Tottenham Hotspur Legends: Picking an All-Time Spurs Best XI

Although the word "legend" means a story that is neither historical or verifiable, the term is thrown around the sports world like it's candy.

The problem with the word "legend" is that it's a subjective judgment backed up by objective statistics. Combining opinions and facts is like mixing whiskey and bourbon -- depending on who you are, the two are either better together or apart.

Tottenham Hotspur is one of the most successful and long-standing clubs in the top-tier of English football. Starting in 1882, the club has collected a lot of silverware, including the UEFA Cup, the League Cup, the FA Cup, and the Division One title.

There are a lot of great players who have called White Hart Lane home, but I want to assemble a lineup of the best players that have ever played for the Lilywhites.

Personally, I like my whiskey and bourbon in the same shotglass, so for the sake of argument, let's get to this. I give you Tottenham's all-time best starting XI.

GK: Pat Jennings

This is a tough one because Tottenham has had its fair share of first-rate goalkeepers.

Immediately Raymond Clemence comes to mind, who defended goal for Liverpool in the 1970's, winning several league titles and UEFA Cups. He then played for Tottenham in the 1980's and found success, but not nearly as much as he had with the Reds.

So I'll go with Pat Jennings, a rock of a man who played his best soccer for Spurs, winning the UEFA Cup once, the FA Cup once and the League Cup twice. He's the most capped goalkeeper in Tottenham's history, appearing in 477 matches and is the arguably the best goalkeeper in Northern Ireland's history, making 119 appearances.

Fun fact: When Arsenal players would see Jennings, they consistently greeted him with, "Good morning God," referring to the Irishman's reign as the best goalkeeper of the 1970's and 1980's.

LB: Gary Mabbutt

At 5'10", Gary Mabbutt might not look it, but he's as strong a player as any that's played at White Hart Lane.

Mabbutt is a model of toughness. Not only did the guy play over 600 matches for Spurs in his 16 seasons with the club, but he battled through diabetes, major facial reconstruction surgery and a broken leg. He helped Tottenham bring home the UEFA Cup in 1984 and the FA Cup in 1991 (as captain).

He was usually slotted in the middle of the defense, but Mabbutt was someone who moved back and forth between midfield and defense, supporting attacks when necessary. Who wouldn't love to see Mike England kick it out to Mabbutt as he runs up the left side of the field and gets the ball to Martin Chivers?

LCB: Mike England

One of the most durable players in soccer history, Mike England made a total of 666 appearances in his 22-year career, with nearly half of them being for Tottenham.

England was a defender that towered over opposing forwards. He stood 6'3" tall and was known for his physical play and his ability to switch seamlessly between defender and forward (he scored 36 goals in his 17 years in the Premiership).

He was a part of the Spurs squad that won the UEFA Cup in 1972 and came within two goals of winning it again in 1974. England is a member of the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame, and rightly so.

RCB: Maurice Norman

Now you see why I've got Mabbutt, normally a center-back, on the outside.

Pairing Mike England and Maurice Norman in the middle of the back-four will cause fits for any opposing forwards or strikers. Tall, confident and strong in the tackle, Norman stood well over six-foot and would oftentimes be the one to clear the ball during an opponent's corner kick after all his teammates had previously missed it.

Aside from his phsyical stature, Norman had incredible ability with the ball. When Norman played, defenders rarely got into the action on scoring. Not so for Norman. He was powerful in the air and skilled on the ground, becoming one of the first defenders to go up for corners.

He was an integral part of Bill Nicholson's championship-winning Tottenham team of the early 1960's that won the league titles in 1960 and 1961, won the FA Cup in 1962, and won the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup.

RB: Sol Campbell

I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for this, but there's no denying just how good a defender Sol Campbell was for Spurs in the 1990's, even if many of the club's supporters still think of him as "Judas" for going to Arsenal.

Tottenham weren't a particularly talented team while Campbell played at White Hart Lane, finishing no better than seventh, but when a guy takes over for Gary Mabbutt you've got to be good.

Campbell's talent at Arsenal was obvious and his success was immediate. The year he transferred away from White Hart Lane, Arsenal won the league title and the FA Cup. They won the league title again in 2003 and the FA Cup in 2003 and 2005.

Campbell also went on to an illustrious international career, earning 73 caps for England's national team between 1996-2007 (and even scoring a goal in the 2002 World Cup against Sweden).

