Not many of them, but Sidwell’s goals were memorable

STEVE SIDWELL was not a recognised goalscorer but when he did find the back of the net it was often memorable and headline-making.

Such was his most talked about goal for Brighton – hit from the centre circle away to Bristol City in a Championship match on Bonfire Night in 2016.

Eight years earlier, he stunned Goodison Park by rifling home from 25 yards after only 31 seconds of Aston Villa’s 7 December Premier League visit to Everton.

I was at Ashton Gate to see Sidwell’s amazing 50-yard lob over stranded Robins’ ‘keeper Richard O’Donnell (Jamie Murphy added a second in promotion-chasing Albion’s 2-0 win).

Manager Chris Hughton said: “It was a wonderful strike by Sidwell on his left foot when I would have expected it more from his right. It caught everyone by surprise, including their goalkeeper.”

I was also at the City Ground, Nottingham, seven months earlier when Sidwell went on as an 85th-minute sub and scored the winner (below) in the 91st minute to earn a 2-1 victory over Forest.

With his right foot this time, he drilled the ball in from 12 yards giving Albion a fourth win in five games which extended their unbeaten run to nine games.

“We felt that the game was becoming open and we felt we could bring players off the bench who could influence the game,” said Hughton. “One thing about Steve Sidwell is that he can break forward from midfield. I did not bring him on for that, but I am very glad he did it.”

Back to that game for Villa in 2008; moments after kick-off, Everton’s Mikel Arteta lost possession to Ashley Young. He fed James Milner who in turn found Sidwell. Finding himself with a sight at goal from 25 yards, he buried a stunning shot past Tim Howard. In an extraordinary end to the game, Young, who had scored Villa’s second, got a 94^th-minute winner for the visitors after Joleon Lescott thought he’d salvaged a point in the 93^rd minute, netting his second of the game.

That opener at Goodison was a rare highlight for Sidwell in what overall was an unhappy two and a half years at Villa.

Sidwell had first caught Villa boss Martin O’Neill’s eye when he scored twice for Reading in a 2-0 home victory over Villa in February 2007.

O’Neill tried to land him before he opted to join Chelsea (the team he’d supported as a boy) and, by all accounts, predecessor David O’Leary had also tried to sign him.

So, it appeared to be a case of third time lucky when in July 2008 O’Neill took him for a reported £5million fee from being a Chelsea benchwarmer and gave him a three-year contract.

After success at Reading, where he had been reunited with Steve Coppell (who’d had him on loan at Brentford and Brighton as a young Arsenal player, as covered in my 2017 blog post), Sidwell had a disappointing season at Stamford Bridge, where he made just seven Premier League starts.

Managerial change didn’t help his cause: he’d been signed by Jose Mourinho who left early in the season to be replaced by Avram Grant.

Sidwell later admitted: “I left for Aston Villa in search of regular football. In hindsight, I wished I’d stayed another six months because Luiz Felipe Scolari came in and you never know what might have happened then.”

At the time, Sidwell told Villa’s official website: “For me personally, it’s about getting back and playing. I have had a year of not playing as much as I would have liked so to get out on the pitch is the first aim.”

Although he played in both legs of the InterToto Cup tie against Odense in July, knee and calf problems delayed his league debut until the end of October which he marked with a goal after going on as a late substitute in a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic. That and the strike at Everton were two of four league and cup goals he scored for Villa that season when his 25 appearances (20 starts + five as sub) would ultimately amount to nearly half the total he made for the club: 37 starts + 27 as sub.

He didn’t add any more goals in the claret and blue and in the remainder of his time at Villa Park he was never really a regular, eg in 2009-10 only 14 of 33 appearances were as a starter and in 2010-11, three of six under Gérard Houllier.

Although he and O’Neill clashed on occasion, the Northern Irishman did say: “I’ve been very happy with him. It’s just that other players playing in positions all over the place have been playing brilliantly. Some people are playing out of their skin at this minute in our team. But I’ve been very pleased since he’s arrived at the football club.”

Sidwell’s former Reading teammate Nicky Shorey, who’d joined him at Villa Park, had high expectations of him ahead of his second season, telling the Birmingham Mail: “I don’t think Villa have seen the best of him yet. It’s been a strange season for Siddy. He’s been out injured for long periods and he’s picked up niggles here and there. I don’t think he’s ever had that before.

“For as long as I’ve known him, he’s never really been injured, so I think that’s something new for Siddy to try and learn from.”

Shorey said Sidwell had remained positive and upbeat around Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park and reckoned: “When he comes back for pre-season and hopefully has a good pre-season you’ll see the best of him and I think everyone will be impressed with how well he can do.

“When you know Siddy, that’s all he ever does – trains and plays with a smile. You haven’t got any worries with him on that count. He just keeps going and he’ll be fine. He’s just an all-round good midfielder and I’m sure he’ll show that before too long.”

Sidwell found himself competing for a midfield place with the likes of Milner (before his move to Manchester City), Gareth Barry, Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker and Craig Gardner. He revealed later that he’d fallen out with O’Neill and at one point he went on the transfer list.

After O’Neill quit in protest at the sale of Milner to City, and ahead of Houllier’s appointment, Sidwell hoped to be given a new lease of life in claret and blue.

He overcame an Achilles’ problem and declared himself raring to go after playing 90 minutes in a 4-0 reserve team win over Blackpool at Bodymoor Heath.

“I feel I’ve shown glimpses,” he told the Birmingham Mail. “In the previous years, there have been good games and some poor games.

“If I get a run of games, I am sure I can perform to the best of my ability. Hopefully, now, whoever takes charge I will just get an opportunity and I will take it.

“It is going to be tough but it is down to individuals to perform in training, perform in reserve games and show the manager you are worthy of a start.

“Once you get that, you have to take it with both hands. Fitness wise, I’ve been training really well and looking sharp. It is just games that I need. I wasn’t unfit before the injury took place.”

When the Mail spoke to him ahead of a second city derby at the end of October 2010, Sidwell sought to exploit a two-month injury absence for Petrov saying: “It is all about opinions.

You don’t play under certain managers. Under certain managers you do get a chance.

“Once you get a chance it is about taking it and staying in the team.”

Sidwell started the game but was replaced by young Barry Bannan in the 58^th minute of the dour goalless draw – and it turned out to be his last game for Villa (he was an unused sub away to Fulham the following week).

It was in a 2018 interview with Donald McRae of The Guardian that Sidwell revealed the extent of his disillusionment at Villa, telling the journalist: “When I was at Aston Villa I was on the most money in my career. But that was when I was at my unhappiest. I was living in Birmingham away from my wife and family.

“My middle son caught meningitis and was in hospital. The football never really took off and me and Martin O’Neill clashed. So, it was a combination of things.”

Released on a free transfer in January 2011, after being deemed surplus to requirements by Houllier, Sidwell joined Fulham – which is a story for another blog post.

After three years with the Cottagers, he followed ex-Fulham boss Mark Hughes to Stoke City and it was from there that he made his initial return to Brighton, on a half-season loan.

*Sidwell in action for Albion against Villa*

In clinching his signing in January 2016, Hughton told the Albion website: “Steve is an experienced player who has played virtually his entire career in the Premier League. He knows this club, as well as a few of the squad and will supplement our existing midfield options.

“Beram Kayal, Dale Stephens, Andrew Crofts and others have been excellent in midfield for us this season, but we also need to make sure we have good options in every position of the team, and options which will be enough for us through until the end of the season.

“Steve brings that, and in addition, he is another experienced head; he is a player who’s proven at the very top level of English football. Brighton fans will know Steve is also a great athlete and top professional.”

Although he only made six starts, Sidwell went on as a sub 13 times in that half-season. When Albion had to endure the end-of-season play-offs after missing out on automatic promotion by only drawing (1-1) the last game of the season at Middlesbrough, it was Sidwell who stepped in to fill the boots of Stephens, who was suspended after his controversial sending off by Mike Dean at the Riverside Stadium.

Unfortunately, Sidwell was one of four Albion players who had to go off injured in the 2-0 play-off first leg defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. He suffered ligament damage but was taped up and given medication to enable him to play in the home tie, although he later admitted: “I should never have played really.”

