Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 1 March 2013

1 March 2013

Mardy Diary writes: Gary Birtles and Paul Futcher. Grimsby legends without argument - it would be difficult to find a Town fan to disagree. Quite how they ended up at Grimsby I don't really know or remember, but no-one is in any doubt of the impact they had on the club and its fans. They were a joy to watch during my teenage years, and I still chuckle at the memory of Futcher coolly and calmly turning an opposition winger and playing a perfect pass downfield.

These days, due to the money in the game, you're unlikely to see players of that calibre stepping down to the lower leagues to see out their careers. It's more likely they'll just retire (from international football first); take up punditry; buy houses; or a combination of the above. There's Beckham of course, on some sort of world tour of leagues - but that's a whole other kettle of sponsored fish.

There are instances of top players stepping down, but, as with Edgar Davids at Barnet, it's usually with a view to management or a coaching position - playing the odd match here and there. Or it's because they're mates with whichever wealthy oil baron has taken over some mid-range 'sleeping giant' flittering around the lower leagues.

I'm not sure what the equivalents of Birtles or Futcher would be today because the game has changed so much, as have players and attitudes. Birtles came in to the professional game relatively late but was still only around 23 or 24 when he had European success with Forest. He was only 24 when Manchester United signed him for £1.25m, and surprisingly (to me anyway) only about 33 when he signed for Town.

Birtles was sort of second fiddle at Forest but still managed to play a number of games for them in both European and domestic competitions. I suppose a modern equivalent, albeit in a different position, might be someone like Nicky Butt: a regular player in a successful side. Butt didn't drop down the leagues though (well, Newcastle dipped into the second tier for a season) but instead chose to bugger off to China for a bit.

Futcher's story was a little different, of course. After making a name for himself in the second flight, he became Manchester City's record signing in 1978 - and with a then record fee for an English defender. However, he was a young lad (22) replacing a fan favourite and failed to live up to the (perhaps unrealistic) expectation placed on him. He spent the rest of his career playing for a small number of clubs in the second tier, before Halifax rudely decided to leave him sitting in their reserves.

It's hard to think of an equivalent today as a similar player would probably move around lower Premier clubs for the majority of their career (see: Kieron Dyer). Instead Futcher spent just a solitary season in the top flight.

So, there's your challenge. Who is today's equivalent of Paul Futcher? And don't say 'Ben'.

Enjoy the game tonight and have a good weekend.