Pundits you saw play

[Patrick Thistle]

How many regular pundits did you see actually play? (In a real live match, not on TV)

Off the top of my head I've seen...
Alan Shearer for Newcastle.
Robbie Savage and John Hartson for Wales.
Steve Claridge for Wycombe at the old Gay Meadow.

[Crusoe]

Martin Keown, Tony Adams, Stuart Pearce, Ray Parlour and Alan Shearer for England (there may have been others in the same lineup - England vs Luxembourg in 1999.

[Snake Plissken]

Stuart Pearce, Trevor Sinclair (surely bonus points awarded for it being when he was with Blackpool), Ian Wright, Joey Barton.

Simply by law of averages I must have seen Claridge play, though I can't remember it.

Can I have Martin O'Neill who was managing Shepshed Charterhouse when they played Colne Dynamoes?

[longeared]

Suppose this depends on who you support, I saw pretty much anyone who was a 1990s Premier League regular at Hillsborough. So just off the top of my head Bright, Waddle, Hinchcliffe, Lineker, Shearer, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Scholes, Savage, Dixon, Ian Wright, Keown, Roy Keane, Dublin, Townsend, Claridge.

In a single game, on the final day of the 1997 season Liverpool were the visitors, their team included David James, Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman, Stan Collymore and Michael Owen. John Barnes came on at half time and Jamie Carragher was an unused sub.

[Snake Plissken]

Oooh. Stan Collymore. Stafford Rangers in the FA Cup, where he scored an own goal.

[My Name Is Ian]

I saw Steve Claridge play for Worthing against Wimbledon at the absolute arse-end of his career. Had the turning circle (and speed) of a combine harvester.

[Third rate Leszno]

Having watched a lot of Premier League games at Anfield over the past 15 years I'll have ticked off most of the regulars, so I'll focus on a couple of more obscure sightings.

I saw Clive Allen make one his 3 appearances for Carlisle in 1995.

I saw Thierry Henry for France v. Togo at the 2006 World Cup in Cologne.

I saw Andy Gray play for Cheltenham v. Barrow in the Conference c. 1988.

[Satchmo Distel]

I saw Michael Owen play before he started diving. Gary Neville was IIRC in the side that Barnsley beat in the 97-98 League Cup. Dixon was in the side that clinched the title at Oakwell.

Aston Villa came to Oakwell just after Italia 90. I think Platt and Southgate have both done punditry. Strachan was in a Leeds team I saw. Di Canio is the most notable alleged fascist I have seen play and was maligned as Di Wankio to the Ottawan tune. Southgate must be the only England manager I saw play

[Crystal Staples]

Adam Virgo – 1-1 draw with Brighton in 03/04 in which he scored.
Jason Roberts – 1-1 draw at WBA in 00/01 in which he scored.
Steve Claridge – 4-0 defeat to Millwall in 2001, scored twice.
John Hartson – 0-2 loss at Wimbledon in 00/01.
Andy Townsend – Villa away in the League Cup 3rd round in 95/96
James Scowcroft – if being a podcast regular counts as being a pundit
Danny Murphy & Robbie Savage, many times for Crewe.

[KGR]

I've seen Michael Gray score a goal - the second for Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the 2009/10 season, against Barnsley (2-2). My oldest daughter's first senior match (she'd been to a pre-season friendly before).

[Bored Of Education]

Ray and I actually played football with Mickey Thomas when he was a pundit.

Although that ticks none of the boxes of the thread title.

[Gerontophile]

Charlie Nicholas for Celtic, Celtic U'18's, and also his breakthrough on the Celtic 5-a-side team who were on the Sportsnight competition. MANY years ago.

[Kowalski]

Ryan Giggs, Lee Dixon, Owain Tudur Jones, Malcolm Allen, Ian Wright

[sw2borshch]

Mark Schwarzer more than anyone else.

