Steve Perryman – a man for all seasons

The legend that is Steve Perryman is our record appearance holder. He played an astonishing 866 times for us between 1969 and 1986. Perryman was indispensible to both our successful 1970’s and1980’s teams, each of which brought home three major trophies.

In the former, he was a youthful, hard-working midfielder who was tigerish in the tackle and rarely gave the ball away. He also had a knack for scoring important goals – not least both of our goals in our 2-1 home win over AC Milan in the 1972 UEFA Cup semi-final first leg. As captain of the latter, he successfully reinvented himself as a right back. He was as solid as a rock and still possessed boundless energy. His passing was invariably pinpoint too. Moreover, his reading of the game and defensive organisation skills were

top notch. Being at Wembley in both 1981 and 1982 to see Steve lift the FA Cup are amongst my most cherished memories.

Those halcyon days in the 1980’s are second to none in my Spurs supporting life and one of my favourite chants, often bellowed out when I was in the bath, was “Oh Stevie, Stevie – Stevie Stevie Stevie Stevie Perryman.”

Fast forward forty years and I have published a Spurs memoir. The man himself has written the foreword to it. When Steve agreed to my request I was thrilled. Indeed, when I first thought of who I would like to approach to write a foreword, it took me all of thirty seconds to settle on Steve. I was already a big fan of his Facebook podcast (on which he has two resident guests, Spurs fans Tom and Howard) and knew that he was modest and down-to-earth.

Steve is a West Londoner who played for England schoolboys and quickly became highly sought after. He says that he was invited to the 1967 FA Cup Final by both ourselves and Chelsea and decided to accept the hospitality coming his way from North London. That was the first sign of his commitment to the Lilywhites, who he joined as a 15-year-old apprentice. Bill Nicholson, who made a huge impression on Steve, was a perfectionist and Steve is one too. He stresses the importance of doing things right, something that his mentor used to demand of him. “Steve, just do it right. Whether you’re passing the ball or cleaning the showers, just do it right. It’s so much easier and saves time.”

Steve really liked Ange, was impressed by the clear and simple way in which he expressed himself and the fact that he had a well-defined purpose and plan. He was also struck by Ange’s much quoted catch-phrase “We don’t stop.” Steve as a player was perpetual motion and one can see why he would love the idea that we keep our feet on the throttle from minute one to minute ninety.

It is always a breath of fresh air to hear Steve talk Tottenham. He is a true man of the people, evidenced by all the tributes paid to him in the comments section of the podcast, each and every one of which receives a reply from Steve.

In May 2012, whilst attending a home match at Exeter City, where he was director of football, Steve almost died when he suffered a dissected aorta – the major vessel which supplies oxygenated blood from the heart. He was rushed to hospital, underwent emergency surgery and remained in a coma for a few weeks. Thankfully, he made a full recovery and is now a Patient Ambassador for the Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust.

It was only seven weeks before Steve’s health crisis that the Bolton player, Fabrice Muamba, had a cardiac arrest on the pitch at White Hart Lane. Steve points out that he and Fabrice were very fortunate that they were in a place where specialist medical help was on

hand when they fell ill.

Steve is indefatigable, travelling the globe in order to meet Spurs fan groups and captivate them with his wonderful anecdotes and unparalleled knowledge of the club we all love.

Long may it continue.

Harvey Burgess is the author of "More Trauma Than Triumph: The Life of a Spurs Fan"