Have you ever played with or against someone who's made it?

[triggs]

Worthy of a thread, in my opinion.

 

Unai Vergara was my classmate; had his career cut short by injuries but played CB for Villarreal in La Liga and got a single cap with Spain. Also won the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics.

 

Also played against Puyol once in the junior leagues (we're the same age). He played as forward and was a right c***

 

Played against former Barça captain Vicente Sánchez in the Sunday Leagues, he was like 20 years older than all of us and still was the best player in the pitch

You win this thread

[Mick]

played a bit in kids knock about games with shaun murray (once just about the most sought after schoolboy footballer in the country), went to spurs straight from school, then to pompey, for whom he played at SJP, then drifted to scarbrough, blackpool, notts county I think, real nice lad.

 

chris basham when he was about 14 or 15 for his dads works team, he was probably the best on the pitch even at that age.

 

The Chronicle massively hyped Murray who couldn't live up to expectations and was eventually a nobody in comparison.

[madras]

played a bit in kids knock about games with shaun murray (once just about the most sought after schoolboy footballer in the country), went to spurs straight from school, then to pompey, for whom he played at SJP, then drifted to scarbrough, blackpool, notts county I think, real nice lad.

 

chris basham when he was about 14 or 15 for his dads works team, he was probably the best on the pitch even at that age.

 

The Chronicle massively hyped Murray who couldn't live up to expectations and was eventually a nobody in comparison.

he was great in amongst his peers, when it came to getting kicked off blokes and he was still just a lad (like we were brought up, he'd been shielded from it) it seemed like he couldn't take it.

[Stifler]

Jack Colback once, on the school field.

Used to play with/against him a lot at school. I was the only guy who could get the ball off him despite being pretty much the shortest player. Was a canny guy at school, used to always try and set me up to score if we were on the same team. Sometimes he used to come in with his Sunderland shirt on to wind us up despite him being a Newcastle fan.

[Robster]

The Chronicle massively hyped Murray who couldn't live up to expectations and was eventually a nobody in comparison.

Didn't he score a hat-trick for England Schoolboys at Wembley ?

I seem to remember it was on TV for some reason.

[madras]

The Chronicle massively hyped Murray who couldn't live up to expectations and was eventually a nobody in comparison.

Didn't he score a hat-trick for England Schoolboys at Wembley ?

I seem to remember it was on TV for some reason.

don't know if it was a hat trick but he did get one from about 25-30yds. back then end of season under 16/schoolboy internationals were regularly on the tele.

[Mick]

he was great in amongst his peers, when it came to getting kicked off blokes and he was still just a lad (like we were brought up, he'd been shielded from it) it seemed like he couldn't take it.

 

I wonder if leaving home was a problem?  I know Shearer flourished but not everybody is the same and what makes some people can break others.

 

A different choice may have gave him a different career.

[Big Geordie]

The Chronicle massively hyped Murray who couldn't live up to expectations and was eventually a nobody in comparison.

Didn't he score a hat-trick for England Schoolboys at Wembley ?

I seem to remember it was on TV for some reason.

 

He did and I watched that one. Was touted as the next Bryan Robson.

 

Whatever happened to Jamie Mole after he left Blyth - did he pack in altogether?

[Guest pont-toon]

played a bit in kids knock about games with shaun murray (once just about the most sought after schoolboy footballer in the country), went to spurs straight from school, then to pompey, for whom he played at SJP, then drifted to scarbrough, blackpool, notts county I think, real nice lad.

 

chris basham when he was about 14 or 15 for his dads works team, he was probably the best on the pitch even at that age.

 

I played against Shaun Murray when he played for Westerhope Juniors. He scored a boatload in both games. Also played against a Cramlington Juniors side which smashed us home and away which had a certain A Shearer in it . I think Tommy Widdrington played for Crammy as well

[MKSC]

Used to play regularly with Graham Stack, currently at barnet but been at reading, millwall, hibs and a few others. There was a lad who i played against loads who was at Chelsea as a youth and played at Northampton, Swindon and a couple of others but I can't remember his name for the life of me.

 

Not football but this guy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Scott, was in my year at school.

[Mick]

 

Didn't he score a hat-trick for England Schoolboys at Wembley ?

I seem to remember it was on TV for some reason.

 

I do remember him having a good game or two for England.

[madras]

he was great in amongst his peers, when it came to getting kicked off blokes and he was still just a lad (like we were brought up, he'd been shielded from it) it seemed like he couldn't take it.

 

I wonder if leaving home was a problem?  I know Shearer flourished but not everybody is the same and what makes some people can break others.

 

A different choice may have gave him a different career.

possibly. I put some of it down to his always playing against his peers, I was probabaly as old as he played against (a year or two older than him) so he didn't really get anything really to fear physically. he didn't really play much non-organised football to sort of toughen him up. at 14 we were playing against 20yr olds who'd spent the afternoon in the club, he was playing against other 14 or 15 yr olds in organised games.

