I Had Trials Once is back again for another episode…
This week Jordan & Gaz are joined by South African cult hero and current Warrington Rylands player manager…Dean Furman.
The boys talk everything from the growing up in South Africa to coming through the ranks and training with the first team at Chelsea.
They then discuss Dean’s international career and how he became a South African cult hero and captaining the team in the African Cup Of Nations.
Dean then talks about the decision to leave Oldham and how it felt to finally win a league title with Doncaster and play in the Championship.
Finally Dean reveals how he initially struggled with the switch to semi-professional football and how he became the player/manager of Warrington Rylands after another IHTO guest, Michael Clegg left for Macclesfield.
If you’re a fan of our non-league episodes then you’re in the right place!
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0:00 Intro with Dean Furman & Becoming a player/manager.
12:50 Growing up in South Africa and joining Chelsea’s academy.
22:55 Signing for Rangers, Old firm win bonuses & Early loan moves.
30:00 Signing for Oldham, Playing for Paul Dickov & Bust ups with Shefki Kuqi.
36:00 EFL Goal Of The Season, Promotion with Doncaster & Relegation battles.
48:15 South Africa debut, Playing against Brazil and Spain & Swapping shirts.
56:00 Playing in the AFCON, Becoming South Africa captain & Moving to SuperSport United.
1:06:10 Moving back to England with Carlisle, Dropping into non-league & Future plans for Dean.
A South African cult hero and he’s had a good career so Mr Dean Ferman we played as a team as he was as a player we’ve just horrible just like a rash out of all the abuse I got the best thing that I got was someone just responded and
Said for the record you are not better than ker just taking a peek to my left it’s like Neymar David Luiz Marcelo Hulk if I’m playing against someone I’m not asking for the shirt you want do like who wants to swap that’s what with a guy who does the paper around [Laughter] there
All right pal all right mate how have you been yeah nice to see you again nice nice to talk about this again but yeah obviously big thank you to vet 365 for sponsoring the Pod and uh if you’re watching on YouTube you can like And subscribe and if you are
Watching you can probably tell my face is hanging off on one side yeah tell us that one again I guess s’s phone on so we had to redo this so I’ve just been the dentist had had a filling taken out and then a new one put in in off my
Mouth so yeah so you can tell as well it’s pretty bad look like my face is drooping but I still look better than you so what else you been know just come back from Spain had a few had a few days out there just uh just watching players
Uh had a couple of meetings with like real s your dad and Spanish agents getting ready for the summer just seeing see what thereafter big time now aren you well well you your teeth out yeah I yeah how about you how’s your week been all right
Yeah one on Saturday 3 nil no goals no assists you’ve not scored for a long time no no it’s gone to pot I’m like a 10 now I keep dropping in and getting on the out turn and and do what F away yeah but you can win the league soon can’t
You yeah two more wins I think and then uh Our Guest team is out of it and you’ve got catches you’ve had uh we played Tuesday as well another four one win no goals no assists that’s probably yeah so yeah it’s gone there and then you’ve got another week until
You play out and you no midweek games yeah could clinch it tomorrow could you we could yeah tomorrow Saturday yeah we could if they if Mack and our guest team get beat and we win they’d need about 16 goals to catch us wow on goal difference
So they could do it though they could do it in this league it’s mad is it it’s crazy well did you hear so that there was something that came up and there was something about I think it was Russian and diamonds brought in like a a duel rep
Keeper to and then he ended up he ended up having a stinker for him yeah got abused by the fans and then nuted one of the fans nuted one of the fans nuted one of the fans some move that is it yeah have you ever been have you ever had
Anything like that uh what were the fans come after me yeah just like w at Chester so I beat Alon to an Eder in like the 83rd minute to make it 2-1 and obviously your Ed goals then it so I was just running about giving F like the
Fans [ __ ] but they’re mad at Chester so a few of them come running at me on the pitch but obviously when you’re on the pitch you can get away but I went in the bar after as they come for me bad yeah to the point where Jon and BN were
Having to like get them away from me he wanted to B you yeah and I had no chance it wouldn’t have been a fight I would have just got levered with the big Lads yeah like big proper just like getting the badge in and that so I would have had no chance
That’s lasting you I had one where I got approached after the game and this this fan was like I I you said I was like hey mate you all right he said you don’t know a girl called I won’t mention name I went I think so said like does ring a
Bell why he’s like that’s my effing girlfriend he said I I’ve heard that you’ve you’ve you’ve been with that like I have no idea did you get that no no I just like admit I’ll be honest with you if if I knew sh had a boyfriend like I would
Never have done it I could only apologize I don’t know like I don’t know what you want me to say and he was like well don’t do it again well if he want to score today it would have been worse and then he walked off it’s weird it
That is mad well our guest today won’t have had anything like that cuz he’s one of the nicest L you meet in football and we’ve got the Cur what would you say interim player manager for rylands but uh a South African cult hero and he’s had a good
Career so he’s had a very good career yeah you was happy with this one when I mentioned it was you I was yeah I was very happy do you want to introduce him Mr Dean Ferman how we doing pal yeah very good lads it’s great to be uh great
To be on here with you boys nice to have you very good what’s the crack at the minute you’ve took the assistant manager would you say or the manager don’t know don’t know what day is to be honest it’s it’s it’s wild taking on uh a bit of the
Player so still playing um cley left us after just after you guys had him on I think that was got job didn’t got him a move so you gave him that air time and off he went got I think we got a text the next day from cley in the players
Group saying Lads I’m off to Mac I’m surprised to it is that how he said it cley he had to put something into the group and he’s gone around and spoken to everyone he’s we we absolutely loved him as I think everyone does um he’s great
He’s just a people’s person he’s good to be around he’s good to like he’s good to play for he’s good like you can go speak to him about anything he’s just he’s just that guy that that everyone must been a big shock though because nobody
Saw that come in I think some people did I I certainly didn’t I just thought he was so happy with everything how it was going the fact sign New Deal sign a new deal yeah uh we think we’re not sure don’t knoww that uh and then yeah
Just just like obviously we saw Brucey left left Mack and we just thought we’ll just we’ll just carry on as we are cuz we’re we’re up there we’re in the mix as well we know Maka chasing the playoffs just didn’t just didn’t see him going there like him kley Hunty and Lou Who
They’ve been brilliant they’ve been great to play Under yeah just didn’t see them go you can’t blame him though either can you can’t blame him they’re like a game away from playing at Wembley if they win if they beat Gates head yeah who knows what the what the plans for
The club are it’s a big the wages the budget the professionalism that he’ll be involved it’s level it you can’t you can’t blame him it’s just it was just like just like dropped Dropped a Bomb Dropped a Bomb on us especially CU we’re both if we were mid-table you say on you
Go like yeah yeah absolutely the fact above them yeah we’re above them we still are which is for now they got about six games in hand so how did the phone call come in then for you to go right like can you take over so it’s so
It’s myself and Sam not just the oldest two that get it exactly that so we had it last year as well for for for two weeks before Cy came in so as soon as he left we knew they were coming like they going to come to us fair enough so I
Think like I’ve always felt that when you’re struggling and a new guy comes in like it’s the EAS it’s the easiest job in the world cuz all the players like really open receptive like help us do anything we’ll change formation we’ll run harder we’ll do when you’re doing
Well it’s hard to bring a new person in who wants to change things everyone feels like they’re bit on eggshells you don’t know the new gaffa everyone’s trying to impress he gets rid of some players who have been like your key players so I think from the club they
Just thought let’s just keep it rolling keep it internal give it to to me and and big edgy who’s who’s class he knows the level he knows everyone he knows like players managers so is he saying players names you know like yeah if you want don’t know leave that to you I’ll
Get in on the Tactical stuff and and some of the like some of the shape uh but both like it’s tough like i’ I’ve I’m still playing so I’ve got coming at halim I’m I’m knackered and then like got to suck it up and if
I’ve had a [ __ ] as well yeah i’ got to start hammering Lads and I I’ve been just as bad uh but yeah we we’re just rolling with it like for us the message like nothing has changed on the pitch probably one of the biggest thing that
Happened to us this season was losing a striker Dharma at he’s gone to we played Bamba bridge on on Saturday no disrespect he played at he played Celtic Celtic Part he’s gone to the SPL oh that’s right yeah we heard about that yeah so that was bit of a difference it
Without being disrespect but with with cley like he was amazing we we all loved him and and hunting L but on the pitch nothing’s changed and that’s just our message we’re just trying to keep keep rolling you boys are are far outside you boys have been
