Post by Macmoish on Oct 11, 2010 7:56:29 GMT
From last week
blog.sport.co.uk/Football/867/Top_Ten_Fat_ex-footballers.aspx - Josh Antmann
Top Ten: Fat ex-footballers
Is there anything more startling than seeing an ex-footballer carrying a few extra chins than they did in their playing days? Today’s game is obsessed by fitness, diet and being in the best shape you can, yet the likes of Ronaldo, Mido and Benni Mcarthy appear to defy their finely tuned regimes to appear on the wrong side of jowly. After their playing days are over they really let themselves go, with exercise and nutrition thrown out of the window. We have had to whittle this Top Ten down from about 40 possible candidates. The likes of Gazza, Chris Waddle and Sammy Lee have missed out, partly due to the fact that we’ve seen them eat a lettuce leaf in the past three months.
So here is the Sport.co.uk Top ten of ex-footballers who have let themselves go. Get those comfy pants on, give the pizza delivery a call and settle down.
1) Neil Shipperley
‘Ballooned’ would be a good term to use when referring to this former Wimbledon star. His transformation in such a short space of time is quite unbelievable seeing as he only retired from football three years ago. He was a journeyman of nine clubs and a scorer of goals wherever he went, but the years have seemingly been unkind on this likeable ex-Crystal Palace star. Nicknamed ‘Neil Chipperley’ he looks more like an out of shape bouncer than a retired footballer but is currently still in the game, as manager of Walton Casuals FC who ply their trade in the Ryman Division One South.
2) Maradona
What more can be said that hasn’t already about the little man. On the pitch he was unstoppable; just ask Peter Reid and Terry Fenwick. But off the pitch it has been one thing after another. Drugs, food, drugs, women, drugs, alcohol and the occasional outburst against his employers means Maradona will forever be in the limelight. It’s clear that the off-field temptations were too much for the Argentinean, and it took him to near death to realise he had to do something about it. Acute hepatitis and numerous operations prevented Maradona from reaching an early grave, but the damage was already done. His management of Argentina through qualification and eventually the World Cup created a lot of raised eyebrows, especially with his choice of personnel.
3) Tomas Brolin
The man that destroyed the dreams of England in Euro 92’, Tomas Brolin has now turned his attentions to the poker table. The Swede was an integral part of Parma’s success during the early nineties and took them to the top of Serie A in November 1994. But he suffered a broken foot which kept him out of the game for six months. He never properly regained full fitness and moved to Leeds United in 1995. Howard Wilkinson saw him as the perfect partner to Tony Yeboah, oh dear Howard! It was clear that Brolin wasn’t fit and clashed with Wilkinson over his lack of defensive duties and fitness. Two years later he appeared for Crystal Palace under Steve Coppell where he failed to score.
4) Alan Brazil
A legend for Ipswich and Tottenham, Alan Brazil is now behind the microphone at talkSport presenting the breakfast show. The affable football pundit is clearly a lover of a full English, and why not? Renowned for waxing lyrical about certain Indian restaurants or beautiful London public houses, Brazil has an extensive knowledge of London eateries akin to the Good Food Guide. The Scotsman is now almost unrecognisable from his playing days, but who can begrudge a former star cutting lose away from the spotlight (see Maradona for example).
5) Neil Ruddock
A rugged and uncompromising defender who was powerful in the air, Ruddock was a touch cookie during his career. Nowadays Ruddock is the one eating the cookies. As a player he was never far from controversy, being highlighted in the media about his weight problems, womanizing and occasional run-in with the law. The self-professed hardman even had an on field scuffle with Manchester United legend Eric Cantona when the Frenchman taunted Ruddock over his weight. So it’s no surprise that he’s let himself go somewhat, with his appearance on Come Dine With Me a small insight into the world of Razor. A word of warning if you haven’t seen it; Neil Ruddock wearing nothing but an apron is not a pretty sight.
6) Neville Southall
Maybe the only goalkeeper in history who went onto the pitch with half a tub of boxers grease over his eyebrows, but whatever his method, there is no denying the superb ability he had as a goalkeeper. He made an astounding 578 appearances for the blue half of Merseyside and a handful for Torquay at the end of the last century. By the time he reached Bradford, the toils of life and over indulgence had clearly caught up with him. But lets be honest, he’d probably still do a good job for any club in the country; Arsene, give him a call.
