Your first footballing hero?

[Walkley_Owl]

Dunno if HBK or anyone else for that matter has done a thread on this but thought i'd share mine with you;

David Eric Hirst, born Cudworth 7/12/67 :
Signed 1986 from Barnsley £200k
Sold October 1997 Southampton £2m
Debut 23rd August 1986 v Chartlon (a)
First Goal 25th August 1986 v Everton (h)
Last game 4th October 1997 v Everton (h)
Final Goal 22nd March 1997 v Leeds (h)
SWFC Career 359 appearances 128 goals

https://reeshowls.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/my-hirst-footballing-hero/

 

[SF_]

Was a bit too young to fully appreciate Andy Saville's cult hero exploits so mine would be Sean Gregan.

Proper hard man, great leader, full bloodied challenges, the occasional decapitation of an opposition midfielder... he could play as well. Cost us £350k from Darlington, clocking up 255 games and captaining us to the Division Two title and then 90 minutes away from the Prem before having a crack at the top flight with a £2m move to West Brom.

Plenty of likable players from that era though; Kurt Nogan, David Eyres, Mark Rankine, Jon Macken, Grezza, Michael Jackson, Michael Appleton....

 

[TomPNE94]

Jonny Macken was always my favourite player at that time (with Eyres and Gregan close behind) remember being absolutely gutted when he left.

 

[MagpieBee]

Definitely Alan Shearer.

A few others from the time - Shay Given, Gary Speed, Jay Tabb, Sam Sodje

 

[markwwfc1992]

Robbie Keane was always my favourite player growing up watching Wolves. After that, probably Lescott or Kenny Miller.

 

[Bobbin']

Definitely Alan Shearer.

A few others from the time - Shay Given, Gary Speed, Jay Tabb, Sam Sodje

Sam Sodje He was a walking red card but couldn't help but like him when he was with us.

Lee Bowyer was the first Charlton player I really idolised, he was brilliant for us in his one year, shame he couldn't have stayed longer.

Clive Mendonca. Best finisher I have ever seen in a Charlton shirt, probably won't see a better one. The bloke was superb, you only need to look at his three goals in the play-off final in '98 to see how good a finisher he was. Devastated that he had to retire early and never got a proper crack at the Prem.

Away from Charlton, Giggs was always my hero growing up.

 

[Walkley_Owl]

Away from Charlton, Giggs was always my hero growing up.

Apart from the knobbing yer brothers bird bit?

 

[Bobbin']

Apart from the knobbing yer brothers bird bit?

I didn't know about that as a young whipper snapper.

 

[kelbiiz]

For me it was either jay jay okocha or Stelios

 

[markwwfc1992]

Forgot George Ndah, was there on that freezing night up at Hillsbrough when he played his last game for us. Bit of a cult hero at Wolves, always injured though.

 

[MagpieBee]

Sam Sodje He was a walking red card but couldn't help but like him when he was with us.

Lee Bowyer was the first Charlton player I really idolised, he was brilliant for us in his one year, shame he couldn't have stayed longer.

Clive Mendonca. Best finisher I have ever seen in a Charlton shirt, probably won't see a better one. The bloke was superb, you only need to look at his three goals in the play-off final in '98 to see how good a finisher he was. Devastated that he had to retire early and never got a proper crack at the Prem.

Away from Charlton, Giggs was always my hero growing up.

Any centre half who can do step overs and somersaults while playing is awesome in my books.

 

[tiltontrev]

As a young kid I don't really remember any 'heroes' as such, my first idol was Paul Tait, absolute fucking loon, he was like an unprofessional Robbie Savage, even as a kid a winced whenever he went in for a tackle!!! When he was injured etc he was often found in the local pubs round the ground with the Blues mob or on the terraces getting stuck in

Not to mention scoring the winner at Wembley and revealing THAT tshirt, wrote him into Blues folk law in an instant...

 

[Walkley_Owl]

I remember that, circa 95/96?