Phenomenal season I I heard a few people say now that CLE is gone rylands might drop off but you’ve just not so well the first the first game was a disaster so it so it broke on the Thursday Saturday I think we played gains bro uh we gone
One n down each equalized and you know when you equalize it there was only going to be one winner soon after that we got a lad sent off we end up losing 4-1 it was just like the perfect storm everything that could go wrong just went
Wrong and we’re we’re like you know when the Fe the feelings like all doom and gloom and like but since then we picked up again we we won our last three um we’re just trying to keep it like upbeat and positive and that’s how’s it changeed for you off the pitch because
You’re not just to playing now so you’re getting all them phone calls and like the board and stuff like that that’s just like Zoom calls with the board discussing players at 8:00 at night I’ve just put the kids down and like you’re like wow this is like it’s I always
Think it’s like it’s like a full-time job it’s part-time but being the manager is like full-time now when you’re a player you rock up you play you stay around you have a couple of drinks with the lads off your pop when you’re the manager you got to start preparing for
Like Tuesday night and who you’re playing and tactics and shape and watch do the clips and stuff even stuff like where to meet and who we picking up and yeah I won’t find say that myself it’s there’s a lot and then the players start calling you do I have to come to
Training tonight and like you’ve let one guy not come to train the week before but like got all these things going on and you’re like just want to play with my kids for Turn up for training leave me alone being a dick but it’s good it’s it’s
Nice it’s nice on the other side it’s good to have the conversations what what is hard is is um having to leave out a lad that you’ve been sitting next to in the dressing room like whole season and we’ve had a couple of those conversations it’s horrible like to be
On that side of that conversation say like listen you’re not playing today and will you will you pull in Thursday at training or just before the game or what I mean we only had three so we did it just before the game the other day because we like you can’t do it on
Thursday because it might change yeah yeah and in fact on on Saturday a player before Saturday’s game so we told the player that he wasn’t playing and then we had a player who said like if I’m playing in a certain position I’m I’m not playing I I rather leave and we said
Right on you go then so that that player if told us that 15 minutes before I get if that’s a strike and you put him in net but but come on I’ve I’ve seen some things but so what was it a center mid playing right back of some it was a it
Was a lad who were playing out wide who wanted to play through the middle and we were like no at the moment like that’s where we see on the wing and we just alert if you’re not going to play like these Lads have been here giving it absolutely everything the whole
Season uh if you don’t if you’re not prepared to like give up a little bit yourself for the team then then we don’t need you yeah that was i’ just happy I was playing you’re you’re dealing with things like that you’re like you’re trying to get changed and get ready you
Got just get Machin on it you dick but it’s good it’s good it’s like especially when you win and there’s like say if you’ve done something tactically it’s quite it’s quite nice not doing anything mad tactically we might set up to press or a set piece
Or something like that and if it comes off then there’s a bit there’s a bit of a buzz not what not Reinventing the game or going what game did I watch the other day it was a Prem game and they whipped they whipped a corner
Him to the near post sity it was was it man that set and then you could see pep just turned to his obviously um set PE set PE guy just go so if you got if something like that comes off then then it’s good we nearly
Had one at FC that like it honestly I don’t know how it didn’t come off and it would have been just we we did it on Thursday night you know when you do a set piece and train it it looks so false you’re like there’s no way on Earth this
Is coming off it’s [ __ ] and we tried it and it honestly it just need a tap in it got fizzed across it would have been like it would have been welcome to management this is for me we don’t do that we’re old school it’s just like
Back pulse get the big Lads around the back and get the bits yeah can’t complain mate top of League yeah well Warrington is a far cry from South Africa which is where you was born weren’t it that’s right yeah that’s right so how obviously the first the
First proper Club I suppose that that you kind of come into I seen this before significant he’s Chelsea is it so how so how how is how is football different in South Africa because I’m guessing it’s it’s miles different to the structure of English football it’s it’s it’s so different
It’s so different it’s like there’s no there’s no real Academy so you’re not going to like there there are a couple but not the same setup and structure and like what we have here so like what I noticed when I went and played there and um with the lads over there the natural
Ability like is unbelievable yeah not coached not tactically necessarily aware like that all comes if you make it to first you got to be good first you just pure like if you see a Rondo there see the lads doing a Rondo like we’re here we just like stiff
Like the Rondo just like you know when you just freestyle like no rules just freestyle the just the natural ability is I bet everyone’s athlete as well it’s it’s a different it’s it’s a different way of playing it’s so open the game is so open it’s like end to end it’s mad
Plus you got when you’re playing there you got to deal with so like the club I play for we played in Petoria altitude I was going to say like the pitches are awful like dry aren’t they you know what one one of the things that that was really good for me going out
There so since the 2010 World Cup they’ve got all those World Cup stadiums so like 75% of the time you are playing in a world you’re playing in a class Stadium there are some of the older stadiums which yeah can I can’t I was watching a club I can’t remember the
Actual name something like mamadu Sundown M Sundown yeah yeah and there like some of the pitches that I watching them were play on were were just really just look really dry and bobbly it’s a it’s a summer league so so it mirrors like the European league but over there
That’s summer so like that’s a tough 90 minutes you like I’m talking like 35 deges like dying like new kit at half time stuff yeah yeah the madest thing for me is like we train so we train at like 9:00 I’m there shorts and t-shirt absolutely dying The Lads are in like
Full skins tights like what freezing like not freezing but like that’s that’s for them I’m like in shorts and t-shirt like rolling up my sleeves rolling up my shorts cuz I’m because it’s so hot that that’s just what the lad their main sports out there I would I’d have said well I thought
Cricket rugby they the main ones and it’s like the football it’s obviously massive but it’s it’s not really in schools and stuff was it so yeah so it’s hu so so rugby and Cricket are massive like spring box and the protest are huge spring box like back toback world
Champions in the rugby like them they’re massive really really yeah um the foot football’s huge as well it’s it’s it is huge the local football like a lot of people actually follow the Premier League yeah follow here so like they won’t say they support Sundowns they’ll say they support United or Chelsea
Whatever but it there is actually a really good League over there which is really well supported um and that’s we we always talk about like with with other players like why don’t we see South Africans like in the big leagues and I think it’s because they’ve got a
Really good League there so we’re talking like like good stadiums uh talk there’s like a broadcast like it could be Sky Sports where there’s like cameras everywhere the money’s good as well is it in the top Le and the money’s good so when you see other leagues and players
Who come over here it’s because their leagues aren’t great so like to to go and get big money theyve got get to Europe whereas over there good money especially if you go to a club like Sundowns money’s great we was trying to mention South African players and we
Only got three didn’t we you got we went well we didn’t even get riger B song not South African there we go so that’s P peut peut yeah we mentioned that who else about it struggling oh there’s a few Legends out there Benny McCarthy well get Benny Benny Benny’s won the
Champions League yeah won the Champions League with port mourinho’s team he’s assistant manager one of the coaches first team coach at United now right okay um so he’s he’s doing really well he’s Legend what yeah yeah character get him on here’d be great he’s Quinton Fortune Legend yeah uh got to know uh
Superi shabalala no got to know shabalala you must know the the goal that sounds like you’re drunk you got sounds like you you feeling the goal South scored in the World Cup the first goal the opening goal worldy was it worldy yeah and that him is it yeah he went mad didn’t he
Went went mad did the dance like that yeah like that yeah so we’ll get on to that in a second because dancing is not my thing and over there African cultures dancing singing and dancing um I learned very quickly never get to the Celebration too soon come towards the
End where everyone’s High fiveing get get there at the end of the dance cuz if you’re there too early and and you’re stiff it’s not a good look so how did you get get to Chelsea that’s what I want what’s happened there yeah just
Just so so we moved over here when I was five family just decided that there was an opportunity mold man M man’s a dentist should have seen him face would be falling off no I went to vets with these fin um yeah not we had an
Opportunity to come over um and then I just playing Sunday football just like everyone else Scout came down invited me down to two trials and that was it just that wasy from the age of nine that was pre Aon ER so it’s pre Abramovic up
