2,055 - part eight

Three giants of Tottenham Hotspur. 10 questions.

Welcome to part eight of our special 2,055 Q&A with Steve Perryman, Gary Mabbutt and Pat Jennings, all-time Spurs greats and our top three appearance makers with 854, 611 and 590 matches respectively, a grand total of 2,055.

Over the course of the 10-part series we’ll talk about the day they signed, walking into the dressing room as youngsters, biggest influences and magic moments over their collective span of 34 years at the Club we all love - 1964-1998. What game would they love to play again? What made them proudest? Over 20 years since the last of the trio retired from playing - Mabbsy in 1998 - what does Spurs mean to them?

These are our heroes, legends whose names are and will be forever indelibly linked with Tottenham Hotspur.

2,055 - part eight

What are your top three moments at Spurs?

Steve Perryman

“They must be picking the FA Cup up in 1981, making my debut at 17 (against Sunderland, September, 1969) and being part of that group that won the UEFA Cup in 1984. I wasn’t on the pitch (Steve was suspended for the second of the final), but I was there in soul and spirit. To see the effect the crowd can have in that situation when the game went down to penalties... they were behind the team all the way, pushing and pushing and I could feel that. You can feel it on the pitch, but you can feel it a bit more when you are one of the crowd. They pushed us over the line that night. Yes, it was about Robbo’s (Graham Roberts) leadership. Yes, it was about young players and homegrown players getting their chance. Yes, it was about Parksy’s (Tony Parks) save, all that. Actually, it was the crowd pushing all of those buttons. It was also live on TV, another trophy for the Club, for the team to be pushed over the line, when it was facing adversity in suspensions and injuries, you don’t win a cup in one day, you win it maybe in a tough away game somewhere when you get an away goal that gets you through. But that night, the fans pushed the team over the line, and that’s the great thing about being a Tottenham, player.

"That moment when you lift the FA Cup... someone said to me, ‘don’t rush it’. If you win the cup, if you have that honour, don’t rush it. When I watch it now, I’m saying ‘pick it up Steve, pick it up!’ Remember, I was attached to the team. I led the team down to the Second Division and this was the moment, again, I link everything to the feeling of the crowd. Of course, it’s your own feeling as well, you have to be selfish somewhere along the line, and I’d watched captains pick up the FA Cup since I was five, six, seven, imagining what that moment would be like. All of a sudden, it’s you. It’s you! You are taking part in this. You are proud like you can’t believe. When I first joined Spurs in 1967, they’d just won the FA Cup. They had this wonderful tradition. Okay, we’d had success with me in the team, they had some failure with me in the team. Now, all of a sudden, this was back to the success and I knew how important that first trophy was. Some people discounted that a little, but I’m telling you - get the first one.”

Gary Mabbutt

“The FA Cup in 1991, and of course the semi-final against Arsenal, the UEFA Cup victory in 1984, my first trophy at the Club. That victory against Anderlecht, it was incredible. European nights at White Hart Lane were so special. My debut at Wembley against Liverpool in the Charity Shield in 1982. My first game for Spurs in the league was at home to Luton Town (28 August, 1982). Spurs fans were used to multi-million-pound signings coming in, world superstars, suddenly it’s, ‘Mabbutt from where? Bristol Rovers?’ and in the first five minutes, Glenn Hoddle took a free-kick, I made a run, Glenn put the ball right on my head and I scored. From that moment, until this day, Spurs fans took me to their hearts and were always behind me, even in tougher times. I was fortunate, I wasn’t 10/10 one week, 0/10 the next, I felt I was always around seven or eight and whatever happened, the fans were behind me. Even now, when I’ve had medical issues, the amount of comments and messages that come through are quite amazing and make you feel very honoured and proud of what you did to make them feel that way.”

Pat Jennings

“The Leeds game at White Hart Lane in 1975, the night we avoided relegation against a great team who were playing the European Cup Final. Then there are my two penalty saves against Liverpool at Anfield (March, 1973), Kevin Keegan and Tommy Smith. We played on the morning of the Grand National (held at Aintree, Liverpool later the same day) and Tommy said in an interview afterwards that had I been riding in the Grand National, I was so lucky, I would probably have won that as well! Also, scoring the goal against Manchester at Old Trafford in the Charity Shield in 1967. What a day that was! There hadn’t been too many goalkeepers who had done that at that stage. It took the commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme, half-a-minute to work out ‘... Jennings has scored!’. No-one had seen it before, and to do it at Old Trafford was special. The goalkeeper... poor old Alex (Stepney). I did speak to him about it - I can’t repeat what he said to me!”

Next: 2,055 - part nine

You all spent years and years at Spurs - what makes the Club so special?

2,055 - the series

Part one - What do you remember about the day you signed for Spurs?
Part two - What was it like stepping into the dressing room for the first time with all those greats around you?
Part three - At the start of your Spurs career, was there a defining moment when you felt you really belonged?
Part four - Bill Nicholson meant a lot to you all, and played a key role in all of your careers - do you have one abiding memory of the great man?
Part five - Who were the biggest influences in your Spurs career?
Part six - If you could turn back time and play one game again, what would it be?
Part seven - The appearances, the trophies, the glory - what are you most proud of?