 

[big mean bunny]

Stephen George Bull, 65k for him and Andy Thompson from West Brom (over 350 games and 40 goals for Thomo, awesome record when you consider he was a left back)

Bull got 306 goals for Wolves in about 500 apps, 18 hattricks, England international after storming the Div 2 (think he got 55 goals that year off the top of my head) and went to Italy 90, scored against Scotland, linked with a host of clubs but never left. Utterly lovely bloke. You'd go to games believing you had a chance, regardless of opposition. Was gutted when he wasn't fit enough to start in the cup semi final against Arsenal.

My preston hero is Iain Anderson...

 

[tiltontrev]

I remember that, circa 95/96?

Yeah just the year earlier, everyone loved Taitey anyway as a local lad and a one club man (at the time), the t-shirt incident was the cherry on the cake. I was 14 at the time just starting to go to games with mates etc, it was a great time, Barry Fry in charge, loads of nutty players the likes of Liam Daish spring to mind, the Golds & Sullivans etc had just taken us over. I guess everyone remembers their teenage years with rose tinted glasses but I bloody loved that era, we were still shit but it was a brilliant laugh guaranteed.

 

[Nuttall]

For me it'd be Paolo Di Canio, obviously he wasn't at Wednesday that long but he's the first one i really remember and even after Wednesday he was a genius.

Away from Wednesday i always liked Zola

 

[tiltontrev]

Away from Blues for me in the same sort of era I could sit and watch Cantona all day.

 

[AnkleBiter]

Our Boothy, the fugly bastard.

 

[Bobbin']

Was he playing in his nighty in that game?

 

[mnb089mnb]

Mine was Carl Dale.

He's an electrician these days. Apt as he was always a bright spark in front of goal (or something).

 

[Walkley_Owl]

Our Boothy, the fugly bastard.

He ran like he'd shit his keks!

 

[Luke_1884]

Definitely Alan Shearer.

Ditto to this, I've got Blackburn and Newcastle shirts with his name on the back from when I was a young kid. Loved the guy.

First Derby hero was definitely Seth Johnson, was gutted when he left for Leeds. For him to inadvertently fuck Leeds over and then return to the club to help us win promotion just topped it off. Shame he didn't get a run out last Thursday at the testimonial.

 

[StevieEvansRedNWhiteArmy]

Alan Shearer in general.

Steve Thompson, Leo-Fortune West and Ronnie Moore. Weird saying Ronnie Moore but he was always the biggest thing about Rotherham United to me when growing up.

 

[TomPNE94]

For me it was either jay jay okocha or Stelios

Interesting.

A Chelsea fan from Vietnam whose footballing heroes were both Bolton players.

Hello HBK, forget to switch accounts did ya?

 

[The Fack]

Like every 30-something year old Wolves fan (I hope), it's Bully. It wasn't just about the 306 goals, it was about the passion and loyalty that didn't just endeared himself to the fans, but his wholehearted connection. Can't put a price on that and you rarely get that nowadays.

 

[Habbinalan]

George Smith, quickly followed by Mick Hartland, Brian Arrowsmith and Fred Else when George moved to Portsmouth in 1967.

By 1968/69 they'd all peaked.

 

[TomPNE94]

George Smith, quickly followed by Mick Hartland, Brian Arrowsmith and Fred Else when George moved to Portsmouth in 1967.

By 1968/69 they'd all peaked.

Fred Else was a proper legend, my grandad was absolutely devastated when he died last year.

 

[KevinMcallister]

Gary Speed

 

[joethegill]

Was a bit too young to fully appreciate Andy Saville's cult hero exploits so mine would be Sean Gregan.

Proper hard man, great leader, full bloodied challenges, the occasional decapitation of an opposition midfielder... he could play as well. Cost us £350k from Darlington, clocking up 255 games and captaining us to the Division Two title and then 90 minutes away from the Prem before having a crack at the top flight with a £2m move to West Brom.

Still a wanker though

 

[Muzzle]

John Byrom
Frank Worthington