Until the age of 16 so i’ signed my scholar at 16 and abovich took over so then like the club just exploded and like for a young boy to be it’s like when marinho so when he just come comes in on the special one just won the
Champions League with PTO he’s just come in uh Brenan Rogers was my youth team coach like phenomenal I didn’t know Brenan Rogers was there yeah youth did you have the lad you know the lad on telly where there was like a competition football and if you won you
Played for Chelsea did you have him yeah so so I think so he was he was I think I left so I think there were three yeah he was the thir thought it was Ronaldo car Magny mag he one at Gat um what for my
Right so they had football icon on TV so you’d have trials on TV yeah and if you won the whole thing you got a year scholarship with Chelsea under Jose it was like like massive pop Idol one of those program football icon it was me it
Was class and and the lads yeah the lads when I was there yeah can’t remember who won the first one but the other lad was like a left back he’s still at the club like coaching Sam harell yeah I played out in America with him oh really yeah
Top top lad so he was he was around the time when I when I was there um yeah it was weird it was like who were some of some of your teammates any so so my age gr famous uh like Michael Manan he went to have he went to have a really good
Career um the age group loaded really really well so it’s like Scott Sinclair Ryan Bertrand Liam brick cut very good career Jack cork who’s been a um Burnley he’s at Burnley yeah really really good career no he was he was at Southampton Southampton um trying to think who else
It was Sam Hutchinson cheffy Wednesday so the age group below was really really strong so when we combined he was good was a good team but like even even like Scott and Ryan coming in that was so like obviously they were signing and like like M like Superstars at First
Team level but then they started signing boys at our level so Scott was a signed from Bristol Ryan was assigning from can’t remember where he came from but they would started spending money strings about for him yeah I can’t remember but he wasn’t us so like they
Signed him and like so like the whole ball game just changed yeah but it’s a class time to be around going like to the new training ground seeing all these like Superstars what what an experience like and Brendan was Unreal mate well was coach that got of a coach in ridiculous in what
Aspect just like thing is it’s like probably different to like First Team level we’re kids so like we’re just we’re like sponges we’re trying to just take on everything we can but like his attention to to like little details like he he became like a father figure a lot of us
Were in digs and like we we’re away from home he just like looked after us he was he was unbelievable like did you think then that that he he’ll go on to bigger better things yeah he was he was learning Spanish at the time he he was always so we always
Thought that he would go with Mourinho right okay um but then like he’s gone and been unbelievable done right yeah he’s done really well third play to him so what what happened at Chelsea then when did you so I got to got to 18 got released um and do you think that with
Them bringing in all these players from all different things that that kind of stopped your every everyone’s got a Story Don’t They everyone’s got a sub story um that at the time they were bringing two Lads from Le there was a big storm about it cuz I don’t think you
Could bring in Lads from a certain distance I I don’t can’t remember the story uh Tom Taio and Michael Woods um so they were signing them both midfielders so was it was there you’ve got all chance have you yeah and they spending money on them I’m bit older so
I probably would have played at the time who who knows ultimately you’re not good enough that’s that’s the reality yeah um but for me that Chelsea were unbelievable with me and they probably don’t get enough credit for for what they do in the academy now is low the
Guys players that I grew up with really really look after like the the players so I went so what happened was Brendan Brendan had links with Celtic then so he sent me to CU I was going to say like how did you end up at Rangers so yeah so
He he sent me to Celtics I went and spent a week at Celtic had a class week there it was great um and then whilst I was up there I knew an agent up there and he kind of call he called me and and whilst I was there he took me around
Mari Park and took me to I BR Mario Park’s the Rangers training ground so about 2 weeks later Rangers wanted me to come up for a week there and at the end of the week they basically slapped a contract on the table and said we know
You’ve been to Celtic if you go back there yeah this contract it is a rivalry thing they would want to Nick you before that yeah yeah so maybe there was a bit of that um you take that oh all day so so I ended up signing for Rangers and I
Loved it was class it was for me it was like all my friends are going to UNI I was 18 all my friends are going to UNI I was living in London so they going to Manchester leads wherever for me it was like this is my chance to like get away
Go and do something like go to another place how long was the deal cuz I know you were there for three years it must have been three years yeah it was three years so it was class cuz I I got to train with the first team all the time I
Was in the squads all the time I was on the bench for old firms like yeah that what was that atmosphere like the first one um I think I was on the bench for was was um at at Celtic Park and they’re singing You Never Walk Alone I’ve never
Been like in a and I was like I was like oh this you forget that you actually got to play or you might have to play I was never getting on but but like the Jimmy Bell bless him he’s he’s passed away now the Kitman was
Telling me as Kitman do go and do his job go get something from the changing room and I wasn’t I wasn’t listening I was just like this is phenomenal but what a game it was like just the the Rivalry can you remember the score we
Won you yog bless him as well pass away scored an overhead k and like we got the bonuses yeah what bonuses would you been down there like first team bonus so first team bonus was I think was like 1,200 a game um but old firm was 4 grand so when you’re an
18yearold sitting on the bench simp that it unbelievable unbelievable so yeah it was it was it was a good experience did you did you ever think you you would eventually break into that team or or or did you always know you might be on the
Edge so I was knocking on the door like I was doing really really well made my debut uh came on did really well won the game yeah uh went away that next preseason with the first team so we got like Barry Ferguson Kevin Thompson Charlie Adam so that’s that that was
Kind of few of the few of the midfielders so I’m thinking like right I’m going to get into the I’ve made my debut done really well gone away had a great preseason with the first team thinking right I’ll play like 10 games a season yeah then they signed Pedro
Mendes and Steve Davis Che Cheers Cheers that’s great at that stage I was like right I can’t I’ve played resis long enough I can’t like I need to go and play so that’s when I I was lucky I got got the low move to Bradford with Stuart
Mcco with his links to Rangers yeah uh he took me there and you know what you go in from like Mar you’re going from Chelsea where we’ve gone into Cobin which is unbelievable like the food I just remember the food was just a joke Chelsea oh you go for lunch it’s
Like phenomenal and like pitches are perfect and like and Rangers was exactly the same beautiful training ground you go in nice lunch like everything’s perfect you go you go to Bradford and at the time it was like change at the stadium I’m not sure what they do now
But change at the stadium uh get in your car drive over to the training ground it’s a bit of a swamp you get back in full of M way did that failed you had to drive to the old ground to tr and like I
Like I loved it because I was like a key part of it I was playing every every week and like even though it’s not the glitz and glamour like I almost wish my career went the other way I wish like I started lower and ended up there cuz
Then that would have been yeah that would have been great but it’s all about game time though surely at that age yeah once you get to a stage you want to play yeah and like there especially like League two and it’s like 13 14,000 you feel like a proper little little and how
Old you time then 20ish 20 yeah 20 so like that was my first taste in in like in the dressing room with like proper pros and like and and like Lads haven’t got all the money in the world so like a win bonus me
So like it was just a far cry to what I had been accustomed to and got used to and then just to go into it and I absolutely loved it who were your teammates at that time in that in that team uh so we had we had Nikki law who
Went on a really good career went went to did really well at Rangers um a good question we had K Nick um Simon Ang who had a good Simon yeah he wasn’t a striker he was a center back Center back then he went to stri didn’t
He later on put him up top yeah we had greme Lee was our captain uh who’s now the manager at spendmore yeah uh he was brilliant uh Peter Thorne is our Striker pet he was he had a good good efl career um terrible it’s it’s going back now but
Yeah it was it was class me I loved it it was and moved down to leads like young boy living in leads good city in it leads yeah so good out and did anything no absolutely wouldn’t do that but so got got to got the nice thing there was like
Got to live a little I had like loads of friends at at un there so kind of lived a bit of the the student nights and like yeah it was good it was good student nights though student nights that’s the thing he’s on I I don’t know what you
Know a couple of grand a week and he’s going on student nights out 20 P Pine just racked up I actually Pounders I met my wife when she when she was at you she went to leads and don’t if you know Tony
