23rd October – Colin Cameron

Colin Cameron was part of the most famous Raith Rovers side in the 1990s and enjoyed a decent career in both Scotland and England.

Not many fans will know that Raith qualified for Europe after winning the 1994-95 League Cup and played against German giants Bayern Munich. Cameron first joined Raith Rovers as a youngster but had to make his way in the professional game on loan at Sligo Rovers. This was a successful spell as he scored 4 times.

On his return he became a regular in the Rovers side and helped the team defeat Celtic in the League Cup final which set up the tie with Bayern Munich.. There weren’t many more ups in his time at the club as the team were relegated twice and after 152 league appearances and 32 goals he left for Hearts.

Once again his biggest achievement at the club was winning the Scottish Cup. This time he scored in the 1998 final against Rangers which Hearts won. In his five years at the club he played over 150 games and gained a good reputation.

In 2001, Wolves signed him for £1.75 million and became a favourite due to his hardworking displays. He wasn’t a regular goalscorer but some of his goals were important, including the goal that gave them their first ever win in the top flight. He was also loved by the fans because every time he scored his side avoided defeat. Cameron was first choice for the club until Glenn Hoddle took charge and was loaned out to Millwall much to the fans dismay.

Upon not getting a new contract he signed with Coventry City. An injury ruined his season and only played two games after Christmas. He was not given a new contract and was signed by former teammate Paul Ince at MK Dons. His experience and knowledge helped the club win the League Two title and The Football League trophy.

But after just one season he was looking for a new club returning to Scotland, signing for Dundee, joining up with another former teammate in Alex Rae. His time at the club was a disaster as more injuries flared up and despite a loan spell at Arbroath to regain his fitness he could never get back to his best.

Cowdenbeath gave him a chance to start his coaching career as well as continuing his playing career. After just one season he was promoted from assistant manager to manager and led the team to the Second Division title. But after managing over 100 games he left the club by mutual consent in November 2013. Six months later he became the player manager of Berwick Rangers, despite having a similar winning percentage he could not get the same success and left in October 2015.

The final word can go to former Wolves manager Dave Jones, “I’ve been watching Colin for some time. He has a big reputation and with his armoury the club has signed one hell of a player.”

5th August – Marian Pahars

Not many people will care who the current Latvia manager is but it just happens to be former Southampton player Marian Pahars who turns 38 today.

While Southampton are busy selling off all of their players Pahars is concentrating on his role as the national team manager but he will surely be keeping an eye on developments at his old club as one day he may want to come back and manage the club. He is still highly regarded by the fans and they definitely enjoyed his performances and will go down as one of their greatest players.

Pahars started his career at Pardaugava Riga at the age of 18 where he scored three times in 17 games before moving onto Skonto in 1995. He started out as a midfielder but then was moved upfront where he scored eight times in just nine games and then followed this up in the next season with 12 goals in 28 games which led to him being dubbed the ‘Latvian Michael Owen’. He continued developing at Skonto and after another impressive season in which he scored 19 goals in just 26 games he was linked with moves to some of the bigger clubs in Europe.

The Southampton manager at the time Dave Jones was told about his skills by the then Latvia manager Gary Johnson and he was given a trial in which he scored a perfect hatrick (left foot, right foot and header) in a 7-1 victory over Oxford United. The clubs then agreed a fee of £800,000 for the striker and after some initial work permit problems he became the first Latvian to play in the Premier League. He made his debut on the 5th April 1999 away to Coventry City and on his home debut against Blackburn Rovers he came off the bench to score the equaliser in a 3-3 draw.

The Saints were involved in a relegation battle which went to the last day and with Southampton needing a win on the last day of the season it was Pahars that held his nerve and scored twice against Everton in a 2-0 win to keep the club in the top flight.

The 1999-00 season was one of his best as he played 33 times and ended it as the club’s top scorer with 13 goals but by this point the manager that signed him Dave Jones had been replaced by Glenn Hoddle who moved him into a wide position to utilise his dribbling skills and pace. But he started the next season as a striker and he scored six times early on but after moving back to his deeper role his form became inconsistent.

Pahars is also a fan favourite at Southampton because he was the first home player to score a winning goal at the new St Mary’s Stadium which was one of many highlights throughout the season as he ended the campaign with 16 goals in all competitions. Afterwards he stayed at the club for four more years and because of injury problems his appearances were limited and after 156 appearances and 45 goals he left the club.

His next club was Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus but his injury problems remained and he did not play much for them and then rejoined Skonto before finally finishing his playing career at FK Jurmala.

The final word can go to former teammate Claus Lundekvam. “Marian is a similar player to Michael Owen. They’re both fast and very good finishers. It’s very difficult for a defender to mark him because he’s on the move all the time. As long as he scores goals for us we’re happy.”

