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Post by onionman on Sept 24, 2014 18:41:24 GMT
And Gleghorn's spot on the wing was taken by crappy left-back Graham Potter too, so we can add him to the list. The best thing Gleghorn did was make Ray Wallace and Graham Potter look good, for that one season. Wallace and Potter did the running, Gleghorn played the football. Warhurst had one amazing run of games filling in as a striker for Sheff Wed when David Hirst was injured, then refused to go back to defence after Hirst returned. That was some of Lou's finest work in 1995. No money to spend so build a completely new midfield out of Gleghorn and Wallace (who was signed as a right back from his time at Leeds). Potter never convinced me as an out and out winger but he could put in a good cross. Jordan had also occasionally been playing Sturridge out on the right wing before Lou bought him into the middle alongside first Gayle then Sheron. Sigurdsson also became more accomplished in the middle after starting out at left back prior to Overson and Cranson getting injured. Lou could have transformed Martin Carruthers into a Roberto Carlos-esque left back that season if he wanted. Didn't Shearer start out at Newcastle as a goalkeeper before finding his way at Southampton as a striker. On paper we had an absolutely dreadful team, but we played to our strengths and hid our weaknesses. I think the whole of that team was either retired or playing in the lower leagues within a couple of years, except for Sheron who never did much after he left Stoke anyway. Basically a relegation team that hit promotion form and kept it up for the whole season. Probably Lou's biggest miracle, though we didn't realise it at the time.
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Post by jezzascfc on Sept 24, 2014 18:56:47 GMT
John Charles was equally adept at centre back or centre forward, a role Big Bren did for us in a rather less lauded manner many years afterwards. Several wingers have dropped back into central midfield as they got older and their pace deserted them (like Gleghorn and the last few years of the ageing Giggs).
As others have mentioned, Bale is the most startling transformation - from Spurs' young reserve left back to Real's world class winger/attacking midfielder.
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Post by Beloved Monkfish on Sept 24, 2014 20:09:13 GMT
Kenwyne Jones was originally a centre half before going on to look like a centre half playing up front.
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Post by march4 on Sept 24, 2014 20:13:41 GMT
John Charles was equally adept at centre back or centre forward, a role Big Bren did for us in a rather less lauded manner many years afterwards. Several wingers have dropped back into central midfield as they got older and their pace deserted them (like Gleghorn and the last few years of the ageing Giggs). As others have mentioned, Bale is the most startling transformation - from Spurs' young reserve left back to Real's world class winger/attacking midfielder. Bale is just a Welsh Ryan Shotton
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2014 20:21:57 GMT
Didn't Shearer start as a keeper?
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Post by partickpotter on Sept 24, 2014 20:29:05 GMT
Remember Paul Warhurst?
This from Wikipedia;
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Post by fegghayze on Sept 24, 2014 20:33:05 GMT
Jon Parkin started out as a defender and the tale goes that in a training exercise one day the manager decided that defenders would swap for attackers and vice versa and he ended up putting a few away
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Post by march4 on Sept 24, 2014 20:33:26 GMT
Mama started as a striker before becoming the first player in the history of the game to have new football position named after him.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2014 21:32:22 GMT
Chris greenacre was a prolific striker who made a winger, Carl asaba the same, also Richard cresswell did it and Jon Walters..... Other good transitions were that right back... Erm shotton tht went onto be a winger
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2014 21:34:08 GMT
Mama started as a striker before becoming the first player in the history of the game to have new football position named after him. brilliant
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Post by Linx on Sept 25, 2014 21:05:44 GMT
Remember Paul Warhurst? This from Wikipedia; Definitely. I couldn't remember his name, though, until you posted him. But I had been racking my brains trying to remember the name of the defender in the 90s who turned into an emergency striker who played at no.9 for England.
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Post by britsabroad on Sept 26, 2014 1:34:12 GMT
Scholes and Ferdinand both started out as strikers.
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Post by thedeadlyshart on Sept 26, 2014 2:32:16 GMT
Brek Shea played centre half for FC Dallas before he became a winger. Don't know if he counts though because he hasn't really found his game at this level.
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Moosehead
Youth Player
Posts: 307
Location: Nottingham
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Post by Moosehead on Sept 26, 2014 2:48:42 GMT
Didn't Shearer start as a keeper? I thought that just before I saw your post...I think he only went in goal part-time, but I remember reading about it. Phil Jagielka as back-up goalie in Warnock's team. Apparently he was good enough to be a regular keeper. Phil Neville went form left back to centre mid, didn't he?
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Post by britsabroad on Sept 26, 2014 3:38:32 GMT
Didn't Shearer start as a keeper? I thought that just before I saw your post...I think he only went in goal part-time, but I remember reading about it. Phil Jagielka as back-up goalie in Warnock's team. Apparently he was good enough to be a regular keeper. Phil Neville went form left back to centre mid, didn't he? Neville played either side of full back at United. Ferdinand also played in goal in the league once? when both keepers went off. Messi and Ronaldo both started out far further back then they play now.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2014 3:50:07 GMT
Emile Heskey on the left wing.
Inspirational stuff from Liverpool and England. Just goes to show big club bias for England selection isn't new!
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Post by clarkeda on Sept 26, 2014 6:21:26 GMT
As I said on another thread, perhaps the most high profile recent "convert" from one position to another, is Gareth Bale who started out as a left back. Kris Commons also started as a left back and Thierry Henry was a conventional winger when he was brought to England by Arsenal. After his antics at the Brit last year I feel horrible mentioning his name. Danny Rose - started as a winger knew he'd never be better then Bale so went to leftback.
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Post by chellpotter on Sept 26, 2014 7:30:25 GMT
I'm sure the Golden One wasn't a striker to begin with and then when Lou put him up front the rest is history!
I may be wrong thought he was a winger first!
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Post by djduncanjames on Sept 26, 2014 11:59:06 GMT
Woodgate at Right Back... Didn't Huth play up front for Chelsea once upon a time?
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Post by lordb on Sept 26, 2014 12:05:19 GMT
Woodgate at Right Back... Didn't Huth play up front for Chelsea once upon a time? On the wing in a Champions League semi I think
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Post by mistergumby on Sept 26, 2014 12:40:04 GMT
A certain Sir Robert of Charlton should not be forgotten. A striker early in his career who then became a marauding midfielder/deep-lying forward - perhaps one of the first 'false number nines' we hear about now?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2014 12:55:14 GMT
Jon Parkin started off as a pie taster for Wrights.....and finished his career at Greggs
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