Name: John Anderson White
Nickname: "The Ghost", "the fragile genius", "the frail wizard", "the pale phantom"
Country:
ScotlandClub: Tottenham Hotspur
Shirt Number: 8
Position: ★AMF, CMF, SS
Side: RF/BS
Age: 23-27 years (28/4/1937)
Height: 171 cm
Weight: 63 kg
Attack: 85
Defence: 48
Balance: 74
Stamina: 83
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 84
Response: 83
Agility: 88
Dribble Accuracy: 86
Dribble Speed: 83
Short Pass Accuracy: 89
Short Pass Speed: 80
Long Pass Accuracy: 86
Long Pass Speed: 82
Shot Accuracy: 78
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 79
Free Kick Accuracy: 71
Curling: 80
Header: 82
Jump: 86
Technique: 87
Aggression: 82
Mentality: 78
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 90
Injury Tolerance: A
Condition: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 8
Weak Foot Frequency: 8
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Standard
CARDS:
P05 – Mazing Run
P14 – Dummy Runner
P15 – Free Roaming
S02 – Passer
S05 – 1-Touch Play
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Passing - 1-Touch Pass
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack-minded
John White (1937–1964) was the elegant inside-forward at the heart of Bill Nicholson’s early-60s Tottenham. Signed from Falkirk in 1959 after breaking through at Alloa Athletic, he became a mainstay of the side that won the historic Double in 1960–61, retained the FA Cup in 1962, and lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963. A Scotland international, he won caps while at Spurs and was widely tipped to define the club’s next phase before his life was tragically cut short in July 1964, when he was struck by lightning on a golf course.
White’s playstyle hinged on movement, balance, and timing rather than power. He drifted into pockets between defenders, then arrived late in the box—often unmarked—to finish with calm precision. On the ball he played with his head up: quick wall-passes, subtle disguises, and slide-rule through balls that fed wingers or released Bobby Smith. Bill Nicholson rated him the best passer of the post-war era, and it showed: he slipped crisp, well-weighted balls into runners and kept moves flowing with quick one-twos. Two-footed and economical, he stitched Blanchflower and Mackay’s midfield control to the front line, keeping tempo during long spells of possession and accelerating moves with one or two touches when space appeared. Quietly relentless off the ball and clinically creative on it, he was the connector that made Nicholson’s attack hum. His cultured control and touch made him hard to dispossess, and despite his slight frame he competed well in the air—a good header. He could operate wide or inside (he played inside-left, then right wing, then settled at inside-right), but wherever he started he earned the nickname “The Ghost” by gliding into positions just as the ball arrived.
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