#3 Tottenham 2011-12
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Birmingham were just the first of three English sides to exit the competition at the group stages in 2011-12, they were joined by two London sides, the first being pre-tournament favourite, Tottenham. Spurs waltzed past their play-off opponents, Scottish side Hearts 0-5 in the away game at Edinburgh’s Tynecastle stadium to reach the group stages where they met Rubin Kazan, Shamrock Rovers and PAOK of Greece.
A strong side comprising of Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe, Luka Modric and Roman Pavlyuchenko could only muster a goal-less draw against European minnows PAOK in their first game, but the alarm bells were swiftly silenced after consecutive home victories over Shamrock Rovers and Rubin Kazan.
Spurs would suffer a blip in the cold Russian winter as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Rubin next – but with two games left, they still seemed to be in prime position to go through. However, the wheels truly came off in the next match at White Hart Lane as PAOK stunned the Londoners 2-1 with two early strikes to ensure a place in the next round.
This, coupled with Rubin’s win against Shamrock Rovers meant that the slim chance for Spurs to go through would only be with a PAOK victory over Rubin in the next match and a Spurs win against Rovers, aided by a huge goal difference swing.
But a 1-1 draw between PAOK and Rubin at Thessaloniki ended Tottenham’s chances despite a 4-0 thrashing of Shamrock Rovers at Dublin. The only bright spot for Spurs would be the fact that a teenager named Harry Kane would score his first ever Spurs goal in the game’s second half injury time.
