STEVE PERRYMAN MBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuhNuqwoQCM 

Stephen John Perryman MBE (born 21 December 1951) 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. He also played in and won the Anglo-Italian League Cup 1971. He was the director of football at Exeter City from 2003 until his temporary retirement in March 2018.

Steve Perryman (front middle) attempting to intercept in a match against Ajax, Cup Winners Cup,first round in 1981

Perryman was born in Ealing, Middlesex. Aa a midfielder or 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), and the League Cup in 1971 and 1973. He 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 Wolves in the final.

After leaving Spurs, Perryman moved to Oxford Utd in March 1986, but was cup-tied for their victory in the 1986 Football League Cup Final. He then played for Brentford as player-manager in the same year, before retiring in 1990. In his Coaching career, Perryman became manager of Watford from 1990 to 1993 saving them from relegation in the early years, before managing Start in Norway (1995), 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. 

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 at St James Park 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, 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 the full side, 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.

He has been married twice and has four children. He was appointed MBE in the 1986 Birthday Honours, "for services to association football".

Team information
Current team	MK 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
1967	England Schoolboys	6	(1)
1970	England Youth	4	(1)
1972–1975	England U23	17	(0)
1982	England	1	(0)
Managerial career
1987–1990	Brentford (player-manager)
1990–1993	Watford
1994	SPURS (caretaker)
1999–2000 Shimizu S-Pulse 2001–2002 Kashiwa Reysol
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tottenham Hotspur

• FA Cup: 1980–81, 1981–82
• League Cup: 1970–71, 1972–73
• FA Charity Shield: 1981 (shared)
• UEFA Cup: 1971–72, 1983–84
• Anglo-Italian League Cup: 1971
• FA Youth Cup: 1969–70

ROY NOT SO KEEN

On this day in 2005, Roy Keane made his shock exit from Manchester United following a "fall out" with Sir Alex*. Roy, bless him, had been stirring things  up at United, firstly by dismissing United's pre-season tour to Portugal as a "waste of time" and then giving an interview to MUTV that was, thankfully, not published, where he "laid in to" several of his team mates. Aiming at Rio Ferdinand, Keane said "Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a "super star", just one of his exclamations! Regarded once as a "trusted player", Keane had become a loose cannon and Alex Ferguson acted in a typically ruthless manner by ridding himself of his troublesome captain.

Keane and Ferguson were once famously "close", with the Irishman seen as his boss' spokesman on the pitch. But the pair began to drift apart following the row at the club's pre-season training camp in Portugal last July. That disagreement was believed to be about the quality of the set-up in Portugal and the fact that players' wives were allowed to attend. It was also not the first time he has fallen out with a manager over a training camp - Keane famously stormed out of the 2002 World Cup because he was angered by then-manager Mick McCarthy's preparations. He vowed then to never play for his country again while McCarthy was in charge, and duly stayed in the cold until Brian Kerr took the helm for the Republic. * I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU RESEARCH ROY ON THE WWWEB! THERE'S TOO MUCH STUFF  FOR ME TO TRANSFER ONTO THIS BLOG.

KEANE'S OLD TRAFFORD CAREER 1993: Joins Man Utd for a then British record transfer fee of £3.75m 1994: Helps United win league and FA Cup Double 1996: Wins second league and FA Cup Double 1997: Helps United retain league title 1999: Captains United during treble-winning season but misses out on European Cup final win through suspension 2000: Leads Utd to another league title 2003: Leads United to their eighth Premier League title 2004: Lifts fourth FA Cup title in win over Millwall, setting a record with his sixth appearance in Final 2005: Leaves Utd by mutual consent Total appearances: 479 Total goals: 51 League appearances: 326 League goals: 33

Keane's Man Utd testimonial took place at Old Trafford on 9 May 2006 between United and Celtic. The home side won the game 1–0, with Keane playing the first half for Celtic and the second half in his former role as Manchester United captain. The capacity crowd of 69,591 remains the largest crowd ever for a testimonial match in England. All of the revenue generated from the match was given to Keane's favourite charity, Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

I can't cover Roy's entire career on this Blog....too much, too controversial, eg to mention one incident The 2002 World Cup issue....but recommend you research it. 

KEANE'S OLD TRAFFORD CAREER

1993: Joins Man Utd for a then British record transfer fee of £3.75m

19KEANE'S OLD TRAFFORD CAREER

1993: Joins Man Utd for a then British record transfer fee of £3.75m

1994: Helps United win league and FA Cup Double

1996: Wins second league and FA Cup Double

1997: Helps United retain league title

1999: Captains United during treble-winning season but misses out on European Cup final win through suspension

2000: Leads Utd to another league title

2003: Leads United to their eighth Premier League title

2004: Lifts fourth FA Cup title in win over Millwall, setting a record with his sixth appearance in Final

2005: Leaves Utd by mutual consent

---

Total appearances: 479

Total goals: 51

League appearances: 326

League goals: 3394: Helps United win league and FA Cup Double

1996: Wins second league and FA Cup Double

1997: Helps United retain league title

1999: Captains United during treble-winning season but misses out on European Cup final win through suspension

2000: Leads Utd to another league title

2003: Leads United to their eighth Premier League title

2004: Lifts fourth FA Cup title in win over Millwall, setting a record with his sixth appearance in Final

2005: Leaves Utd by mutual consent

---

Total appearances: 479

Total goals: 51

League appearances: 326

League goals: 33

QUICKIE

Don't get too distressed about today's international football, but "ON THIS DAY", in 1993, England went to San Marino, (yes it is a country and it does have a football team), needing to win by 7 goals and hope that "Holland" lost, so that they could qualify for the 1994 World Cup tournament.  

