English Players Abroad Part 2 - Where in the world are they now?

Following on from last weeks article where we covered Darius Vassell being mobbed by Turkish ultras and Heskey-mania down under, I have picked out another handful of Englishmen that have decided to ply their trade abroad.


Michael Bridges - Newcastle Jets, Australia. 2009- present




Michael Bridges was once one of the bright up and coming English striking talents in the Premier League. In the late 1990's a prolific spell at Sunderland landed him a 5 million pound transfer to Leeds United. In his inaugural season at the Elland Road club, Bridges bagged 19 league goals to help them qualify for the UEFA Champions League. It looked as if England may have another young in form striker alongside Michael Owen to bolster their international side. However Bridges career was about to enter a downward spiral which he would never recover from. A serious injury against Turkish side Besiktas led to Bridges having regular visits to the physio for four years, he only made 10 more appearances for Leeds in this time scoring no goals. After leaving Leeds in 2004, Bridges was a shadow of the player he once was. He join a string of Premier League and Championship clubs with little success before finding himself at League 2 Carlisle United in 2005 where he was influential in their promotion to League 1 before once again struggling to find the form he once possessed as a Premier League fledgling. For the past 3 seasons he has settled in Australia where he is now playing for the Newcastle Jets alongside fellow Englishman Emile Heskey. He has been a moderate success in the A League netting 9 goals in 39 appearances. However, he must be wondering what he could  of achieved had his ankle not shattered that one night in Turkey.


Francis Jeffers - Floriana, Malta. October 2012- Present.



Once dubbed the 'fox in the box', Francis Jeffers was supposed to be the first of two great striking forces to come out of the Everton academy in the early noughties. He started his career brightly at the Toffees scoring 20 goals in 60 appearances and was offered the chance to become the clubs highest paid player in their history. However, Jeffers rejected this chance which led to him becoming outcasted by his own fans. This led to his departure from Everton where he sealed a dream move to high-flyers Arsenal for 8 million pounds. His time at the Gunners was dogged by injury and he found himself struggling to break into the side, which is understandable considering when Thierry Henry is your club's lead striker. After leaving Arsenal Jeffers never lived up to the potential he showed at Everton and has played for 8 different clubs since, including spells in both Scotland and Australia  He has recently signed for Maltese Premier League side Floriana which shows that even a player that Everton once rated as highly as Wayne Rooney in their youth academy can flounder if injuries and attitude stand in their way to success.

Sam Hewson - Fram, Iceland. 2011 - Present.



Sam Hewson was considered a great prospect in the Manchester United academy. He captained the under-18 side scoring 5 goals on route to the 2007 FA Youth Cup final where he played alongside current United first teamers Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley. However in the coming years his progressed stalled and he was subsequently released by United. After struggling to find a club upon becoming a free agent, he found a club in the form of Conference Premier side Altrincham. However, after only 19 appearances for the Manchester based side he was released for the second time in his career.Since 2011, Sam has plied his trade for Icelandic outfit Fram. It is sad to see a player who once showed much promise as a youngster falling of the track career wise in just two years after being released from Manchester United.

Rohan Ricketts - Dempo, India. 2012 - Present.



It is hard to believe that Rohan Ricketts is only 29 with the endless list of clubs he say he has represented. After beginning his Premier League career with Tottenham Hotspur in 2002, Ricketts became a first team regular under Glenn Hoddle and Sven Goran Eriksson's right hand man Tord Gripp even touted him for the England Squad. However after Hoddle's sacking from Spurs, Ricketts fell out of favour and found first team opportunities hard to come by, After a series of loan spells in England, Ricketts left Tottenham in 2005 and  in 2008 after two short spells for Wolverhampton and Barnsley, he packed his bags and started his travels across the footballing globe. Ricketts could arguably be the most 'cultured' journeyman in football with his cv showing he has played for several clubs across the world. He has played in Canada, Germany, Hungary and even Moldova since leaving England. Ricketts can now be found at Indian champions Dempo. Ricketts is said to be enjoying life in India and is fascinated by the difference in culture. He has noted that recently he had two cows blocking the entrance to his house and saw a python slivering along the street on the way back from a game. Ricketts will end of being as travelled as Michael Palin if he continues to travel to the far outposts of the football world.

MATCH REPORT: Redditch United 3-1 Worcester City

Redditch edge out Worcester in cagey Worcestershire derby.

Redditch will meet Kidderminster Harriers in the semi final of the Worcestershire Senior Cup after seeing off an under par Worcester City side in extra time, which hands them two losses in the space of four days after being knocked out of the F.A Cup by Bromley on Saturday.