7) John Barnes
Despite his brilliance on the pitch, there was always a fat man waiting to get out in John Barnes. Maybe he was just always bloated but there seemed to be a definite roundness when he wore those tighter Liverpool tops sponsored by Candy. However, if we could all play football like Barnes carrying a few extra pounds then I think that’s more than acceptable. In the Maracana against Brazil in 1984 Barnes scored one of the finest goals ever scored by an Englishman. Weaving his way from the left wing, the Liverpool legend proceeded to ghost past five mesmerised defenders before slotting it coolly past the keeper. Not content with that he decided to eloquently rap on World in Motion. Then he managed Celtic…we’ll leave it there.
8) Mick Quinn
The former Coventry and Newcastle striker is now a presenter on Talksport and owns a number of racehorses. Whilst at Coventry he was given the nickname ‘Sumo’ and he claimed he was the Premier League’s ‘fastest player over a yard’. He attracted the chant of ‘Who Ate All The Pies?’ which also became the title of his autobiography. Good to see some footballers still have their sense of humour.
9) Jan Molby
The archetypal fat man of football, Molby was often ridiculed for his ballooning weight, but boy he could play. He was named at No16 in the 2006 poll ‘100 players that shook the Kop’, which was conducted by the official Liverpool website. He was a regular in the Liverpool side throughout the 80’s and 90’s, and despite his bulbous figure he had great vision and a hammer of a shot. He went onto manage Swansea City and later in his career, Kidderminster Harriers. He is now a pundit on Danish television.
10) David Hirst
A legend in his day at Sheffield Wednesday, David Hirst now looks more like he’s dodging salads than dodging defenders. He scored an impressive 32 goals in 1991 as Wednesday gained promotion to the top flight. Hirst was highly regarded in football and Sir Alex Ferguson tried no less than six times to sign the striker from The Owls. In November 1992, Fergie offered Wednesday £3m for Hirst but it was rejected by Trevor Francis. Man United signed Eric Cantona instead; not a bad alternative! Hirst eventually retired at the age of 32 after being advised by medical experts. Hirst is now an academy coach at Crystal Palace.
blog.sport.co.uk/Football/867/Top_Ten_Fat_ex-footballers.aspx
blog.sport.co.uk/Football/867/Top_Ten_Fat_ex-footballers.aspx - Josh Antmann
Top Ten: Fat ex-footballers
Is there anything more startling than seeing an ex-footballer carrying a few extra chins than they did in their playing days? Today’s game is obsessed by fitness, diet and being in the best shape you can, yet the likes of Ronaldo, Mido and Benni Mcarthy appear to defy their finely tuned regimes to appear on the wrong side of jowly. After their playing days are over they really let themselves go, with exercise and nutrition thrown out of the window. We have had to whittle this Top Ten down from about 40 possible candidates. The likes of Gazza, Chris Waddle and Sammy Lee have missed out, partly due to the fact that we’ve seen them eat a lettuce leaf in the past three months.
So here is the Sport.co.uk Top ten of ex-footballers who have let themselves go. Get those comfy pants on, give the pizza delivery a call and settle down.
1) Neil Shipperley
‘Ballooned’ would be a good term to use when referring to this former Wimbledon star. His transformation in such a short space of time is quite unbelievable seeing as he only retired from football three years ago. He was a journeyman of nine clubs and a scorer of goals wherever he went, but the years have seemingly been unkind on this likeable ex-Crystal Palace star. Nicknamed ‘Neil Chipperley’ he looks more like an out of shape bouncer than a retired footballer but is currently still in the game, as manager of Walton Casuals FC who ply their trade in the Ryman Division One South.
2) Maradona
What more can be said that hasn’t already about the little man. On the pitch he was unstoppable; just ask Peter Reid and Terry Fenwick. But off the pitch it has been one thing after another. Drugs, food, drugs, women, drugs, alcohol and the occasional outburst against his employers means Maradona will forever be in the limelight. It’s clear that the off-field temptations were too much for the Argentinean, and it took him to near death to realise he had to do something about it. Acute hepatitis and numerous operations prevented Maradona from reaching an early grave, but the damage was already done. His management of Argentina through qualification and eventually the World Cup created a lot of raised eyebrows, especially with his choice of personnel.