P he was a I do know Tony P Tony p is a big Bradford fan so I I knew Tony and like so he does all the uh he does all the Vegas trips and everything now the con stuff so one of our first dates was
When my M was on Fresh’s week um and we got to space the night I wonder if it’s still there I’m sure it’s still there got to got to space and like she started walking to the back of the queue I was like come on I’ve never pulled that car
So big time but because I knew Tony p got straight in like I think that seal sealed the deal card out SE sealed the never happened again but did it work oh of course yeah good well we we’re 15 years later happily married so yeah must
Must must work Tony P what a legend legend legend some other Lads at rackliff now have been asking me to go on nights out on like a Tuesday student night I said I’m 33 like can you imagine me in there now it just be wrong would
It it would be wrong but it’d be good it’d be very good would it yeah so like get Nicki Adams come with me he’ll actually come he loves it so you did really well that season a lot of appearances at that age and then obviously end of your loan you call back
To Rangers yeah and you had a decision to make then because they offered you another year didn’t they they offered me a new deal but like there was no way I was going to play like that was that was your reality and they didn’t offer me a
Deal to make me stay yeah I just thought it was like it’s all right but like it’s like if you really want me you’ll offer me like a much better deal than that and then then like Bradford wanted me so I could have stayed there but oldum came
In the league of bar and I was like well yeah what league was they in League one oldum yeah League one so and another big Club as well great Club yeah great club and not far from leads not far from lead moved in moved over to Manchester um
Moved into manchest City Center taking another another big city just thought yeah I I said to I said to St mcco I’d love to come back but if if there’s a chance to play in any leagues higher I’m going to take that and then hold them
Came in right um and finally like the my my agent was close to the chairman at the time and he kept on banging on about me to take me he was like no not happening not happening and they got a new man Dave Penny don’t you know Dave
He he got the manager’s job and I was a first name on his on his list to sign so he’s got a [ __ ] joke Penny’s just dropped at least you saw it coming it was sorry go on no I’m not so uh yeah was good it was good it was um I was
There for like three and three and a half years uh got made the like Club captain at like 24 by Paul dick off which um was massive for like someone so young there’s like thir there’s like 30-year-olds like Chef Kikuchi in the dressing room and I’m like having to
Like yeah you had some yeah there were some players in that what was Dick off right though just m loved him well we’ve had him on here haven’t we a bit mental is it yeah I mean he’s I’m sure he’s he’s got I mean he’s doing great with
City isn’t he his a role but like we loved him coming in I was like his kind of player like he the way he used to play yeah trying when we were playing I was like damn [ __ ] off five minutes just ratting around just ratting around and like
That’s why me and him would like really hit hit it off and like we played as a team as he was as a player we were we were exactly that we were just horrible we just like a rash just pressing and like I cannot imagine being a full team of Paul dick yeah
And it and it worked for us like that season we were like we were up in the playoffs for ages and we didn’t have any sort of budget to be there yeah we were right up in the playoffs and then we like we fell away towards the end but
Like he was he was good to play for he was good fun he was um jef to didn’t do his dive then but he did I think he did it at Sheffield United away what was it can you remember what was it for I just just celebrate he’s
Massive we had D and like do a Clansman but then like kind of just it he didn’t slide just belly flop on the grass class Chef you away I think we came back from t0 down 132 and I’m pretty sure he did I think he played for cheffy Wednesday so
I think for him doing it there was yeah that’s a big one that’s a big one for him we had we had a Fallout one one game so I was a captain we play I think we played I can’t remember maybe Sheffield Wednesday and like he was going on at the liesman
Um and we so they had just scored he was going on at the liesman might been an offside or whatever and the referee said to me get him away from my linesman now and we’re all waiting to take kickoff I’ve G like Chef come on or whatever I
Said and obviously obviously a bit more than that and he’s gone you me after the game and you know like everyone has that not nothing ever happens yeah and then like after the game come to the dressing room and he he me GP me in the dressing
Room Chef’s a big boy and I’m not a big boy uh so there was only one winner there rag you get that a lot though on the pitch but it never never carries on I thought there’s no way it’s it’s carrying on and then we we smooth it
Over the next day and there were no punches The Lads The Lads split up but obviously upset him yeah I’ve got a jno classic from this week as well all right so you you know John and B of course I’ve made a run into the channel the
Right channel but the right Wingers got it so he just started running and instead getting in the box which I should have done yeah I just was pissed off that I didn’t get the ball so I just stopped so he’s going get in the [ __ ]
Box as loud as he can saying you prick and all this so I was just like get like Ping him off basically and then we scored again he went Jordan Jordan just come here well done mate well come here just come here all the way to like from
The other side of the pitch all the way to him made me come up to his face as I got there he went [ __ ] you so as if he was going to give me some information about the game I got there [ __ ] you in my face and I was just
Like I just burst out laughing it was brilliant so you thought it was going to give you some love I thought he was going to take it off the pitch but he didn’t luckily else he bed me yeah everyone joh classic that’s classing it though that I can’t believe
He carried it on but nobody could believe it like it happens on the pitch and you just like end of the game and and it was like probably 20 minutes before the end of the game so you thought by the end of the game everything would have like chilled out
And it just car on the where else is he from he is from is he he’s I couldn’t recognize off the accent you did he’s not he’s Serbian or something he’s he’s got some finish in it I like he’s he’s from fin up front yeah he’s he’s but he had a
Good career he play for like Blackburn yeah uh he had he had he had Prem career yeah and he scor he scored a few big goals for us he’s massive size of him if he’s picking on you I know good play he didn’t he didn’t score the Football
League goal of the year though did he he didn’t he he did he scored a few bangers but Dino did yes tell us about it so it was um I thought you were gonna say you that’s so I don’t I don’t score many but
I do I do score some good ones uh so I hadn’t scored my first season I didn’t score a goal we playing it was the second it was the first home game of the season against notot County was was it Dicky I think it was Dicky’s first
Season so like to start with yeah we were a r but like we we were really popping it um and the goal like the strike’s good like it ends up at me but the move like it was like a bit of a combination it was like really good
Passing move so 72 efl clubs got to submit their goal of the Season yeah I think a board or a panel whatever whle it down to 10 then the 10 goals went on soccer am it got votes down to five and the five goals went to the efl the efl
Awards at the end of the season so I went to the awards and um always that you’re going to win it AR you yeah I mean like I I always said I’ll never go to an awards unless I’m up for an award so like at least I’m I’m I’m in the mix
And it was a good goal but I don’t know if you remember a player called leis mugan play for nosam forest and he just scored world he like ridiculous so he’s in it with like a 30 yard Thunderbolt free kick like that probably should have
Won it um but so on the night all the awards are decided so you’ve got like um young Player of the Year player the year whatever the awards were they were already decided but the goal of the year was on like the big screens on a loop
And everyone on the tables had to vote for it so I still thought there’s no chance there was L mug Ricky Lambert was up for a goal I think when he was at Southampton what you do take all your mates with you to Vault no so so it’s
Just me me and my old man were there but my one of my sisters best friends worked for the efl she was working on the corporate side of things and I think after a few people had a few drinks she was just going around to to the table
Vote for team Ferman vote for team Furman what go that is yeah so uh yeah when they announced it got got the award Ward so it’s a nice little uh yeah the lad say I can’t shoot and sometimes I say oh just just a little remember that
Go of the Season Lads I didn’t see that you was there for you played a lot of appearances says 130 odd in the league but I’m guessing with CBS and everything like it must have been close to 200 yeah Fair old appearances isn’t it yeah it
Was good it was good good good good time um it was tough we we would like always up against it really budget wise some big teams in the leag like like thinking now like that’s the Southampton team was a joke it was like um oxl Chamberlain was just breaking through Lana Ricky
Lambert um schneiderlin when we went to man united not long after like their team was a was a joke so there like some some big big teams yeah what’s SC did they beat you as well they beat us 2-1 at their place I actually scored uh so I
Was thinking how do he remember that yeah that’s and it was it was it was a goal that sum me up as a tackle uh um and then at home they beat us like 61 it was a joke 6 nil ridiculous just had too much um and it was good and so so
