Brady heads the list of our top exports

A HOT topic this week has been the selection of the best British and Irish players to have played abroad. Obviously I can’t pick myself on that list, but there are a few that stand out for me:

LIAM BRADY

YOU don’t play for Juventus, Sampdoria and Inter Milan without being a talented player and Liam was certainly that. He played for Ascoli too, who weren’t a great side, but his longevity in Italy, spending seven years there, spoke volumes for how he was revered.

JOHN CHARLES

I NEVER saw him play, but the staff at Liverpool when I was there always told me how great he was and that whether he played centre back, centre midfield or centre forward, he was the best player on the pitch. Il Gigante Buono, the Gentle Giant, scored 108 goals in 155 games for Juventus and that’s some record.

KEVIN KEEGAN

A EUROPEAN Footballer of the Year, Kevin would embarrass team-mates with his work ethic and neversay-die attitude. He was a standard bearer for English footballers and worked incredibly hard to make the best of his talent.

GARETH BALE

ONE of the most talented footballers I’ve ever seen. It’s just a shame he didn’t have Keegan’s attitude, because if he did he would still be at Real Madrid today winning trophies.

JIMMY GREAVES

I KNOW even Jimmy didn’t view his time at Milan as a success, as he was homesick and couldn’t wait to get back, but he still scored nine goals in 10 games at a time when Italian defences were the toughest around and Milan went on to win the league. As a young professional at Tottenham, I witnessed him playing and he was the best goalscorer ever to grace these shores, an absolute wizard.