He reckoned the Amex atmosphere for that game was the best he’d ever been involved in. In spite of a valiant effort, it ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw although Sidwell said: “I ended up playing one of my better games in a Brighton shirt, which maybe cemented a contract for the following season.”

Released on a free transfer by Stoke, Sidwell signed on a permanent basis for the Seagulls and was a key component in the side that won promotion from the Championship in May 2017. He made 29 starts plus eight substitute appearances that campaign.

“The whole reason behind my return was to help the club into the Premier League,” he said.

Sidwell was on the bench as Albion began life amongst the elite but after that “a slipped disc, surgery, and then before you know it your career’s gone.”

Sidwell later admitted: “It was really hard. I came here to do a job, to get the football club into the Premier League, and then it was time to go and enjoy it. I thought I had two or three years left, but that was cut very short.”

Recognising he was blessed to have enjoyed a 20-year career, he nonetheless said: “To not really say goodbye to football, something I’d done since I left school, and also to Brighton, was really disappointing.”

He stayed on at Albion as under-16s coach (right) for a while but increasingly his work as a pitchside pundit for live TV coverage of matches took up more of his time. He is also now a regular co-host of the popular That Peter Crouch Podcast.

Sidwell is also business development director of Box3 Projects, a company that constructs and designs office spaces to be rented out or sold.

The Foxes hero who led Albion’s line in an hour of need

STEVE CLARIDGE became a Leicester City hero long before briefly coming to Brighton’s rescue.

He scored the winner in a play-off final at Wembley to take the Foxes up to the Premier League at the expense of Crystal Palace, who’d discarded him at an early age.

Both sides had been relegated from the top flight the year before and Claridge’s right-foot strike past Nigel Martyn in the 120^th minute meant it was an immediate return for Martin O’Neill’s side.

“The high is not equal to anything,” Claridge told Leicestershire Live.

It came in 1996 and a year later he scored the only goal of the game (past Ben Roberts) in the 100^th minute of a replay against Middlesbrough to win Leicester the League Cup, leading to him being named FourFourTwo’s ‘Cult Hero of 1997’.

Claridge had only completed a £1.2m move from Birmingham City two months before that play-off and he labelled it the most important goal of his life coming after a worrying period in which he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to play again.

A mystery illness had ravaged his form and in only his fifth Leicester game he was taken off after 15 minutes. “Pins and needles from my knees down were so extreme, I could not even feel the ball,” he recalled.

It turned out a drug prescribed for a thyroid problem he’d had since the age of 12 was destroying his thyroid gland. “The main energy provider of my body was no longer functioning,” said Claridge.

However, once on the right medication, he made an almost unbelievable recovery, was restored to the side and helped to secure a play-off place.

After beating Stoke City in the semi-finals, they went a goal down to Palace in the final but pulled it back through a Garry Parker penalty before Claridge seized his chance in the dying moments of extra time.

*Wembley winners for Leicester: Garry Parker and Steve Claridge*

He collected a quick free kick from Parker and took aim, his shot from distance kissing the stanchion with goalkeeper Martyn motionless.

“The crowd is just really stunned in disbelief, I don’t know if that was because I’d hit it,” laughed Claridge. “It was so far out, and everybody was used to me scoring goals inside the six-yard box.”

He reflected: “To finish off after the lows I went through, the absolute lows where you’re thinking, ‘my career is over I can’t see a way out of this,’ to doing that and taking you to the ultimate high – winning that game of football. It’s unparalleled.”

Such experience was exactly what Championship strugglers Albion required when, on the back of three defeats, they faced the daunting prospect of promotion-seeking West Ham away on 13 November 2004.

Manager Mark McGhee, who’d previously signed Claridge when he was at Wolves and Millwall, was desperate to stem a tide which had seen eight goals conceded and no points on the board.

“He is one of the fittest players I’ve worked with and I had no doubt that after 18 months away from this level he would be able to perform,” said McGhee.

Claridge’s professional career looked to have run its course after he left Millwall in 2003 and became player-manager of Southern League side Weymouth.

But the disappointment of missing out on promotion had seen him and chairman Ian Ridley leave the club and Claridge, at the age of 38, was keen to give league football another go.

In what turned out to be a real backs-to-the-wall smash and grab raid, Albion earned the unlikeliest of 1-0 wins courtesy of a Guy Butters header from Richard Carpenter’s free kick.

Albion held firm despite a relentless wave of attacks by the home side and afterwards McGhee said: “We approached the game differently. Whereas before we thought we could win, today we did not, and played to make sure we didn’t get beaten.

“We kept the ball up front more which is important. Steve Claridge was key to that.”

Unfortunately, Brighton were not able to build on the win at the Boleyn Ground and there was only one more win (1-0 at home to Rotherham) during Claridge’s month with the club.

His fifth and final game for the Seagulls came away to his old club Millwall on 11 December 2004, when Albion lost 2-0.

In a programme feature about him that day, Claridge likened the circumstances of both clubs. “The club has no money and it is tough just to survive, but everyone is in it together,” he said. “At Millwall we had a great team spirit and togetherness, and that is very much the case here.”

McGhee’s tight budget prevented Claridge’s stay at Albion being extended and, after his deal was over, rather than it being one last hurrah, he went on to continue his league playing days at Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Gillingham, Bradford City and Walsall.

And, at the age of 40, and with him needing just one more game to fulfil the landmark of 1,000 professional games, his old club Bournemouth – where he’d started out as a professional in 1984 – gave him a match against Port Vale on 9 December 2006. No fairy tale, though, as they lost 4-0.

Born in Portsmouth on 10 April 1966, Claridge was brought up in Titchfield and began his football career at nearby Fareham Town in 1983. His initial foray into the pro game at Bournemouth only amounted to seven games before he moved to Weymouth for three years.

Crystal Palace offered him a route back to the full professional game in 1988 but he didn’t make their league side and after three months moved on to fourth tier Aldershot Town.

Two spells with Cambridge United followed between 1990 and 1994 for whom he scored 46 goals in 132 games. A falling out with manager John Beck saw him sold to Luton Town in 1992, but he was then bought back after Beck’s departure.

Birmingham City paid £350,000 to take Claridge to St Andrews and he became one of the club’s most prolific goalscorers, netting 35 in 88 games, and was top scorer with 25 goals when part of Barry Fry’s Blues side that won the Second Division title and the Auto Windscreens Shield (Football League Trophy) in the 1994-95 season.

After spending two years at Leicester, he went on a two-month loan to his hometown club, Portsmouth, but, in March 1998, McGhee signed him for the first time – and it didn’t go well.

The Scot, who had controversially left Leicester to take over at Wolves, took Claridge to Molineux for a £350,000 fee. But Wolves fans were not impressed, as Levelle revealed in this 2012 piece, and after just six games and no goals in the famous old gold shirt, he was sold to Portsmouth for £250,000 at the end of the season.

Even more galling for Wolves followers was that no sooner had Claridge made the switch to Portsmouth, he scored all three in a 3-1 win at Fratton Park!

David Miller in The Telegraph wrote: “The 34-year-old Steve Claridge, who had failed to score in five months when previously with Wolves, now gave sun-blessed Portsmouth a bank holiday funfair with a first- half hat-trick that was as easy as licking an ice-lolly.”

The goals and games came thick and fast for Claridge back on home turf – 34 in 104 – but his reign as player-manager at Fratton Park in 2000 was curtailed after just 25 games by the quirky chairman Milan Mandarić.

Remembering the player he’d seen only briefly a couple of years earlier, McGhee, by now in charge at Millwall, offered the striker a lifeline with the Lions, initially on loan and then as a permanent signing.

*Going through the pain barrier at Millwall*

Over two seasons in south east London, he became something of a fans’ favourite, scoring 26 in 85 matches, his efforts summed up by writer Mark Litchfield. “His style was unconventional, to say the least: shirt untucked, one sock down and no shin pads, any naïve defender probably thought they could eat him for breakfast. But hard work was a pre-requisite for Claridge – he wouldn’t give any opposition player a moment’s rest and would more often than not always get the better of them, too.”