[jwdd27]

Peter Beagrie lots of times for Scunthorpe.
Chris Iwelumo a couple of times (too many) for Scunthorpe.
Ian Botham for Scunthorpe (OP didn't say football pundits)
Claridge with Aldershot and Cambridge.
Martinez for Swansea.
Keown and Dixon for Arsenal.
Murphy and Savage for Crewe.

Doubtless many more at the beginning and end of their playing days, the latter cohort no doubt being given dog's abuse for being well known.

[lackedpunch]

I saw Elton Welsby play for Shepshed Charterhouse in the 1983-84 season. He was a left winger and had blistering pace. There was talk at the time of a big club snapping him up but it never happened.

[Glass Half Empty]

Unbelievable Jeff - no one's seen me play yet. I have, you were very average.

[andrew7610]

I've seen Matt Le Tissier ply his trade in about 50 different grounds.

Plenty of other current on-screen gobshites have come to the Dell and St Mary's over the years. I find Ian Wright irritating on TV now, but he was one hell of a player and I don't recall ever seeing him play and fail to score against us.

[Sean of the Shed]

I've spoken on here before about Paul Merson joining Tamworth and managing just one game. He joined just after his sacking by Walsall and hadn't played (or trained by the looks of it) for months. He played one game out on the wing, totally unable to keep up with play, then refused to come on in the next game after being put on the bench. He then fucked off to Sky.

[Sean of the Shed]

I've seen Matt Le Tissier ply his trade in about 50 different grounds.

Plenty of other current on-screen gobshites have come to the Dell and St Mary's over the years. I find Ian Wright irritating on TV now, but he was one hell of a player and I don't recall ever seeing him play and fail to score against us.

I saw Le Tiss play for Southampton in a League Cup third round replay at Lincoln in '96. We had somehow managed to grab a 2-2 draw at The Dell but lost 3-1 at Sincil Bank.
There were two players in the Southampton team in the first game, Richard Dryden and Alan Neilsen, who were Tamworth players later in their careers, and certainly did a lot better job than Merson did. Dryden went on to become assistant manager under Mark Cooper as well.

[ale]

Anybody who has played at SJP since 1971 which must cover most if not all of them.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

I've seen Matt Le Tissier ply his trade in about 50 different grounds.

Plenty of other current on-screen gobshites have come to the Dell and St Mary's over the years. I find Ian Wright irritating on TV now, but he was one hell of a player and I don't recall ever seeing him play and fail to score against us.

There's a documentary about Ian wright and David rocastle that they show on BT sport, and while i was watching it, (aside from marvelling at Rocastle, who looked like a modern player hurled into a time machine) I was wondering why doesn't Ian Wright use his real life persona on tv, rather than this terrible mess he's created for himself.

[1974ddr]

I saw Michael Owen play before he started diving. Gary Neville was IIRC in the side that Barnsley beat in the 97-98 League Cup. Dixon was in the side that clinched the title at Oakwell.

Aston Villa came to Oakwell just after Italia 90. I think Platt and Southgate have both done punditry. Strachan was in a Leeds team I saw. Di Canio is the most notable alleged fascist I have seen play and was maligned as Di Wankio to the Ottawan tune. Southgate must be the only England manager I saw play

Ooh, England managers you saw play...
Southgate, obviously. Hoddle for Spurs and Chelsea. Peter Taylor for Spurs. Keegan for Southampton and Newcastle. Allardyce for Bolton, and possibly WBA. And I've got a vague suspicion that I may have seen MacLaren play for Derby, but I wouldn't swear to it.
Mr Distel, you must be a gentleman of tender years.

[Gangster Octopus]

Emlyn Hughes player-managing Rotherham United.
Dion Dublin scoring against us for Leicester City.
Shouted "Wealdstone Reject" at Stuart Pearce at Maine Road when we played there back in 2001.
Matt Le Tissier played one of his last ever games as a substitute at Millmoor when we beat Southampton in the FA Cup in 2002.
Paul Merson played for Portsmouth and then Walsall against us in the early noughties.
John Barnes playing for Watford against Liverpool in the FA Cup in the mid-eighties, just before he moved to them.