Saturday List #286 - Ten footballers who don't play for my team that I love

 This is a list I've been thinking of doing for a long time. I'm a Manchester City FC fan. I was thinking of footballers who I like, who have no association with my club. This was inspired by Marcus Rashford and his campaign for meals for kids. Try as I may, even though he plays for the enemy, I can't but help like him. It is quite unsettling to like a player for the sworn enemy and it is for non footballing reasons. I thought a list might be in orde.r

1. Marcus Rashford. How can you not like a bloke that has done so much for hungry kids. I just hope he gets a transfer!

2. Tony Currie. Local Lad, football genius, Englands, Sheff Utd, Leeds and QPR. Well known for joining in local kickabouts when out walking his dog and playing as a pro. Outrageously skilful. If England had sane managers, he'd have had a hundred caps. 

3. John Barnes. There are many things I like about Barnes. I have a soft spot for Watford, they are one of my second teams. But especially that goal for England v Brazil. The best thing was just how much it pissed off the National Front! To do that to Brazil in their own back yard was really something

4. Mickey Thomas. I've always had a soft spot for Wrexham. A good mate of mine is from North Wales and I've seen them many times. I consider myself and honoury S*********r for the day when I watch them. My favourite player was always the mercurial Mickey Thomas. I was gutted when he joined Man Utd, but I've forgiven him. This performance against Arsenal was one of my favourites.

5. Paul Gascoigne.  Paul used to buy pies from pie shop at the bottom of my road after training when Spurs trained at Chase Lodge. I saw him many times and he was always up for laugh and a bit of banter. I was later introduced to him at a pub in Gateshead by a work colleague. I said "Mr Anstee says you owe him a tenner for your pie tab from Mill Hill". He cracked up laughing and denied that he ate pies from Anstee, claiming it was buns. I said "You can't fool me Paul I was there". This goal for England vs Scotland was why we all loved Gazza

6. Matt Le Tissier. There was a period when there was no need to have a vote for who scored goal of the season, you just knew Matt Le Tissier would win it. As he stayed with Southampton, he was also someone who never upset the fans of the bigger clubs. Sadly it meant he never got the games for England and the trophies his talent deserved.

7. Roger Milla. How could you not like Roger Milla. He had the coolest name, he played the coolest football. He lit up the 1990 world cup. After England beat Cameroon, I was sad that he was going home. What a player.

8. Ossie Ardiles. A Spurs legend. I can remember when he first arrived with Ricky Villa. I made a special trip to Spurs to see what the fuss was all about. Watching him, you soon realised. He was rather good. I even forgave him and Villa for beating City in the FA cup final, because I knew it was great to see such amazing players. I didn't realise that within 30 years, the league would be full of imports, few as good as Ossie. 

9. Dave Beasant. The former Wimbledon keeper. I wanted to put a keeper in the list. There are a few I quite liked. Gordon Banks was the obvious one, but I was just a small kid in his peak. I went for Dave Beasant as his Penalty Save against Liverpool for Wimbledon in the Cup final was the key moment. There were many things I disliked about the way Wimbledon played football, but they exemplified the dream that any team can, on its day, win. There were a lot of sniffy comments from pompous press pundits that Liverpool had to win for the good of football. That was nonsense. It felt that if Beasant could save a penalty and win a cup, anyone could. That is the dream.

10. Glen Hoddle. Hoddle may have been no 1, had it not been for the fact that I didn't like how he behaved as England manager and he is an insufferable bore as a pundit. But as a footballer, he was without peer. I would go to Spurs at any opportunity to watch him. The England team should have been built around him. A genius. In terms of footballing genius, only David Silva surpasses him, of all the players I've seen. I just wish he'd not ruined his legacy.

That's all folks.