Claridge had a less happy association with Millwall too when in July 2005 he was sacked after just 36 days as manager when the chairman who appointed him, Jeff Burnidge, was replaced by Theo Paphitis, who wanted Colin Lee instead.

Even after achieving the 1,000-game landmark courtesy of Bournemouth, Claridge couldn’t resist the lure of another game, turning out for Worthing, Harrow Borough, Weymouth and Gosport Borough.

He was one of a group of five that formed Salisbury FC at the end of 2014, and as team manager was involved in gaining two promotions in the Southern League before leaving in October 2022.

Although he had officially hung up his boots in 2012 after helping Gosport to promotion to the Southern League Premier Division, in 2017 he played in a friendly defeat to Portsmouth in July and then put himself on against Paulton Rovers in the league a few weeks later.

His final ever game as a player came in a 3-2 victory over Fareham Town, when he was a remarkable 51, but he had to go off in the 71st-minute after picking up an injury.

*Pundit Claridge contributed his thoughts on radio and TV*

Claridge also became a familiar face and voice working as a pundit for the BBC on TV at Football Focus and Final Score and on BBC Radio 5 Live. He also wrote scouting reports on promising players for The Guardian, numbering future Brighton signing Matt Sparrow among them.

“He is easy on the eye, links well with his forwards but also protects and helps his defenders by tackling from the wrong side and makes sure he tracks his runner whenever he threatens to get goal-side,” wrote Claridge of the then Scunthorpe United player in 2007.

Claridge later set up his own coaching scheme for youngsters in Salisbury and Warsash.

In 2023, he took over as manager of Gosport-based Wessex League Division One side Fleetlands FC for the 2023-24 season. In August 2024 they announced he was stepping down from the role “due to personal reasons”.
On its website, a statement added: “The club would like to place on record our huge thanks to Steve for taking up the role in our hour of need and taking us to a fantastic 5th place finish last season.”

Milner in the centre hailed ‘sensational’ by manager O’Neill

THE RECORD books show James Milner’s most prolific season with Aston Villa came in 2009-10 although the club’s nearly-but-not-quite campaign proved to be a signal for him to move on.

Milner at 23 won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award after scoring 12 goals and assisting 16 more in 49 appearances for the club.

Villa repeated the previous season’s sixth place finish in the Premier League (and qualified for Europe again), reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and were runners-up to Man Utd in the League Cup final (Milner scored a fifth minute penalty but United prevailed 2-1).

Milner also collected the fans’ player of the year accolade that season, after he had successfully moved into a central midfield role, playing alongside Stylian (Stan) Petrov.

“I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “I used to play there a bit when I was younger and obviously played a lot of football out wide since then.

“But I’ve enjoyed it immensely moving into the middle and, having Stan in there, you just seem to get a bit more of the ball and get involved a bit more. I’m still learning the role but enjoying it.”

In March that year, with Villa in contention for a top four finish, manager Martin O’Neill positively drooled about the player after an outstanding second-half performance at Wigan when he fired in a winner on the hour.

“It was an extraordinary performance by a really good player,” said O’Neill. “Since he has stepped into central midfield his game has improved tenfold and he continues to go from strength to strength.

“When you play wide you depend on other people giving you the ball to get into the game but when you have got that determination and energy, you might as well use it in the centre of the field.

“It is something we have been crying out for, a midfielder scoring double figures, and he has been sensational.”

*Milner in action for Villa against League One Albion’s Alan Navarro in the FA Cup* *in 2010*

O’Neill walked out on Villa five days before the start of the 2010-11 season and it turned out Milner’s imminent move to Manchester City was the cause. O’Neill later explained that he over-reacted to an about-turn by Villa owner Randy Lerner.

He told the Claret & Blue podcast Lerner had promised to keep Milner and bring in Scott Parker to play alongside him, but within 24 hours the plan was ditched and Milner was sold to City for £26m, with Stephen Ireland going in the opposite direction as a makeweight.

“I have to say I took these things too personally,” said O’Neill. “I brought James into the football club, he’d been out on loan at Villa and done fine but I changed him from wide right to central midfield and he was fantastic for us.”

However, Milner’s rationale for wanting the move was explained in an interview with The Guardian. “Villa came very close to winning a trophy, they had a lot of good players but were just that tiny bit short of getting to the next level,” he said.

“They needed to bring players in but it became clear from Randy Lerner that Villa might have to sell to buy. It made me think City had a better chance of progressing and challenging for trophies. I had a great time at Villa and improved as a player, but City is a club going places very quickly.”

Ever the professional, Milner played for Villa in the opening Premier League match of the season while the finer details of his move were completed and he was even applauded off at the end having been booed at the start of it.

In another edition of the Claret & Blue podcast, Villa’s former chief executive Paul Faulkner said: “I remember that game and 10 or 15 minutes in there was a 50-50 ball and he went in and it felt like all of Villa Park held its breath but he won the ball, got up and ended up scoring as well and went off a few minutes later to a standing ovation.

“There was that sense of ‘What an individual he is’. He did it for Villa and the fans, because he is a decent person.”

Faulkner added: “His attitude, approach and what he brings on the football pitch – and still does – he’s an amazing guy. He’s a straightforward, stand-up guy and absolutely decent.

“What a player, he would do anything for the team.”

Milner’s first spell in Villa’s colours had come in the 2005-06 season after Newcastle manager Graeme Souness had made it plain Milner wasn’t his kind of player.

Former Toon midfielder Nolberto Solano wanted to return to his old club from Villa so Milner’s old Leeds boss David O’Leary, by then in charge at Villa Park, insisted any deal should include Milner on loan in return.

“Nobody at the club wanted Nobby to leave. So, we initially rejected Newcastle’s offer,” O’Leary told the club website. “But Nobby made it very clear that he wanted to leave. There is clearly no point in trying to hold on to a player under those circumstances.

“We were determined to ensure his departure benefited Aston Villa. We held out for a fee that reflects what we paid to Newcastle and also insisted that James Milner was included in the package.

“When you consider what we’ve got in return for a player who wanted to be elsewhere, we’ve definitely got the best of the deal.”

Milner didn’t take long to get on the scoresheet, scoring in a 1-1 draw at home to Spurs. Three days later he scored twice in an 8-3 mauling of Wycombe Wanderers in the League Cup.

But any hopes of Villa finishing in the top half of the Premier League were dashed by them only registering 10 league wins all season. They finished third from bottom of the table and O’Leary was sacked. Shortly after, the chairman, ‘Deadly’ Doug Ellis, ended a 38-year association with Villa by selling the club to Lerner and O’Neill was appointed manager.

It seemed like Newcastle had finally agreed to let Milner join Villa on a permanent basis for £4m but they then pulled out of it at the last minute.

“They accepted a bid for me to go to Aston Villa on deadline day after I’d be on loan there. I went down to Villa, offer had been accepted and then Martin O’Neill said the plug’s been pulled on it,” Milner recalled.

“I started laughing thinking he was joking, he said ‘No, they’ve changed their minds’. So, I went back up to Newcastle, they’d changed their mind.”

O’Neill told the club’s website: “We are disappointed because of the lateness of the decision,”

“Newcastle are entitled to do what they did, but we are disappointed because it came so late in the day.”

Milner duly returned to Newcastle and became a regular but a permanent switch to Villa eventually happened in August 2008, by then the fee was £12m. He signed a month after Steve Sidwell arrived at Villa Park from Chelsea and was Villa’s eighth summer signing.

O’Neill said: “I am not a kid in a sweet shop but this is an opportunity for us. James has got a great spirit about him and I definitely think his best years are in front of him. It was disappointing two years ago not to sign him when we thought the deal was done and dusted but it is nice to have got it all sorted this time.”

Milner expressed his relief that the deal had finally gone through and believed the club was capable of breaking into the top four. “The top four is tough to get into. But a club will get in there at some point and Villa are in as good as position as any,” he said.

O’Neill’s side had a terrific season up to the beginning of February and, after 25 games, were in third place in the Premier League, on course to qualify for the Champions League. But a dreadful run of form in the final third of the season, with only two wins in 13 matches, saw them drop down to sixth by the end.

