To describe Gary Mabbutt's first months as a Spurs player as a whirlwind would almost be underplaying it.
Legendary former skipper 'Mabbsy' moved from Bristol Rovers, then of the old Third Division (League One), to White Hart Lane aged 20 in July, 1982. Within three months, he'd played at Wembley, made a goalscoring debut at Spurs and been called into the full England squad - winning his first cap against West Germany!
Gary went on to make 611 appearances for us between 1982-1998, captaining the Club for 11 years and lifting the FA Cup at Wembley in 1991.
And it all started with a flourish, approaching 42 years ago, with a goal on his competitive debut against newly-promoted Luton Town, managed by his future boss, David Pleat, at the Lane on 28 August, 1982.
With just three minutes on the clock, Glenn Hoddle clipped in a free-kick and Mabbsy planted home a header to open his Spurs account. Micky Hazard added the second in 2-0 win.
It wasn't long before he scored twice, from left-back, for England Under-21s against Denmark and he was then called up for his full international debut against West Germany at Wembley, aged 21, on 13 October, 1982. That was the first of his 16 caps spanning almost 10 years.
His form also earned recognition - he won three awards for September, 1982 - Robinson’s Barley Water Young Player of the Month and the Daily Mirror and Evening Standard's Footballer of the Month.
Mabbsy's Spurs life in pictures...
Charity Shield v Liverpool, 1982 - Gary: “My first game for Tottenham. Three weeks earlier I was a Bristol Rovers player, then I’m playing at Wembley against the league champions! It was a really good game and I had a couple of opportunities, Grobbelaar made a fantastic save from a volley I had. I thoroughly enjoyed it and we were unfortunate we lost 1-0 to an Ian Rush goal, surprise surprise! But it was a fantastic day, an amazing atmosphere and for a 20-year-old it was a very special moment.”
England debut v West Germany, 1982 - Gary: “Three months later I was selected for the full England side against a West Germany side that had just played in the World Cup final. The German side had fantastic players like Rummenigge, Littbarski, the Forster brothers at the back and of course England had a very good side. Initially I was selected to play in midfield but on the morning of the game Viv Anderson, who was playing right-back, was injured and we had no other right-back. Bobby Robson asked ‘Gary, you were playing in midfield but do you fancy playing right-back?’ I said ‘yes’ as when you get the chance to play for England, you’ll play anywhere. I was up against Littbarski, who was a bit of a flying machine! I had a great half-volley on the edge of the box that came back off the post and a header that the keeper made a great save from. Again, I just enjoyed playing and was thoroughly enjoying my football.”
Up against Paul Breitner and Bayern Munich, UEFA Cup, 1982 - Gary: “Paul Breitner was a legend of the game. Throughout my whole career, I loved pitching myself up against the best, I loved playing up against the big names, and I went out and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was a good, tough game but we only drew that one and lost the second leg. We lost 2-0 over there but it was amazing because we were in the Olympic Stadium in Munich and the fog was unbelievable. You could stand on the halfway line and see both goals but you couldn’t see anyone, only hear noise from about 80,000 people in the stadium.”
UEFA Cup winners, White Hart Lane, 1984 - Gary: “It’s an unbelievably heavy trophy especially after you’ve just played for the whole game with extra time and penalties as well. It was a fantastic moment and the first cup final I played in for Tottenham. We had a lot of injuries and suspensions going into the game – Ray Clemence wasn’t playing, Glenn Hoddle was out, myself and Ossie Ardiles were both struggling. Ossie had a knee injury and I had a double hernia! I was struggling for the last two months of the season – I could get through about 60-70 minutes of a game but when Steve Perryman was suspended, it was a choice for Keith Burkinshaw between me and Ossie to start the game. I could probably last about 10 minutes more than Ossie so I got the nod! Anderlecht had Enzo Scifo and I think I played the game to man mark him a bit. Eventually, I came off and Ossie came on and we drew. Then Tony Parks made that wonderful penalty save. Spurs fans know I was not blessed with pace in my career, but when Tony made that save I was the first player to get to him! European nights were always so special at White Hart Lane.”
Diego Maradona at Ossie Ardiles' Testimonial, White Hart Lane, 1986 - Gary: “It was a fantastic night, lining up in midfield alongside Diego Maradona. I think the midfield was Maradona, Hoddle, Ardiles and Mabbutt so it was nice to have three workmanlike players alongside me! Diego was a great character, one of Ossie’s best friends, and some of the skills he was showing in the warm-ups were quite amazing. He seemed very humble coming into White Hart Lane that day and not long after that he went to the World Cup.”