What happened with me there is I I was I was a captain um and they were struggling the last season weren’t they they they were struggling stuck by them you’re not going to well yeah so so it was it was January I went away to the African nations came back so
Came back end of Jan um and in that time dick remers we’ll go back to that uh dick Dicky had been sacked um so came back to to like no manager um and get a phone call from from Dicky and he’s like do you want to go to Donnie they top of
League one and we’re like scrapping relegation at the bottom I’m the captain and like CU I’ve been there a long time it the club meant quite a lot to me like yeah you know you know when you’ve been at a place a long time you get to know
All the all the staff like the fans and so it meant more than just the old club that you been so yeah like what you mean what like First of all what’s it to you and like like so he said he’s potentially getting the job The Following season because they had an
Interim manager at the time uh and he was like they need a midfielder to to like help them win the league basically um yeah but Captain I I can’t go yeah you can’t leave can you how can I how can I like kill the lads fair
Play see you when so I’m and everyone was like you can’t leave you can’t leave night everyone was saying like you got to go like like the maddest thing is how many times do you actually get the chance to win something in football yeah reality is if you’re like lower league
Player you’re never going to win the FA Cup caribo Cup like one team at 24 wins league and one gets gets playoffs so there’s players you go through the whole career never ever winning anything so like the It suited the club like the chairman kind of said like look we’re
Going to get some money for you like we can get you off the wage Bill even though the wages weren’t great but get you off the wage Bill uh they brought in a player on loan from Bristol who’s who’s probably better than me anyway so
Like it was a it was a win-win for them Donnie got their player and for me it was a chance to go and win the league and hopefully playing the championship so yeah I jumped [ __ ] I got absolutely battered all the fans were did old them
Stay up or go down stayed up so so it all worked out perfectly I used to I used to like so I got absolutely slaughtered on on Twitter the olden fans destroyed me I when they lose I spend half an hour on their comments on Twitter brilliant
Reading you must spend it every week then he used to have a song that like Dean Ferman whoa Dean Ferman whoa he comes from Africa he’s better than Kaka so out of all the abuse I got the best thing that I got was someone just responded and said for the record you
Are not better than Kaka as if you didn’t know cheers but it thankfully it worked out well and the game that we got promoted at Donnie you must have seen it was a game where um they get pen so we play brenford in the last game season Bournemouth were top we
Dropped to Second brenford were third brenford needed a win to get automatic promotion we just needed a point so it was nil nil 90 95th minute nothing really happened in the game they launch one into the box uh we give away a penalty for a high foot um and weirdly I
Got blamed on like all the all the Press said it was me the the lad who did it was Jamie mcum who 6’6 so how you can confuse me with Jamie mcon um penalty and like like the from from the penalty getting taken to actually given to
Getting taken was probably like five or six minutes we were obviously there was lad down injured Clayton Donaldson yeah um he was down injured I think it was him then obviously you had to go to VAR check in yeah ex uh then we were complaining about the penalty but then what happened
Was their lad they had a lad on loan from Fulham um Italian lad uh and he wouldn’t give up the ball so a few of them would fight Bradley right Phillips him and the captain at the time were fighting over who should take the penalty so like there was a lot like up
All they had to do was score score and they’re up and we’re in the playoffs so he’s run up he’s he’s uh struck the pen hit the crossbar come down uh scramble in the Box we cleared it broke up the other round with Billy painto Lin manager now yeah squared and James
Coppinger like our club Legend put it in um so like bit like the Deanie goal so Deanie the maddest thing is we said that will never ever happen again like it’s mad like we’re about to get knocked out into the playoffs go up the other end
Score not only did we get promoted we won the league as well so it’s like amaz like the turn around in 30 seconds was mad we said never happen again Deany was next week with the same that’s right yeah it happened the week did the exact
Same thing with Deanie that was a week after um same referee as Michael Oliver yeah it’s just the maddest thing that that’s one of and I don’t want that to happen again again cuz it’s like a big talking point and it’s happen the next week I’m pretty sure he’s had
Something s like a last minute penalty like Champions League level Real Madrid Juventus I think gave a last minute pen so you got as a club though you got it because that’s like a one in a million thing and then the week happen and everyone’s forgot about you now and now
He’s gone to I was just thinking he’s talking about deie everyone everyone talks about Deanie cuz Deany was in the playoffs and that was on that was on TV so everyone’s seen it whereas o was in the league not televised and so like if you if you have never youtubed it or
Seen it you wouldn’t know about it but it was exactly exactly the same that long later what I feel what like what were the celebrations like after that then so good so good boss in our track suits all the way back to Donnie straight out stay in the track
Suits yeah unbelievable and that’s that’s that and thankfully like all them stayed up on probably around that time as well it’s like yeah double celebrate wasn’t the worst wasn’t the worst move in the end in the end of the day but we had a so we went up with the last kick
Of the of the ball Following Season we we came down with last kick of the ball got relegated on goal difference next season uh bming balls you done it quick don’t it Birmingham equalized at Bolton the last in the last second we went down a goal difference so like had highs and
Lows but God class Good Times yeah really good how is like obviously there’s a big difference between the celebrations and relegation stuff like that but like how hard was it coping with losing every week and and being down near the bottom because it affects everything it affects
Your confidence your touch how you play yeah so the worst the worst thing like when you’re down the bottom is like you’ll look at game before get like a teaming around you and think they’re playing top of League Banker right we’re right there we’re right there end
Winning you lose you come in you think we we’ll be right today they [ __ ] one you’re on no it just it just consumes your life doesn’t it when you down bottom just it does seem like everything goes against you as well yeah like oh that definitely should have been a goal
And it’s not it’s choked off or you know like I said the other team wins when they should definitely lose horrible decisions injuries sometimes you’ve never had a relegation never had a relegation battle really no don’t start now it’s not fun and you know like you know like little things like you’re
Winning Gaff will give you Monday off yeah enjoy yourself see Tuesday you’re losing you’re probably in on Sunday morning for a video nasty like everything just wrong in it the V and you’re in a you’re in a better League yeah or or a higher League I’ve I’ve
Spoken to like my mate’s a leads fan he said to me like sometimes the journey is better than the destination yeah it’s like it’s horrible going in the Prem and you’re getting batted every week but in the championship you’re winning and you you’re fans are saying that at the
Minute they’re just saying get us back down they want to start winning games again yeah how did you find the level in the championship it’s good it’s good like playing against like just a physicality like players are bigger stronger quicker playing against like loads of xrem players or players on
Their way up to the Prem like stand as a joke make a mistakes a goal but then people say the difference from that to Premier League is a is a even bigger leap it’s meant to be because everyone is an athlete everyone like his touch is is incredible the pace the speed
Everything yeah that I’ve I’ve heard that I’ve heard that the jump is just ridiculous ridiculous it’s funny because people watch Prem games every week in the pub and the like like I could do better than him and but honestly you go like I’ve only ever trained at that like Premier League club
At that level with 15 players and it was a million miles away from where I could get to it’s it’s you can’t like if you see on TV you can’t actually imagine how good you can’t you can’t recognize unless you’re playing with them or against them you don’t re recognize how
Wrong and quick they are that’s the biggest thing for me so if people say this [ __ ] you’d be like well you wouldn’t even have got there to that you wouldn’t have even had chance to miss that because you’d be miles behind it’s just how they just get the body in the
Way and shield it with that side of the foot and you just can’t get anywhere near him just no but the it is it is with them guys one of the best I’ve ever seen and like you wouldn’t even think he’s that big but like so when I was
When I was at Chelsea and got chance to turn him the first Ida Johnson you could not get the ball off him massive just like does they’re just in a different for Bolton iic blond like he could have three men around him and just be so cool
And like it’s like a different sport phenomenal how good those guys so what about the international then that must have been yeah let’s go back to the afon so obviously that was good South Africa so I’d left when I was five so so like playing now in in the lower leagues it’s
Pro it’s not obviously not Broad there’s no media about it or anything so we we did the odd interview to let them know like you’ve got a South African player playing in in Championship or League one at the time like have a look I got called up once uh I was probably too