As mentioned at the top of this piece, fortunes would change in 2009-10 and Milner in particular was earning plaudits for his performances in central midfield.

At the beginning of the season, he had made his full England debut (going on as a sub for Ashley Young in a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands under Fabio Capello) having played for his country at all age group levels from under 16s up, including a record 46 appearances for the under 21s. Over the next seven years, Milner won 61 caps.

Following a man-of-the-match showing in Villa’s 6-4 Carling Cup semi-final, second-leg victory over Blackburn Rovers, Milner declared: “The next step for this side is to win a trophy. The owner and the manager have done a great job and the club has changed massively since the last time I was here on loan.

“Hopefully we are improving year by year and we can show that in the league but also to get a piece of silverware would be great.”

Milner was hoping he’d have a better League Cup final experience than in 1996 when, as a Leeds United fan, United lost 3-0 and their supporters jeered manager Howard Wilkinson at the end. “I was supporting Leeds. I was only 10 and remember being disappointed,” he said.

The moment Lee Hendrie felt ten feet tall at Brighton

SKY SPORTS pundit Lee Hendrie has reached heights and plumbed depths in a life that saw him stop off at third-tier Brighton in 2010 after 17 years with Aston Villa.

Hendrie was something of a forgotten man of football when Gus Poyet snapped him up for the Seagulls on loan from Derby County in March 2010.

Hendrie featured in eight Albion games in the last six weeks of the season: four wins, two draws and two defeats.

Turning out in League One was quite a fall for a player Glenn Hoddle selected for England, but he told the matchday programme: “The main thing is to play football. If you’re not playing then you tend to get forgotten but hopefully I can get some game time between now and the end of the season.”

And he later said to football.co.uk: “I went to Brighton to get my face back out there. Gus Poyet was brilliant. He got the lads together in a circle and said, ‘******* hell, we’ve got Lee Hendrie here’. Let me tell you, after feeling so unwanted I suddenly felt 10 feet tall.”
Hendrie made his debut as a 75^th minute substitute for Sebastien Carole in a 3-0 home win over Tranmere Rovers, and he told the matchday programme: “We could have had more than three goals and I should have scored.”

But Hendrie was bubbling after his involvement and said: “Listening to the gaffer in the changing room, you can see why the lads are playing with a lot of confidence and have improved so much.

“I’ve played under a few managers, but not many, can I say, are like Gus, who is so enthusiastic and tells the players to go and enjoy themselves. There is nothing a player wants more than a gaffer telling you to enjoy your game.”

Of Albion’s midfield triumvirate of Gary Dicker, Alan Navarro and Andrew Crofts, it tended to be Dicker who was edged out by Hendrie’s arrival.

However it was in Crofts’ place that the loanee got his first start, in a 2-0 Easter Monday defeat at Hartlepool in which former Albion loanee ‘keeper Scott Flinders prevented the visitors from leaving with a point. Hendrie was subbed off on 58 minutes when Kazenga LuaLua took over.

Hendrie went on as a sub for Dicker in the following home game against Carlisle United and it was his cross that set up what looked like a late equaliser by Tommy Elphick, only for Gary Madine to nick all three points with a second for United two minutes from the end.

Hendrie started in place of Dicker away to Gillingham but gave way to the Irishman in the 79^th minute and the game ended 1-1. Hendrie started once again in the 1-0 win away to Southend, but Dicker replaced him on 65 minutes.

Hendrie’s third successive start in place of Dicker came at home to Bristol Rovers, when Albion won 2-1, but once again he didn’t last the 90 minutes as Dicker took over on 74 minutes.

In the penultimate game of the season, away to MK Dons, the game finished goalless although Alex Rae and Diego Arismendi were red carded for brawling. Hendrie started and Dicker replaced him on 58 minutes.

The on-loan midfielder’s only full 90-minute appearance came in the last game of the season when Yeovil were beaten 1-0 at the Withdean Stadium; Elliott Bennett scoring the only goal of the game a minute before half-time.

The chances of a permanent deal for Hendrie looked unlikely with Poyet admitting: “We were very pleased with him and he was pleased to be here. We will wait to see if, when we start putting the squad together, there is a possibility of it happening. It’s not an easy one, because of the wages.”

Born in Solihull on 18 May 1977, football was in Hendrie’s blood: Scottish dad Paul had played for Villa’s arch rivals Birmingham City and he was playing professionally for Portland Timbers at the time his son was born. He later played for Bristol Rovers, Halifax Town and Stockport County.

For someone who became Villa through and through, Hendrie admitted to the Birmingham Mail that he had actually been at city rivals Birmingham’s school of excellence before ‘Big’ Ron Atkinson snapped him up as a teenager.

As well as his dad having played for them, his nan was a City season ticket holder and his uncle also supported them. “Villa didn’t come and scout me at the time and Blues were the first club that did. It was an opportunity for me to get myself into the pro ranks and see what it was all about. Dad said it would be good to go and have a feel for it, which I did.”

But ever since he’d scored two goals in a schools’ cup final victory for his school, Washwood Heath, against Hodge Heath at Villa Park, he had dreamed of playing for Villa.

The dream came closer when Hendrie signed on the dotted line as a 14-year-old at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground, although he remembers his dad tempering his excitement.

“When we came out after I’d signed, I’d got given a load of training clobber and I thought this was it, I’d made it,” he said. “My dad said: ‘Take a step back, you, you ain’t got anywhere yet, this is the start of a long road. Just because you’ve got all the kit it doesn’t mean you’re a professional footballer and an Aston Villa player – relax yourself’.”

Hendrie and his best mate Darren Byfield, who had been strike partners in Erdington Star and Erdington & Saltley district team as kids, developed a reputation as a dynamic duo on and off the pitch, and soon became Atkinson’s ‘teacher’s pets’.

Atkinson converted Hendrie from a centre forward to left winger (even predicting he’s one day play for England in that position) and the duo continued to do well for the Villa youth team.

As it turned out, it was Atkinson’s successor, Brian Little, who ended up giving Hendrie his first team debut – although it was memorable for all the wrong reasons!

It came two days before Christmas in 1995 when he went on as a 33rd minute substitute for Mark Draper away to Queens Park Rangers. He collected a yellow card for kicking the ball away and was red carded in stoppage time; a second booking for an innocuous foul on Rufus Brevett. Into the bargain, Villa lost 1-0.

A devastated Hendrie revealed it was the opposition player-manager, Ray Wilkins, rather than Little, who put a comforting arm round him. “Someone who I’ve seen play football, a legend of the game, to come and console me and say: ‘This is football, welcome to football, these are the ups and downs you’re going to have in your career’.

“He said there’s lot of people who are talking highly of you, you’ve got a big future in the game, kid. As he got up, he tapped my shoulder and said: ‘Keep that up’.”

Few subsequent chances were given to him under Little but, when John Gregory took over, he became more established.

He would go on to make a total of 308 appearances for Villa (243 league and cup starts), scoring 32 goals, with his best performances coming in Gregory’s tenure. He wasn’t quite the same player under Graham Taylor or David O’Leary.

It was on November 18 1998 that he won his one and only England cap, sent on by Glenn Hoddle as a 77th minute substitute for Villa team-mate Paul Merson in a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic at Wembley. Two other Villa teammates, Dion Dublin and Gareth Southgate, were also part of Hoddle’s squad.

Unfortunately for Hendrie, Hoddle was sacked two months later and no subsequent England bosses called on him. “It’s a regret that I didn’t go on and make more of my England career,” he said. “It’s great that I’ve got a cap and it’s something you can’t take away from me, but I hate being classed as a one-cap wonder.”

Hendrie’s days at Villa came to an end in August 2006, his last involvement being from the bench in Martin O’Neill’s first match in charge, a 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal on the opening day of the 2006-07 campaign.

While Hendrie, by then 30, was excited about playing for O’Neill, the new boss had other plans and told him he was not part of them.

Initially he joined Stoke City under Tony Pulis on a season-long loan but Bryan Robson at Sheffield United outbid the Potters for his services on a permanent basis, and he signed a three-year deal at Bramall Lane at the start of the 2007-08 season.

