Garth Crooks saw Spurs through Round 3 with a goal against Pat Jennings to knock Arsenal out at the Lane and then another to see off Leeds United at home in the next round.  A home tie in the next round against Aston Villa was settled by a Mark Falco goal setting up a quarter final at Chelsea.  A goal from Mike Fillery two minutes before half-time gave the home side the lead, but Steve Archibald equalised just after the break.  Spurs went into a 3-1 lead with long range shots form Glenn Hoddle and Micky Hazard, but Alan Mayes pulled a goal back with an immediate response, although Tottenham held on to progress to the semi-final.

There they faced Leicester City at Villa Park a day after war broke out in the Falkland Islands, so the two Argentineans took a lot of stick from the opposition fans.  However, Ossie Ardiles played his part in the 2-0 win with Crooks netting again and Tommy Wilson scored an own goal with 14 minutes remaining, putting Spurs into the final where they would meet Second Division QPR, managed by Terry Venables. 

A dour game saw Spurs take the lead through Glenn Hoddle in extra time, but a header five minutes from the end of extra time from Terry Fenwick took the game to a replay.  In contrast to the first game, Hoddle scored an early penalty after Tony Currie had felled Graham Roberts in the box and Peter Hucker, the QPR goalie was the man of the match as Spurs had the better of what decent play there was to retain the FA Cup.

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In the final, Tottenham faced Liverpool and took an eleventh minute goal when Archibald beat Grobbelaar and with Tottenham looking set to beat the Merseysiders, Ronnie Whelan scored towards the end of normal time to take the match into an extra thirty minutes.  The Spurs players' legs were going and  Tottenham lost Tony Galvin to a bad tackle. Looking fresher for scoring the equaliser, Liverpool went on to win 3-1 in the last eight minutes of extra time with another goal from Whelan and Rush.

A brutal display from Barcelona prevented Spurs from reaching the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup.  Having kicked Spurs from pillar to post at White Hart Lane and achieving an undeserved 1-1 draw with a goal from distance that went through Clemence's hands, it was a single goal at the Nou Camp from Allan Simonsen that put them through to the final, while Tottenham's fans received awful treatment on their visit to Spain.

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