Young when I was at Rangers and we played Australia at Loftus Road didn’t get on so it’s just a good experience just something different for me and then never never heard again so 2010 World Cup came and went I was gutted and thinking like because that was in South
Africa that was in South Africa just thinking it’s never going to happen and then I get a I get a random call it’s like a I think it’s plus 27 number I get a random call on my phone um I was playing golf at the time
So I thought better take it see who it is and it’s a the new South African manager guy called Gordon nigon and so we start speaking he like right um we want to call you up we’ve got a game next week against Brazil uh what who
Just a joke uh she’s like we’re playing Brazil next week want you to want you to to come and I was like yeah unreal uh so I just my my thinking was like just be like I am at Alum just like go into training I don’t know anyone go
Into training give do do whatever I can do if I get on for a minute like I can tell the grandkids I played against Brazil yeah then like Friday night he’s announced a team and like I’m starting no way this is wild how am I who’s the
Brazil team come was so like so so it was it was I’ll get onto the team in a second but it was the maddest thing cuz like we’ve we’ve had our warm-ups and we’ve gone out to the uh into the tunnel there was a clash it’s like my biggest
Game in my career I’m thinking right I’ve cracked it now I’m at International level the most Sunday League oh no problem of all time there was yellow and yellow we didn’t have an away kit so they had to get into their blue kit so
We had to wait for them to go into the change room get changed then there was even a problem with a couple of players like the the kit had split down the sides I’m like is this a joke this is this is International Football we’ve got
A kit clash and now their kits are R but anyway we’ve gone out for the for the national anthems I’ve like just taken a pee to my left it’s like Neymar David Luiz Marcelo Hulk Danny Alves Oscar it’s like this is like FIFA what best what am
I doing here yeah it was insane what an experience pretty similar to Old them though yeah exactly I think I played like like played like Yoo the week before that now I’m playing against Brazil it’s like like mad how like that and that was that was the the most amazing what was
The levels there surely you know what we we actually did really well we did really well we we Hulk scored in about the 85th minute so we did really well we got applauded off the pitch 1 nil 1 nil so respectable but we then played them
Again a few years later it was like cuz it was our world cup theirs was the World Cup after us so it was like a Handover game we played them in our National Stadium I think they beat us like 60 like after about 60 Minutes they 4-0 up they’re taking off Marcela and
Bringing on Danny Alves like yeah cheers guys Neymar’s just cruising around bet you were saying I played these before they’re not not all that no mate ridiculous you swap shirts with so I’ve struggled with shirts honestly had a stinker with shirts so the the didn’t get anyone shirt so the
Brazil the first game I asked David David Luiz um and he was like yeah inside inside and like those sometimes those South American uh stadiums the tunnels like split right okay never saw them again so I was like yeah cheers for that mate but the one that really hurts
Me was we played Spain um so Spain the last time they were in South Africa they they um won the World Cup so it was like it’s like a celebration match so inesta um their Midfield was inesta alono and buskett um ridiculous so anyway we’ve played the game and South Africa’s
Altitude I was playing here at the time don’t if You’ ever done altitude training but like you can’t breathe you cannot breathe and you’re playing against Spain the like ball Master everywhere you know one of those where like you’re that knacked you look up at the clock and you think right it’s got
To be like 2 3 minutes 12 minutes on but anyway we like we like grew into the game and the thing about South African football is apart from me everyone’s like we’re really quick and we like and like the style of football is like combination play so if we get it right
Like it’s hard to stop so we had a few moves where where like we I think we hit the bar and like we start to feel oursel a little bit and we’re like yeah we’re doing all right here then in the second half we took the lead so we’re one nil
Up against Spain the number one in the world we’re like 65 70 whatever it’s a friendly but yeah yeah still um so after 60 Minutes they’ve made a load of changes so like iniesta’s come off lonzo’s come off David V’s come off whoever and eek Casas came off for
Um um Victor Valdez so they made six subs and the rule with International Football then I don’t know what it might still be the same if you make another sub it’s kind of like not class as and official friendly but we’re one n up and we’re getting mad ranking points for
Beating Spain so Victor Valdez has done his C now they want they want to take him off and bring on Pepe Raina our benches none of us knew the rule we like just it’s a friendly just get him on our bench are going nuts and manager going
Nuts how long we left it’s like half an hour left but because they want to bring on a seventh player we’re not going to get our ranking points anyway we made a massive fuss about it I think um we got the ranking points in the end we won we
Won the game they they did the sub we won the game I’m thinking like right there’s a few big dogs on the pitch but like how many chances did you get to get inest sh yeah so I thought we’ll do our bits on the pitch with the fans and the
Interviews and whatever and I’ll go up to the dressing room and go ask for a shirt and I went up there and they all they said no wouldn’t swap I think they they took they took the hump because we K what happened and they they wouldn’t
Swap got it a stinker got it I’ve got a few good pictures which is nice yeah you beat Spain though that’s we beat we beat Spain so it was stared asking me I’m not you know I played played against Liverpool in the FA Cup and like
Just I didn’t want to ask like and then like there was an injury and I’ve seen someone go up to Steven Geral I’m like no then someone’s gone another like breaking play someone’s gone to carer and like you just have to do it don’t you I couldn’t do it during the game
Just couldn’t bring myself to saying like the thing is though like probably once Gerard and Carri and somebody else has gone you’re like count really not really bothered about anybody else’s DK can I have his shirt not you got it you got to be busy
With it and just ask ask I’m sure they they don’t mind I could do that in a game I can’t do it if I’m playing against someone I’m not asking for the shirt you want do like who wants to swap [ __ ] you swapping with Sam back I
Swap with a guy who does the paper around there pretty different level than swapping with ger Gerard inesta Hulk nmar who used to walk Johnny Smith swimming pools like that dick one that one that I got I was gotted about um South Africa we we so we
Had when I first got there was Puma you know the really tight kit it makes everyone look like a tank it’s great uh so we so we had Puma with Puma they were really good with kits we then moved to Nike and like we we weren’t allowed to
Keep our kits we had to give them back and like use them for the next game and only when you go to like an afcon or major tournament they put your names on the back so we got the last afan I went to was in Egypt we lost Nigeria in the
Finals um and we had four kits for the whole tournament two home two away and after that they said like right you’ve got two kids it was our biggest struggle and like you see like the other like so we beat Egypt in the quarterfinals and like couldn’t even swap mosella like
Because we needed the kits for the next game but once we were knocked out they said like right you got two kits or three kits whatever so I thought right John OB Mel Legend yeah let me go and Nigeria kits unbelievable as well so I
Was like let me go and get his kit so I went to their dressing room got his kit and I was like cheers mate nice one he asked for mine I was like mate you do not want my kit like and he took it there don’t know if he took it home
Imagine you got it at home fman no I’m like please we’ve not got many of these he’s like gold I especially with your name on that and he’s taking my shirt I go you couldn’t say no though could say no what can you say what’s the what’s
The afcon like cuz I never realized until it started to be in screen more on TV how big it is over there it’s like the Euros yeah yeah it’s all it’s it’s Afric it’s good mate like there just a different feeling when you go to a to
Like a tournament so the qualifiers are tough Africa Africa’s tough traveling is really hard the climate’s hard some of the pitches you play On’s hard it’s intimidating getting stuff chucked at you really like yeah it’s like how how long’s it last for us about three or four weeks’s like yeah a month three
Weeks yeah something like that um it’s a mad standard though it yeah like you some standards unbel but then some standers rubbish but I think it’s getting better over the last years like the the smaller nations are like catching up now yeah but like you’re still going to come you come up against
Like most Sal who’s just a a COR have just won ay mad are they won it mad because the manager quit did they manager got sacked Jo in the tournament they got through as like the third best no not so four third place teams get through and they were the fourth best
Third place team the manager got sacked it was in Ivory Coast so they had a bit of a sink in the they won first game lost to I think lost their next two so they had three points yeah so they thought they were out so they sacked the
Manager and then they brought in a guy like a playing Legend but he had never managed a f at First Team level they brought him in and went on to win the tournament but keep job now yeah and he’s he’s got the job now yeah um but
When you’re when you’re at a tournament like the like the Press there’s press from all over the world I was a captain at at one of them and you’re doing like press conferences and like the amount press in the room it’s ridiculous Captain South Africa so I got yeah I got
