Steve Perryman

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Steve Perryman
MBE
Perryman with Tottenham Hotspur in 1981
Personal information
Full name Stephen John Perryman
Date of birth (1951-12-21) 21 December 1951 (age 72)
Place of birth Ealing, Middlesex, England
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender, midfielder
Team information
Current team
Milton Keynes Dons (Associate Director)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1969–1986 Tottenham Hotspur 655 (31)
1986–1987 Oxford United 17 (0)
1987–1990 Brentford 53 (0)
Total 725 (31)
International career
1972–1975 England U23 17 (0)
1982 England 1 (0)
Managerial career
1987–1990 Brentford (player-manager)
1990–1993 Watford
1994 Tottenham Hotspur (caretaker)
1995 Start
1999–2000 Shimizu S-Pulse
2001–2002 Kashiwa Reysol
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stephen John Perryman MBE (born 21 December 1951) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He is best-known for his successes with Tottenham Hotspur during the 1970s and early 1980s. He has won the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup all twice with Tottenham in his 17 years at the club. Perryman was voted Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1982 and made a club record 854 first team appearances for Tottenham.[1] He was the director of football at Exeter City from 2003[2][3] until his temporary retirement in March 2018.[4]

Playing career[edit]

Steve Perryman attempting to intercept in a match against Ajax, Cup Winners' Cup first round in 1981

Perryman was born in Ealing, Middlesex. A midfielder and later defender, he played in a club record 866 first team appearances in all competitions for Tottenham Hotspur between 1969 and 1986 and was their longest serving player. During his seventeen-year career with the north London club, Perryman collected many medals, winning the UEFA Cup in 1972 and 1984 (playing in both legs of the 1972 final and just the first leg of the 1984 final as he was suspended for the second),[5] and the League Cup in 1971 and 1973. He followed in the footsteps of Joe Harvey and Danny Blanchflower and skippered Tottenham to successive FA Cup wins in 1981 and 1982. Perryman was also voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1982.

Perryman did not score often even by the standards of contemporary midfielders, however he scored both goals in a 2–1 home win over AC Milan in the 1972 UEFA Cup semi-final first leg. Spurs went on to win the round 3–2 on aggregate, and then won the title, defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final.

After leaving White Hart Lane Perryman moved to Oxford United in March 1986, but was cup-tied for their victory in the 1986 Football League Cup final.[6] He then played for Brentford as player-manager in the same year, before retiring in 1990.[1]

Coaching career[edit]

Perryman became manager of Watford from 1990–93 saving them from relegation in the early years, before managing Start in Norway (1995),[7] Shimizu S-Pulse, (1999–2000) and Kashiwa Reysol in Japan (2001–2002). He also served as caretaker manager for Spurs in November 1994. As a coach, he has won the J.League stage championship (1999 2nd Stage) and the Asian Cup Winners Cup (2000), both with Shimizu S-Pulse. He then worked at Exeter City with no official title to help them stay in the then football Division 3. After this he returned to Japan to manage J.League side Kashiwa Reysol.

Perryman lent his name to a brand of Sports stores in the 1980s which were concentrated in the West London area and sported the Tottenham Hotspur cockerel. There were stores in Uxbridge, Ruislip, Greenford, Hayes and Hayes Town (Middlesex). A store in Bergen, Norway, also opened in the early 1980s, which is still operating.[8]

Between 2003 and 2018, Perryman was director of football for Exeter City.[2] On 5 May 2012, while watching Exeter's final game of the 2011–12 season against Sheffield United at St James Park he became unwell and was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where he underwent successful heart surgery.[9] A month later he revealed that he might have died if it had not been for the instant medical support available at the ground, and he spent three weeks in a coma on life support.[10]

In January 2018, Perryman announced that he would retire as Exeter City's Director of Football at the end of the 2017–18 season.[11] However, in August of that year, Perryman joined former Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale at MK Dons, becoming an associate director of the club until November 2019 when Tisdale left.[12][13]

International career[edit]

After 17 matches for England U23,[14] Perryman made a solitary appearance for England, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute against Iceland on 2 June 1982. The game was originally an England B fixture but was subsequently upgraded to full international status meaning Perryman was awarded his cap.[15]

