Steve Perryman

Stephen John Perryman MBE (born 21 December 1951) is an English former professional footballer who is most famous for his successes with Tottenham Hotspur during the 1970s and early 1980s. 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] He is currently an associate director at MK Dons, having come out of retirement to join former Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale at the club.[5]

For the Warwickshire and Worcestershire cricketer, see Stephen Perryman.

Steve Perryman
MBE

Personal information
Full name	Stephen John Perryman
Date of birth	(1951-12-21) 21 December 1951
Place of birth	Ealing, Middlesex, England
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 ^1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Defender, Midfielder
Club 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)
National team
1972–1975	England U23	17	(0)
1982	England	1	(0)
Teams managed
1987–1990	Brentford (player manager)
1990–1993	Watford
1994	Tottenham Hotspur (caretaker)
1995	Start
1999–2000	Shimizu S-Pulse
2001–2002	Kashiwa Reysol
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

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),[6] the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982, and the League Cup in 1971 and 1973. Perryman was voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1982.

Perryman did not score often even by the standards of contemporary midefielders, however he scored both goals in a 2–1 home win over A.C. 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 1986, then Brentford as player-manager in the same year, before retiring in 1990.[1]

Coaching career

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.[12]

International career

After 17 matches for England U23,[13] Perryman made a solitary appearance for England, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute against Iceland on 2 June 1982.

Personal life

Perryman is married and has four children. He is close friends with Ossie Ardiles.[14] He lives in Lympstone.[15] Perryman is a Labour Party supporter.[16]

Career statistics

[17]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental[nb 1]		Other[nb 2]		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
1969–70	Tottenham Hotspur	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
1985–86	Oxford United	First Division	9	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	9	0
1986–87			8	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	8	0
1986–87	Brentford	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	Tottenham Hotspur		655	31	69	2	66	3	64	3	12	0	866	39
	Oxford United		17	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	17	0
	Brentford		53	0	6	0	3	0	—		5	0	67	0
Career total			725	31	75	2	69	3	64	3	17	0	950	39

Managerial statistics

[18]

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Shimizu S-Pulse	1999	2000	60	37	3	20	061.67
Kashiwa Reysol	2001	2002	28	10	3	15	035.71
Total			88	47	6	35	053.41

Honours

Player

Tottenham Hotspur

• FA Cup: 1980–81, 1981–82
• League Cup: 1970–71, 1972–73
• FA Charity Shield: 1981 (shared)[19]
• UEFA Cup: 1971–72, 1983–84
• Anglo-Italian League Cup: 1971

Manager

Shimizu S-Pulse

• J1 League: 1999 Second stage champions, runner-up Suntory Championship
• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1999–2000

Individual

• FWA Footballer of the Year: 1982
• J. League Manager of the Year: 1999

Notes

1. Includes UEFA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1981–82 and 1982–83).
2. Includes appearances in Texaco Cup (3 in 1970–71), Anglo-Italian League Cup (2 in 1971), Charity Shield (1981, 1982), ScreenSport Super Cup (5 in 1985–86) and Football League Trophy (Associate Members' Cup) (3 in 1987–88, 1 in 1988–89 and 1 in 1989–90).

References

1. "Steve Perryman – fact file". Mehstg.com. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
2. "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. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
5. "Tottenham legend Steve Perryman joins MK Dons - three months after retiring from football after leaving Exeter City". Devon Live. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
6. "When Tottenham won their last European trophy – 35 years ago". Guardian. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
7. ""Historisk oversikt: Trenere"". Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.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. "England – U-23 International Results – Details". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
14. "Steve Perryman: Glory once again the spur for rejuvenated Perryman". The Independent. 8 January 2005.
15. "STEVE PERRYMAN MBE - the official site of the former Spurs captain". www.steveperryman.com.
16. "Political Footballs: A History of Outspoken Labour and Tory Footballers in England". 4 June 2017.
17. "Perryman career stats". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2008.CS1 maint: unfit url (link). Steve Perryman.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
18. J.League Data Site(in Japanese)
19. "1981/82 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2019.

External links

• Steve Perryman management career statistics at Soccerbase
• "Official Steve Perryman website". Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
• Steve Perryman at National-Football-Teams.com
• Steve Perryman at J.League (in Japanese)
• Great players – Steve Perryman at TottenhamHotspur.com