Book Description

When Bill Nicholson died aged 85 in 2004, many in the world of football paid moving tributes to a manager who ranked alongside footballing gods such as Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Jock Stein and Sir Alf Ramsey. Bill Nicholson had a highly successful playing career at Tottenham Hotspur as a hard-tackling and reliable wing-half in the Arthur Rowe-managed Tottenham side that won the Second and First Division championships in successive seasons. He was also capped by England, if only once. But it was as a manager that Nicholson made his biggest impact. In 1961, his Tottenham team became the first side to win the Double of League Championship and FA Cup since Aston Villa achieved the feat in 1897. Two years later, Nicholson became the first manager to lead a British team to a European trophy, when Spurs beat Atletico Madrid 5-1 and won the European Cup-Winners' Cup in Rotterdam. In Double Bill, two men with close ties to Tottenham Hotspur have collaborated to reveal the man behind the legend. Alan Mullery joined Tottenham in 1964 as a player and went on to captain the side under Nicholson. Paul Trevillion, the world-famous sports illustrator and writer, worked on Spurs' Lilywhite magazine and the Tottenham Weekly Herald, during which time he followed both Nicholson's playing career and his days as a record-breaking manager. Together, they have uncovered the real Bill Nicholson. Their anecdotes and memories could only come from true insiders, and they have also interviewed many other footballing greats for their insights. Double Bill is an honest and engrossing account of the unsurpassed trophy-winning career of a Tottenham hero.