Davide Gualtieri, a Sammarinese footballer, scored the second fastest goal in FIFA World Cup qualification history, for San Marino, in Bologna, on 17 November 1993. Gualtieri, below, held this fastest goal record for over 23 years. 

San Marino had the kick off and the ball was quickly played through the inside right channel. England defender Stuart Pearce, attempted a back pass to goalkeeper David Seaman, but his pass was under hit, and Gualtieri ran on to touch the ball past Seaman. The goal was timed at 8.3 seconds, which remained the fastest World Cup goal scored in either qualifying or the finals, until Christian Benteke scored after 8.1 seconds for Belgium against Gibraltar, on 10 October 2016 (see below). 

England took twenty minutes to equalise, but eventually only won the match 7–1. It is falsely believed that Gualtieri's goal eliminated England from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup Qualifier, as England needed to win by seven clear goals; however, the result was immaterial as England were also relying on Poland to beat the Netherlands, which they failed to do, and of course England's previous record didn't help.

Gualtieri continued to play for the San Marino national team until 2000, when he retired due to injury. He now works as a computer salesman in San Marino. In 2020, he appeared on the TV series Harry's Heroes, EURO having a laugh, assembling a Sammarinese team to play against a team of 1990s England players once more. 

In the match, which took place in Bologna, Italy, home team, San Marino had the kick off and the ball was quickly played through the inside right channel. Graham "do I not like that" Taylor, watched his team (yes, he was England manager) concede the goal to San Marino, as England defender Stuart Pearce attempted a back pass to goalkeeper David Seaman, but Pearce's pass was under hit, and Gualtieri ran on to touch the ball into the goal. England took twenty minutes to equalise, but eventually won the match 7–1. It is falsely believed that Gualtieri's goal eliminated England from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, as England needed to win by seven clear goals; however, the result was immaterial as England were also relying on Poland to beat the Netherlands, which they failed to do.

Christian Benteke struck the fastest goal in a competitive international and went on to complete his hat-trick as Belgium defeated Gibraltar 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier on October 16th 2016. The Crystal Palace striker stole the ball in the home side’s half after two Gibraltar touches following the kick-off. He weaved his way through their defence to score in the penalty area after 8.1 seconds. UEFA said the goal was 0.2 second faster than the previous record since detailed timing was kept, held by Gualtieri. 

Uefa said the fastest ever international goal is thought to be Lukas Podolski’s for Germany against Ecuador in a 2013 friendly, timed at six seconds.  

THE FIRST WOMENS' WORLD CUP AND THE REST

 If you researched "Womens' Football", you would reveal a celebration dating back to the early 20th Century. Type in Dick Kerr to the search engine and unvail a long history.

The FA (yes the English one) banned Women's football in 1921, BUT the ladies kept the game alive with friendlies against France, Canada and the US, appointing themselves as World Champions from 1917-23. In 1937 playing as "Preston Ladies", our "national team" beat Edinburgh Ladies 5-1 to win "The Championship of Great Britain and the World! There would not be another official "Championship" for 54 years. Left: Team captains Alice Kerr for Dick, Kerr Ladies, right, and Madeleine Bracquemond for France, kiss before a match in 1920.Captains meet before kick off.

On November 16th 1991, The FA "lifted" their draconian ban on Women's football, as part time professional leagues were popping up around the World, notably in the USA, Italy and Japan. FIFA took note of the development and launched an Invitational tournament in 1988, which Norway won.

Three years later, the Women's World Cup, 1991, was launched with China's, Ma Li scoring the first tournament goal after 21 minutes, against Norway, in the first Group Tie. Norway lost 0-4 but went on to reach the Final, losing 1-2 to the USA at the Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou. watched by 63,000. 

After five tournaments, it is a pity that one of the best known images of success in this FIFA Womens' World Cup tournament came in the quarter-finals of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, when USA defender, Brandi Chastain, scored an own goal in the fifth minute for Germany. However, she redeemed herself by scoring the second equalizing goal for the U.S. in the 49th minute, finishing a corner kick that was taken by Mia Hamm. 

The match ended with a 3–2 win to the U.S. who advanced to the semi-finals against Brazil, which they won 2–0. 

Later on, Chastain (left) scored the deciding penalty against China in the 1999 Final, clinching the World Cup title for the U.S. in the Rose Bowl, Pasedena. Chastain celebrated by removing her shirt, exposing her sports' bra. This led to both praise and criticism from spectators and sports' commentators and the image of the celebration is considered a key symbol of women's athletics worldwide.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=849337259886023

Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the USA from 1988 to 2004. In her 192 caps for the team, she scored 30 goals playing primarily in the defender and midfielder positions. 

