FAREWELL TO THE KING OF TOTTENHAM
ALAN GILZEAN was the original King of White Hart Lane – and one of Tottenham’s finest adopted sons.
“He was the first one the fans sang about being the king,” said Gilzean’s former room-mate Steve Perryman.
“Gilly was elegant, majestic and a gentleman who had a nice word for everyone. Class written all over him.
“I used to call him Nureyev on grass because his movement was so balletic. When he walked into a room it was the coolest, most stylish, most casual walk you’ve ever seen.”
From Jimmy Greaves to Martin Chivers and Harry Kane, from Dave Mackay to Pat Jennings, few have enjoyed more reverence when pulling on the Lilywhite shirt.
Perryman, the club’s mostdecorated player, led the tributes for Gilzean (below, challenging
Liverpool’s Tommy Smith in 1968) after the Scotland international passed away at the weekend. “Gilly was full of stories and anecdotes, which came from a great place: Respect for the game,” said Perryman of a striker who scored 133 goals in 439 appearances for Spurs.
“He loved football, he cared about the people who played it and watched it, and Scotland has lost a great man.
“When I appeared on stage with him at a fan Q&A session, he told the audience I put four or five years on his career because I did all his running for him.
“And he made them laugh by saying how his previous room-mate was a scruffy so-and-so, but then an ‘angel’ appeared because I used to make him tea or coffee, run him a bath, and clean his shoes.
“I wasn’t quite as domesticated as that, but I learned so much from Gilly – especially his respect for the game – and I am genuinely sad that he’s gone.
“Not a lot of people realise he was already the full ticket by the time he came to Tottenham because he played in a European Cup semi-final for Dundee.”
Gilzean – who died, after a short illness, at 79 – scored 12 goals in 22 caps for his country, but he was unlucky to miss out on a lot more.
Spurs legend Greaves tweeted: “Heartbreaking news. He was a lovely man and obviously one of the all-time Spurs greats.”