Grecians' Director of Football enters alongside Jimmy Greaves
EXETER CITY Director of Football Steve Perryman was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame this evening at White Hart Lane.An icon for the North London club, Steve was famously the captain of the Spurs side that won the FA Cup in both 1981 and 1982, and will be recognised this evening alongside Jimmy Greaves.
"It's a great honour," Steve said earlier today. "I'm very proud. It acts to underline the nineteen years of service that I gave to that club. The first time I walked into the club, I was just fourteen years of age, and I had been spotted playing for Ealing schoolboys. At that point, I'd never even seen Tottenham play, because I lived in West London. I began training there twice a week, and during that time of course I was invited to watch them play, so I got more and more entrenched in the Tottenham way. But because I didn't sign a form, I could also visit and trial with other clubs. During my under-15 year, I eventually ended up with England's schoolboys, and during that time I probably got about thirty offers to leave school join other clubs. I decided to stick with the first club that knocked on the door, particularly due to the style, the history, Bill Nicholson, the fans... I felt that would be the club that I matched with, and I think that spending nineteen years there suggests that was a good decision.
"Of course, my affinity with the club has naturally had to be limited of late as a result of my involvement with Exeter City. I don't watch too much football on television these days, but I definitely do when Tottenham are playing. They're still in the same place that they were when I signed - yes, they'll soon be leaving White Hart Lane, but they won't be moving far. It's not as if there's many of the same people still there - of course the likes of Bill Nicholson's famous side, and the coaches who signed and helped me, some of them have either left or passed away. But you still keep the feeling for the place. I never, ever kiss the badge - I don't quite believe in that, but in a way, that badge still hangs over your life. Nineteen years out of anyone's life is a long time.
"I'm entering the Hall of Fame alongside Jimmy Greaves. We were both supposed to go in on other nights, but we both fell ill before our respective night. That's why we're doing it together. Jimmy won't be present after his recent illness, but he's the number one goalscorer and I'm the number one appearance holder. But both of us have looked at this current Tottenham team and discussed how good we think they are and how great they can possibly get. This has been such good timing for us to be inducted; it's such a good time for the club.
"I think there will be 350 people in attendance. A lot of them will be familiar faces, and a lot will be supporters. Some of those supporters will have been supporters before even I got into the team, some while I was in it and some since then. There are supporters at each club who will live their lives through their club, so if a boy was ten years old and watched the 1981 Cup Final Replay, and the Ricky Villa goal, that might have started a fan relationship with the club, and there's a likelihood that some of those types of supporters will be in attendance tonight. That's the image I have of what to expect tonight, and if the current Spurs side can continue their success, that'll be a great opportunity for them to do that again and keep re-building that fanbase."