Greaves's Life And Accomplishments

When Tottenham Hotspur won the Double in 1960-61, there were arguably no better players in the world at that moment. Bill Nicholson however, thought differently. He always sensed a room for improvement, and thus wanted an injection of pace and skill in the team. He found his answer in James Peter Greaves, the greatest forward in the history of British football.
Born on 20th February, 1940 during the fraudulent days of World War II, little did anyone know then twenty years down the line; he would become a footballer of some sort. Greaves grew up in East London during those war years and soon became a Spurs supporter. However, Greaves was spotted by one Jimmy Thompson who used to be ogling around East End looking for boys who would go onto

As a teenager, he became a huge success and the News Chronicle reported that he "showed the ball control, confidence and positional strength of a seasoned campaigner". He became the youngest player to score 100 goals by the age of 21 and scored three or more goals in a whopping 13 league appearances for Chelsea. With a mere wage of £8 in winter and £7 in the summer, his scoring rate was quite phenomenal. Greaves was Chelsea’s top goal-scorer in each of the four seasons he spent at Stamford Bridge. However, with Chelsea failing to finish in top half of the table and the club needing extra cash, Greaves was sold to AC

Thinking not too carefully, he signed for AC Milan in June 1961 for an £80,000 fee. Greaves again scored on his debut in a 2-2 draw against Botafogo at the San Siro. Even though he scored 9 goals in 14 league games including one in the Milan derby, he was never quite happy in Italy. He was unpopular amongst the fans and did not enjoy a healthy relationship with the new head coach, Nereo Rocco. He was heavily criticized in the Italian media when he didn’t return in time from England after his wife, Irene gave birth to their second daughter, Mitzi; when in reality it was because she was born two days late. Greaves later regretted his decision of joining Milan, not because of the footballing success he didn’t achieve but due to his own ability to settle in a foreign country. Ironically after he left, AC Milan went on to clinch the Serie A title in 1961/62 season.
Bill Nicholson soon became aware of Greaves’ situation and of his desire to return to England. Nicholson was quite determined to sign the young English forward and add that goal-scoring skill and spark to his already talented team that won the League and FA Cup Double the previous season. As expected, Tottenham were the first team to make a bid for him, before Chelsea countered. Tottenham increased their bid and AC Milan gladly accepted the offer. Greaves signed for Tottenham for a fee of £99,999 as