UP218: Steve Perryman MBE

Steve Perryman MBE is a legend of Tottenham Hotspur FC, whose 17 years at the club began as a teenager in the late 1960s before becoming one of the clubs longest serving and most decorated captains, winning The FA Cup twice in the early 80s. But that’s just a part of this conversation, which takes us inside the business of football at the sharp end. Perryman’s love affair with Spurs ended unhappily in 1994 when he was part of the management team of his friend and fellow Spurs star, the Argentina World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles, who were sacked by then owner Alan Sugar.Perryman recalls his journey from player to management, for Watford, Brentford and to great success in Japan’s J-League, again with Ardiles. For the last two decades, Perryman has been an unpaid director of football of Exeter City in the lower reaches of England’s professional league pyramid. This gives him a perspective on the current debate about the fundamental importance of lower division football, both to the communities they serve and as the training ground for the superstars of tomorrow. The weekly Unofficial Partner newsletter is read by thousands of people across the sports business every Thursday, to join them subscribe via unofficialpartner.comUnofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.