FA Cup Final loss to Coventry City, 1987 - Gary: "It was my first FA Cup final for the Club and we were the odds-on favourites to win it. We’d had a great season and that squad in 1987 was probably one of the best during my time at the Club. It was also my best defensive partnership alongside Richard Gough at the back – as soon as he arrived it was like we had been playing together for ages. We were both footballing centre-halves who used to play out from the back and we both seemed to know each other’s game. It was the almost but not quite season – third in the league, semi-finals of the League Cup and runners-up in the FA Cup. We took the lead through Clive Allen, Dave Bennett equalised, I then got our second but Keith Houchen got a good header. But then in extra time, Lloyd McGrath broke down our left-hand side, I’ve gone to block the cross, stuck my leg out and you know the rest. I knew straight away it was looping over Ray Clemence and I just went down on my haunches. We were playing so well and I thought we could get the game back. Full credit to Coventry – it was the game of their careers. We threw everything at them to get back in the game but we lost the only cup FA Cup final that Spurs have ever lost.”
FA Cup victory, 1991 - Gary: “That moment was like I dreamed when I way a boy. It was every schoolboy’s dream. We used to watch the FA Cup Final every year. We were in front of the TV from 9.30 in the morning until the captain lifted the cup then we would go over to the local park and play football. I remember when I was walking up the stairs to receive the trophy thinking about all those memories. Then suddenly I’m up there with the Duke and Duchess of Kent and being presented with the trophy. Being captain, I met them before the game as I’d introduced them to the team. I’d already met Charles and Diana a few times as I was already an ambassador of the Princes’ Trust at that time. I was given the trophy by the Duchess of Kent then looked along the line to see Bert Millichip and Prince Charles. But I just turned as I wanted to share that moment with the fans, with Charles and Diana behind me applauding. The noise when I shared that moment with the Spurs fans was one of my best memories.”
FA Cup parade, 1991 - Gary: "I remember the parade, going down the High Road, meeting the Mayor and the unbelievable support who turned out for us. The players were, shall we say, a little ‘heavy headed’ from the celebrations! The photographer has captured perfectly the satisfaction of being able to say ‘we’ve won the cup’."
Waving goodbye, final match, White Hart Lane, 1998 - Gary: "It was one of the lowest moments for me in a Spurs shirt. It was the last time I walked out at White Hart Lane as Spurs captain. The rapport I’d had from the supporters over the previous 16 years… just walking around, it was my last time in front of them. They took to me immediately after I joined the Club, I scored five minutes into my debut against Luton (1982) and they were with me for the next 16 years. It was just a case of trying to hold myself together."
PFA Merit Award, 2001 - Gary: "I’m there alongside Roy Keane (United), who won the PFA Player of the Year and Harry Kewell (Leeds), the Young Player of the Year. I received the PFA Merit Award for my services to football, a nice evening. "
The Finale, White Hart Lane, 2017 - Gary: "Yes, saying goodbye to White Hart Lane. We knew it was coming but at that point we realised how important that stadium had been in the Club’s history, for every person who had set foot in the stadium, the memories and for myself, the memories of all the games I had there over 16 years, captain for 11 years and, as captain, the roar always hit me first as we walked out. The Club gave a great send-off to a much-loved stadium, a fantastic day, even down to the rainbow!"
With Gazza at Wembley, 2018 - Gary: "Gazza! We’re back on the spot from where he took his famous free-kick against Arsenal at Wembley. Paul was one of the best players I ever played with, okay, he’s had his problems but from purely a football perspective, he’s one of the all-time greats, no question. It’s always great to see him."
Speaking to us all the way back in 2015, Mabbsy recalled that 'whirlwind' start to life at Spurs. "We went on our pre-season tour to Norway and during the tour, a couple of players got injured, Keith Burkinshaw brought me into the middle of midfield and I then stayed in the team for the next 16 years! My debut for Spurs was the Charity Shield at Wembley against Liverpool and a week later, the first league game of the season at home to Luton and you can imagine, all the Spurs fans are used to seeing all these million-pound signings and big internationals and suddenly there was this young lad they’d never heard of from Bristol Rovers coming in for a bargain basement £105,000! I’m sure they were wondering who the heck this was but I came out against Luton, fantastic atmosphere and in the first five minutes we got a free-kick, Glenn Hoddle took it, put it on my head and I scored and from that moment, the Spurs fans warmed towards me and we’ve had the most amazing relationship since."
The Legacy Collection | Gary Mabbutt
Off The Shelf | Gary Mabbutt
