Spurs fans must be rubbing their eyes and scratching their heads. In this season to be jolly, defenders normally go on walkabouts and forwards just gobble up the leftovers. So far the festive frolics have seen goals galore. When the floodgates opened it simply rained goals.

A week ago Chelsea shared a 4-4 draw against Aston Villa. It was the kind of game that belonged to the good old days. It was an end to end game that might have ended up in double figures.

But at White Hart Lane Tottenham supporters saw the kind of game that defies superlatives. The game finished 6-4 in favour of Spurs with four goals from Dimitar Berbatov but the record books may run out of room. It was almost as if somebody had forgotten to turn off a hot shower. And it took us back 50 years to another extraordinary White Hart Lane showpiece. It was 1958, the legendary Bill Nicholson’s first game - and their opponents were Everton. It was a high-scoring extravaganza that had the blood pumping and the fans in a bemused trance.

'Nicholson became the club’s greatest manager and the glory, glory years based on push and run football were the Spurs motto'

The final score that day was 10-4 to Spurs with striker Bobby Smith, like Berbatov, nabbing four goals. The result heralded a new and exciting era - Nicholson became the club’s greatest manager and the glory, glory years based on push and run football were the Spurs motto.

From a neutral view it is still hard to imagine a 10-4 scoreline in the modern-day setting. Defences have tightened up all their nuts and bolts, midfielders crowd each other out like men in a lift and strikers score their spectacular goals when the mood takes them.

Saturday's 6-4 victory was almost a figment of the imagination as the goal deluge flooded north London and Spurs were transported to the days of  the double and European euphoria.