2,055 - part seven

Three giants of Tottenham Hotspur. 10 questions.

Welcome to part seven 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 seven

The appearances, the trophies, the glory - what are you most proud of?

Steve Perryman

“I’m proud of my consistency, and that leads to a consistent amount of games for the seasons I was involved, and not only in the first team, the year before I got into the first team, the youth team as well. I played games, games and more games and that meant you were doing enough for someone to select you. We recently spoke about the season where I played 10 games in May (1981/82). You just do that, you build up to it. I was voted Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year that season and there were dissenters about that decision, they said ‘as good a player as Steve is, he’s not a star-type player’, and I would agree with that, but that season was not about star quality, because if there was a star player, he would have got it. The fact that there wasn’t meant someone looked at leadership and consistency and that’s the season it all came to fruition.”

Gary Mabbutt

“I was told by three top specialists that there was no way I’d be able to continue as a professional football with diabetes, that I wouldn’t be able to cope with the stresses and pressures put on me by a professional sporting career by the condition. So, I was proud I was able to show it was possible and achieve what I did. Throughout most of my career I was having four injections a day, 10 blood tests a day, including half-time during matches, so being able to fulfil that career, I was very pleased I was able to achieve that. I look back now and think ‘how did you manage to do that?’ but it didn’t even cross my mind at the time.

"When I first joined Spurs and got into the team, and then get into the England team a couple of months later, it was all about ‘Gary Mabbutt, the diabetic footballer’. Bobby Robson used to call me ‘the bionic man’. A year later, it was just 'Gary Mabbutt'. That made me very proud. It wasn’t Gary Mabbutt the diabetic, it was Gary Mabbutt the footballer. I’m now Vice President of Diabetes UK and do a lot of work in this country trying to help people who have the condition.From a football perspective, leading the Club as captain for 11 years, that puts you in the realms of Steve Perryman, Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, all the great names in the Club’s history. That makes me very proud. I’m proud wherever I go in the country or across the world that I’m greeted by Spurs fans and they give me such a warm welcome.”

Pat Jennings

“My appearances, being part of a team that won four cups (FA Cup 1967, League Cup 1971, 1973, UEFA Cup 1972) and, on a personal note, winning the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year in 1973 and the PFA Player of the Year in 1976 - and that was all as a Tottenham player. It was a huge honour, special times. Also, one of the greatest things for me was the Pat Jennings Lounge at White Hart Lane, with all my memorabilia in there. I loved that.”

Next: 2,055 - part eight

What are your top three moments at Spurs?

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?