Stephen John Perryman
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(born 21 December 1951) is an English former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who is best-known for his successes with
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
during the 1970s and early 1980s. He has won the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
,
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, and
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
all twice with Tottenham in his 17 years at the club. Perryman was voted
Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
in 1982 and made a club record 854 first team appearances for Tottenham.
He was the
director of football
A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
at
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
from 2003
until his temporary retirement in March 2018.
Playing career
![Ajax vs Spurs 1981 European Cup Winners' Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Ajax_vs_Spurs_1981_European_Cup_Winners%27_Cup.jpg)
Perryman was born in
Ealing,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
. A
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
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
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
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), and the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
in 1971 and 1973. He followed in the footsteps of
Joe Harvey
Joseph Harvey (11 June 1918 – 24 February 1989) was an English football player and later manager. He spent much of his career at Newcastle United; he was the club's longest serving captain, manager, and, as of 2022, the last to win a major ...
and
Danny Blanchflower and skippered Tottenham to successive
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
wins in 1981 and 1982. Perryman was also voted the
Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
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
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...
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
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in the final.
After leaving
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...
Perryman moved to
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
in March 1986, but was cup-tied for their victory in the
1986 Football League Cup Final
The 1986 Football League Cup Final (known for sponsorship reasons as the Milk Cup) was a football match held on 20 April 1986 between Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers. Oxford won the match 3–0 to capture the League Cup – their first an ...
. He then played for
Brentford as
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
in the same year, before retiring in 1990.
Coaching career
Perryman became manager of
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
from 1990–93 saving them from relegation in the early years, before managing
Start in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
(1995),
Shimizu S-Pulse, (1999–2000) and
Kashiwa Reysol
is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium ...
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
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
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
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
, Norway, also opened in the early 1980s, which is still operating.
Between 2003 and 2018, Perryman was director of football for Exeter City.
[ On 5 May 2012, while watching Exeter's final game of the 2011–12 season against ]Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
at St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to:
Municipalities
* St James Park, New Zealand, a suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand
Football stadiums
* St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
* St James Park (Exeter), Exeter, England
* St James Park, gro ...
he became unwell and was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where he underwent successful heart surgery. 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.
In January 2018, Perryman announced that he would retire as Exeter City's Director of Football at the end of the 2017–18 season. However, in August of that year, Perryman joined former Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale at MK Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. ...
, becoming an associate director of the club until November 2019 when Tisdale left.
International career
After 17 matches for England U23, Perryman made a solitary appearance for England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute against Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
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.
Personal life
Perryman has been married twice, with four children. He is close friends with Ossie Ardiles
Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentina national team. He now runs ...
. He lives in Kington St Michael
Kington St Michael is a village and civil parish about north of Chippenham in Wiltshire, England.
Location
Kington St Michael is about west of the A350 which links Chippenham with junction 17 of the M4 motorway; the village is about south ...
. Perryman is a Labour Party supporter.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the 1986 Birthday Honours, "for services to association football".
Career statistics
Club
Managerial statistics
Honours
Player
Tottenham Hotspur
*FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: 1980–81, 1981–82
*League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
: 1970–71, 1972–73
* FA Charity Shield: 1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
(shared)
*UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
: 1971–72, 1983–84
*Anglo-Italian League Cup
The Anglo-Italian League Cup ( it, Coppa di Lega Italo-Inglese, also known as the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup) was a short-lived football competition between teams from England and Italy – an English cup-winning team (League Cup or FA C ...
: 1971
* FA Youth Cup: 1969–70
Manager
Shimizu S-Pulse
* J1 League: 1999 Second stage champions, runner-up Suntory Championship
*Asian Cup Winners' Cup
The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was started in 1991 as a tournament for all the domestic cup winners from countries affiliated to the AFC. The winne ...
: 1999–2000
Individual
*FWA Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
: 1982
* J. League Manager of the Year: 1999
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Great players – Steve Perryman
at TottenhamHotspur.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perryman, Steve
1951 births
Men's association football defenders
Men's association football midfielders
Brentford F.C. managers
Brentford F.C. players
British expatriate sportspeople in Norway
England men's international footballers
England men's under-23 international footballers
England men's youth international footballers
English men's footballers
English Football League players
English football managers
Exeter City F.C. managers
Exeter City F.C. non-playing staff
Expatriate football managers in Japan
Expatriate football managers in Norway
Footballers from Ealing
IK Start managers
J1 League managers
Kashiwa Reysol managers
Living people
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Oxford United F.C. players
Premier League managers
Shimizu S-Pulse managers
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. managers
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
UEFA Cup winning players
Watford F.C. managers