The ex-Scotland winger picks his finest line-up from a selection of former Chelsea, Everton and Tranmere pals – and explains why he once dressed as a schoolgirl…
NEVILLE SOUTHALL
“At Everton, Neville [below] was among the best goalkeepers in the world, if not the best for a period. In training, we’d do a drill where we shot from 20 yards. After 15 minutes he hadn’t let in a goal – and he wasn’t using his hands! He was heading or chesting the ball away. We couldn’t shoot any more, we were laughing so much!”
IAN SNODIN
“Ian could play left, right or centre-back, or central midfield. It didn’t matter, he was still exceptional. A sad thing happened, though – I was playing with him at Everton, I sent him down the line for an overlap, just gave it too much and he pulled his hamstring. He was on the cusp of taking the right-back position for England – I always felt that was all my fault.”
STEVE CLARKE
“Steve’s often overlooked – he’s right up there in Chelsea’s all-time appearance list. He was always the same calm personality that you see today as Scotland manager – that classic arid dour Scots thing, which I enjoy. We Scots get that, we know it’s humour…”
COLIN PATES
“Colin played alongside me at Chelsea – put him in the modern game and he’d be superb. He was so cultured and confident on the ball. He was also a Monty Python surrealist with his humour. I went to a party in Wimbledon and got it wrong – I was at a different party nearby, which was fancy dress, and dressed as a schoolgirl. Then I went over to the other party, which wasn’t fancy dress… Everyone looked at me like, ‘What on Earth?’ Colin just said, ‘Hi Patsy, how are you doing?’”
TONY DORIGO
“Tony was lightning fast. If you beat him in training, he’d leap up and get back at you quicker than anyone. Another very modern footballer.”
TREVOR STEVEN
“A gliding midfielder with great vision. People called him ‘Tricky Trev’ but he never struck me as tricky – he was really classy in everything he did. Then he went to play for Rangers, so he’s almost Scottish, isn’t he?”
GED BRANNAN
“Some may not know the name, but he’s my first Tranmere player in this team. He was like Bryan Robson – a good goalscorer, but if you stuck him at left-back he was ace there too.”
NORMAN WHITESIDE
“At Everton, it didn’t take me long to realise that without the injuries, he’d have been one of the best of his generation, anywhere in th