The job got the job job the armband um the general it was mad it was mad what happened um we went we went away we played in Sudan um at the time there was a goalkeeper called senzo miwa he he had he was the captain at the time um we
Played we won the game I came back I was playing here at the time he was playing for a team called Orlando pirates in uh in South Africa one of one of the the big and a week later we after that g he he was shot and Ked
Um mad like your national team goalkeeper has just been shot and killed and I think the case is still still ongoing to have however many years later don’t think they’ve yeah it’s mad so on the back of that the next camp we need to point point a new captain so got it
In the worst possible way yeah bad story but you got you got they got a nickname for you AR there yeah so so I was I was called mongu which is like white guy I think I think that’s but like you know what the fans were unbelievable with me
And it what was mad was like um there it start I think it started with M Mark fish um and whenever he got the ball was like fish uh then we had a player called Matthew booth and whenever he touched the ball went the whole stum went Booth
So when I when I took it on and they start call me mongu so whenever I touched the ball if you didn’t know what they were saying what the fans were saying you would think why they booing this why they booing their own play like but it was the fans were un
Honestly unbelievable bit of a cult hero then you it was great yeah it was great you still go back and get recognized I haven’t I haven’t been back since I left um but like the yeah as soon as soon like it was it was like being a national
Team player here you’re doing like TV shows and like on the radio and on the TV and that like match of the day they’re talking about you it’s like cuz you got relegated with donc cast is that then when you made the move to some sports I spent another year in um spent
Another year in League one with Donnie and I was living in Manchester at the time so I was traveling over and dicki was a manager they offered me a new deal um my wife was working in London so I I really wanted to kind of move down to
London I also didn’t really I just wasn’t enjoying the traveling it’s my fault I should have really moved close to the training ground but when you’re like an hour and a half away you know like contracts are so short you’re not just going to like uproot with every
Club but I was still we had Richie wellins and REE weara the lad who’s got man of um that’s our car school I was to say You must have traveled in with Richie cuz he’s not moving anywhere Rich doesn’t move for nothing so that was our
Car school and I I enjoy training I love training I love just being out there like I’m still on the training pitch there in the car waiting to go home so thought next season I’m going to try find something closer to like so from trying to find something closer end up
The other side of the world how did that come about then well they they had been over they they had come to um every year cuz national team Sun sport Super Sport United Super Sport so super sport is like the equivalent of Sky Sports of Africa yeah
Um and it’s like it’s as if Sky Sports bought I know Spurs and called it Sky Sports United that’s kind of what what we were over there um so every year because I was playing for the national team every year club would try and get
Me to go out right and I was like I was going to the championship I was doing really well and that year just said you know what I’d had a couple of offers didn’t really take them it’s getting close to the start of the Season I’m
Thinking sh like what’s the money is is the money a lot more because you’re playing at the highest level over there not a lot more there’s a ceiling to it it’s good it’s it’s it’s good money like especially if you’re playing for the national team you can get better than a
Donnie money better than a Don money yeah not top end Championship maybe top end League one bottom end Championship that some players can get that there is there is scope for that so the deal was so so I’d always been asked do I want to go always turn it down and then that
Year they said are you interested said yes the the CEO got on a flight came out here slapped it slapped a um contract on the table and said this it was the Monday he like right you’ve got till Friday if you don’t have anything elseid
A big signing for them and it was it was a I got over there there was like a press conference and like I was put into like a hotel room couldn’t announce it to anyone I’m like it’s not how it work it works family come over did you go
Over on your own so it’s just me me and my me and my wife at time she was my girlfriend just like I just said like what we got to lose we don’t like it we we just come we come back it’s we got no responsibilities no kids no like just go
Take do something different and where’s super sport in in terms of like the the region near Cape Town or no so I was from Cape Town Cape Town’s phenomenal um and but it was in Johannesburg so for me I got lots of family there um I’d been
Back with a national team but it’s like it it was yeah it was different like it was took it took a little while to get used to the the St not not the standard the style of play the altitude the heat honestly it’s like it doesn’t matter how
Long you play there you will never get used to that heat I’ll take playing in minus minus five over playing in 35 all day can’t move you can’t breath I know I love I love it yeah after training unbelievable and the life it’s just shorts and flip flops every day so
Relaxed did you have a pool we lived in an apartment with a pool so like ah honest I did it for three months in America and I wish I never left yeah it was I would encourage I would encourage anyone to just from a life it’s just like an
Experience like we lived like when you when you’re somewhere you’re not from you live like a tourist so like any opportunity we got on Safari we’d go to Cape Town we go to Durban like just ridiculous and so only only we were going to stay for two years we end up
Staying for five that’s how much we loved it wow um yeah so is that what you got a two-year deal but he just just kept rolling just kept rolling it yeah it’s like a two plus one and then we just took another year took another what were your best times out there what’s
Like your best memory so best time I mean there was some some brilliant times for the national national team’s hard because it’s like it’s it’s just Amplified it’s just like just everything is just like the press the scrutiny on on social media it’s like the afcons I
Think one of my best times um was beaten Egypt in the last last 16 of the afon in Cairo so it was like 72,000 Egyptian fans in the stadium they had they had cruised through their group we’d struggled like like Ivory Coast we’ just kind of limped through and so everyone’s
Expecting them to wipe the floor with us and we beat we beat them one nil like in front of 72 class you know like when you go out to check the pitch before the game there’s normally like no one in the stadium the stadium was it was full like
The passion like when you go into some of these places the passion like sometimes that’s all people got that’s the like you see real poverty like it opens your eyes you br 2,000s and you’re buzzing about it I know honestly that was it was such a
Good like such a good time but playing there the league I think the best thing was we were like we did okay in the league we ended like fourth or fifth but like domestically like the cups we won a load of cups so like we win like the FA Cup
Like those kind of Cups we win those and just to be lifting trophies and like that kind of that experience was amazing but some of the Colts you got to like immerse a million miles away from playing for Alm yeah and dtic because you you just like shot to superstardom aren’t
You really in in that country yeah and then on so once you’ve been there how did it feel going to Carle slightly different yeah that’s what I’m saying so like you don’t cter and hold them over here like really good clubs but it’s it’s League one yeah you
Go you go over there you’re a superstar captain of the national team it’s like it’s like your Steven Gerard in England in it in terms of the the the media and the being recognized and like you’re lifting the equivalent of the FA Cup you’re playing in the afcon like the
Euros yeah then you what’s mad is like mad when when I like when I used to come back for like the offseason my family’s all all here when you come back for the offseason there you can you can like feel people are looking at you so you
Just like give them a wave I know I know coming back here you’re like you’re looking at people not like no idea who you are like why you why you looking at me uh so it was like weird you could live in like two different worlds two
Different two different lives but it was it was like unbelievable just to like see that must been amazing five years so you know what it’s good when you when you’re doing well when you’re not doing well or when you lose with a national team and you go to the petrol station L
Like guys are hammering you I think that’s the biggest thing cuz youve like there’s so much attention on you great when it’s doing good when but it’s emphasized a million times more some slagging England players off for wearing an earring or something the other day people like off for anything
People imagine if you was if you play for England [ __ ] have a field day why I don’t we hav’t got time to go into it now but it was um yeah so so so the pandemic hit League shut down my wife was pregnant we were so once she felt
Pregnant we were always coming back just because oh was it the the time of the pandemic yeah it was it was so it wasn’t the pandemic that made us come back it was my my wife felt pregnant and she’s from here she’s from Manchester and we always knew that once we started a
Family we’d move back just because like I would go away with the national team for like 10 days at a time had an away game could be a flight to Cape Town on Friday play Saturday fly back Sunday and I just like didn’t want to didn’t want
