Danny Blanchflower

If Bill Nicholson was the architect of Tottenham's glory game, then Danny Blanchflower was its master builder. The Belfast midfielder brought guile and passing ability to the Spurs engine room as they won the Double, FA Cup and European Cup-Winners' Cup in three successive seasons.

He started his career at Glentoran after the Second World War, before crossing the Irish Sea to sign for Barnsley. In 1951, he joined Aston Villa, but rapidly grew disenchanted at the club's training regime, believing footballers should practise with a ball rather than run laps of the pitch.

He joined Tottenham in 1954 for the then-massive fee of £30,000, but it wasn't until Nicholson arrived as manager in 1958 that he began to taste success. The two initially clashed but, with Blanchflower at their heart, the Super Spurs would sweep all before them. He retired in 1964, and died in December 1993.

The high point of Blanchflower's long international career with Northern Ireland was the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, where he captained the unfancied Irish team into the last eight. He made his debut against Scotland in 1949, and wore the green shirt for 14 years, making his final appearance against Poland in 1962.

Blanchflower had a disastrous nine-month spell as manager of Chelsea in 1979, winning just five of his 32 matches in charge as they were relegated from the top flight. He also spent three years as manager of Northern Ireland in the late '70s.