Tottenham v Manchester United: Spurs look to end final White Hart Lane campaign unbeaten at home

A view of the White Hart Lane stadium in London, England in 2012. Facundo Arrizabalaga / EPA file

■ Tottenham v Manchester United, Sunday at 7.30pm UAE time

It was still the 19th century. Queen Victoria was on the throne of a British Empire that covered around a quarter of the globe.

A 17-year-old non-league club in London looked for a new ground and took out a tenancy on a plot behind the White Hart Inn on Tottenham High Road.

A football ground was built in place of a disused nursery. Notts County were beaten 4-1 in the first competitive game.

That was 1899. Some 118 years later, one of English football’s most historic, most distinctive grounds will disappear from the sporting map on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur are moving on; not far, to new ground being built next to White Hart Lane, after a diversion to Wembley Stadium next season, but there is a futuristic feel as Mauricio Pochettino’s youthful side progress at a prodigious speed on the pitch.

A farewell to the Lane is both a celebration and a sign of the times. Their beloved stadium is a victim of the dash for money in London, the quest to emulate Arsenal’s huge match day turnover, but leaving it has been delayed by the complications caused by the cost of real estate and the difficulty in finding land in a city as packed as England’s capital city.

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A year after West Ham United said goodbye to Upton Park with a 3-2 win over Manchester United featuring a spirited comeback, Tottenham may seek to emulate old enemies on a similarly moving occasion.

“Because I am a very sensitive person and so emotional, it will be difficult not to cry,” said Pochettino.

While his title hopes are over, it should be a historic occasion in more ways than one.

Tottenham boast the Premier League’s only unbeaten home record. They could complete a top-flight campaign undefeated at home for the first time since 1964-65.

They can equal the club record of 14 straight league wins, set by David Pleat’s buccaneering team of 1987.

Pleat is due to be at White Hart Lane today, along with the playmaker of that side, Glenn Hoddle. A parade of the Tottenham heroes of yesteryear should offer a reminder that this is a ground that has been graced by greats. Tottenham’s importance belies a comparatively meagre total of two league titles.

They have often been a byword for flair. Danny Blanchflower, the captain of the 1961 Double winners, was the poet laureate of Tottenham.

“The game is about glory,” he famously declared. “It’s about doing things in style, with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.”

Tottenham offered entertainment, from Blanchflower, Dave Mackay and Cliff Jones then via Jimmy Greaves, Martin Peters and Martin Chivers to Hoddle, Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles, then on via Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker to Jurgen Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham and David Ginola.

More recently, there have been Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric before Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

Many will be at White Hart Lane today, though the ill Gascoigne will not be attending. Klinsmann said his goodbyes early, during the derby victory over Arsenal.

Pochettino’s men will take the field in a special commemorative shirt, looking to sign off in suitable style.

Time can wait for no man, especially where Pochettino’s impatient improvers are concerned, and the demolition of White Hart Lane starts on Monday.

But the image of a cockerel perched on a ball and the memories of 118 years of football will last.

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