Unfortunately, when Robson swiftly parted company with the Blades, Hendrie didn’t see eye to eye with his successor, Kevin Blackwell, who accused the player of being a money-grabber.

“Sheffield United was just the worst thing I could have done,” he told the Claret & Blue podcast.

“Kevin Blackwell was one of the worst managers I have ever, ever been under. He put the nail in the coffin for (my career).”

Blackwell sent him on loan to Leicester City, where he played nine games, and he later went to Blackpool too. United moved him on to Derby County but when he struggled for games there, he joined Brighton.

If the spell at Brighton was a temporary relief from his mounting problems, he revealed in a Guardian interview with Donald McRae that 2010 turned out to be one of the worst years of his life, and he attempted suicide on several occasions.

A property empire he had built up amassed insurmountable debts which even saw his mother’s home repossessed. He lost his own house as well, and it sent him into depression. Divorce and bankruptcy made the situation even worse.

“The football was almost over and my head was gone. I’d been trying to sell property, but the housing market crashed,” he said. “I got to the stage where I just wanted to end it all. I’d hit rock bottom.”

The ups and downs of Hendrie’s colourful life have featured in various media interviews.

The rise and fall tale was charted by the sporting.blog and Hendrie’s spoken about his troubles on Sky Sports, where he later became a pundit.

He was in tears on Harry’s Heroes: Euro Having A Laugh discussing his depression struggles with Vinnie Jones. The BBC radio programme You and Yours highlighted his plight in a March 2013 episode.

On the footballing front, a brief spell at Bradford City was followed by a host of short stopovers at Bandung (2011), Daventry Town (2011), Kidderminster Harriers (2011-12), Chasetown (2012), Redditch United (2012) and Tamworth (2012-13) before he retired as a professional.

He then played for Corby Town (2013), Highgate United (2013), Basford United (2013 – 2015), Montpellier (2016-17), Redditch United (2016), Nuneaton Griff (2019) and Highgate United (2019) on a non-professional basis.

As he tried to find a new purpose in life, alongside his media work, Hendrie set up FootieBugs, a football academy for kids aged from three to 12.

*Hendrie chats on TV with Dion Dublin, a former Villa teammate*

Why Shane Duffy is forever grateful to Everton

SHANE DUFFY has seized the opportunity to re-establish himself at the heart of Brighton’s defence to the obvious delight of the manager who appeared to have shunned him.

With injury sidelining Dan Burn and Covid-19 isolation protocol ruling out Joel Veltman, Duffy stepped up with a solid performance in the season-opener at Burnley, and a goalscoring return to the Amex in the 2-0 win over Watford.

“It was a fantastic header from Duffy, he’s a monster in the box,” boss Graham Potter told the BBC after the televised Watford match. “He is so big and strong to stop – it was a great goal.”

Duffy’s form has been a reminder of the solid centre-back partnership he formed with Lewis Dunk as the bedrock of Brighton’s promotion from the Championship in 2017.

Although a metatarsal injury in a 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest meant he missed out on the run-in, Duffy was obviously confident of being restored to the line-up when the Premier League season got under way.

“I’m looking forward to going back to Everton to see a few mates but they’re all going to be big games,” Duffy said in a matchday programme article. “I feel more ready for it than I was four or five years ago at Everton, and I deserve another crack at it, but I know I’ve got to work hard.”

While additions to the squad were to be expected as the Albion sought to stay among exalted company, the Duffy-Dunk pairing at the back didn’t look much like being broken up. Certainly not under Chris Hughton.

Happy with his mainstays at the heart of the defence, Hughton allowed Connor Goldson to leave for Glasgow Rangers and Uwe Hünemeier to return to Germany and Duffy was comfortable alongside Dunk as Albion retained their top division status. And so it remained for Albion’s two first two seasons back amongst the elite.

But when Potter replaced the popular Hughton in 2019, it soon became apparent Duffy didn’t fit the mould of the sort of ball-playing centre-back he wanted in the side.

Although he started the season under Potter, his place was gradually taken over by big money signing Adam Webster. Duffy invariably ended up warming the bench and at the start of the 2020-21 season, with Ben White preferred alongside Dunk and Webster, he jumped at the chance to go on loan to Glasgow giants Celtic, the team he’d supported as a boy.

Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be quite the dream move Duffy had hoped for, with criticism arrowing in from all quarters as the Republic of Ireland international underwhelmed in the centre of the Hoops defence, and Celtic could only watch as city rivals Rangers won the Scottish title.

Doubtless the irony wasn’t lost on Duffy that his first match back in a Seagulls shirt saw him up against Rangers in a pre-season friendly, when the home fans ensured he was given a ‘warm’ reception.

But let’s go back to where it all started.

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 1 January 1992, Duffy was playing for Northern Ireland Under-16s against England in the Victory Shield when he caught the eye of watching Everton boss David Moyes.

Duffy had been playing for his local side, Foyle Harps, at the time and, although Arsenal took him on trial and offered him a scholarship, Everton invited him to train with them and offered him a professional contract immediately.

“Of the two clubs, I just had a good feeling about Everton; obviously it was more of a family club, and there’s also the Irish connection with the city of Liverpool, so it was easy for me to settle in,” Duffy told the matchday programme.

In his second season at Goodison Park, he made his first team debut aged just 17 in a Europa League match against AEK Athens.

“David Moyes handed me my debut and I owe him a lot because he always had belief in me, whereas I could have gone somewhere else and maybe ended up back in Ireland,” he said. “I was raw as I hadn’t been with an academy before, but he was patient with me, as were all the coaches, and I came through the youth team and reserves before I got my break in the Europa League and then later in the Premier League.”

Duffy played against Brighton when the third-tier club’s youngsters (with Dunk in defence) acquitted themselves brilliantly in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup against Everton at the Withdean on 21 January 2010 before eventually losing 2-0. The programme pen picture said of him: “Strong in the tackle and dependable in the air, Shane is considered a ball-playing defender.”

Duffy recalled: “I’d just turned 18 and had recently broken into the Everton team in the Europa League. I do remember Dunky a little bit because we were marking each other at corners.”

A month after his visit to Withdean, Duffy decided to switch allegiance to the Republic having previously captained Northern Ireland’s Under-19s. It came just as he was selected for the full international squad to face Albania in a friendly in Tirana where he was expected to receive his first cap in the absence of captain Aaron Hughes (who later spent a season with Brighton) and Chris Baird.

Disappointed Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington told The Guardian: “There is a loophole where a player can walk away after a lot of time and investment has gone in. Until it is resolved, that’s where we are. Shane has represented Northern Ireland all the way through from a very early age to the Under-21s.

“I am a big admirer of Shane. I like him as a player and a lot of work has gone in with different coaches. I am disappointed with the situation as he is going to be a very good player. Shane has decided, after discussing the matter with his family, to represent the Republic. As a manager, I have got to respect that.”

Duffy, who had close family ties to Donegal in the Republic, said the decision to switch his allegiance from Northern Ireland was the right thing to do to help his international career.

Speaking to evertontv, Duffy said:“It was difficult for me to leave because of what they’ve done for me in Northern Ireland since I was young. They brought me through the ranks which gave me the chance to come to Everton.

“It was hard to leave all the coaches and all the players, but it was always a case of wanting to come to my own country. I spoke to a couple of people about it because I didn’t want to disrespect Northern Ireland, but I just had to do what was best for me and I thought it would be best for me to switch.”

Astonishingly, in his first-ever training match with the Republic, under manager Giovanni Trapattoni, he was involved in a freak collision that lacerated his liver and emergency surgery was required to save his life as he lost a huge amount of blood.

After a speedier-than-expected recovery, Duffy was soon lining up for the Republic’s Under-19s and Under-21s and he went on to make 20 appearances for the Under-21s.

In 2012 he was called up to the senior squad to replace the injured Richard Dunne but missed out on the squad for the 2012 Euros. He had to wait until June 2014 to make his full debut and it was another two years before he was next involved.

