Firstly i would like to thank Ritchie for taking the time out to answer these questions for me they are much appreciated.
It's well documented that your a massive fan of them from across the city so how did you feel when you was released by them at such a young age ? And how did joining Wednesday come about ?
When I was released I was about 13 and was absolute devastated, as you mentioned my dad and granddad were both big unitedites so was obviously taken to watch the blades as a kid and like yourself found an affection for your local club.
I was playing for Greenhill and Lowedges on Greenhill school field vs Rawmarsh St josephs we won 3-0 and I scored a hat-trick, over Sunday dinner my dad told me that a scout called Jack Wade had asked him if I would like to go to swfc centre of excellence, I did and of course from there I went to be a yts and then a pro.
David Pleat gave you the opportunity to travel with the squad to Holland for the pre season as a young player how did this feel for you?
You scored twice in the first fixture and then scored against FC Utrecht in the second game whilst out there what do you remember about the goals?
I remember in the first game Scott Oakes playing a lovely chipped ball over the back four and I side foot volleyed it into the corner, the second goal managed to turn their centre back on the edge of the box and struck a lovely shot past the keeper.
To score two in one first team game gave me lots of confidence going into the Utrecht game where I manages to score the only goal of the game this time a one on one with the keeper and scored with my right foot(a rarity in my career ha)
I’m not sure if you are aware of this but Johan Cryuff was guest of honor at the Utrecht game and described you as " the next Marco Van Basten “ how did you feel being likened to one of the greats of the game by another great?
A question ive been asked lots of times, without wanting to ruin the story which is a fantastic one, Marco Van Basten was actually guest of honor that night as that is the club where he started out, and after the game the press were obviously keen to get a few words from him. They asked him how he thought swfc number 9 played and I think he politely said he is a young player, who may have a good future in the game,
Now how the “new Johan cryuff” or new “Marco van basten came from I have no idea.
A great story non-the less
Image courtesy of sporting-heroes.net
You scored 4 goals in 5 games to fire Wednesday to the top of the premier league, which is quite a feat at such a young age, what do you, remember about this time period?
Well following on from Holland to then score on my FULL debut at Hillsborough vs. Aston Villa to score a volley like I did at the kop end was unreal, it was a boyhood ambition to become a pro footballer but to be then representing one of my cities teams was a massive honor. Scoring at our local rivals Leeds on the Tuesday was again a brilliant victory and as my mate put it the following morning as we were getting changed at the training ground ‘its like Roy of the rovers this’
We then went to St James Park and beat the toon which is never an easy place to go to, and then I scored in the following game vs. Leicester at Hillsborough live on sky, a goal I consider the best goal ive ever scored.
As an 18 year old Sheffield lad you can imagine the immense pride I had been part of that team which after august were top of the premier league
After that you failed to score in the league for the remainder of the season surely a blow to your confidence how do you feel during this period?
Yeah apart from the 2/3 I scored in the fa cup vs Grimsby I didn’t get on the score sheet, but making 40 first team appearances in my first season was a huge learning curve plus we had our senior strikers back fit and I was still learning the game everyday in training working with good players and coaches.
What in your opinion was the best goal you ever scored for Wednesday, the thunderbolt volley against Villa or the chip against Leicester city and why?
My volley vs. villa was a fantastic strike that I was very very happy with but he chip vs. Leicester was I think the more difficult of the two to score so id have to go with that.
Both were in for goal of the month but Beckham from the halfway line was the winner
Whilst with Wednesday you were selected to play for the England under 20's in the world cup in Malaysia and wore the the number 9 shirt for the tournament how much pride did you feel to be representing your country and what memories do you have off the tournament?
Id already represented our u21’s which was a massive honor, 3 lions on your chest, national anthem playing, proper hairs on the back of your neck standing up stuff, the u20 world cup was a fantastic experience and like you said wearing that number 9 shirt made me feel a very proud Englishman
During the next few years Wednesday looked abroad and brought in several signings from far a field including Benito Carbone & Paulo Di Canio did you know that your days were numbered at the time or was you determined to prove your worth and force your way back into the team?
I tried very hard to force my way back into the team but when you have such quality in front of you as the players you have mentioned then its very difficult.
I have had a some very good experiences as a professional footballer and I am very thankful that I have been able to stay in the game for 17 years playing around 600 games, what I do believe is that if I was good enough to sustain the level of performance required to stay in a premier league team then I would have, sometimes you have to hold your hands up and that there are better players out there and they are the ones still competing week in week out at the highest level.What are your most fond memories of your time with us and why?
I loved my time at SWFC as I said previously that regardless of me supporting SUFC as a boy, representing Sheffield Wednesday, playing for one my cities teams meant a great deal to me and is something im very proud of.
Thank you for your questions
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