In addition to Chelsea and Arsenal, there is also a London club that is regarded as one of the strongest clubs in the British Premier League. The club is Tottenham Hotspur, a football team that is known as one of the strongest dark horses in the history of English football. Tottenham Hotspur does not only give birth to great numbers of international football stars, but also has won numerous prestigious competitions and trophies.
Who is the best Tottenham Hotspur player of all time? To find out the answer of this question, I present a list of 15 legendary players of Tottenham Hotspur, such as Sol Campbell, Pat Jennings, and David Ginola. In your opinion, who is the best among them?
Note: It was very difficult for me to exclude some of great names such as Les Ferdinand, Steffen Iversen, Ray Clemence, Jurgen Klinsmann, Osvaldo Ardiles and other great players of Spurs from the top fifteen list. Feel free to comment if you think that there are some other players who should be included in this list.
15. Robbie Keane
Robbie Keane is an Irish striker who plays for Tottenham Hotspur for eight years. He was signed from Leeds United in 2002 and showed a very satisfactory performance as a striker. Keane is known as a striker with great stamina and a high determination. His best achievement at Tottenham Hotspur is winning the League Cup in the 2007-2008 season. In addition to that, Keane also holds a record as the all-time top scorer of the Irish national team.
14. Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale played for Tottenham Hotspur for six years, from 2007 to 2013. In 2013, he surprised the world by becoming the most expensive player of all time after signed by Real Madrid for a fee of around 85 million pounds. Plays as a winger, Bale is known as a player who is strong, fast, and prolific in scoring goals. Bale played in a total of 146 matches and scored 42 goals for Tottenham Hotspur.
13. Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne was recognized as one of the best English midfielders of all time who played for Tottenham Hotspur in the period 1988-1992. Gascoigne is a central midfielder who is very creative and able to attack and defend equally well. During his period at Tottenham Hotspur, Gascoigne won an FA Cup trophy in 1991. He was also a vital part of England team that finished in third place in the 1990 World Cup.
12. Teddy Sheringham
Despite winning more titles (and probably gained more fame) at Manchester United, Sheringham actually spent more time playing for Tottenham Hotspur. In total, he played for seven years, scoring 124 goals in 277 appearances. Not only that, Sheringham also became the top scorer in the English Premier League in the 1992-1993 season while playing for this club. Unfortunately, he did not win any trophy at Tottenham Hotspur.
11. Bobby Smith
Bobby Smith is a former striker who won a lot of trophies when he played for Tottenham Hotspur in the period 1955-1964. He led this team win the double winners in the 1960-1961 season by winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup. He also won the Cup Winners' trophy in 1963. Bobby Smith holds the position as Tottenham's second top scorer of all time with a record 208 goals.
10. Darren Anderton
Darren Anderton is a retired English midfielder who holds the record for most numbers of appearances for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League competition. This player played for Spurs for 12 years, from 1992 to 2004. Although he was very talented, Anderton was often hit by injuries that gave him the nickname "Sicknote." His best achievement with Tottenham Hotspur is winning the League Cup in 1999.
9. Ledley King
Ledley King is one of the best defenders of all time who played for Tottenham Hotspur. He spent his entire professional career with the club from 1999 to 2012 and won the League Cup trophy in 2008. His performance as a defender was fairly solid and tough, and he very rarely committed mistakes. He was also trusted to be a captain of Tottenham Hotspur for four years, from 2005 to 2009.
8. Gary Lineker
For three years playing for Tottenham Hotspur, Lineker always managed to be the top scorer for the club. Not only that, he even became the top scorer of the Premier League in 1989 and helped Tottenham Hotspur win the FA Cup in 1991. In total, Lineker scored 67 goals in 105 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur. In 1992, he moved from Totenham to Nagoya Grampus Eight, a Japanese League club, where Lineker ended his career as a professional footballer.
7. Cliff Jones
Cliff Jones is regarded as one of the best left wingers to ever play in the English League. This player joined Tottenham Hotspur from 1958 to 1968 and won a Premier League title, three FA Cup trophies, and a Cup Winners' trophy. In addition to fast and have good dribbling skills, Cliff Jones was also quite prolific in scoring goals, netting a total of 159 goals in 378 appearances for Spurs.
6. Jermain Defoe
Throughout his career, Defoe played for Tottenham Hotspur for nine years. His most memorable performance for Tottenham Hotspur happened in a game against Wigan Athletic, where Defoe scored five goals and took his team win by a score of 9-1. Defoe is really loved by Tottenham Hotspur fans as he is known as a very reliable striker, scored a total of 143 goals in 363 appearances for the club.
5. David Ginola
David Ginola was a flamboyant French midfielder who showed beautiful playing style. Signed from Newcastle United in 1997, Ginola demonstrated a compelling forms during three seasons playing for Tottenham Hotspur. He led the club win the League Cup in 1999 and was selected as the best player of the Premier League in the same year. Unfortunately, the player was forced to move to Aston Villa by the club management in 2000.
4. Pat Jennings
In terms of statistics, Pat Jennings is the one who should be named as the best goalkeeper of Tottenham Hotspur, beating names like Ray Clemence, Ian Walker, and Paul Robinson. During 14 years playing for Spurs, Jennings won one FA Cup, two League Cup trophies and a UEFA Cup trophy. He even managed to score a magical goal from long range drop-kick in the final match against Manchester United in the Charity Shield tournament in 1967. In total, Walker played in 591 games for Tottenham Hotspur.
3. Steve Perryman
Steve Perryman is the player who holds the record most numbers of appearances of all time at Tottenham Hotspur, with a total of 854 caps. The England midfielder played for Spurs for 15 years, from 1969 to 1984. Perryman led Tottenham win two UEFA Cup titles, two FA Cup trophies and two League Cup trophies. After his retirement, he also briefly became the caretaker Tottenham in the 1993-1994 season.
2. Sol Campbell
Not only in Tottenham, Sol Campbell is even regarded as the best center back in the history of the Premier League. This player is very tough, hard, has good leadership skills, and always shows great fair-play spirits. He played for Tottenham from 1992 to 2001 and won a League Cup trophy in 1999. Campbell then moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2001 in which he won more trophies and prestigious titles.
1. Jimmy Greaves
With a total of 266 goals that he scored in nine years, Jimmy Greaves holds the record as the top scorer of all time of Tottenham Hotspur. The England striker is known to be very prolific in scoring and he presented two FA Cup trophies and a Cup Winners' trophy for Tottenham. Not only that, Greaves was also vital part of England national team that won the 1966 World Cup. After his retirement, Greaves mostly works in sports media, as a commentator and columnist.