He was called up to the side who famously beat Italy in a 2016 Euros group match to qualify for the final 16 but was then sent off as the Republic bowed out 2-1 against France. Nevertheless, under Martin O’Neill, Duffy became established in the side and in March 2018 was named his country’s Player of the Year. He told the matchday programme: “When I heard the news, I was shell-shocked, but when it sunk in it gave me time to reflect on how far I’ve come in a short space of time.

“So much has happened: the Euros, failing to reach the World Cup in the play-offs, winning promotion with Brighton, playing in the Premier League.

“The manager noticed a difference in me when he brought me back into the side two years later, and that’s because I went away, played games and I worked hard. I got myself properly fit, dedicated, and I feel like I’ve benefited from that.”

Reflecting on the experiences given to him by Hughton and O’Neill, Duffy pointed out: “Chris has given me the chance to play in the Premier League where I’m developing, and Martin has given me the chance to play on the big stages and in a big tournament.

“You take little things out of each one of them and it’s coming together a bit now, and hopefully there’s more to come. I’m still a bit raw in some things I do but I’m getting better and it’s a nice feeling to go out knowing you can compete with top players and feel comfortable.”

Duffy went on to captain the Republic for the first time in a 1-1 draw against Denmark in November 2019 and retained the captaincy in Stephen Kenny’s first game in charge, in September 2020; a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria.

As an established international, Duffy has nearly 145,000 followers on Twitter.

Looking back, by his own admission, Duffy had realised his early exposure to senior football at Everton was going to be short-lived, telling the club’s website at the time: “I know I’m not ready to play in Everton’s first team yet as I’m so young but if I’m needed I’ll do my best for the team. A loan would obviously make me better and make me more mature on the pitch.”

Initially that loan came at Burnley in the Championship, but he only played one game under Eddie Howe and, in 2011-12, he had a more fruitful loan at League One Scunthorpe United, playing 19 games under Alan Knill.

An injury to Phil Jagielka prompted Everton to recall Duffy from Scunthorpe in January 2012 and a week after playing against Hartlepool he found himself going on as a substitute for Sylvain Distin against Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Spurs had Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Emmanuel Adebayor in their line-up but Duffy said: “I refused to get overawed by the occasion. I just treated it as another football match, another opponent, and only afterwards did I take in what had happened.”

He said: “Everton are a club that will always mean a lot to me because they gave me my chance as a professional and shaped the player I am today. David Moyes was a big influence on my career; he helped me a lot.”

Duffy spent the 2013-14 season on loan at Yeovil – “another fantastic learning curve for me” – when Gary Johnson’s side were in the Championship and although Moyes’ successor Roberto Martinez offered Duffy a new contract at Everton, he was warned he would have to wait to establish himself because he was still young and inexperienced.

So, in the summer of 2014, he decided to join Paul Lambert’s Championship side Blackburn Rovers and, while a knee injury restricted his appearances in his first season at Ewood Park, he became a permanent fixture alongside Grant Hanley in 2015-16.

When Gordon Greer’s imposing reign as Brighton centre-back and captain came to an end in 2016, Hughton turned to Duffy as his replacement (Greer went back to Rovers). The fee was undisclosed but was reported in The Mirror to be £4m.

It remains unclear where Duffy’s future lays although his performances in the opening two games of the season suggest there could yet be a future for him under Potter. The manager didn’t hold back in his praise for the big Irishman, but the defender didn’t get carried away.

Duffy opened up to the media after the win at Burnley, talking about what he’d been through over the previous 12 months, but he pointedly added: “It is only one game and a lot can still happen, but as long as I am here I’ll try and help the team whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch with the younger lads. That is what I am here to do.”

He said he had “hit rock bottom” when affected by off-field problems (for example, his father Brian died aged 53 in May 2020), but he praised the Seagulls for continuing to offer him support and he added: “I am still taking it day by day and be like an 18-year-old try and impress every day, try and improve and try and help as much as I can. I feel like if you do that you get the reward sometimes when maybe you don’t expect it.”

Duffy also spoke openly and honestly to Sky Sports as part of the build-up to the game against Watford.

Pictures from Albion’s matchday programme and online sources.

Ridgy rides in to shore up injury-ravaged defence

FORMER WEST BROM defender Liam Ridgewell played six games on loan for Brighton in the early part of 2016.

Ridgewell helped out when first choice left-back Gaetan Bong and deputy Liam Rosenior were both out injured.

He made six starts, starting in the FA Cup away to his old boss Steve Bruce’s Hull City, who won the tie with a single goal. His next game was also away, at Rotherham United, where Albion went down 2-0.

After that, he was on the winning side four times, as Albion beat Blackburn Rovers away and Huddersfield, Brentford and Bolton at home.

*Albion’s matchday programme devoted a double-page spread to the loanee*

Brighton wanted to extend the experienced defender’s loan but his parent club – MLS (Major League Soccer) outfit Portland Timbers – wouldn’t allow it and he returned to the States.

Albion manager Chris Hughton told The Argus: “He has certainly brought us a wealth of experience. We have to abide by the situation. In any way we could extend it for whatever, a further week or so, we’d be delighted to be able to do that, but I certainly can’t speak out of turn when he’s not our player.

*Ridgewell returned to Portland Timbers after his brief loan with the Seagulls*

“We have to respect everything his parent club want. He has certainly fitted in very well.”

Ridgewell explained the background to joining the Seagulls in an Argus interview with Andy Naylor, and on clinching the deal, Hughton said: “I know Liam very well from my time as manager at Birmingham City, and he is an excellent and important addition for us.

“He will bring extra experience to our defence at a crucial time and will give me an option both in the centre of defence and at left-back.

“Liam has played the vast majority of his career in the Premier League with more than 350 senior appearances and he’s also got experience of the Europa League and Championship from his time at Birmingham.”

Born in Bexleyheath on 21 July 1984, Ridgewell went to Bexleyheath School and was on West Ham’s books for two years between 1999 and 2001.

After looking at the quality of players breaking through there, he took the bold decision to quit the Hammers and join Aston Villa’s youth set-up instead, which he spoke about in an interview with the Birmingham Mail.

“I had looked at what was already in the team – you had Michael Carrick coming through, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Richard Garcia – and I thought it might be time for a change.

“I was a south London boy, grew up around there and had all my friends there. But I thought if I got away it might focus me a bit more. It was a tough decision.

*A youthful-looking Ridgewell made his breakthrough with Aston Villa*

“I used to leave school early on a Friday afternoon to travel up to Villa for the weekends.

“I used to get the bus from my house to the train station, get a tube from Charing Cross to Euston and a train from London up to Birmingham all on my own.”

After joining Villa in February 2001, he was part of their 2002 FA Youth Cup winning side. They beat an Everton team featuring Wayne Rooney 4-2 over two legs. Villa’s goalkeeper was another Wayne – Henderson – who would later move to Brighton. The side also included Steven Davis, who went on to play for Southampton.

In the same year, Ridgewell was selected for the England under-19s and was sent out on loan to AFC Bournemouth, then in Division 3, where he made his league debut as part of a five-game loan spell.

Back at Villa Park, former England boss Graham Taylor gave him his first-team debut in a FA Cup tie against Blackburn in January 2003 when he came on as a substitute in a 4-1 defeat. He had to wait until December that year before getting his Premier League bow, again as a substitute, but this time in a 3-0 win over Fulham. He went on to make 11 appearances by the season’s end.

Under David O’Leary and, for a season, Martin O’Neill, Ridgewell made a total of 93 appearances for Villa before making what some fans would consider a controversial move.

In August 2007, Ridgewell became the first Villa player in 23 years to be transferred to bitter city rivals Birmingham. Des Bremner, brother of one-time Brighton striker Kevin, had been the last one, in 1984.

Steve Bruce’s £2m signing then found himself wearing the captain’s armband on his debut. “It’s one of the greatest achievements in my career,” Ridgewell told the Birmingham Mail. “It’s a real honour. I thank the gaffer for that. Hopefully I can continue as captain for a few more games before a few of the others come back in.

“It was fantastic to do it. I only found out before the game when we were on the pitch. The gaffer came up to me and asked would I have any problems doing it? I said none at all. It’s what I’m made for, it’s what I want to do. I want to captain sides and have a responsibility on me.”

