Happy times as a Cleverboy

me to join him. We used to drive from Johannesburg to Witbank, Tuesday to Thursday to training, and then weekends when we had home games.

“When I was at Aces we played (Grinaker) Rangers, who won the league that year and Terry selected me ahead of a local black guy. The fans came to me in the dressing room and told me that they cannot guarantee my safety anymore, obviously because I was a white player in a black team.

“The week before that they had necklaced a policeman outside our stadium in Witbank where we played, and so Terry eventually said they had no choice but to let me go.

“He then whispered that

I should go to Wits and I think he already knew that he would be going there the next year [1987] after Aces gave me my free transfer. I had only played a few games there in a team that the likes of Harris Chueu and Cyprian Maimane.

“Strangely, a few years after moving to Wits, Aces then wanted to get me back because I was doing well but I couldn’t go back because I was happy and didn’t have to travel all the way to Witbank for training,” he remembers.

Gordon would go on to spend 14 years at Wits, during which he won the Coca-Cola Cup and BP Top Eight in 1995.

He established himself as an important member in the team with his influence visible in every match that he played and setting a club record of 434 appearances with a return of 55 goals. Both records still stand to this day.

“Truth is that other clubs wanted me while I was at Wits. I went to meet Kaizer Motaung at his office because he wanted me at Chiefs, and then I met Screamer Tshabalala for lunch because he wanted me to go to Mamelodi Sundowns.

“Even Moroka Swallows wanted me but then the trouble was that it was before the

Bossman Ruling so Wits always pri ced me out of the market annd I just stayed on at the cluub. All that Wits ever told m e was that at the end of the seeason they were retaining mmy services and whenever soomeone wanted me, they juust put a huge price tag on mmy head.

“I did try to leave a few times t but in the end, I was happy h to stay on there because I was already settled.

“h This one time I remember I had just scored over the weekend and one of the clubs that wanted me complained that the price has now just gone up again because of those two goals. They used to say I should not play well so that my price comes down, but I could never do that because I always gave my best no matter who I played against.

“At one time, Chiefs wanted to do a swap deal involving Wellington Manyathi plus some another player but it didn’t happen,” he recalls. Gordon played all positions at Wits except goalkeeper and feels he benefitted from his height advantage as he scored many a header. the bench a couple of times,” he says.

Due to turn 57 later this year, he has no feeling of bitterness about the current game, unlike many former players who have a tendency of always criticising.

“The game looks to be much faster now but not as skilful because I have played against Ace Ntsoelengoe, Ace Mnini, Teenage Dladla, and I saw what those guys had in them. When I played against Jomo Sono he was already overweight, so he wasn’t mobile. The players are fitter now because the game is professional, but I don’t think there is even need to compare.

“Those are different eras. A lot of guys that didn’t have something to move on to end up without money, so it is normal they feel bitter towards the game. There is a lot of money involved in the game now, so a lot of former players get upset because many of them tend to struggle once they are done playing.

“The only thing I hate about soccer nowadays is all the play acting. I see players get tackled and go rolling on the ground like they have been hit by a car. I once broke my jaw five minutes into the game and when I told Terry it was broken at half time, he said there is nothing wrong with me, yet because I could stick my finger between my teeth, they thought it was fine.

“They made me play the whole game and I then went to the hospital two days later to get my jaw stitched up. I think you understand why a lot of the players from the old days get upset when they see players rolling about,” says Gordon.

Since his divorce in the mid-90s, he never went through the formalities of another wedding, even though he has been staying with Caren, his partner, through all these years.

“I have a stepdaughter who has done well and worked at the High Court and then Constitutional Court in Johannesburg. She did her master’s in law at UJ and then went on to pursue her studies in Dublin, Ireland, so that is why I was recently there.

“She is a former Moroka Swallows player’s daughter and I met Caren after they got divorced, so the daughter has been living with me since she was five,” he concludes.

“THE FANS CAME TO ME IN THE DRESSING ROOM AND TOLD ME THAT THEY CANNOT GUARANTEE MY SAFETY ANYMORE.”

“WHENEVER SOMEONE WANTED ME, THEY JUST PUT A HUGE PRICE TAG ON MY HEAD.”