Guns for hire?

Players are professional wherever they go say Regis and Yorke

Last updated: 22nd August 2010  

Guns for hire?

Yorke: on the sofa

I am with Harry Redknapp on this. You buy a professional to play and a player like Gallas will do his best.

Cyrille Regis
Quotes of the week

Cyrille Regis and Dwight Yorke talk about playing for different clubs - especially rival clubs.

With William Gallas making the short yet potentially explosive trip across North London to sign for Tottenham from Arsenal, it could well equal the furore that followed Sol Campbell's switch from Spurs to Arsenal in 2001.

Dwight Yorke has played for both Aston Villa and Birmingham, while Cyrille has done the whole of the Midlands going from West Brom to Coventry as well as Villa and Wolves.

"It's tribal isn't it? Over the years there is that rivalry that builds up, said Regis on Goals on Sunday.

"However a lot of these footballers do not stay long at these clubs anymore anyway - six, seven, ten years you develop loyalty for a club. Nowadays footballers are there maybe two or three years and then they move on.

"So you don't get that real deep affinity for the club. I am with Harry Redknapp on this. You buy a professional to play and a player like Gallas will do his best. You are a professional footballer and that means you do a professional job wherever you go.

I'm a professional but my emotions are probably with West Brom and Coventry," added Regis.

"I was there for seven years and lived in the area, knew the people and had some great times there. Two years at Villa and one year at Wolves were great but I never had the time to get deeply emotional about it."

Dwight Yorke agrees and also says that the amount of foreign players over here means they do not always get the traditions of certain clubs.

"I can understand why fans may think some footballers are mercenaries but I think that was in the old days and football has moved on now. I think those days where you could not go to your rival are over. I think with lots of foreigners here they do not know what it means to the fans."

Click Here for Your Free Bet

Post to your View!

Be the first to post a comment on this story

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private