LM: Alan Mullery

With Gary Mabbutt at left-back coming up in the midfield to help support attacks, it'd be good to have a midfielder on the left side of the field who can come up and support the forwards and striker on attacks, feeding the ball through defender's legs and crossing over their heads.

Who better than Alan Mullery?

Mullery was a tough but quick midfielder during his stay at Tottenham from 1964-1972. He wasn't keen on scoring himself, but he got the ball to teammates better than anyone else in the league. He's a big reason why guys like Martin Chivers and Jimmy Greaves were as great as they were.

With Mullery in the midfield, Tottenham won the FA Cup in 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and the UEFA Cup in 1972.

CM: Dave McKay

Arguably Tottenham's best player ever, Dave McKay was the kind of captain that would do well for any team, no matter the tactics.

McKay's no-nonsense style was a perfect for the Tottenham team of the 1960's -- a group that won the FA Cup three times, the FA Charity Shield twice (once shared) and the Division One title once (the only time that Tottenham has topped the first-tier of English soccer.

He was as well-rounded a player as there ever was and was the most important player in the most successful era of Tottenham's history. He did his best in the middle of the field, working tirelessly to tackle opposing forwards and support his teammates' possessions.

RM: Danny Blanchflower

What would a list about Tottenham legends be without Danny Blanchflower?

The internationally renowned midfielder was outstanding on the right side of the field, appearing in 382 matches for Spurs between 1954-1964. 

The highlight of his time at Spurs came in 1960 when he led the team as captain to victory in the club's first 11 games, still a record for the top flight of English football. They then beat Leicester City to win the FA Cup, becoming the first team in the 20th century to win the League and Cup double, not achieved since Aston Villa in 1897.

In 1962 he captained the Spurs team to victory in the FA Cup (scoring a penalty in the final against Burnley), missing out on a second double when they finished a close third in the league behind Ipswich Town and Burnley. In 1963, Blanchflower captained his side to victory over Atlético Madrid in the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Blanchflower made good forwards, such as Bobby Smith and John White, even better. He definitely deserves a place among Tottenham's all-time starting XI.

LF: Martin Chivers

Martin Chivers may have ended his career at White Hart Lane as one of the club's most proficient goalscorers, but he didn't start that way.

When Chivers came to Tottenham, Greaves and Gilzean preferred an attacking partnership. It wasn't until Greaves' sale to West Ham United in 1970 that Chivers took top form.

During the 1970–71 season, Chivers played in all 58 competitive games and scored 34 times, including both goals in the League Cup final against Aston Villa, and 21 goals in the First Division as Spurs finished the season in third place.

The next year, Chivers reached the pinnacle of his career, scoring 44 times in 64 appearances. His seven goals in seven League Cup matches helped Spurs to reach the semi-finals of the competition where they eventually lost to London neighbours Chelsea. The striker was also in top form for Tottenham's UEFA Cup campaign, scoring eight times in 11 matches.

In Chivers' eight years at White Hart Lane, Tottenham brought home two League Cups (1971, 1973) and one UEFA Cup (1972).

RF: Alan Gilzean

A member of the Scottish Football Hall Fame, Alan Gilzean paired with Martin Chivers to lead Spurs through the most impressive three-year run the London-based club has ever seen.

From 1971-1973, Tottenham won two League Cups and one UEFA Cup. A few years prior in 1967, he helped captain his Spurs team to an FA Cup victory over city rivals Chelsea.

He ended his career playing in 433 total matches for Tottenham, finding the back of the goal 133 times.

SS: Jimmy Greaves

And now the creme de la creme of the Lilywhites, the most prolific goalscorer in Tottenham's history -- Jimmy Greaves.

Coming to Tottenham after a four-year career at Chelsea and a season at Milan, Greaves played at White Hart Lane for nine seasons, scoring 220 goals in 321 league matches.

But what makes Greaves so great (and this goes for any athlete) was his performance during the most important games. When it mattered most for Tottenham, Greaves delivered, scoring 32 goals in 36 FA Cup matches and nine goals in 14 UEFA Cup matches. 

He finished his career with Spurs in 1970 and stuck around the league for a couple of years, but it was his time at Tottenham for which Greaves will be remembered. He still holds the record for most goals scored (266) and the best goals per game average (0.70).

Add in Greaves to a front line that already includes Chivers and Gilzean and you'd be hard pressed to keep Tottenham from racking up the goals against anybody.