Tweet
FOOTBALL | JONNY OWEN
Crossing the divide – why ‘traitors' who move to their rivals have earned my respect
Jonny Owen
I was asked this week which player from your rivals do you wish had played for your team? It’s a belter to throw into a conversation as everyone always has a sneaky admiration for those they often rail the loudest against when they visit your ground. It got me thinking about players who had crossed that great divide between the most bitter of rivals. Some have prospered while many have failed as the weight of once being a hero of your sworn enemy proved too much.
I answered Alan Tate. I remember him signing for Swansea City on loan from Manchester United. He was one of two astute signings by the manager Bryan Flynn. Successful at Wrexham and later pivotal in the rise of Wales on the international scene, Flynn also saved Swansea from sliding out of the Football League. The other was Leon Britton.
Both Tate and Britton went on to play over 500 games for the Swans and every time they played against Cardiff I would secretly think, ‘Bastards, I wish they played for us.’ It’s probably the highest praise we can ever give as football fans.
There have been some Welsh greats that have moved successfully between the South Wales rivals over the decades. Ivor Allchurch, Alan Curtis and Robbie James have all played in the white and blue of the two clubs but it was Andy Legg in more recent times who was loved by both sets of supporters.
Stein grew up a Rangers fan but became Celtic’s greatest-ever manager. His father could barely speak to him on derby day
GETTY IMAGES
It’s a rare phenomenon. Sometimes clubs simply refuse to do business as they know the consequences that comes with the transfer. I remember a Mancunian mate of mine lamenting that they would never be able to sign Steven Gerrard. Him almost going to Chelsea was enough to cause chaos on the red side of Merseyside. Imagine him going to Old Trafford. Gabriel Heinze, the former Argentina defender, thought he could get a move from United to Liverpool. You’d have to go back almost 60 years to the last time that happened, when Phil Chisnell moved down the East Lancs Road. The rise of the great Bubsy and Shankly teams of the mid-60s ensured that would never happen again. I can’t see that ever changing.
Then there was Mo Johnson signing for Rangers. People think he went from Celtic but that’s not quite true. He had played for them but was actually signed from Nantes. Rangers hijacked a proposed move back to Celtic Park and he became the first catholic to play for the traditionally protestant club.
There’s form the other way too. Celtic’s greatest manager, Jock Stein, grew up a Rangers fan but ended up first playing and then managing Celtic. His own father could barely speak to him on Old Firm match days and his mother would whisper to him on the doorstep as she wished him luck as he set off to the match.
Jimmy Greaves is as loved at Chelsea as he was at Spurs, yet Sol Campbell has never been forgiven for crossing the north London divide. On the other hand, Pat Jennings is as welcome at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he is at the Emirates. In the East Midlands, Peter Shilton, one of England’s greatest goalkeepers, is as admired in Nottingham as he is in Derby and Leicester. That is some feat. It’s the same for John O’Hare with Derby and Nottingham. Yet for Kris Commons he’s never quite been forgiven on the Trent.
I’m not sure what the criteria is for being able to cross the divide and getting accepted by your rivals. In Legg’s case it was a difficult start for him at Cardiff. He was from the Swansea area and always played with such passion in derby games. He told me that when he arrived at Ninian Park his own fans would shout abuse as he ran on to the pitch and yet he just kept at it. Over time he started noticing that it had stopped and then a few months later there would be scattered applause as he beat a man until finally a full-on cheer as his name was announced
It’s a huge thing to do as a player. It means you’ve had to dig deep to be accepted. It also goes to show that we all, deep down, have a grudging admiration for those we often shout loudest against on match day.
For me he missed the real biggy Dennis Law
Crossing the divide – why ‘traitors' who move to their rivals have earned my respect
Jonny Owen
I was asked this week which player from your rivals do you wish had played for your team? It’s a belter to throw into a conversation as everyone always has a sneaky admiration for those they often rail the loudest against when they visit your ground. It got me thinking about players who had crossed that great divide between the most bitter of rivals. Some have prospered while many have failed as the weight of once being a hero of your sworn enemy proved too much.
I answered Alan Tate. I remember him signing for Swansea City on loan from Manchester United. He was one of two astute signings by the manager Bryan Flynn. Successful at Wrexham and later pivotal in the rise of Wales on the international scene, Flynn also saved Swansea from sliding out of the Football League. The other was Leon Britton.
Both Tate and Britton went on to play over 500 games for the Swans and every time they played against Cardiff I would secretly think, ‘Bastards, I wish they played for us.’ It’s probably the highest praise we can ever give as football fans.
There have been some Welsh greats that have moved successfully between the South Wales rivals over the decades. Ivor Allchurch, Alan Curtis and Robbie James have all played in the white and blue of the two clubs but it was Andy Legg in more recent times who was loved by both sets of supporters.
Stein grew up a Rangers fan but became Celtic’s greatest-ever manager. His father could barely speak to him on derby day
GETTY IMAGES
It’s a rare phenomenon. Sometimes clubs simply refuse to do business as they know the consequences that comes with the transfer. I remember a Mancunian mate of mine lamenting that they would never be able to sign Steven Gerrard. Him almost going to Chelsea was enough to cause chaos on the red side of Merseyside. Imagine him going to Old Trafford. Gabriel Heinze, the former Argentina defender, thought he could get a move from United to Liverpool. You’d have to go back almost 60 years to the last time that happened, when Phil Chisnell moved down the East Lancs Road. The rise of the great Bubsy and Shankly teams of the mid-60s ensured that would never happen again. I can’t see that ever changing.
Then there was Mo Johnson signing for Rangers. People think he went from Celtic but that’s not quite true. He had played for them but was actually signed from Nantes. Rangers hijacked a proposed move back to Celtic Park and he became the first catholic to play for the traditionally protestant club.
There’s form the other way too. Celtic’s greatest manager, Jock Stein, grew up a Rangers fan but ended up first playing and then managing Celtic. His own father could barely speak to him on Old Firm match days and his mother would whisper to him on the doorstep as she wished him luck as he set off to the match.
Jimmy Greaves is as loved at Chelsea as he was at Spurs, yet Sol Campbell has never been forgiven for crossing the north London divide. On the other hand, Pat Jennings is as welcome at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he is at the Emirates. In the East Midlands, Peter Shilton, one of England’s greatest goalkeepers, is as admired in Nottingham as he is in Derby and Leicester. That is some feat. It’s the same for John O’Hare with Derby and Nottingham. Yet for Kris Commons he’s never quite been forgiven on the Trent.
I’m not sure what the criteria is for being able to cross the divide and getting accepted by your rivals. In Legg’s case it was a difficult start for him at Cardiff. He was from the Swansea area and always played with such passion in derby games. He told me that when he arrived at Ninian Park his own fans would shout abuse as he ran on to the pitch and yet he just kept at it. Over time he started noticing that it had stopped and then a few months later there would be scattered applause as he beat a man until finally a full-on cheer as his name was announced
It’s a huge thing to do as a player. It means you’ve had to dig deep to be accepted. It also goes to show that we all, deep down, have a grudging admiration for those we often shout loudest against on match day.
For me he missed the real biggy Dennis Law
Comment