20. On his recent stroke: “I should be dead. But I’m here and I’m fighting fit. Now I want to live until I’m at least 90.”

19. On Paul Gascoigne: “A man capable of breaking both leg and wind at the same time.”

18. On his dribbling ability: “I started doing it in the school playground. It’s instinctive, natural. I’ve no idea how I scored the goal against United. If you thought about it, you wouldn’t do it as well.”

17. Commentating’s tough, part 1: “Portsmouth are at Huddersfield, which is always away.”

16. On Tommy Smith: “As we went out on the pitch, he handed me a piece of paper.  It was the evening menu for the Liverpool Royal Infirmary.”

15. On fatherhood: “The minute you have kids you start worrying and it never stops. Worry is closely followed by cost.”

14. On deciding against becoming a manager: “I didn’t really see my career in football after I retired. If I’d have known you could get millions for being absolutely crap and getting the sack, I’d have been in like a shot.”

13. On 1960s defenders: “Back then, unless you took a machete out on the pitch, you wouldn’t get booked.”

12. On Darren Anderton: “I’m 58 and I think even I’ve played more football than Anderton over the past two years.”

11. On his greatest partnership: “No one told Alan Gilzean and me what to do; we just did it.  Very quickly we knew exactly what the other was going to do.  You can’t teach that it’s an instinctive thing between the two of you that you’re both reading from the same page.”

10. Commentating’s tough, part 2: “The only thing Norwich didn’t get was the goal that they finally got.”

9. On Spurs style of play under Gerry Francis: “Wimbledon, with fans.”

8. On old school loyalty: “We signed to play until the day we died, and we did.”

7. On George Best: “It didn’t matter that George burnt out at a young age. So did Marilyn and Elvis.”

6. On his drinking years: “All I know is that the years from ’74 to ’78 were lost to me.”

5. On the meaning of sport: “The thing about sport, any sport, is that swearing is very much part of it.”

4. On Bobby Moore: “He knew where an opposition player was going to pass it before that player even knew.”

3. Commentating’s tough, part 3: “He hit the post, and after the game people will say, well, he hit the post.”

2. On confidence: “I wasn’t necessarily that assured off the pitch. In a way, when I passed through that tunnel, it wasn’t me any more.”

1. On Spurs: “The biggest regret of my whole football career was leaving White Hart Lane in 1970. My interest weakened after that. I was heartbroken.”

SHARE

90 COMMENTS

  1. My boyhood heroes were two Jimmy’s – Jimmy Greaves (Spurs) and Jim Clark (Lotus). Nobody has since come close in their respective sports IMHO

  2. WHY IS NO STAND, STATUE OR BAR AT THE NEW GROUND NAMED AFTER JIMMY NO BIGGER HONOUR COULD THEIR BE AS WITH THE LIKES OF BOBBY MOORE AND OTHERS ?. COME ON SUPPORTERS CLUB & LEVY AND CO,

    • It is weird that a player, whose career stats alone mark him out as one of history’s true football legends, hasn’t had this honour bestowed upon him already.
      The one thing that comes to mind that was sadly lacking from a new stadium rebuild- as if that could possibly have happened I hear you cry- is that Jimmy Greaves hasn’t got a stand or a statue already.
      Shame on you Tottenham. We are talking of a goal scorer that could have played in any club or international team in the world and still scored goals. He is ,the Messi, the Ronaldo, the Pele, the Maradonna equivalent of their respective clubs, the pre cursor hopefully to a similar career for the same club as another goalscoring phenomena, Harry Kane.
      Get something done. ( not sure about naming a bar after him though ). ?

  3. My hero…Jimmy Greaves is the greatest centre forward England ever had. The reason for my lifetime passion for the beautiful game. Totally agree, he deserves a statue. The number one quote brought tears to my eyes..long live Greavesie..

  4. Completely agree with the sentiments that there should be a stand or a statue at the entrance at least in honour of not only one of Spurs greatest ever players – but English also – a predator of the highest quality – as a kid – he was the reason I support Spurs – get your money out Levy – and pay respect to a true legend.

  5. If ever a Spurs footballer deserves a statue outside the stadium it has to be Jimmy Greaves. If we couldn’t honour the man sufficiently during his life then let us at least now do so at his passing. Personally I would like to see one of him and Bill Nicholson.

  6. It’s strange that a player whose career statistics alone establish him as one of football’s true legends hasn’t already received this honor. The one thing that comes to mind that was sadly lacking from a new stadium rebuild- as if that could possibly have happened, I hear you cry- is that Jimmy Greaves hasn’t already received a stand or a statue.

  7. Completely agree with the sentiments that a stand or a statue should be erected at the entrance at the very least in honor of not only one of Spurs’ greatest ever players – but also one of England’s – a predator of the highest order – he was the reason I supported Spurs as a kid – get your money out Levy – and pay respect to a true legend.

  8. These expressive words of the legendary coach not only convey his view of the game, but also inspire pride in his team. Pay attention to
    An inspiring selection of stock vector images related to the theme eyes ! These visual compositions offer unique and creative approaches to depicting eye elements. From abstract and stylized shapes to detailed eyes and gazes, these vectors are perfect for designs involving mystery, art, or projects that require attention to detail.

LEAVE A REPLY

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.