Ridgewell subsequently played under Alex McLeish and Hughton for the Blues, winning promotion back to the Premier League in 2009 and the League Cup in 2011.

After a total of 175 appearances in four years, and on the back of a 6-0 win for Birmingham at Millwall, Ridgewell joined West Brom on deadline day in January 2012.

*Ridgewell settled in quickly at West Brom*

He couldn’t have wished for a better debut, as Albion recorded a memorable 5-1 win over Black Country rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Baggies were managed by Roy Hodgson at the time and, having initially been flirting with relegation from the Premier League, stayed up with results like a 4-0 victory over Sunderland and a 1-0 win over Chelsea that cost Andre Villas-Boas his job.

“Roy Hodgson was brilliant,” Ridgewell told The Athletic, in an interview in 2020. “Roy knew how to make players feel and perform better than they were,” he said. “Everything was positional based. He let you do your own thing but he gave you the tools and the words to make sure you did it to the best of your ability in your own position. It was a clear message for me of how a manager gets the best out of players.”

When Hodgson left to manage England, Ridgewell continued as a Baggies regular for the next two seasons under Steve Clarke. Baggies escaped the drop by just three points in 2014, after Pepe Mel had taken over the managerial hotseat in January.

That summer, Ridgewell wanted to try something different and headed for the States to join Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers.

In his five years with the Timbers, one of his highlights was captaining the side to a 2-1 MLS Cup win over Columbus Crew, a few weeks before his loan spell with Brighton during the American season’s winter break.

The previous season he’d returned to the UK in a similar arrangement to play six games on loan for Wigan Athletic in the Championship.

Ridgewell spoke about his time in the States on his return to the UK in January 2019, when he joined Hull City until the end of the season.

*Back in the UK*, *Ridgewell spent half a season at Hull City*

“I wanted to try something different and go out there with an open mind,” he told the Hull Daily Mail. “The league is completely different to what a lot of people expect. It’s grown bigger and stronger. I feel as fresh and as fit as when I first went there.”

To illustrate the point, he mentioned how he’d been up against the likes of Miguel Almiron, who subsequently joined Newcastle United for £20m.

“I loved it, it was great, really refreshing for me. It gave me another lease of life. It was something I needed to do, and I really loved it.”

In the summer of 2019, Ridgewell joined League One Southend United, but, having made only one appearance by December, quit playing to take up coaching.

He took to Instagram to reflect on his career, writing: “Football has given me the best life any little boy could wish for. There have been some massive highs and lows but now it’s time to hang up my boots and move on to the next chapter of my career.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the coaches and managers who moulded me into the player I was. A special thank you to the late, great Graham Taylor for giving me my debut and the reason I was able to pursue my dream.”

In April 2020, Ridgewell spoke at length to Gregg Evans for an article on The Athletic, describing how lockdown had interrupted his plans to drop in on some of his old managers to gain knowledge and information in pursuit of his goal of becoming a manager.

“Moving into management has always been my aim,” he said. “I’ve always had a speaking role at every club I’ve been at. Whether it’s on the training pitch or during a game, I’ve always tried to help people out, too. With me being so vocal, I try to marshal teams in a certain way.”

He did some work with Aston Villa’s youngsters towards the end of 2020 but took on his first official coaching post in December 2020, as first team coach at Dover Athletic under former Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler.

It’s no surprise to discover Ridgewell (or Ridgy 6 as he’s known) has a veritable army of followers on Twitter – more than 42,000. Away from football, Ridgewell co-owns luxury swimwear business Thomas Royall, with fellow footballers John Terry and Sam Saunders.

Pictures from various online sources, and the Albion matchday programme.

Northern Irish legend Aaron Hughes was talk of the Toon

AH red black VETERAN Northern Irishman Aaron Hughes only brought down the curtain on his lengthy playing career in June 2019 at the age of 39.

On 12 June he finally confirmed his playing days were over in an emotional speech to his Northern Ireland team-mates in the Borisov Arena after the country’s 1-0 victory over Belarus.

Remarkably, Hughes had first been called up to the Northern Ireland squad at the age of 17, before he’d even broken through at Newcastle United.

“Having known Aaron Hughes for nearly 25 years, it was an honour to be present to witness his typically classy speech to all of the Northern Ireland players and staff to announce his retirement from the game after an amazing career,” former Newcastle keeper and current Northern Ireland coach Steve Harper told the Belfast Telegraph.

Amongst many others paying tribute, former international Paddy McCourt added: “Without doubt the best professional I encountered during my football career. I was fortunate enough to play alongside Aaron Hughes at Brighton and we also spent many years together with Northern Ireland. A true gentleman and brilliant player.”

He had just the one season with Brighton & Hove Albion – in 2014-15. Mainly a central defender, Hughes could also play comfortably in either full-back position or midfield.

He was the first Brighton signing of Sami Hyypia’s ill-fated spell as manager, and Hyypia told the club website: “We wanted to bring another experienced defender, and Aaron fits the bill – having played at Premier League, Champions League and international level.

“I have played against Aaron a few times during my time at Liverpool and also for Finland, and I know his qualities and what he will give us.

“He has a very good footballing pedigree, is an intelligent player, and he has a great mentality and good approach to the game.

“He has that experience I wanted to bring into the squad, which alongside our other senior players, will help our younger players continue to develop and progress in the first-team squad.”

As it turned out, Hughes was only used as cover and during his season with the Seagulls made only 13 appearances.

Nevertheless, Hughes’ stay on the south coast clearly left an impression and fellow Northern Ireland international Oliver Norwood described how Hughes played a part in persuading him to join the Seagulls in 2016.

“I spoke to Hughesy about his time here and he spoke so highly of the club, mentioning the facilities, the stadium and that it’s set up to go to the Premier League,” Norwood told the club website. “He’s a wonderful person that’s achieved so much.

“I know he didn’t get the game time he would have liked here, but if I have half the career he has, then I’ll be very happy.”

Born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, on 8 November 1979, Hughes joined Newcastle United’s youth ranks at 17 and, over eight years, he made 279 appearances for the Magpies.

A Hughes superb footy pics Eyebrows were raised when former Northern Ireland manager Bryan Hamilton took Hughes to Portugal for a World Cup qualifier in October 1997, when he was still only 17, but Hamilton told the Belfast Telegraph: “There was something special in him, even at a young age, and I wanted him in the squad. I felt he could be an outstanding player for Northern Ireland and I knew that coming in early wouldn’t affect or faze him.”

Hughes had to wait until Lawrie McMenemy succeeded Hamilton to make his international debut the following March, and by then he’d made a memorable debut for Newcastle in November 1997 against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Selected by manager Kenny Dalglish, despite the 1-0 defeat, the 18-year-old showed tremendous promise against the likes of Figo, Ronaldo and Stoichkov. He eventually held down a regular first team place under Dalglish’s successor Ruud Gullitt before Bobby Robson took the helm.

Hughes made his name at St James’s Park in the centre of Newcastle’s defence, playing alongside Sylvain Distin in a side also featuring Craig Bellamy, Gary Speed and Alan Shearer. He spoke about his time playing under Dalglish and Robson in an interview with the Guardian.

Discerning followers of Toon were quick to join in the tributes paid to Hughes when he announced his retirement. Elsewhere they have vented their spleen at the decision Graeme Souness took to sell him to Aston Villa.

Hughes had three seasons at Villa, having been signed by David O’Leary in the 2005-06 season. But Villa fans are a tough lot to please and, despite his previous success at Newcastle, it seems they expected more. “Hughes, despite filling his role admirably as a centre back, never felt integral to our defence as he found himself chopped and changed with (Olof) Melberg, and fellow signing Wilfried Bouma,” declared readastonvilla.com.

Eventually with injury-hit defender Martin Laursen returning to the side under new manager Martin O’Neill, Hughes became more of a squad player at Villa Park. He was allowed to leave to join Fulham and was signed by a former Northern Irish international teammate, Lawrie Sanchez.

hughes fulham At Fulham, he formed a formidable defensive partnership with Brede Hangeland and fulhamfc.com said: “The pair worked brilliantly together, with the fans soon referring to them as our very own Thames Barrier. Their styles complemented each other perfectly, and while Hughes wasn’t the tallest of centre-backs, his leap and reading of the game more than made up for it.”

