本文来源于1991年5月18日《新海峡时报》，诺丁汉森林对阵托特纳姆热刺足总杯决赛的比赛前瞻。

诺丁汉森林对热刺来说太热了

伦敦：托特纳姆和诺丁汉森林，这两支显然方向相反的球队，今天将在温布利球场举行的英格兰足总杯决赛中相遇。

热刺自从4月中旬以来就没赢过一场比赛了，他们老化的球队接近被出售，还失去了他们最好的球员。

森林队则在过去的六场比赛中打进了24个球，他们拥有着一支年轻的队伍，随着在未来几年逐渐成熟，有望得到进一步提升。

但这样的趋势往往对个别比赛没有多大的指导意义。热刺在上一场比赛，4月14日足总杯半决赛，战胜最终的联赛冠军阿森纳后，陷入了低迷。

在过去的几个月里，热刺上了头条，却是因为场外的问题而不是场内的成功。

主帅特里·维纳布尔斯领导的团队一直在进行收购球队的竞标，但没有成功，而明星中场保罗·加斯科因，以丰厚的转会费，已被出售了给罗马的拉齐奥。

同时人们对热刺老将的发挥也提出了质疑，比如国际知名的英国前锋加里·莱因克尔。

森林队有着深厚的天赋和速度，他们杀入足总杯决赛的过程比热刺更有说服力。

热刺只击败了一个甲级联赛的对手阿森纳，就进入了决赛。而森林队在前几轮比赛中击败了水晶宫、南安普顿和诺维奇，然后在半决赛中以4-0力压西汉姆晋级。西汉姆则将在下赛季升回甲级联赛。

森林队的布莱恩·克拉夫，也许是英国最有争议的球队主帅，此次他力求填补他个人奖杯收藏中唯一的空缺。他已经赢得了联赛冠军、两个欧洲杯和四个联赛杯，但从他1965年开启执教生涯起，还从未赢得过足总杯。

"当克拉夫被诺丁汉大学授予荣誉学位，以表彰他对足球和城市的贡献时"，校园发言人说："他对城市的贡献就超过了罗宾汉之后的任何人。"

今天这场查尔斯王子和戴安娜公主出席观战的比赛的赢家，将与另一个冠军曼联一起参加下赛季欧洲优胜者杯的比赛。

但是，热刺今天第八次冲击足总杯的这样一项光荣纪录，却被威胁到俱乐部生存的财政危机所掩盖了。

热刺沉重的债务和克拉夫的足总杯梦想一样，一直是英格兰人热议的话题。

克拉夫和热刺主教练特里·维纳布尔斯，在为冲击温布利的准备工作中存在着明显差异。

克拉夫是联赛执教时间最长的主教练，他已经制定出了一个计划，来赢得首个足总杯。

维纳布尔斯曾在1967年与热刺队一起赢得了足总杯冠军奖牌。但他没时间纠结是否有可能再次获得温布利荣誉，为了挽救这家濒临破产的伦敦俱乐部，提供资金救援方案的任务已经让他忙得焦头烂额。

热刺的困境的性质不能被轻易忽视。他们负债近2000万英镑，维纳布尔斯和他的律师夜以继日地工作，从而敲定一个能被热刺董事会大多数成员以及主要债权人米德兰银行接受的交易细节。

人们纷纷猜测，如果维纳布尔斯再次失败，在杯赛决赛后没两天，热刺就会任命一位财务管理人。他们的第一个动作是批准加斯科因以850万英镑的转会费转会到意大利的拉齐奥，这笔交易上个月获得了热刺董事会原则上的同意。

加斯科因可以说是靠一己之力，把热刺带进了足总杯决赛。他不光在比赛中打入了六个进球，更是在接受胃部手术不到五周后，在半决赛中惊人地击败了联赛冠军阿森纳，给球队提供了强大的精神力量。

热刺混乱的财务让今年的足总杯决赛蒙尘。这些情况总的意味着，今天的决赛可能更像一场公开的守灵，而不是共庆世界上最好的淘汰赛，因为维纳布尔斯已经承认，如果他的努力到头来还是失败了，他将和加斯科因一样离开热刺。

如果不是布莱恩·克拉夫的个人魅力和公众吸引力，森林队参加决赛的存在感可能就被掩盖掉了。

森林队保留了传递的风格，这一直是克拉夫执教的一个壮举。后卫德斯·沃克和斯图尔特-皮尔斯已经成为英格兰队的常客，而克拉夫的儿子Nigel，以及Steve Hodge（1987年足总杯决赛中被考文垂3-2击败的热刺队员）则是国家队的边缘人。

