'Special player, special man' - tributes to Alan Gilzean

Friends and team-mates have paid tribute to Alan Gilzean after our legendary former striker sadly passed away on Sunday following a short illness.

One of the greatest strikers of his generation, Alan scored 133 goals in 439 appearances in all competitions for us between 1964-74.

Signed from Dundee on 12 December 1964, ‘Gilly’ helped us win the FA Cup in 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and 1973 and the UEFA Cup in 1972.

Inducted into our Hall of Fame in December, 2013, Alan remains ninth in our all-time goalscoring list and seventh in terms of appearances for the Club.

PAT JENNINGS

590 appearances for Spurs, 1963-77

"Gilly was my target man, absolutely brilliant for me up front. He had the height so he could get up for headers, I could always find him from goal kicks and then he had that understanding with Jimmy Greaves. The ‘G Men’. Gilly had everything - control, passing ability, great header of the ball. He got on the end of everything, balls up to him, corners for and against, free-kicks, crosses coming into the box.

"He was an absolute gentleman, clever, he could remember everything about his career. I’ll just miss that warm welcome he had every time I saw him. It was always brilliant to see him."

ALAN MULLERY

373 appearances for Spurs, 1964-72

"It was only two months ago we were laughing and joking before the games and reminiscing on old times. We’re going to miss him, no doubt about that. We missed him for about 35 years but when he came back it was like old times, the stories, the laughter...

"He wasn’t just a good player, he was a genius, untouchable. We joined in the same year, 1964. Gilly joined just after me. He's one of the best headers of the ball I’ve ever seen, terrific control. I remember playing against him for England against Scotland and he called me all the names under the sun! I thought ‘that’s not the Gilly I know’ but it was England against Scotland!

"He was something special and when him and Greavsie were together, they were unstoppable. The ‘G Men’. They were the perfect partnership, the best strike partnership I came across."

STEVE PERRYMAN

854 appearances for Spurs, 1969-86

"So sad. Not just a great man but a great great man. And a special, unique character. Such good company. I will miss him very much.

"As a player he was a one off. He was once described in the press as Nureyev in football boots. So fitting. Gilly was all that and more."

MIKE ENGLAND

397 appearances for Spurs, 1966-75

"Gilly was a very elegant player for a centre forward because when you think of a centre forward, you think of a bustling, physical centre forward but he had a lot of class, a lot of skill. He had a deft touch that set up a lot of chances. He was so powerful in the air as well. His touches were quite brilliant and he used to lay off so many chances for Jimmy Greaves. They were a great pair together.

"You couldn’t meet a nicer fella. He was such good company off the pitch. He liked a bit of fun. He was a skilful trickster, he liked to do tricks with coins, he would throw a coin up in the air, catch it on his foot, flick it up, catch it in his top pocket and say ‘there you go’. We all used to try it, but he made it look so easy! The things you remember!

"He was a famous footballer, but you’d never know, he never gave that impression, he was just an ordinary guy – but then he stepped on the pitch and there was an aura about him. Everyone loved him and we were very lucky to have him."

CLIFF JONES

378 appearances for Spurs, 1958-68

"He was special, Gilly. He wasn’t the typical forward who bustled and barged around, he was graceful, stylish, so good in the air and he and Jimmy Greaves hit it off together straight away. They were called the ‘G Men’. He was a fantastic trainer and that impressed Bill Nicholson, who always said ‘train the way you play’. 

"He was a great company, Gilly, a special character and a special player. He’ll be sadly missed. It was great that he came back and joined us in the matchday hosting team in the last few years.  I’ve a special photograph – myself, Gilly and Greavsie at Stanley Matthews' testimonial, a smashing photograph, the three of us with Stan.

"I remember one year we were in Amsterdam. We were in a bar outside and there was a military tattoo going on in the city. There were a Scottish mob there and they were marching back to camp, we were sitting outside and the Sargent up front saw a few of us outside and he saw Gilly. He shouted ‘Gilzean, oche aye laddy, do you want to take us back to camp?’ and Gilly marched off with them! We didn’t see him for ages! From then, he was known as ‘the Scottish Soldier’, Gilzean, ‘oche aye’. We’ll miss him."

PHIL BEAL

420 appearances for Spurs, 1963-75

"I got a lot closer to Gilly when he came back after all those years. He lived at Weston-super-Mare and I live down near Taunton, so when we did the matchday hosting I always picked him up at Weston and then dropped him off afterwards. We used to keep in contact during the week as well, on the odd occasion we used to go to watch Exeter play and meet up with Stevie Perryman. We were always chatting, talking about the old times, remembering this and that. We got on like a house on fire.

"He was one of the best headers of the ball I ever saw. He was brilliant at flicking balls on. If there was a throw or a corner, he used to run to the near post and just flick it on. He was so skilled at it, every time he got it right. It was just a glancing header which is a real skill. I can remember Bill Nick always used to say to Pat Jennings, ‘if you can find Gilly when you take goal-kicks or kick it out of your hands, try to get to him and know where he is’ because his timing of heading the ball was brilliant.

"He was great pals with Dave Mackay, they roomed together and if you saw the state of their hotel room when we played games...they were a real pair! Gilly always used to say it was Dave but there were clothes all over the place, a pair of shoes over in one corner, toothpaste in another corner. Luckily Gilly had one of his mates to come in and tidy the place up for him!

"Deep down, when he came back, he was a little bit shy because he didn’t know how everyone would take him after all those years of being away. Everybody welcomed him back and so many fans in the lounges were so pleased to see Alan Gilzean come back. He was a hero at the Club.

"When we went up to Hearts for Dave Mackay’s funeral, Sir Alex Ferguson was there. Sir Alex had said to Scot Gardiner at Hearts, ‘Alan Gilzean’s here? You couldn’t introduce me to him, could you?’ So Scot took them up to the boardroom and brought Gilly over and Sir Alex said ‘what a pleasure and an honour to meet you'. Alex Ferguson was so pleased to meet Gilly – it just shows you how he was thought of."