Tributes to Terry | Phil Beal: “We were always into a little bit of mischief”

Phil Beal struck up an instant friendship with Terry Venables when ‘Venners’ arrived at Spurs from Chelsea.

Just outside our all-time top 10 appearances with 420 in all competitions between 1963-75, Phil, a versatile defender who went on to win two League Cups (1971, 1973) and the UEFA Cup (1972), was already regular when Terry moved from SW6 to N17 in 1966.

Phil was present throughout Terry’s time as a player here -  the midfielder made141 appearances before his switch to QPR in 1969 - and, speaking after Terry’s sad passing, told us how the pair clicked straight away – and remained friends for life.

“We were so pally during our time as team-mates, we went on family holidays together, that’s how pally we were,” said Phil. “If there was anywhere to go, me and Terry would always go, football, holidays, we were always close. He loved a sing song. He was a comedian as well. I’ve some great stories. We were always into a bit of mischief.

“I remember we went to Athens on an end-of-season tour (May, 1968) and we could see the famous Acropolis from our hotel window. Anyway, the team organised a visit to the Acropolis, but me and Terry didn’t really want to go - we wanted to go to the beach! Eddie Baily, Bill Nicholson’s assistant, asked us, ‘why aren’t you two going to the Acropolis?’ and Terry said, ‘well, I can see it from the hotel window!’. That was him.

“For me, it’s all about the coaching with Terry. As a coach and a manager, players had so much respect for him. Just look at what people like Gary Lineker, Teddy Sheringham, Alan Shearer, Gareth Southgate have said about him. They all looked up to him and learned a lot from him.

“I never heard anyone say a bad word about Terry. We were great pals. It’s such a sad loss and he’ll be missed, without a doubt.”