John Terry in a West Ham shirt just looks wrong!

April 30, 2009

That shirt? Well yes it suits you sir, but looks a little strange ….!

There are certain things you simply don’t expect to see in football like John Terry in a West Ham shirt or … and this one is for older fans …. Alfredo Di Stefano in Barcelona’s red and blue rather than the all-white of Real Madrid.

The news this week that Terry, who trained with the Hammers until he left for Chelsea at 14, has agreed to play for West Ham in a testimonial match for their academy director Tony Carr sets the imagination racing.

Somehow, try as hard as you like you just cannot imagine Mr Chelsea himself in a West Ham shirt.

But some images are even stranger to behold. I saw Liam Brady, one of Arsenal’s best loved heroes who scored an utterly astonishing goal against Spurs at White Hart Lane in 1979, in a Spurs shirt in 1984 playing in a testimonial for departing manager Keith Burkinshaw. It was almost surreal.

Diego Maradona also played for Spurs once in a testimonial for Ossie Ardiles. Kenny Dalglish also played in a testimonial for Spurs as well. Imagine Dalglish in a Spurs shirt. Hard isn’t it ? Even weirder was seeing Glenn Hoddle and Paul Gascoigne line up in an Arsenal team in a testimonial for Paul Merson.

And try as hard as you like, images of Denis Law in a Manchester City shirt at the end of his career or Bobby Moore and George Best in Fulham shirts never looked quite “right” somehow.

There are rare photos of all sorts of players who later became big stars playing for teams while on loan as teenagers.

David Beckham in a Preston shirt, Frank Lampard in the all-white of Swansea … or Ryan Giggs in a Manchester City youth team line-up. Fascinating.

Equally strange is Di Stefano, whose career in Spain began in controversy when he signed briefly for Barcelona and appeared in some friendlies before becoming the greatest player in Real Madrid’s history.

There are plenty of others obviously, so what is the most unlikely player in a shirt you’ve ever seen … ?

PHOTO: We are half-used to seeing former Hammer Frank Lampard in a West Ham shirt (Nov 1998 REUTERS/Ian Hodgson) but John Terry?

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