Journeyman (football)

From ArticleWorld

A journeyman is a player in the sport of football, is a player who moves frequently between numerous clubs. A journeyman tends never to find a true spiritual home, instead preferring to move on and experience pastures new.

Definition

There are many players who are considered to be journeymen, some still playing and others having since retired. One of the most significant and obvious examples of a journeyman is the English player Steve Claridge. Although he has largely played outside of the top division, Claridge has built and maintained a reputation as a goal-scoring journeyman. Like many Journeymen, Claridge has not only played for many clubs but has also returned to many of his previous clubs. As of February 2006 Claridge has appeared for 15 different teams including Bournemouth, Weymouth, Crystal Palace, Aldershot, Cambridge United, Luton Town, Birmingham City, Portsmouth (more than once, and also including a brief spell as a successful stint as a player-manager, before being replaced by Graham Rix, who currently manages Hearts), Wolves, Millwall and Leicester where he was possibly most successful, helping guide the team to the Premiership and league cup success. He would also return to Weymouth as a manager, before going on to manage Millwall in an ill-fated 36 day tenure as manager. Claridge moved to Gillingham as a player shortly after before moving on to his current club Bradford City.

Other Journeymen

Other successful journeymen include former Liverpool, Tottenham and Portsmouth player Paul Walsh and former Chelsea and Glasgow Rangers player John Spencer. Both enjoyed successful careers at various clubs and are still revered and respected by fans of former teams. Jimmy Glass is perhaps the least known journeyman, but his contribution to one of his clubs would make him immortal. He scored the winning goal for Carlisle United in the last game of the season in the last minute of the match, keeping them in the football League. This would have been an exceptional feet for any player but it was particularly memorable as Glass was in fact the goalkeeper. The goal was voted as the 72nd greatest sporting moment of all time by British viewers of a Channel 4 collection of the top 100 moments.