3) Tomas Brolin
The man that destroyed the dreams of England in Euro 92’, Tomas Brolin has now turned his attentions to the poker table. The Swede was an integral part of Parma’s success during the early nineties and took them to the top of Serie A in November 1994. But he suffered a broken foot which kept him out of the game for six months. He never properly regained full fitness and moved to Leeds United in 1995. Howard Wilkinson saw him as the perfect partner to Tony Yeboah, oh dear Howard! It was clear that Brolin wasn’t fit and clashed with Wilkinson over his lack of defensive duties and fitness. Two years later he appeared for Crystal Palace under Steve Coppell where he failed to score.
4) Alan Brazil
A legend for Ipswich and Tottenham, Alan Brazil is now behind the microphone at talkSport presenting the breakfast show. The affable football pundit is clearly a lover of a full English, and why not? Renowned for waxing lyrical about certain Indian restaurants or beautiful London public houses, Brazil has an extensive knowledge of London eateries akin to the Good Food Guide. The Scotsman is now almost unrecognisable from his playing days, but who can begrudge a former star cutting lose away from the spotlight (see Maradona for example).
5) Neil Ruddock
A rugged and uncompromising defender who was powerful in the air, Ruddock was a touch cookie during his career. Nowadays Ruddock is the one eating the cookies. As a player he was never far from controversy, being highlighted in the media about his weight problems, womanizing and occasional run-in with the law. The self-professed hardman even had an on field scuffle with Manchester United legend Eric Cantona when the Frenchman taunted Ruddock over his weight. So it’s no surprise that he’s let himself go somewhat, with his appearance on Come Dine With Me a small insight into the world of Razor. A word of warning if you haven’t seen it; Neil Ruddock wearing nothing but an apron is not a pretty sight.
6) Neville Southall
Maybe the only goalkeeper in history who went onto the pitch with half a tub of boxers grease over his eyebrows, but whatever his method, there is no denying the superb ability he had as a goalkeeper. He made an astounding 578 appearances for the blue half of Merseyside and a handful for Torquay at the end of the last century. By the time he reached Bradford, the toils of life and over indulgence had clearly caught up with him. But lets be honest, he’d probably still do a good job for any club in the country; Arsene, give him a call.
7) John Barnes
Despite his brilliance on the pitch, there was always a fat man waiting to get out in John Barnes. Maybe he was just always bloated but there seemed to be a definite roundness when he wore those tighter Liverpool tops sponsored by Candy. However, if we could all play football like Barnes carrying a few extra pounds then I think that’s more than acceptable. In the Maracana against Brazil in 1984 Barnes scored one of the finest goals ever scored by an Englishman. Weaving his way from the left wing, the Liverpool legend proceeded to ghost past five mesmerised defenders before slotting it coolly past the keeper. Not content with that he decided to eloquently rap on World in Motion. Then he managed Celtic…we’ll leave it there.
8) Mick Quinn
The former Coventry and Newcastle striker is now a presenter on Talksport and owns a number of racehorses. Whilst at Coventry he was given the nickname ‘Sumo’ and he claimed he was the Premier League’s ‘fastest player over a yard’. He attracted the chant of ‘Who Ate All The Pies?’ which also became the title of his autobiography. Good to see some footballers still have their sense of humour.
9) Jan Molby
The archetypal fat man of football, Molby was often ridiculed for his ballooning weight, but boy he could play. He was named at No16 in the 2006 poll ‘100 players that shook the Kop’, which was conducted by the official Liverpool website. He was a regular in the Liverpool side throughout the 80’s and 90’s, and despite his bulbous figure he had great vision and a hammer of a shot. He went onto manage Swansea City and later in his career, Kidderminster Harriers. He is now a pundit on Danish television.
10) David Hirst
A legend in his day at Sheffield Wednesday, David Hirst now looks more like he’s dodging salads than dodging defenders. He scored an impressive 32 goals in 1991 as Wednesday gained promotion to the top flight. Hirst was highly regarded in football and Sir Alex Ferguson tried no less than six times to sign the striker from The Owls. In November 1992, Fergie offered Wednesday £3m for Hirst but it was rejected by Trevor Francis. Man United signed Eric Cantona instead; not a bad alternative! Hirst eventually retired at the age of 32 after being advised by medical experts. Hirst is now an academy coach at Crystal Palace.
blog.sport.co.uk/Football/867/Top_Ten_Fat_ex-footballers.aspx
