It was muddy hell watching Peter Taylor in 1978

12:45pm Friday 8th August 2008

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LET me take you back in time to West London on February 4, 1978.

I was a 14-year-old boy watching my team Tottenham Hotspur leading Fulham 1-0 in a Second Division match at Craven Cottage.

Just over 30 minutes had gone when the ball fell to the Spurs winger on the halfway line.

He used fabulous pace and skill to outstrip the Fulham defenders as he ran almost half the length of the pitch and closed in on goal.

We were on our feet as the winger brilliantly rounded the goalkeeper and approached the net.

All he now had to do was to slide the ball in a straight line to make it 2-0. He had already scored once and this would surely win the game. We jumped up and down as we waited for him to tap the ball into the open goal.

And then he slipped. If I remember correctly, he fell over in the exceedingly muddy goalmouth.

And to our horror the ball squirmed away and was cleared.

It was possibly my single most frustrating moment in all my years as a football spectator, because Fulham came back to equalise in the second half and vital promotion points were lost for Tottenham.

Die-hard Spurs fans still vividly recall the spectacular miss to this very day.

But I never held it against the winger for missing the open goal, because: a) he had done fantastically well to get into the position in the first place, and; b) his name was Peter Taylor and he was my favourite player.

"Peter, Peter Taylor, Peter Taylor on the wing," went the song. It probably wouldn't have won Eurovision but it cheered me up before every game because I knew this particular player would give his all for the Tottenham cause.

1977-1978 was an especially difficult season because we'd just been relegated from the old First Division after finishing bottom and our Spurs stars had to ply their trade at places such as Mansfield and Notts County.

Taylor had been a star buy for Tottenham in 1976 after winning four England caps. So going down with Spurs must have been a blow to him as it was for all us fans.

But he never showed it as he tore down the wing for us week after week.

I remember being genuinely excited and optimistic whenever I went to watch Tottenham, even in the Second Division, because I knew Peter Taylor was in the side.

He was skilful with a cracking shot, but what made him stand out for me is that he always tried so hard.

And he was one of the main reasons why Tottenham were promoted that season back into the big time where they have remained ever since.

That's why I will always be grateful to him. That's why I forgive him for missing that open goal in February 1978.

And that's why I'm looking forward with huge excitement to Peter Taylor's first league game as Wycombe Wanderers manager when the new season starts tomorrow.

Call me an overly-optimistic old fool, but I don't think we're going to see any major slip-ups this time as Taylor, an experienced and canny manager, slowly but surely guides Wycombe to promotion.