known today as the man that names his team of the week on the BBC!
Graham Roberts
Graham Roberts played at West Brom towards the end of his career but he’ll be mostly remembered for his time at Spurs.
YouTube: a tribute to graham roberts
In his time at the club, he was part of the sides that picked up two FA Cups (81 & 82) and a UEFA Cup in 1984.
In the 1981 Cup Final, he lost three teeth during the match but refused to leave the field.
Roberts left to join Rangers in 1986 but returned to English football two seasons later as he joined Chelsea.
Spells at West Brom, Stevenage, Yeovil and Slough Town followed but none were for longer than two seasons as he wound his career down.
Ruel Fox
Ruel Fox signed for Spurs in October 1995 for a deal worth £4.25m. That put him slightly behind Chris Armstrong as the club’s second highest ever signing at the time.
It seemed like a high priced transfer at the time for a player who had struggled to make appearances at Newcastle in his final season.
He joined what was a fairly poor Spurs side at the time and failed to endear himself to the crowd.
Constantly linked with moves away from the club, he ended up moving to West Brom in 2000 after making 106 appearances.
He played 56 times for West Brom before retiring.
Chris Perry
Chris Perry joined Spurs after impressing for his boyhood club, Wimbledon.
Far from the biggest player, Perry relied on close marking and his ability to leap higher than most in order to compete against taller opponents.
Not the most technical of players, he was tenacious and determined. He ended up taking Sol Campbell’s place in the side after he defected to Arsenal and held onto that spot until picking up a back injury in 2003.
He moved on to Charlton, initially on loan, in 2003 and did well enough to encourage Alan Curbishley to make the move permanent the next season.
In 2006, he moved again to West Brom where he played for one season and narrowly missed out on promotion back to the Premier League.
Márton Fülöp
Márton Fülöp was a well-travelled goalkeeper who played for 13 clubs before his early death in 2015.
He joined Spurs in 2004 but spent most of his time out on loan before switching to Sunderland in 2007.
More loans followed before he moved on again, this time to Ipswich and then to West Brom where he made just one appearance against Arsenal.
A string of errors on that day meant that Arsenal won a scrappy match and qualified for the Champions League at the expense of Tottenham.
Sandro
At his best, he was a strong tackler with a good weight of pass and the ability to dominate a midfield.
Eventually, he was let down by his body as two nasty knee injuries nearly ended his career and did end his time at Spurs.
Sandro is now a QPR player but he spent time on loan at West Brom at the end of last season, making 12 appearances.
Alex Pritchard
A very highly rated youth player, Alex Pritchard was brought to Spurs from the West Ham Academy and was picked out by many as “one to watch”.
He had successful loans at Peterborough, Swindon and Brentford but had a nasty ankle injury playing for England U21’s in what was expected to be his breakthrough season.
He joined West Brom on loan in February 2016 but only managed to make two appearances in his time there. It seemed like a silly loan at the time and ended up being a bit of a waste of time.
He is now at Norwich.
Nacer Chadli
Signed from FC Twente for £7m in 2013, Nacer Chadli was one of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” and probably one of the most successful of those recruits.
After three seasons at White Hart Lane, having scored 15 goals in 88 appearances, he’s moved on to West Brom and already made a good impression at the Hawthorns.