After impressing in the Wimbledon defence for 10 years, the 26 year old decided it was time to move on to pastures new. His move to Tottenham had been rumoured for some time, but the £4 million deal that brought him to White Hart Lane sees him link up with Sol Campbell in the heart of the back four and he hopes this will lead to recognition by his country.
His man-to-man marking skills have been well known and he did a good job in the series of matches against Spurs in 1998-99 in keeping our forwards restricted to only a few chances, except in the FA Cup replay, when Les muscled him out of a challenge to set up the second goal. Built like a whippet, he has excellent pace and is good in the air. Scores the odd goal, but concentrates on defending as his priority. Strangely seemed to have a below average 1999-2000 season , but this is judged against the high standards he had set himself. It should ensure that there is adequate cover along the back-line as he can play anywhere there.
His first season (1999-2000) for Spurs has not been an overwhelming success. He lost his central defensive partner early on in the campaign and seemed to settle down to play quite well, but after the captain returned, there was not an understanding between the two, which we had hoped would provide a serious barrier in front of the keeper. He scored a few goals from set-pieces, which have been a bonus, but he needed to settle into the pattern of play to help stop some of the defensive gaffs, which Spurs have suffered from during that season.
His start to 2000-2001 seemed more assured, but then there were a couple of matches where the Tottenham defence appeared never to have met each other. A toe injury ruled him out for a little while and Luke Young (before he too got injured) and Ramon Vega came in. Towards the end of that season, Perry started to play more like himself and although his distribution needs some work, he did produce the tackling he was known for previously. Unfortunately, he suffered a gashed shin and missed the FA Cup semi-final and the run-in to the end of the season.
Over the next couple of seasons, he became an irregular feature in the side, with Hoddle's signing Dean Richards becoming first choice in the centre of defence. This limited Perry to brief appearances in whatever defensive role was left vacant. He always showed that when he did play, he had the ability to mark players tightly and anticipate play well; the very assets that Tottenham signed him for. However, his distribution didn't improve and it was probably this defect in his game that ruled him out of Glenn's thinking. Chris never let Spurs down and only on a couple of occasions did his errors result in goals, but the defender was eased out of the back three that Hoddle preferred to play.
Early in August 2003, Hoddle swapped Perry for Paul Konchesky on loan. The move seemed to suit both players, as they got match practice and seemed to fit in with their respective new team-mates. Perry said he would like to stay at the Valley and come 2006, after three years, Charlton released Perry who was snapped up by West Bromwich Albion, who were looking for experience in their quest for promotion. When the Baggies failed to go up in 2007, losing in the play-offs, Chris had to find another club and took up the challenge of helping relegated Luton Town to fight for their place back in the Championship on a two-year deal, but after a year he was loaned to Southampton. Was signed by Saints in 2008 to add experience to the side who had been relegated because of a points deduction for financial reasons and had two years there before being released on 5th May 2010.
After ending his playing days, Chris appeared for the Spurs Legends side and in 2011 took over as assistant manager of Dagenham & Redbridge's Academy side (Under-19s) and then as Millwall's Under-16 lead phase coach.