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Quite why it took until he was almost 31 for Tottenham's record appearance-maker Steve Perryman (he is pictured above playing for Spurs in the year of his call-up) to receive an England cap became a major talking point for the many players and fans who had seen the way he had dominated the Spurs' midfield since his late teens, later dropping into defence and lording it benevolently over the rest of the team.
Perryman was a tough, unwasteful and extremely fit star of an up-and-down Tottenham outfit, winning League Cup and European honours before leading them back to the top flight after a disastrous relegation and later winning two consecutive FA Cups. It was after the second of these that Ron Greenwood, for no reason beyond wanting to rest his shoo-in players prior to the 1982 World Cup, called Steve up for a friendly against Iceland in Reykjavik which England drew 1-1. Perryman only managed a substitute appearance for Alan Devonshire before going on his summer break, undoubtedly convinced - as was everyone else - that his time to be an England player should have been a whole decade earlier. (Matthew Rudd)
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