To leave her um so we always knew once once we we start didn’t want to leave her just for for long periods by herself with with a little one um so we always knew we were coming back so came back and it was that strange period when nobody had
Had fans in the ground there was AIT like a salary cap had come in people didn’t have money and like you’re like scrambling and the other thing is I’ve been out of sight for out of sight out mine for five years where you been as
Much as you’ve been a hero over there no no nobody knows about it no it’s like oh yeah I remember you from 5 years ago but like where have you been what what you been doing you just disappeared so like that’s Plus adding to that I’m now
Actually you told the story though they like but like the reality is no one cares like no one no one really cares it sound it’s it’s a nice story it’s it’s good memories for me but like when you’re trying to get to clubs they’re like well did you did you feel the South
African League was frowned upon in in terms of levels when you’re coming back here did people not appreciate the level you was playing out there I wouldn’t say frowned upon but like there’s no there’s no point of like reference there’s no like nobody knows how good it is so yeah
There’s Clips like the world get but it’s equivalent to League one it’s you can’t tell how can you how can you tell there’s no like way of actually measuring it so like it’s a bit like oh didn’t even know they had a league there kind of things it’s the truth yeah um
That’s that’s what I meant to like the upon people people’s knowledge just wasn’t you’re not playing here simple where have you been so so it was quite a plus I’m 33 at the time and it’s like I found coming back over 30 the ball game changes there clubs have they don’t want
Yeah you’re essentially yeah if you have a good season it’s great but if you’re a 19-year-old has a great season it’s like right we’ve got an asset here so that and that age you’re probably living one year to one year to one year yeah yeah so went up there on trial did really
Well got off of the contract um just a onee onee deal love how he has to go on trial to car to what you’ve just done that’s what well that’s no nobody cares nobody cares so yeah want to see what you’re all about let’s see like who
Was the gapper there Chris Beach Chris be file now um so had beachy he’s a he’s a character um and you know didn’t didn’t really play as much as as I’d wanted like would have liked it was probably the first season of my career
Where I was where I was out the team and the real reason for it the boy played Midfield just had a worldy right like and but you’re trying to then get another club and they’re like right you’re 34 you didn’t really play last year what’s up your legs gone where like
Where have you been what’s I was like no he just he was guy like Callum guy just had a well like he was top all those you know all those stats that come out he was top of everything for midfielders he was on Corners every corner he took even
If it it was like a poor Corner get get assist so he’d getting team of the week and fair play to him he had a great season and that is the the truth he just had a really good season um but then you’re kind of going like
What like right trying to get another club and club’s like no well you’re 34 you didn’t play last year it just gets harder and harder each year and that’s that’s when I end up at Al and started dropping on down into to non league right how you how have you found that
Has that been good because of the level and the your time of of life it’s fitting quite well I suppose I I still thought I still thought out a year we all still think we can we can we can we can do I still I was what 34 I still
Thought my goal was always to get to 35 always like that was I always wanted to get to 35 playing in professional yeah so I still thought I could still be at that at that that level dropping to ulti it was like going from fulltime that’s
All I’ve ever known to like now it’s like training at 8:00 at night in a school on with in with Shore and uh I’m like I have to get a job cuz like the money’s now I’m not just nothing yeah um and I’m scrambling for a job I thought
I’d done a I’ve got a degree I’ve networked I’ve met people I’ve done courses done I thought I’d be fine i’ i’ I’d be perfect i’ get something straight away just didn’t happen so I’m like scrambling to find a job I’m like now playing training at night like I was all
Over the Gaff like I I struggled like happy to admit I was like my form I was like oh my what to the point where I was like embarrassed to go in like my whole backstory sounds so good I’ve gone to Alti and I’m expecting I’m expecting
Myself to like be one of the the key players I was I was [ __ ] and I was I was like embarrassed to go in a big change though like people don’t realize from full time to part time your body just sometimes just just drops off I was like getting caught in the
Ball I was like what’s happened to me I’ve gone I’ve absolutely gone uh so it was only a short-term deal and it was like six months at the end of it like Parky just said right like I think they brought in Isaac Mar I really like him
Actually he’s gooder um and and the writing was on the wall I didn’t deserve anything anyway uh and then rylands came in for me and I just said like just go and enjoy it just go and have some fun doesn’t matter what the level is go and just enjoy yourself and that’s that’s
That’s what it’s been for the last year and a half however long it’s been it’s just it’s fun you enjoyed it yeah love it now love it what you doing working wise working wise I’ve just started working for the PFA um which absolutely love so I always wanted to be involved
In footb got like my my UA for B didn’t quite really want to go down the coaching route even though I’ve just taken on the manager’s role but like didn’t really want because I’ve traveled so much now I’ve got a young family just wanted a bit of time where I was like
Settled um so Ro came up at the at the PFA um put my uh uh CV in went through the interview process um got the role so it’s um it’s like player services so we we deal with like basically all the players from Premier League Championship League one
League two we’re just supporting them for whatever they need we we’re the union we support them could be a disciplinary so we’ll go in and support them it could be like players want to do a course so we’ll help them um direct them in the right direction what level
Do you have to be at to get that do you have to have played in the league so everyone within the PFA pretty much much has has has played um and I think that’s important for players because when we’re speaking to players they might have a long-term injury we’ve been everyone has been
Through it so like we can talk to them from a position of like we’ve we’ve been there we did this or they or they’ve had a Fallout with a manager we’ve had we’ve done the so I think everyone within the organization has had a career of of
Sorts um and I think that’s that’s kind of yeah important especially when when you’re going in talking to players that you can at least relate to them you know what they’re going through it’s great that you could that now you’ve come a full circle you can be a bit of a mentor
Yes love it on the other like I I didn’t think I I would I would like find something in football but this is like it’s perfect you’re going into training ground speaking to players trying to help them with whatever whatever it might be and it’s so varied players come
To you with like you wouldn’t believe so many issues there you wouldn’t believe some of the things that that come upot a m yeah but it’s great and we we just trying to assist we just trying to help as as much as possible so it’s it’s great to still be involved brilliant so
What what what does the future hold in the next couple of years playing wise how how how long you got left in the legs still feel still feel all right do you know what hopefully playoffs this season hopefully playoffs yeah playoffs cat would be massive for us we’re not
We’re not catching you boys you boys have been we played them on the first game of the season and like was was saying you before I was I thought our preseason was a little bit too easy like we we didn’t play anyone in the higher League we played teams from from below
Us so we were never really challenged first game of the season and it was a big one you had just taken sge from us like so there was a bit of bit of needle in there four n down at half time I’m thinking oh my God have you bagged yeah
I got one did didn’t you yeah but then they beat us at home and we yeah for like first game with 40 down at Hal time thinking we’re in for one here we we were in for a long old season and since then we just like we just found
Something that work we just like hard working we not got a big budget or anything so we just we just and just everyone thinks I think we’re going to fall out now Cy’s left us we thought we’d drop out again and we’re we’re in the mix seven games to go we’re in the
Mix so we’re trying to get playoffs spot that would be massive for the club and then and then who knows who knows in the playoffs but playing wise feel feel all right so we’re yeah but what a story I didn’t realize it at all yeah what a
Story no you never click on South African football do you no it’s been a it’s been a good journey it’s been fun it’s it’s Jo it’s given me everything I could have ever dreamed of like my biggest thing was like make sure like you couldn’t have taken it any further
Yeah so if this is this is what my ability allowed me to do play for my national team play a season in the championship then I can’t say that if only I worked a bit more I could have played in the Prem no you everything you
Could have done out of it yeah wasn’t good enough to get to that level so like I think I’ve I’ve drawn everything I could have but yeah it’s been a it’s been been a class Journey amazing well good luck for the rest of the season pal and AB mean it absolute pleasure at
Having you on been brilliant thank you very much cheers pal man cheers
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What a guy!
Brilliant once again ❤
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