jurgen klinsmann

[mattdefoe]

I missed out on watching the greatness of Jurgen by a season or two.

How good was he for us and was he world class? If so how on earth did we manage to get him (twice) at a time where we weren’t maybe what we were.

I ask because a brilliant video of his goals popped up on my Facebook feed

 

[Charly***]

Yeah first time around he was world class, he'd just scored 5 goals in the world cup finals.

 

[danielneeds]

He was a sublime striker, and his effect on the whole club was huge.

Unfortunately Sugar and Francis didn’t use his lead as a lightening rod, and let it all fritter away.

 

[eddiev14]

Took the league by storm. He was a brilliant striker and formed a great partnership with Teddy.

I remember being very young when he left and was so, so gutted.

Sugar replaced him with Chris Armstrong...

 

[coys200]

It is quite amazing the calibre of players we managed to sign. Lineker Gazza ginola etc. Trying to think last time we signed a world class player at their peak ?

 

[chinaman]

Let's be very honest about one thing great as he was for us: he was Spurs' first ever diver.

 

[eddiev14]

It is quite amazing the calibration of players we managed to sign. Lineker Gazza ginola etc. Trying to think last time we signed a world class player at their peak ?

There wasn't a great financial difference between the top clubs back then, and we were a very good club. As @danielneeds says, Alan Sugar stabilised us after Scholar, but made a series of bad decisions that left us trailing behind, and it only got harder after that.

With Ginola, the summer we signed him he wasn't that big a deal in the PL. He was ageing and had become surplus to requirements at Newcastle after Keegan left. Dalglish didn't like him.

We needed a spark, and he needed somewhere to reignite his own. For me at least, he was the one player to keep the excitement for Spurs alive in what was a very dark period.

 

[DCSPUR]

brilliant player - it was bad for Jurgen and us that he left....didn't work out for either

 

[Gassin's finest]

He was a cut above the rest of the premier league back then. But used us to reboot his career and get his move to Bayern Munich.

 

[Mornstar]

brilliant player - it was bad for Jurgen and us that he left....didn't work out for either

Hang on a sec.....didnt he go on to win the league and uefa cup (which still had some credibility back in those days) with bayern the very next season?

 

[dagraham]

Best all round striker I’ve seen play for us ( although if Kane keeps progressing that may change).

No weaknesses in his game whatsoever. Could score all sorts of goals like Kane. Left foot, right foot, inside the box, outside. He was brilliant with his head as well ( far better than Kane). Fantastic movement as well and was pretty quick too.

His hold up play was very good as well. Nothing fancy, but efficient like all top German players. A team player as well.

Think Sugar almost tricked him into signing by getting him and his agent on to his yacht to talk general football stuff and then wouldn’t let him leave until he’d signed!

Back then the wages weren’t as crazy and there was no oil money so a big club could still make a move if everything aligned right.

The last player we’ve signed already at world class level and will probably stay that way until we start seeing the benefits of the new stadium.

 

[LSUY]

Hang on a sec.....didnt he go on to win the league and uefa cup (which still had some credibility back in those days) with bayern the very next season?

hmpf. Who wants a league title and a Uefa Cup win when they could have experienced cup exits at the hands of Coventry and Forest under Gerry Francis?

 

[dagraham]

Just to add, although his brief second spell wasn’t great he did have that pivotal away game against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.

We were pretty near the relegation zone and losing before come back to win 6-2.

He scored 4 that day. One of my favourite away days.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

Just to add, although his brief second spell wasn’t great he did have that pivotal away game against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.

We were pretty near the relegation zone and losing before come back to win 6-2.

He scored 4 that day. One of my favourite away days.

One of my few away days...

 

[dagraham]

Some really bad editing, and hidden in there some classic Ben Thatcher “defending”.

A warning though : do not watch if the sight of Sol C****ball in a Spurs shirt is too much.

 

[southlondonyiddo]

Fantastic player. As good as I’ve seen

Thought Teddy was great until Jurgen arrived and suddenly was watching another level of player again

Head and shoulders above the rest

 

[Mornstar]

One of my few away days...

You ought to go more often!

 

[Col_M]

I remember watching the World Cupnwhere he dived again, against South Korea to win a penalty. Remember thinking how pissed off that a striker of his quality dealt the need to cheat against little old SK (they were still a minnow then).

5 week’s later I’m driving with the radio on and the news hit, we’d signed JK. I was livid, disgusted, ashamed.

That first game, wow. And it continued. If I remember rightly we beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time in 70 odd years. He was a game changer. A model professional and he won me round very quickly.

 

[southlondonyiddo]

I remember watching the World Cupnwhere he dived again, against South Korea to win a penalty. Remember thinking how pissed off that a striker of his quality dealt the need to cheat against little old SK (they were still a minnow then).

5 week’s later I’m driving with the radio on and the news hit, we’d signed JK. I was livid, disgusted, ashamed.

That first game, wow. And it continued. If I remember rightly we beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time in 70 odd years. He was a game changer. A model professional and he won me round very quickly.

Almost

Some years earlier Crooks scored the winner after 70 odd years

We beat them 2-1 in the quarter final of the FA Cup that year at Anfield when Teddy curled one inside James left hand post and Jurgen ran on and scored the winner late on

We were brilliant and all thought our name was on the Cup
We went to Elland Rd for the semi and got stuffed 4-1 by Everton !

 

[DJS]

It was quite beautiful having class like Sheringham and Klinsman up top.

That team was a really, really good team and shocking we only finished 7th (although that could be in part due to the poor start to the season before Francis took over).

Real shame we basically had the team ripped apart over the summer as should have been building on it and then followed a really bad period of mediocrity until mid 00's.