50 Sol Campbell

1992-2001, 315 appearances, 15 goals

Yes, it was the biggest act of treachery perpetrated on the club when this **insert own expletive here** turned to the dark side after stalling on a contract offer and he’s been demoted accordingly, but Campbell was also a mighty fine defender. Never has a player inspired such confidence in one-on-one situations, whether shepherding out the ball as a forward bounced off him or in a race for possession, while his strength and dominant heading carried Spurs through many games. The centre back captained the club to the Worthington Cup triumph in 1999 but we’ll move on, there are real heroes to address . . .

49 Clive Allen

1984-88, 135 appearances, 84 goals

Try word association with Spurs fans and chances are that when you say “Clive Allen” the response will be “49”. The number of goals the striker scored in 1986-87 marks him out with Tottenham even though he dropped into more London clubs than Ashley Cole on a night out. However, it was only right that Spurs were one of his seven teams in the capital given that his father, Les, played at White Hart Lane. We’d love to say Clive was more than a penalty-box player, but he wasn’t, and the 1987 PFA and FWA awards showed there isn’t anything wrong in that.

48 Sandy Brown

1900-02, 57 appearances, 45 goals

An indulgent pick given the centre forward’s limited time at the club, but the Scot’s record feats echo through the ages: 15 goals in the run to the FA Cup triumph in 1901 as he scored in every round, including three past the 20st goalkeeping mass that was Bill “Fatty” Foulke in the final against Sheffield United and its replay. Brown could finish with either foot and took a physical approach to playing up front. He would have won international honours at Spurs but the game against England at Ibrox in 1902 was declared void because of the stand collapse that killed 25 people.

47 Graham Roberts

1980-86, 287 appearances, 35 goals

The hard tackler wouldn’t just put an opposition player in the stands, he’d send him to a seat with a bird’s-eye view. Roberts, whose challenge gave Charlie Nicholas the chance to shake hands with the crowd at Highbury in 1986, was a perfect complement to Spurs’ artists. A first Wembley final came 13 months after he had been working as a fitter in a shipyard and eight years on from his appearance at the stadium as a ballboy. It would be wrong to downplay Roberts’s skill, which enabled him to shine in midfield, but it was his central-defensive displays in an axis of brutality with Paul Miller that made him a cult hero. Those who would champion Richard Gough’s claims for this spot can feel free to take up the issue with Mr Roberts - he’ll see you outside.