Joel Grandison grabbed a brace after being moved inside from the wing where he was much more effective before Josh Quaynor finished Worcester off in a game where chances were few and far between in the 90 minutes.

Redditch started the game brightly and controlled the opening 15 minutes but they often took one touch to many in the final third before being dispossessed by the Worcester defenders.

Redditch thought they had broken the deadlock after 25 minutes when a well timed through ball from Connor Deards found Jack Cresswell who slotted the ball past the keeper only to find out he had been flagged offside.

Worcester finally forced James Wren into a save at the half hour mark and had the ball in the back of the net six minutes later. Worcester won a free kick 30 yards from goal which was lofted into the box and it looked certain that Wren would collect the ball; however he spilled it only for Michael Taylor to take advantage and place the ball into the net to give Worcester an easy lead.

Joel Grandison, Redditch's man of the match.

After the interval Worcester had the largest share of possession but Redditch created the better chances, Cresswell was again sent through one on one with the keeper, only to place a tame shot into the goalkeeper’s hands.

Redditch levelled the game after 76 minutes when Cresswell had a role reversal from his earlier chances and became provider for Grandison, a neat through ball from Cresswell sent Grandison down the middle one on one with the Worcester keeper before calmly side footing a shot into the left hand corner of the goal to force the game into extra time.

Redditch started extra time full of energy and this was rewarded with a fortunate but deserved 2nd goal from Grandison. The ball was lofted into the box and Grandison and the keeper both went up for the ball and the keeper deflected the ball onto Grandison’s head, which led to the ball trickling into the net to send Redditch ahead.

Redditch continued to dominate extra time before sealing the win and Redditch place in the semi final in the 114 minute. Captain Josh Quaynor converted a whipped free kick from the right hand side of the box that bypassed the entire Worcester defence.

Redditch team and ratings: Wren 5, Moran 6 ( Sub: Jenkins 7), Quaynor 7, Hickman 7, Flanagan 6, Richards 7, GRANDISON 8, Hands 6, Cresswell 7, Deards 7, Oshungbure 6.

English players abroad still an ageing minority

Since the inaugural Premier League season, 1,397 foreign players have graced the pitches of Premier League grounds up and down the country. This season 60% of players registered in the Premier League are from overseas. So in modern English football, we are certainly no strangers to playing the game ‘spot the English player’ in many of our Premier League sides. However, despite the influx of foreign players coming to ply their trade in England’s top division, it is extremely rare that you see English or even players from the British Isles playing in other European or world leagues.  During the late 80’s and early 90’s there were a number of top British talent that played abroad such as Gary Lineker at Barcelona, Mark Hughes at Bayern Munich and Paul Gascoigne at Lazio. However in the last 10 years, you could near enough count the number of Englishmen playing overseas on your hands.  Of those players that go abroad, the majority of them are either arguably past their peak and are going because of a chunky pay packet or they have fallen under the radar in England due to personal reasons or long term injuries.

Here are a few players who are currently or have had a spell overseas in the last few seasons.

Lee Hendrie – Bandung, Indonesia. 2011.

Once a player who had it all and aged 21 was picked instead of Frank Lampard to win his first England, Lee Hendrie’s footballing career plummeted into darkness a few years ago after a number of serious injuries and personal problems. In 2011 he signed for Bandung FC of the Indonesian Premier League on a lucrative contract. Hendrie mustered up 15 appearances for Bandung before being released. Following this Hendrie has had a rough few years after being declared bankrupt in January 2012 and has even trying to take his own life. However, after a string of appearances for a handful of non league sides (Even a spell at my beloved Redditch United) he is now playing in the Conference Premier, Hendrie seems a changed man and thankfully seems be getting back on his feet.

Emile Heskey – Newcastle Jets, Austrailia. 2012- Present.

Heskey was released at the end of last season by Aston Villa and spent all summer without a club until Newcastle Jets came in for him. A signing to counter Jets’ arch rivals Sydney FC’s signing of Alessandro Del Piero. Emile was the butt of most football jokes in English football but since going down under he has proved a massive hit. Jets fans immediately went Heskey mad bought so many of his replica shirts that 5,000 more have been ordered to keep up with demand. He had a debut to remember volleying in his first goal for the Jets and outshining Del Piero, as Jets beat Sydney 3-2.

Robbie Fowler - North Queensland Fury, Perth Glory and Muangthong United. 2010-12.

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler spent the last three seasons of his career playing on the other side of the world. Fowler joined North Queensland Fury and became their first marquee signing. However, he only lasted a season there after having a serious fall out with the club and signed for Perth Glory for the following season. After a successful year at Perth where he was their top scorer, Fowler accepted an obscure offer to play for Muangthong United in Thailand where he was even made manager half way through the season.