CRUYFF'S DEBUT, KEEGAN DEBUT, SEAGULL DEAD

Johan Cruyff, at 17 years old on November 15th 1964,  made his debut for Ajax, when they played GVAV and lost 1-3, although Johan scored the goal and the attendees quite liked what they saw. 

The next season, he totalled 25 goals as Ajax won the League and soon top coach, Rinus Michels built his revolutionary "Total Football" philosophy around the club which earned 14 trophies in seven years.

His playing career included: 

Total number of senior games		518	(goals 294)

 and for the Netherlands 48 apps/ 33 goals 1966-77

Ajax was the second-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of five teams to have earned the right to keep the European Cup (as it was known then) and to wear a multiple-winner badge. In 1972, they completed the continental "treble" by winning the Eridivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup, as it was then known. They also won the first (albeit unofficial) European Super Cup against Glasgow Rangers in January 1973. Ajax's also won international trophies such as the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, 1995 European Super Cup and the 1995 Champions' League, when they defeated Milan in the final; they lost the 1996 Champions' League Final on penalties to Juventus. In 1995, Ajax was crowned as World Team of the Year by World Soccer magazine.

Ajax is also one of four teams to win the continental treble and the Club World Cup in the same season/calendar year; this was achieved in the 1971–72 season. Ajax is one of five clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions. They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991-2 Uefa Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, a predecessor of the UEFA Intertoto in 1962. The club, Ajax, plays at the Johan Cruyff Arena, which opened as the Amsterdam ArenA in 1996 and was renamed in 2018. Throughout their history, Ajax have cultivated a reputation for scouting, spotting and developing young talent, and have remained focused on developing a youth system, something that coaches world wide admired (Total Football). 

Like Cruyff, Kevin Keegan became a bit of a super star and he was named European Footballer of the Year twice and it was TODAY that he made his debut in a World Cup qualifier versus Wales at Ninian Park which England won 0-1. Keegan scored his first goal for England six mnths later and he went on to become captain of his nation. Below his natioinal figures:

1972–1982	England	63 apps	goals 21

On this day in 1970 during a derby against Sparta Rotterdam, Feyenoord goalkeeper Eddy Treytel

launched a goal which hit a passing seagull and killed it. After the game, he  retrieved  the seagull from behind the goal, had it stuffed and planted it in the club's museum. Sparta claimed that the seagull was their property, since it was "shot" down over their stadium but then suggested that the museum "gull" was not "Treytel's gull" and biologists have been squawking over it since! 

Gull, Goal.

ENGLAND v GREECE today

 ENGLAND 

v Greece 

Games won:	7
Games drawn:	2
Games lost:	1

THE FIRST MEETING: England v Greece on April 21 1971 (in UEFA European Champs) England won 3-0 at Wembley. Attendance: 55,123 Scorers: Chivers, Hurst, Lee. Manager: Alf Ramsey

Team: Banks, Storey, Hughes, Mullery, McFarland, Moore(c),Lee F, Ball(Coates), Chivers, Hurst, Peters.

Kick-off: 7.45pm local

THE LATEST GAME took place the day after the sudden death of former Sheffield United defender and recent Greece international George Baldock at the age of 31.

Score	2-1 to Greece
Referee	Andrea Colombo
Competition	UEFA Nations League League B Group B2
Venue	Wembley Stadium
Attendance	79,012

Date	Match	Result	Score	Competition
21 Apr 1971	England v Greece	W	3-0	UEFA European Championship
01 Dec 1971	Greece v England	W	0-2	UEFA European Championship
17 Nov 1982	Greece v England	W	0-3	UEFA European Championship
30 Mar 1983	England v Greece	D	0-0	UEFA European Championship
08 Feb 1989	Greece v England	W	1-2	International Friendly
17 May 1994	England v Greece	W	5-0	International Friendly
06 Jun 2001	Greece v England	W	0-2	FIFA World Cup
06 Oct 2001	England v Greece	D	2-2	FIFA World Cup
16 Aug 2006	England v Greece	W	4-0	International Friendly
10 Oct 2024	England v Greece	L	1-2	UEFA Nations League
14 Nov 2024	Greece v England			UEFA Nations League

ENGLAND FIFA World Ranking: 4th: This was England's first home defeat in a competitive game since Hungary's 4-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux in the UEFA Nations League on 14 June 2022. This was thought to be the first time that they had started a game without a recognised centre-forward. According to known records, John Stones had now become the 128th player to captain the Three Lions. Six years and 331 days after making his debut, Dominic Solanke made his second appearance for England. England named 11 of a possible 12 substitutes.

GREECE FIFA World Ranking: 48th. In the tenth meeting at 'A' international level, this was Greece's first-ever win against England. This was their first visit to Wembley Stadium since May 1994. Excluding penalty shoot-outs, they had now lost one of their last nine games since October 2023 (won six). Greece named 11 of a possible 12 substitutes.