Modric doesn't start in my Spurs all-time XI. Neither does Gascoigne, or Ardiles, or Lloris, and I'm aware that's four reasons for you to stop reading. Stick with me. Spurs years only.
The sides that won things
The 1960-61 team won the league and the FA Cup together, the first club to do the Double in the 20th century. They won their first eleven league games that season and beat Leicester 2-0 at Wembley in May. Two years later they beat Atlético Madrid 5-1 in Rotterdam and became the first British club to win a European trophy. That was Bill Nicholson's team.
The early eighties side was Keith Burkinshaw's. He signed Ardiles and Villa in 1978, Hoddle was already there, and they won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the UEFA Cup in 1984.
Pochettino's team finished second in 2016-17 and reached the Champions League final in Madrid in 2019, where they lost 2-0 to Liverpool. They never won a trophy. Postecoglou's side finally won something in Bilbao in 2025, beating Manchester United in the Europa League final, the club's first trophy since 2008.
If I had to pick one of those sides to watch, it's the Double team, and it isn't close. Pochettino's lot were lovely to watch for about three seasons, but they didn't win a thing.
The XI
A 4-4-2 diamond. Mackay sits, Blanchflower and Bale either side, Hoddle at the top, and Greaves and Kane up front.
Goalkeeper
Pat Jennings (1964 to 1977, and back briefly in 1985 to keep fit for the World Cup). He once scored from his own box, a punt that bounced over Alex Stepney in the 1967 Charity Shield at Old Trafford. In 472 league games he was Footballer of the Year in 1973 and the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1976. Hugo Lloris had a decade here and captained France to a World Cup while he did it, so I went back and forth on this. Jennings in his prime still edges it for me.
Defence
Kyle Walker, right back (2009 to 2017). The quickest thing in Pochettino's best side, and PFA Young Player of the Year in 2012. Kinnear and Carr were fine full backs, but neither of them could recover like Walker when the ball went over his head.
Gary Mabbutt, centre back (1982 to 1998). In the 1987 FA Cup final against Coventry he scored at both ends, and it was his own goal in extra time that won it for them. Most players would carry that around. Mabbutt stayed another eleven years, played 477 league games, and lifted the FA Cup as captain in 1991.
Ledley King, centre back (1999 to 2012). One club. By the end his knees were so bad he hardly trained between games, and he still lifted the League Cup as captain in 2008. With Mabbutt's body he'd have been the best English defender of his generation.
Cyril Knowles, left back (1964 to 1976). "Nice One Cyril" got into the charts in 1973, which tells you what the crowd thought of him. He won the 1967 FA Cup, two League Cups and the 1972 UEFA Cup.
Midfield
Dave Mackay (1959 to 1968). Won the Double, then broke his leg in a Cup Winners' Cup tie against Manchester United in December 1963, then broke it again on the way back. In 1967 he captained Spurs to the FA Cup.
Danny Blanchflower (1954 to 1964). Captain of the Double team and Footballer of the Year in 1958 and 1961. He's on the right of the diamond here, which isn't quite where he played, but he was the cleverest man on the pitch and he'd sort it out. So Blanchflower over Modric, and I know how that sounds. Modric was the better footballer. But Blanchflower was the captain of the Double side and Modric left for Madrid after four years.
Gareth Bale (2007 to 2013, on loan 2020-21). Bale started at left back and Spurs didn't win any of his first 24 league games. Redknapp moved him forward, and in October 2010 he scored a hat-trick at the San Siro in a game Spurs lost 4-3. When Inter came to White Hart Lane a fortnight later he ran past Maicon again and again in a 3-1 win. He was PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2011 and 2013. Put him where he did that.
Glenn Hoddle (1975 to 1987). He scored in the 1982 FA Cup final against QPR, then scored the penalty in the replay that won it. Gascoigne fans will want this spot, and Gazza's free kick against Arsenal in 1991 is one of the best things I've seen at Wembley. But he wrecked his knee in the final a month later and never played for Spurs again. Hoddle gave them twelve seasons of passes most of the league didn't see coming.