Nicky Butt – South China, Hong Kong. 2010-11.

One of the members of United’s class of 92 that won the F.A Youth Cup final, Nicky Butt went on to have great success in 12 seasons at Old Trafford before a move to Newcastle where he made 134 league appearances. However, Butt ended his career far from the glitz and glamour of Old Trafford and St James Park with a move to Hong Kong club, South China where ex Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman was also part of the squad. Butt scored a free kick on his debut and made 3 appearances for South China before hanging up his boots and returning to England.

Darius Vassell – Ankaragucu 2009-10.

Ex Aston Villa and England striker Darius Vassell signed for Turkish club Ankaragucu after being released by Manchester City.  Upon Vassell’s arrival in Ankara, he was greeted with one of the most bizarre fan reactions ever with around 3000 fans turning up to the airport; you do wonder whether the Ankaragucu fans had been told they had signed Lionel Messi  rather than Vassell. In the end, Vassell only spent one season in Turkey due to broken promises over his salary and unpaid wages and returned home.

These are just a few of the Englishmen who decided to leave the comfort of the British isles for an alien football experience, however what is evident from this batch is all of them moved abroad in the twilight of their careers, none in their prime. In the past ten years, you could say only McManaman, Beckham, Owen and Woodgate’s moves to Read Madrid are the only players who moved when at the peak of their careers. It just does not seem that many of our players are interested in moving across Europe or even the world unless the likes of Real or Barca come a calling or there is a tasty pay packet involved. Therefore, if the number of English players abroad does increase, expect it to be 30+ year old's moving to obscure corners of the globe for one last lucrative season in the sunshine before retirement.

Come back next week for part 2 where I will seek out further English players who have decided to join retirement leagues abroad.

Non League Football - Its dark age or renaissance?

Weedy terraces, failing floodlights, bad pitches, sloppy burgers, cheap pints and generally mediocre football. Put all these things together and you something that is known as the Non League. Currently, the Non League is arguably suffering its all time low. The credit crunch and reduced rates at Premier League and Championship clubs has led to reduced attendances and financial difficulties for many clubs. People are refusing to part with their cash to watch their local team at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. You can see why when they can sit in their comfy armchair and watch Jeff Stelling and co or their favourite team on a grainy illegal stream with Brazilian commentators getting overexcited and shouting GOOOOAL every time the ball hits the back of the net. However, as much as non league football might not be pretty or as comfortable as Saturday afternoon in front of the television, it is people’s reluctance to go watch their local team play that makes me feel that romance in football is certainly fading. Where have the days gone where people would wake up on a Saturday morning as if it was Christmas waiting for 3pm to roll around so they could watch their local team play?  It is sad to see that Sky’s influence on Football is slowly killing off interest in non league football, or even distorting its existence behind the glitz and glamour of the Premier League.

Despite dwindling attendances however, the non league game still has the ability to be totally infectious. In recent seasons, there has certainly been a slight disillusionment with the Premier League and the top level game because of overpaid players, the league becoming a game of monopoly between foreign investors, and pansy players rivalling Tom Daley’s diving skills. Some fans eventually had enough and decided to give the non league game a chance, coming and watching Redditch United’s first away fixture of the season at Oxford City. Their reaction at the end of the game proves that the non league experience certainly has something to offer. They quickly became involved with the singing section of our supporters and enjoyed what was a competitive game of football. Since this game, they have become firmly part of Redditch’s hardcore supporters. These fans fresh enthusiasm for the club and the non league game has even rubbed off on some of the clubs long term fans who certainly had reason to have a lack of enthusiasm for the reds after seasons of turmoil on and off the pitch. There without doubt is some hope that there can be new found interest in non league football and that it is not becoming the final remnants of what English football used to be.

Recently, the non league clubs finally got some of national coverage in the form of Non League Day. If you hadn't already heard of it, it was a dedicated day to go watch your local non league team play while all Premier League players had jetted off for international duty. This acted as a great platform to showcase the non league experience to Premier League fans and people just love any form of the beautiful game. It was certainly success with attendances bolstered up and down the country.

It proves that there is something that draws people to the non league game; it just is suffering because it does not get the same media attention as the big leagues. Hopefully non league day is just a foundation for a reinforced support for grass-roots football, as many clubs are in dire need of financial support. I am lucky that I even still have a club to support; it got so desperate at Redditch United in 2010 that bailiffs came in to take away the goalposts and team kit if bills were not paid. So if you have a passion for any level of football whether it is the World Cup final or a kick about in the park with jumpers for goalposts, I urge that you give the non league experience a chance, it will not disappoint and it needs your support.