罗伊·基恩，被克拉夫以15，000英镑从爱尔兰的科布漫步者签下。在爱尔兰，他一直是当赛季的惊喜。他始终有一些精彩的进球表现，其中包括在足总杯四分之一决赛中战胜诺维奇。

森林队是击败热刺的大热门，有望自1959年以来再次捧起足总杯。森林队还是英格兰最具观赏性的球队之一，他们今天会是受欢迎的赢家。

下附原文：

Forest look too hot for Spurs

LONDON: Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, two teams apparently heading in opposite directions, meet today in the English FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

Tottenham have not won a match since mid-April and their ageing team close to being sold and losing their best player.

Forest have scored 24 goals in their last six matches and have a young squad who are expected to improve as they mature in the next few years.

But such trends often can be a poor guide to an individual match. Tottenham were mired in a slump when they won their last match – an April 14 FA Cup semifinal against eventual League champions Arsenal.

Over the last few months, Tottenham have been in the headlines for off-field problems instead of on-field success.

Manager Terry Venables heads a group that has been making an unsuccessful bid to buy the team, while star midfielder Paul Gascoigne has been offered a lucrative transfer to Lazio of Rome.

Questions also have been raised about the play of Spurs veterans such as English international striker Gary Lineker.

Forest have a team deep in talent and speed, and they have been much more convincing than Spurs in their run to the FA Cup final.

Tottenham beat only one First Division rival, Arsenal, to reach the final. Forest defeated Crystal Palace, Southampton and Norwich in earlier rounds, then crushed West Ham 4-0 in their semifinal. West Ham will be promoted back to the First Division next season.

Forest\'s Brian Clough. perhaps the most controversial team manager in Britain, will be seeking to fill the only empty spot in his personal trophy case. He has won League championships, two European Cups and four League Cups, but never the FA Cup in a managerial career that began in 1965.

"He has done more to put the city on the map than anyone since Robin Hood," a campus spokesman said when Clough was awarded an honorary degree from Nottingham University for his services to soccer and the city.

The winner of today\'s game, which will be attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, will join champion Manchester United in next season\'s European Cup Winners\' Cup competition.

But Tottenham\'s attempt to win the FA Cup for a record eighth time today has been overshadowed by the financial crisis that threatens the club\'s existence.

Spurs\' crippling debts have been the topic of as much speculation in England as Clough’s FA Cup dreams.

There has been a marked difference in the Wembley preparations of Clough and Spurs manager Terry Venables.

Clough，the Football League\'s longest-serving manage, has been able to devise a plan to win the FA Cup for the first time.

Venables won an FA Cup winner\'s medal with Spurs in 1967.but he has not had time to dwell on the possibility of further Wembley glory. He has been consumed by the task of funding a rescue package for the ailing London club.

The nature of Spurs\' plight cannot be dismissed lightly. They are nearly ￡20 million in debt and Venables and his lawyers have worked around the clock to finalise details of a deal acceptable to a majority of the Spurs board as well as chief creditors, Midland Bank.

Speculation is rife that a financial administrator will be appointed two days after the Cup final if Venables\' fails again. Their first move would be to sanction the world record ￡8.5 million transfer of Gascoigne to Italian club Lazio, a deal agreed in principle by the Spurs board last month.

Gascoigne has steered Spurs to the FA Cup final almost single-handedly. He has scored six goals in the competition and was the inspiration behind the shock semifinal defeat of League champions Arsenal less than five weeks after undergoing a stomach operation.

The financial mess at Spurs has tarnished the FA Cup final this year. The whole episode means that today\'s final may bear more resemblance to a public wake than a celebration of the finest knockout competition in the world for Venables has admitted that he would follow Gascoigne out of Spurs if his efforts fail.

Were it not for the charisma and public appeal of Brian Clough, Forests’ participation in the final would be in danger of being overshadowed all together.

Forest have retained the passing style that has always been a featue of Clough\'s management. Defenders Des Walker and Stuart Pearce have become England regulars while Clough’s son. Nigel, and Steve Hodge, a member of the Spurs team beaten 3-2 by Coventry City in the1987 FA Cup final, are on the fringe of the national team.

Roy Keane, signed by Clough for ￡15，000 from Cogh Ramblers in Ireland, has been the find of the season. His performances have been studded with some fine goals, including the winner at Norwich City in the FA Cup quarterfinal.

Forest, favourites to beat Spurs and win the FA Cup for the first time since 1959, remain one of the most entertaining sides in England and they would be popular Winners today.

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