 

I was in the a wing paddock quite close to the pitch when he played for pompey, i was shouting at ray ranson "kick him, kick him, he doesn't like getting kicked", a couple of minutes later ranson took the ball but took shaun out with the follow through, couldn't help but shout "sorry shaun" as he slowly got up. neither probably heard me but it made me feel like I had had an effect.

[Mr. Snrub]

Lad I played with regularly played for Leeds.  His one Premier League appearance was being brought on for Ian Rush against us.

[Guest palnese]

Oh, and I've nutmegged Jan Åge Fjørtoft.

[Optimistic Nut]

Lad I played with regularly played for Leeds.  His one Premier League appearance was being brought on for Ian Rush against us.

 

This fella? Says he played a fair few times for them.

 

http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=8903&season_id=126

[Ally]

I was at school with James Coppinger and played with him numerous times out of school . Our PE lessons must have been the making of him.

[Mr. Snrub]

Lad I played with regularly played for Leeds.  His one Premier League appearance was being brought on for Ian Rush against us.

 

This fella? Says he played a fair few times for them.

 

http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=8903&season_id=126

 

No, this fella.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Boyle

[Optimistic Nut]

Least he played against the best!

 

Did he play non-league or owt from there? Shame if that was his only pro appearance.

[Lenny]

I played for Margate Under 14's with Leroy Lita. That's all I've got

[GeordieT]

Played against Sammy at school. Used to knock about with Patrick Nzuzi for a while as well (who I think plays in Ireland now).

 

The latter really was a cut above everyone at school, really tricky player but struggled when he first came to the country with the physical nature of 'playground football'.  Used to constantly get pushed off the ball. Was surprised when the academy or whoever decided he should play his trade at RB.

[binnsy]

bobby howe, Andrew Elliott,  was at school and played at crammy jnrs with them and both went on to sign for forest before dropping down the leagues and ended up at Swindon and Hartlepool.  Also at crammy played with graham fenton and had the odd training match with shearer.

played against steve Watson, alan Thompson, Robbie Elliott, in school games and boys club games and Ryan Giggs in a tournament at the isle of wight,  he was absolutely unreal.

also there was a lad a couple of years older than me at school, who's name I have forgot who was a tremendous player, remember us getting a school trip to roker park to watch him play for England schoolboys and he had something like 20 clubs offering him schoolboy forms and he turned them all down as he didn't want to be a footballer and instead wanted to be a doctor or chemist.

[wyn davies]

me & me brothers used to knock around with Steve Bruce when we were kids, (lived 2 doors from us)played regularly on the Fosseway Field we were a few years older than him, you could see then he had it, was way ahead of us.

[La Parka]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Parker

 

Same school team, played with him first 6 years of school. He was miles better than the rest of us.

 

 

[Tsunami]

Played regularly against Gary Robson and another lad who played for Sland - Atkinson. Played in the same team as Colin Suggett when he was passed it and Aiden McCaffrey. Played in the same 5 a side team as Justin Robson.

 

Gary Robson was quite small as a school boy and didn't stand out but got picked up by West Brom who must have been hoping he'd be turn out like his brother Bryan. By all accounts, Justin was reckoned to be the most talented as a youngster.

 

Trained in the same side as a teenage Joe Allon.

 

Back in the early 80's it could be very fine margins about who was given trials and an awful amount of luck and who knew the local scouts. We had a lad who was mostly sub for us who had trials for Sunderland.

[Oakie Doke]

Never played with a pro footballer as such but this is about the closest I've got:

 

When I was in 6th form me and my mates used to have a kickabout at the park in between classes. After a few weeks we noticed that at these kickabouts there always stood the same figure on the touchline - that of a man in a grey hooded jacket (hood up), holding a cane. He would barely ever move a muscle and was always there. Sometimes he appeared a little late, but he was there nonetheless. To be honest this guy's very presence began to freak a few of us out and eventually we moved to another park. He found us. There was talk of just stopping play altogether, but we decided to man up and stand our ground. Anyway one day my mate, who really wasn't very good, leathered the ball out of play. To our horror, it bounced over towards this mysterious figure, who trapped the ball and folded his arms, almost daring one of us to retrieve it. After much deliberation, I eventually plucked up the courage to run over and ask for it back. As I approached him he raised his hand as if to say "stop". I stopped. "Would you like your ball back?" he asked. I just stood there in silence. He did a few keepie-uppies then passed the ball back to me. I thanked him nervously, asked him who he was and why he was always at our games. "I.." he began, before quickly removing his hood "...am Oleg Luzhny". I vaguely recognised the name and sort of pretended to be impressed. "Tell your friend, Danny... is it? He could make a good winger, but he must not neglect his defensive duties." He then walked away, grinning. This was the first time he'd ever left the pitch before we did. When I got home I looked him up but couldn't even find an 'Oleg Luzhny' (this was 2005 and wikipedia wasn't what it is now). Turns out at the time he was a scout for Arsenal and had been spotted at a few parks around the country, feeding the ducks, playing on the swings etc, before being relieved of his duties and going back to his native Ukraine.