Football Legend Pat Jennings Joins Us For A Very Special Shedcast

On Tuesday 15 December legendary footballer Pat Jennings joined the IMSA’s Frank Dillon for a very special Shedcast.

Pat grew up in Newry, Co. Down, and was signed by Watford in 1963 at the age of 17, moving to Tottenham a year later for the princely sum of £27,000. ‘Big Pat’ spent the next 13 years with Spurs winning the FA Cup in 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and 1973 and the UEFA cup in 1972. By 1977 he had appeared 591 times for the club.

Spurs Manager Keith Burkenshaw allowed Jennings to move to rival Arsenal in 1977, assuming that he was no longer at the top of his game. How wrong he was! Pat spent eight years there, helping Arsenal to three successive FA Cup finals, in 1978, 1979 and 1980 with a win against Manchester United in 1979.

Jennings was also a top player at international level. He first played for Northern Ireland at the age of 18 and would go on to play a record 119 times, helping to beat hosts Spain in the 1982 World Cup and ensuring Northern Ireland’s entry into the 1986 World Cup by beating England. He was Northern Ireland’s most reliable line of defence and participated in the qualifying stages of six world cups between 1966 and 1986.

Since 1993, Jennings has worked as a goalkeeping coach for Tottenham. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of the skills he demonstrated in the English league.

A close friend of George Best and the only Irish person to play against Diego Maradona when he was Captain of the Rest of World team in 1986 at the Rosebowl in Pasadena, Big Pat’s status as a beloved elder statesman of football is demonstrated by his popularity with both Spurs and Arsenal fans alike.