Hughes was one of three ever-presents – with Mark Schwarzer and Danny Murphy – when Fulham finished seventh in the Premier League in 2008-09, which led to European qualification.

He was part of the side captained by Murphy, with Bobby Zamora up front, who went on a gloriously unexpected UEFA Cup journey in 2010, only to be pipped to the trophy in extra time by Atletico Madrid.

“The way we lost, right at the end of extra-time, still grates with me, so the final is a bitter-sweet memory,” Hughes reflected in a 2014 interview for Albion’s matchday programme. “The Juventus game stands out more, where we came back from 3-1 down from the first leg in Italy to win 4-1 at Craven Cottage.”

On transfer deadline day in January 2014, Hughes signed a short-term deal for Harry Redknapp’s Queens Park Rangers for whom he made 11 Championship appearances.

After his season with Brighton, even at the age of 36 Hughes had no intention of packing up playing. Instead, he headed to Australia and played for Melbourne City and then linked up with India’s Kerala Blasters before he joined Hearts for his final two seasons.

His last club game saw Hearts bring him on in the 68^th minute of their final league game of the season, a 2-1 defeat to Celtic at Celtic Park. Upon replacing John Souttar, the 39-year-old Hughes took the captain’s armband for the final few minutes of a career stretching across an impressive 22 years.

Hughes won an amazing 112 caps for his country across 20 years – a record for an outfield player. He was second only to the legendary Pat Jennings as most-capped player and was captain of his country for eight years. Small wonder, then, that he should be so grateful to so many at the Irish FA for the longevity of his international career.

hughes NI

Pictures from various online sources.

‘Have boots, will travel’ striker Steve Claridge mixed it with Lions, Wolves, Foxes – and Seagulls

VETERAN striker Steve Claridge, who saw service with 22 professional and semi-professional clubs, helped Brighton to one of the most amazing smash-and-grab raid wins I’ve ever seen as an Albion fan.

The former Millwall forward answered a plea from his old Lions boss Mark McGhee in November 2004 which paid off big time when the Seagulls snatched a 1-0 win away to West Ham United.

It was the first of only five games Claridge played for second-tier Brighton after McGhee turned to a player who had delivered for him during his spell in charge of Millwall.

Albion went into the game at the Boleyn Ground on 13 November 2004 on the back of three defeats and McGhee was desperate to stem a tide which had seen eight goals conceded and no points on the board.

A trip to West Ham (who ended up being promoted via the play-offs that season) was a daunting prospect if the bad run was to be halted.

However, as McGhee pointed out: “We approached the game differently. Whereas before we thought we could win, today we did not, and played to make sure we didn’t get beaten.

“We kept the ball up front more which is important. Steve Claridge was key to that.

“He is one of the fittest players I’ve worked with and I had no doubt that after 18 months away from this level he would be able to perform.”

Centre back Guy Butters headed the only goal of the game on 68 minutes from Richard Carpenter’s pinpoint pass and the Seagulls held out for an unlikely three points. Hammers boss Alan Pardew had to admit: “Technically they were perfect and obviously came here to play deep and try and nick it on a set piece, which is what they did.”

Claridge’s professional career looked to have run its course after he left Millwall in 2003 and became player-manager of Southern League side Weymouth.

But the disappointment of missing out on promotion had seen him and chairman Ian Ridley leave the club and Claridge, at the age of 38, was keen to give league football another go.

McGhee knew the qualities Claridge could bring to his ailing side having been a popular figure as Millwall came close to promotion from the second tier.

The West Ham success didn’t spark a great revival in Albion’s fortunes, however, and there was only one more win (1-0 at home to Rotherham) during Claridge’s month with the club.

In one of those strange footballing quirks of fate, his fifth and final game for the Seagulls came away to Millwall (see Argus picture at top of article) on 11 December 2004, when Albion lost 2-0.

Claridge said all the right things in a programme feature about him that day, included likening the circumstances of both clubs. “The club has no money and it is tough just to survive, but everyone is in it together,” he said. “At Millwall we had a great team spirit and togetherness, and that is very much the case here.”

Unfortunately, it seemed money was the obstacle that precluded Claridge’s stay at Albion being extended and, after his deal was over, rather than it being one last hurrah, he went on to continue his league playing days at Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Gillingham, Bradford City and Walsall.

Then, at the age of 40, and with him needing just one more game to fulfil the landmark of 1,000 professional games, his old club Bournemouth gave him a match against Port Vale on 9 December 2006. No fairy tale, though, as they lost 4-0.

Born in Portsmouth on 10 April 1966, there aren’t many clubs in Hampshire and Dorset that Claridge has not had some kind of association with! Having been brought up in Titchfield, he started out with nearby Fareham Town in 1983. AFC Bournemouth took him on and gave him his debut in 1984 but he only played seven games before moving to Weymouth for three years.

Crystal Palace offered him a route back to the full professional game in 1988 but he didn’t make their league side, instead moving on to fourth tier Aldershot Town.

In two spells with Cambridge United, he scored 46 goals in 132 games. A falling out with manager John Beck saw him sold to Luton Town, and then bought back after Beck’s departure!

Nearly two years later, Birmingham City paid £350,000 to take Claridge to St Andrews and he became one of the club’s most prolific goalscorers, netting 35 in 88 games.

Such form eventually saw him switch to Leicester City and Claridge wrote himself into Foxes’ folklore, scoring winning goals in a play-off final to earn promotion to the elite level, and in the 1997 League Cup Final over Middlesbrough, the last time the competition staged a final replay. That, though, came after an ignominious beginning with Leicester.

McGhee’s successor as manager, Martin O’Neill, signed him for £1.2m in March 1996 and his early form was dreadful. Astonishingly, it seemed his poor start might well have been related to the wrong medication he had been taking for a heart defect for EIGHTEEN years, according to this official Leicester City website report.

In 1998, Leicester sent Claridge on loan to his hometown club, Portsmouth, but, in March 1998, McGhee, then boss at Wolves and seemingly at odds with more established strikers at the club, took Claridge to Molineux for a £350,000 fee. Only five months later he was sold to Portsmouth for £250,000.

Writer Dan Levelle said on an amusing Wolves’ fan website: “He was that amazing food blender you saw at your mate’s house, but you can’t get it to work at all for love nor money.”

Claridge’s time at Molineux was clearly not appreciated by the Molineux faithful, as Levelle revealed in this 2012 piece.

Even more galling for Wolves followers was that no sooner had Claridge made the switch to Portsmouth, he was scoring a hat-trick against them in a 3-1 win at Fratton Park!

The goals and games came thick and fast for Claridge back on home turf – 34 in 104 – but his reign as player-manager at Fratton Park in 2000 was curtailed after just 25 games.

He joined on a temporary basis to cover a period when current boss Neil Harris was banned following a sending off, but, after he hit the ground running, was then tied to a permanent deal, as this Millwall blog post described in 2016.

Writer Mark Litchfield summed him up brilliantly when he said: “His style was unconventional, to say the least: shirt untucked, one sock down and no shin pads, any naïve defender probably thought they could eat him for breakfast. But hard work was a pre-requisite for Claridge – he wouldn’t give any opposition player a moment’s rest and would more often than not always get the better of them, too.”

Few could doubt Claridge’s enthusiasm for the game, as he told the Bradford Telegraph & Argus during his time in Yorkshire.

Even after achieving the 1,000-game landmark courtesy of Bournemouth, Claridge couldn’t resist the lure of another game, turning out for Worthing, Harrow Borough, Weymouth, Gosport Borough and Salisbury.

Many younger readers will know Claridge as a pundit who worked extensively for the BBC on TV and radio and he now coaches youngsters in Salisbury and Warsash through his own scheme, the Steve Claridge Football Foundation.

In parallel lines

Memories from 55 years following Brighton & Hove Albion

Tag: Martin O’Neill