| Club: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Season: | 1990–91 |
| Manager: | Terry Venables |
| Chairman: | Irving Scholar |
| Stadium: | White Hart Lane |
| League: | First Division |
| League Result: | 10th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Winners |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Quarter-final |
| League Topscorer: | Gary Lineker (13) |
| Season Topscorer: | Gary Lineker Paul Gascoigne (19 each) |
| Pattern B1: | _bluestriped_sides |
| Pattern Sh1: | _whitesides |
| Pattern So1: | _navytop |
| Shorts1: | 003366 |
| Pattern B2: | _ |
| Leftarm2: | ffd700 |
| Body2: | ffd700 |
| Rightarm2: | ffd700 |
| Shorts2: | ffd700 |
| Socks2: | ffd700 |
| Prevseason: | 1989–90 |
| Nextseason: | 1991–92 |
The 1990–91 season was the 85th season of competitive football played by Tottenham Hotspur. Entering the 1990–91 season, Terry Venables stayed on as manager for his fourth season in charge of Tottenham with the team ending in tenth position. They won a record eighth FA Cup, beating Nottingham Forest in the final and they got knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Football League Cup by Chelsea.
Tottenham's league form was average at best: having stood in third place after 17 games, the club won only three of their next 21 league matches,[1] slumping to tenth place in the final table. The club had better luck in the FA Cup: after defeating London arch-rivals (and that season's eventual champions) Arsenal in the semi-final, they defeated Nottingham Forest 2–1 in the final. As well as giving Tottenham their first post-Heysel European campaign (in the Cup Winners' Cup) and ending the club's seven-year trophy drought, the FA Cup win made Tottenham the first club to win the trophy eight times, although this record has since been surpassed by Arsenal and Manchester United.
The only downside of the FA Cup triumph was an injury to star midfielder Paul Gascoigne, who ruptured his cruciate ligaments in a tackle on Forest fullback Gary Charles early in the first half. The injury would put his transfer to Italian side Lazio on hold until the 1992–93 season. Gascoigne had earlier scored a tremendous free-kick in the 3–1 win against Arsenal in the semi-final (Gary Lineker scored Tottenham's other goals, with Arsenal's Alan Smith scoring Arsenal's goal).
Off the pitch the club were in danger of going into administration. With £20 million of debt (around £45 million equivalent in 2020) and shares in Tottenham Hotspur being suspended in the autumn of 1990, Irving Scholar resigned as Chairman of the club. In June 1991, manager Terry Venables and businessman, Alan Sugar, took over the club with equal shares and Alan Sugar being made chairman.[2] [3]
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Player | To | Date until | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 August 1990 | GK | Kevin Dearden | Peterborough United | 24 October 1990 | [6] | ||
| 31 August 1990 | GK | Ian Walker | Oxford United | 15 November 1990 | [7] | ||
| 27 September 1990 | DF | David McDonald | Gillingham | 31 May 1991 | |||
| 25 October 1990 | DF | Terry Fenwick | Leicester City | 24 December 1990 | [8] | ||
| 16 November 1990 | GK | Ian Walker | Ipswich Town | May 1991 | [9] | ||
| November 1990 | FW | Phil Gray | Fulham | December 1990 | [10] | ||
| November 1990 | DF | Chris Hughton | West Ham United | December 1990 | [11] | ||
| 10 January 1991 | GK | Kevin Dearden | Hull City | 10 February 1991 | [12] | ||
| 28 March 1991 | DF | Brian Statham | Reading | 1 July 1991 | [13] |
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 1990 | DF | Justin Edinburgh | Southend United | £150,000 | [14] | ||
| 31 July 1990 | FW | John Hendry | Dundee | £50,000 | [15] |
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 July 1990 | DF | John Polston | Norwich City | £300,000 | [16] | ||
| 28 September 1990 | DF | Guy Butters | Portsmouth | £375,000 | [17] | ||
| 22 December 1990 | GK | Bobby Mimms | Blackburn Rovers | £250,000 | [18] | ||
| 31 December 1990 | DF | Chris Hughton | West Ham United | Free transfer | [19] |
Total: £200,000
Total: £925,000
Total: £725,000
The FA Cup final saw Tottenham debut a longer style of shorts as part of their kit. Although the long shorts were ridiculed at first, within the decade all clubs in English football would have adopted the style.
See main article: 1990–91 Football League First Division.
See also: 1990–91 FA Cup.
See also: 1990–91 Football League Cup.
| Pos. | Name | First Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||
| GK |  Erik Thorstvedt | 37 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| GK | Ian Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | Kevin Dearden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders | |||||||||
| DF |  Guðni Bergsson | 9+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9+3 | 1 |
| DF | Justin Edinburgh | 14+2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 24+2 | 1 |
| DF | Terry Fenwick | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Ian Hendon | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| DF | Gary Mabbutt | 35 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 47 | 3 |
| DF | Mitchell Thomas | 23+8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 29+9 | 0 |
| DF | Dave Tuttle | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 |
| DF | Pat Van Den Hauwe | 31+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders | |||||||||
| MF | Peter Garland | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Allen | 34+2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46+2 | 3 |
| MF | Paul Gascoigne | 26 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4+1 | 6 | 36+1 | 19 |
| MF | David Howells | 29 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 4 |
| MF | John Moncur | 4+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 |
| MF |  Nayim | 32+1 | 5 | 3+2 | 1 | 2+3 | 0 | 37+6 | 6 |
| MF | Vinny Samways | 14+9 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22+10 | 1 |
| MF | Steve Sedgley | 33+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 41+4 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Stewart | 35 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 46 | 9 |
| Forwards | |||||||||
| FW | Phil Gray | 3+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 |
| FW | John Hendry | 2+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 2 |
| FW | Gary Lineker | 32 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 43 | 19 |
| FW | Paul Moran | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| FW | Paul Walsh | 16+13 | 7 | 1+3 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 20+19 | 7 |