Attack
Jimmy Greaves (1961 to 1970). Spurs got him back from Milan in December 1961 and he scored a hat-trick against Blackpool on his debut. By the end of that season he'd scored three minutes into the FA Cup final against Burnley. A year later he got two in the Cup Winners' Cup final in Rotterdam. He was the First Division's top scorer four times as a Spurs player, and his 266 goals stood as the club record for over fifty years. Greaves or Kane is the argument every Spurs fan has had. Kane did more for the team. Greaves was the better finisher, and I think he's the best one this country has produced.
Harry Kane (2009 to 2023). Loans at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester before anyone took him seriously, then 280 goals and three Premier League Golden Boots. He broke Greaves's record against Manchester City in February 2023. Do you play the two of them together? I would. Kane spent years dropping deep to make goals for Son, so he'd do the same for Greaves, and Greaves would put them away.
Manager
Bill Nicholson. His first game in charge, in 1958, finished 10-4 against Everton. He'd played for the club too, in Arthur Rowe's push-and-run side that won the league, and he managed Spurs until 1974. The Double, three FA Cups, the Cup Winners' Cup, two League Cups and the UEFA Cup.
The ones who nearly made it
- Luka Modric (2008 to 2012). The hardest one to leave out. On talent alone he walks into the side.
- Paul Gascoigne (1988 to 1992). See Hoddle.
- Ricky Villa (1978 to 1983). That run through the Manchester City defence in the 1981 replay.
- Ossie Ardiles (1978 to 1988). Ten years, two FA Cups, and he came back to manage the club.
- Son Heung-min (2015 to 2025). The best case for anyone on this list. He shared the Golden Boot in 2021-22, won the Puskás Award for the run and goal against Burnley, and lifted the Europa League as captain in 2025. He gave Spurs ten years and their first trophy in seventeen. I still have Greaves ahead of him, because nobody at this club has scored like Greaves. If you'd rather have Son than Greaves, I understand.
- Clive Allen (1984 to 1988). 49 goals in 1986-87, including one in the Cup final against Coventry. Anyone who leaves him out will hear about it.
- Alan Gilzean (1964 to 1974). Greaves's partner up front, all flicks and headers, and later Chivers's.
- Steve Perryman (1969 to 1986). The club's appearance record with 655 league games, and captain for both FA Cups in the eighties.
- Cliff Jones (1958 to 1968). The winger in the Double side. A straight 4-4-2 gets him in.
- Gary Lineker (1989 to 1992). First Division top scorer in 1989-90, and two in that 1991 semi.
- Jan Vertonghen (2012 to 2020) and Mike England (1966 to 1975) at centre back.
- Martin Chivers (1968 to 1976). Two goals in the first leg of the 1972 UEFA Cup final at Molineux.
- Jürgen Klinsmann (1994 to 1995, then on loan in 1997-98). One full season, and he was Footballer of the Year.
- John White (1959 to 1964). He made the Double side tick, and he was killed by lightning on a golf course in 1964, aged 27.
Quick answers
Who is Tottenham's record goalscorer? Harry Kane, with 280. He passed Jimmy Greaves's 266 in February 2023.
Who has played the most games for Spurs? Steve Perryman, with 655 league games between 1969 and 1986.
Your Spurs XI
Plenty of Spurs fans would rather have a real team on the wall, like the 1961 Double side, the 1981 Wembley team or Pochettino's line-up from Madrid.
You can build any of those, or your own Sunday league team, in our team builder. Pick the players, the formation, the kits and the pitch, add a title and a message, and we email you a proof before anything is printed. It's £149 or £199, framed in black or white, with free UK delivery. If you'd rather have a ready-made team, there are classic prints in the Spurs collection from £69.