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Tottenham Hotspur have had some iconic forwards through the years, but do you know who boasts the most Spurs goals in a single season?
Teddy Sheringham, Gary Lineker, Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe, Dimitar Berbatov… Tottenham have been treated to a litany of world-class goalscorers in the past few decades.
Unfortunately, even the halcyon days when Spurs had the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son leading the forward charge now feel like a long time ago.
But for all their achievements – especially Kane – another frontman holds the record for the most Tottenham Hotspur goals in a season. So, let’s meet him.
It’s the summer of 1984. The Premier League is merely a glint in the eyes of the country’s footballing executives. It’s all about Division One, with Tottenham Hotspur preparing for a new season under Peter Shreeves.
After 41 goals in 89 games during his second spell at Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur made their move, securing the striker for £700,000. Over his first couple of seasons, he scored 18 goals, before a stunning 1986/87 season under David Pleat.
He started as he meant to go on, scoring a hat-trick at Aston Villa, before Pleat’s switch to a five-man midfield featuring Glen Hoddle, Chris Waddle, Paul Allen, Steve Hodge and Ossie Ardiles helped him reach stunning new heights.
He went on to bang in 33 goals in the league, with Tottenham finishing third, four in the FA Cup, where Spurs were runners-up, and an impressive 12 in the League Cup as they fell short in the semi-finals. Whoever the opponent was, Allen found a way through, earning him the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award and FWA Football of the Year.
It was a truly exceptional individual campaign, featuring two hat-tricks and seven braces in the league, as well as another hat-trick in the League Cup in a 5-0 win over West Ham. He scored in the FA Cup final and found the net in both legs of Tottenham’s League Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal.
He did pretty much everything he could to secure silverware for Spurs… just like another talismanic frontman.
| Season | League | Appearances | Goals | National Cup games | National Cup goals | League Cup games | League Cup goals | European games | European goals | Total games | Total goals |
| 1984–85 | First Division | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 9 | ||||
| 1985–86 | First Division | 19 | 9 | — | 19 | 9 | |||||
| 1986–87 | First Division | 39 | 33 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 12 | — | 54 | 49 | |
| 1987–88 | First Division | 34 | 11 | — | 34 | 11 | |||||
| Total | 105 | 60 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 173 | 112 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The closest a Spurs striker has come to breaking Allen’s record in recent times was Harry Kane in 2017/18.
Kane scored an incredible 41 goals in 48 games, including 30 in 37 in the Premier League. Like Allen, he scored two hat-tricks in the league, doing so in consecutive games against Burnley and Southampton.
Tottenham finished third that season, reaching the semi-finals in the FA Cup, fourth round in the League Cup and round of 16 in the Champions League.
Only Jimmy Greaves in 1962/63 and Martin Chivers in 1971/72 have fared better than Kane, as well as Allen obviously, with both of them scoring 42 goals. Will anyone manage to break the 40-goal barrier again for Tottenham Hotspur?
Since Kane’s departure, nobody has managed to break 20. Heung-min Son scored 17 in the 2023/24 season, before Brennan Johnson got close in 2024/25, with 18 goals in all competitions. Richarlison finished last season as Spurs’ top scorer with just 12.
Tottenham are a long way from the heights of Kane and Son right now, let alone Allen’s sensational 1986/87 season. The two-time Spurs caretaker boss set the standard and, even though Kane came close, it seems hard to see his record ever being beaten in the modern era.
Harry Kane’s all-time Tottenham stats:
| Club | Season | League | FA cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2010–11 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | 19 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 34 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 7 | — | 51 | 31 | ||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 38 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | 50 | 28 | ||
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 30 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | 38 | 35 | ||
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 37 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | — | 48 | 41 | ||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 28 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | — | 40 | 24 | ||
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 29 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | — | 34 | 24 | ||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 35 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 8 | — | 49 | 33 | ||
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 37 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | — | 50 | 27 | ||
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 38 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 49 | 32 | ||
| Total | 317 | 213 | 21 | 15 | 21 | 7 | 76 | 45 | — | 435 | 280 | |||
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