Spurs' Unsung Hero, of the Glory, Glory Years: My Autobiography: Terry Dyson

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Danny was great because he could be playing diabolically and he still wanted the ball. He never hid and I learned from that. He was also a good liaison with Bill and everyone respected him for who he was and what he had done. I’m okay. I’ve been diagnosed with the early stages of dementia, but, physically, I’m okay. I’m still out and about, still golfing, still exercising. I can still do press-ups, sit-ups so, yes, I'm okay." Jimmy: "We hit it off on and off the pitch. He was great. He was a character, Gilly, but he could really play and he had the most wonderful footballing brain."

I always got on with Bill, though, and he mellowed down the years. You could talk to him and he was fine, but he was a perfectionist really and wanted us to play with style. He was brought up playing 'push and run' under Arthur Rowe and wanted us to win playing the Tottenham way.Comparing Kane and Greaves would not be fair on either forward, but Dyson enjoyed the chance to reminisce about a player he assisted on numerous occasions at White Hart Lane. After leaving Tottenham in 1965, Dyson had brief spells at Fulham and Colchester United before retiring from professional football. However, his contributions to Tottenham Hotspur during his decade-long stint at the club will always be remembered by the fans. Bill always went to see teams play beforehand and when we went to play Gornik in Poland in the first round, Bill said he'd be disappointed if we didn't win. We were 4-0 down a minute after half-time! We went out that night and had a few drinks, so it was good. It is amazing, you don't think of it at the time but it has gone down in history." Undeterred by such views, Tottenham captain, Danny Blanchflower, made a confident prediction to his Chairman prior to the commencement of the 1960 – 61 season, that the team would win the ‘double’ in the season ahead. Danny was always known for his ‘gift of the gab’ with a good story to tell but in this case he later confirmed that he truly believed it was possible. The team then proceeded to win their first eleven matches, went undefeated for sixteen games until mid-November and by the start of the FA Cup in January, with 25 games played, Spurs were top of the 1st Division with a 10 point lead ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Jimmy: (Laughs) "He was a good goalie for a Scot! He wasn’t the greatest at coming out, but we had big Maurice Norman in central defence to deal with crosses. On the other hand, Bill was a tremendous shot-stopper, probably the best around. In the year we won the European Cup Winners’ Cup (1963) he kept us in the competition when we went over to play Slovan Bratislava. Believe me, it was cold. The Danube had frozen over, but on the night we were playing, the thaw had set in and their pitch was like a skating rink. We were really up against it because Slovan had some good players. They destroyed us that night. We were beaten 2-0 and it really should have been more because we were never in the game. It was thanks to Bill that we had a chance in the return leg. Slovan were blasting them in from everywhere, but he stopped most of it. In the end, we actually came out feeling quite pleased. I remember trooping off and I thinking, ‘blimey, we got hammered there, but we can do them at home'. I knew we could score three or more goals at White Hart Lane." It was announced today 19 September 2021 that sadly Jimmy passed away. The above clip is a reminder for all time what a goal scoring genius he was; one that will never grace a Spurs team again. After a decade at White Hart Lane Dyson, who amazingly, was the only non-international in that all-conquering Spurs team, moved on to Fulham and then stints at Colchester United, Guildford and Wealdstone before he hung up his boots. We follow yesterday's focus on Spurs players who also played the summer game to a high standard with memories of the days when our lads donned their whites to take on all comers.The Wall Street Journal has reported the sudden death at a friend’s home of its long-serving drama critic Terry Teachout. Terry, who was 65, had an insatiable appetite for all performing arts and a bottomless knowledge of most. Later in his career Dyson played for Fulham and Colchester, then managed in non-League and coached in local schools. Spurs fans of all vintages will revel in this account of a man who was part of a team contemporaries called the finest of all time yet who remains humble. Now a sprightly 80 the stories he is able to tell allow Terry Dysonto step into the limelight. Dyson, Terry My son attended the school in Bushey - and Terry was a great influence in his life among other teachers. From the mainstream school writing him off as "difficult" he obtained 6 GCSEs (one and A*), went on to college and obtained 2 A levels, went to university and now teaches at a University in China, acting as a mentor and teaching research skills and essay writing. He remembers Terry with much affection - so thank you Terry. but injury curtailed his career. John Hollowbread retired to Spain in 1994, and passed away in 2007.