Personal life[edit]

Perryman has been married twice, with four children. He is close friends with Ossie Ardiles.[16] He lives in Kington St Michael.[17] Perryman is a Labour Party supporter.[18]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1986 Birthday Honours, "for services to association football".[19]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[20][21]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe[nb 1] Other[nb 2] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Tottenham Hotspur 1969–70 First Division 23 1 4 0 0 0 27 1
1970–71 42 3 5 0 6 1 3 0 56 4
1971–72 39 1 5 0 6 1 12 3 2 0 64 4
1972–73 41 2 3 0 10 1 10 0 64 3
1973–74 39 1 1 0 1 0 12 0 53 1
1974–75 42 6 2 0 1 0 45 6
1975–76 40 6 2 1 6 0 48 7
1976–77 42 1 1 0 2 0 45 1
1977–78 Second Division 42 1 2 0 2 0 46 1
1978–79 First Division 42 1 7 1 2 0 51 2
1979–80 40 1 6 0 2 0 48 1
1980–81 42 2 9 0 6 0 57 2
1981–82 42 1 7 0 8 0 8 0 1 0 66 1
1982–83 33 1 3 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 42 1
1983–84 41 1 4 0 3 0 11 0 59 1
1984–85 42 1 3 0 5 0 8 0 58 1
1985–86 23 1 5 1 4 0 5 0 37 2
Total 655 31 69 2 66 3 64 3 12 0 866 39
Oxford United 1985–86 First Division 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
1986–87 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Total 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
Brentford 1986–87 Third Division 24 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 27 0
1987–88 21 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 27 0
1988–89 5 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 9 0
1989–90 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Total 53 0 7 0 3 0 5 0 68 0
Career total 725 31 76 2 69 3 64 3 17 0 951 39

Managerial statistics[edit]

[22]

Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Watford 1990 1993 135 45 38 52 033.33
Shimizu S-Pulse 1999 2000 60 37 3 20 061.67
Kashiwa Reysol 2001 2002 28 10 3 15 035.71
Total 223 92 44 87 041.26

Honours[edit]

Player[edit]

Tottenham Hotspur

Manager[edit]

Shimizu S-Pulse

Individual[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Steve Perryman – fact file". Mehstg.com. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Steve Perryman: Exeter City director of football asks fans for 'positive noise'". BBC Sport. 16 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Who's Who". Exeter City. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Tottenham legend Steve Perryman retires from football after watching his Exeter side lose in League Two play-off final". Devon Live. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. ^ "When Tottenham won their last European trophy – 35 years ago". Guardian. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Arsenal's FA Cup trip to Oxford United stirs unhappy memories". Guardian. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  7. ^ ""Historisk oversikt: Trenere"". Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) (in Norwegian). IK Start. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  8. ^ "Steve Perryman Sport". Steve Perryman Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Steve Perryman undergoes emergency heart surgery". BBC News. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  10. ^ "I'll be back as soon as I'm fit, says Perryman". This is Exeter. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Steve Perryman: Exeter City director of football to retire at end of season". BBC Sport. 3 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Tottenham legend Steve Perryman joins MK Dons - three months after retiring from football after leaving Exeter City". DevonLive. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Paul Tisdale: MK Dons part company with manager after third successive loss". BBC Sport. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  14. ^ "England – U-23 International Results – Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  15. ^ "When England first played Iceland, with Bobby Robson acting manager". Guardian. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Steve Perryman: Glory once again the spur for rejuvenated Perryman". The Independent. 8 January 2005. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  17. ^ "STEVE PERRYMAN MBE - the official site of the former Spurs captain". www.steveperryman.com.
  18. ^ "Political Footballs: A History of Outspoken Labour and Tory Footballers in England". 4 June 2017.
  19. ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 50551". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1986. p. 15.
  20. ^ Steve Perryman at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  21. ^ "Perryman career stats". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). Steve Perryman.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  22. ^ J.League Data Site(in Japanese)
  23. ^ "1981/82 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2019.

External links[edit]