26th April – Chris Perry

Usually centre backs are big strong six foot plus players but every so often one comes along and breaks the mould and is just as consistent despite not having these characteristics.

Chris Perry is 41 today and started his career at boyhood club Wimbledon going on to be one of their most consistent performers and helped them stay in the Premier League for a number of years. And at one point he was in such good form that he was being talked about to break into the England squad. His manager at Wimbledon Joe Kinnear said: “Perry and Blackwell remind me of the finest defensive formation England have had since Roy McFarland and Colin Todd. It takes my breath away just watching them. If Glenn (Hoddle) wants I’ll send a car to pick him up for our next game.” Unfortunately for Perry he never earned a call up to the England squad.

In July 1999 he made a £4 million move to Tottenham Hotspur and at the time was the clubs record signing and he became an automatic pick after Sol Campbell left for Arsenal. He stayed in the team and played most games until an injury in January 2003 meant he lost his place in the team. When younger players were selected ahead of him Perry signed for Charlton Athletic on loan. After impressing Alan Curbishley during the loan spell the transfer was made permanent and for the majority of the time Curbishley was in charge Perry was in the team. However new manager Iain Dowie released him in the summer of 2006.

His next move was to West Brom and Tony Mowbray thought that although he did not make enough appearances to trigger a clause in his contract he still performed well for the club. He said: “I thought Chris did fine. He is a decent footballer and a good defender.” He played his part in helping the team reach the playoff finals where they were beaten by Derby County.

After a season long spell at Luton Town he made his final career move and joined Southampton initially on loan and then permanently. In his short loan spell he was named in the Championship Team of the Week after his performance against Bristol City on 5th April 2008. He continued playing for the club until the start of the 2010-11 season when he was released but he did win a trophy just before he left as Southampton won the Football League Trophy in 2010.

The final word can go to his former teammate at West Brom Darren Carter who said: “We’ve got Chris Perry in at the back, he’s got bags of experience and every time I’ve seen him play he wins everything despite not being a six footer. He’s a good player and knows the game inside out.”

19th April – Stuart Gray

Surely he has to be in contention for Championship Manager of the Season after turning round the fortunes of Sheffield Wednesday.

Stuart Gray is celebrating his 54th birthday today and he can enjoy it and not have to worry too much about his team’s position in the league table. Gray took charge when it looked like the club were in a difficult position and relegation was on the cards. They were second bottom and had only won one game all season leading to the sacking of Dave Jones. Whatever changes he made seemed to work as the club embarked on a long unbeaten run. The only surprising thing about his time at the club so far is that it took so long for chairman Milan Mandaric to hire him permanently. In his 31 matches in charge he has won 14 of those games and lost 10 which is a decent record in the Championship.

Looking back on his playing career it is not surprising that he is a solid and consistent manager as that is exactly how he played the game. He was a left back or a midfielder and performed admirably in both positions, rarely letting his team down and being effective going forward. After coming through the youth team at Nottingham Forest but after a loan spell at Bolton Wanderers he moved to Barnsley where he played the most games in his career. It was his time at Aston Villa where he had the most success though as he won promotion to the top division and then in 1990 he helped them finish second in the First Division.

In September 1991 he moved to Southampton for £200,000 unfortunately he only played 12 league games because of an injury that ended his career. He was given the opportunity by the club to join the coaching staff and after a brief spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers he became reserve team coach at Southampton working with Dave Jones. In 2001 after the departure of then manager Glenn Hoddle he took over as manager but he was sacked after only 19 games because of a poor start to the season.

He was back in football pretty quickly and at Aston Villa he became their caretaker manager and remained unbeaten in his two games in charge. The next stage of his career must have felt like déjà vu for everyone as he was appointed assistant manager of Wolves by Dave Jones but this pairing didn’t last long as Jones was sacked and Glenn Hoddle took charge. Gray remained as Hoddle’s assistant until he was sacked and Gray took over from him. This time only on a caretaker basis though.

In 2007 he was appointed as manager of Northampton Town and their chairman David Cardoza said: “Stuart is one of the most highly respected and highly rated young managers and coaches in the game.” He was given plenty of backing by the club and was in charge for 135 games winning 44 of them but this was not good enough and he was sacked in 2009.

After spells at Burnley and Portsmouth, he joined up once more with Jones at Sheffield Wednesday who felt he could help the side improve. “I felt that getting in a bit of experience would help. It’s been a long time since I’ve been at the bottom and no disrespect but Stuart has experienced a lot of that.” Maybe his words were a bit harsh and when Jones was sacked, Gray got his chance to show everyone that he was a good manager and could be successful in the Championship.

He had a very long trial period but he came through that very well and the final word can go to the chairman that appointed him Milan Mandaric: “The response of the players and everyone else shows that he’s the right character for the job. He’s a stable guy and that’s what the club needs.”