Today’s entry in this series features a matchup that has previously provided mashup material and an example of a one-off kit.
When Tottenham Hotspur hosted Leeds United at the end of August 1999, they were still adjusting to life in adidas. The Spurs home strip was solid if unspectacular, with some navy piping the only accoutrements along with the three stripes.
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Leeds, meanwhile, were debuting their new third strip. It was in the same style as the away – which in turn was identical to the Lazio home strip launched the previous year, apart from the substitution of navy for black.
What also made the game noteworthy was the fact that both clubs had undertaken squad-number clean-up operations in the summer of 1999. There were a total of 15 starters wearing 1-11 numbers:
Tottenham might have had more than eight in the 1-11 bracket if Sol Campbell and Darren Anderton – numbers 5 and 7 respectively – had been available.
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Campbell had worn 23 since 1993 with Anderton 9 – the latter’s switch allowed Les Ferdinand to move from 10 to 9 with Steffen Iversen going from 18 to 10.
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Mauricio Taricco swapped 19 for 3 while Chris Armstrong was moved from 11 to 16 with Allan Nielsen going from 6 to 22 to allow Chris Perry take 6 on his arrival from Wimbledon.
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Another former Dons defender, John Scales, had a rather unusual move from 17 to 19 while Luke Young dropped from 32 to 21.
Leeds had four players dropping down to 1-11 numbers. Ian Harte had worn 20 but was now 3 while Jonathan Woodgate moved from 25 to 6, David Hopkin swapped 12 for 7 and Harry Kewell dropped from 19 to 10.
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David Robertson had been 3 but now had Woodgate’s old 25 while the previous number 10, Bruno Ribeiro, wore 15 before being sold to Sheffield United during the season.
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In 1998-99, number 7 was worn by the on-loan Willem Korsten but he was now the possessor of the Tottenham number 11 shirt. Number 9 was vacant after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s move to Atlético Madrid at the beginning of August.
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Outside of the 1-11, there were moves for Stephen McPhail (37 to 14), Alan Smith (39 to 17) and Matt Jones (40 to 20).
The game at White Hart Lane was an eventful one for Smith, who equalised Tim Sherwood’s opener for Tottenham but was sent off late on, after Ian Harte scored what proved to be the winner. Leeds would go on to finish third in the Premiership with Tottenham tenth – but despite the re-ordering of their numbers, neither would manage more than eight 1-11 players in a starting lineup that season.
