For this fixture, it’s very much a case of where you’re at, not where you’re from. United’s fourth-most played opponents – Sunday marks the 201st meeting since our first dance in 1899 – Spurs’ fabled motto audere est facere (‘to dare is to do’) has long struck a sympathetic chord in M16.
When Danny Blanchflower, skipper of Spurs’ 1961 Double winners, and older brother of United’s Jackie, spoke so eloquently of the ‘glory game’ the words could equally have come from Matt Busby’s lips.
“It’s about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot – not waiting for them to die of boredom,” said Blanchflower.