Ian Rush, Roy Evans and Tony Cottee paid their respects to Gary Ablett on Sky Sports News HD.
Former team-mates pay their respects to Merseyside man
Tributes have been paid from both sides of the Merseyside divide following the death of Gary Ablett.
The former Liverpool and Everton player passed away peacefully on Sunday night at the age 46 after a long battle against cancer.
Old team-mates and respected figures from both the blue and red half of Liverpool paid their respects to Ablett on
Sky Sports News HD with Ian Rush leading the tributes...
Ian Rush (Liverpool 1980-87 & 1988-96)
What you saw is what you got with Gary Ablett; whoever he played for, he always gave 100 per cent. That's very rare these days. In those days people used to see him as a normal player; I think in today's game he'd be right up there because these sorts of players don't come by any more. I played with him for quite a few years at Liverpool and every time you saw him he was a perfect gentleman, even on the pitch. He got stuck in but he was a gentleman too.
My main memory of Gary was most probably the 1989 FA Cup final when we won. He had this silly hat on. If you look at him when we lifted the cup, the enjoyment on his face is clear. He was so proud that we'd won the FA Cup final. That will live in my memory. We knew he hadn't been well but a few months ago we played a game at Everton and Gary came along to watch and he looked to be getting on the mend, so it is a complete shock and we are absolutely gutted for such a gentleman.
Gary Ablett sums up what people are like in Liverpool. He is a true Scouser and when things are going wrong everyone sticks together - both Liverpool and Everton supporters support each other and that's what people on Merseyside will be doing today.
Roy Evans (Liverpool manager 1994-98)
He's he was a real Steady Eddie, good at everything he did and a very honest player. He went into coaching and stamped his personality on that. He was doing a very good job, particularly at youth level. He had a bit of a difficult first spell with Stockport, but overall he's had a great career in football. He's a big loss to the sport. He was a really good professional at the end of the day and he never let you down. He was never looking to do anything that was sensational, he just did his job and they're the type of people in football that you have to take your hat off to sometimes.
Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool 1999-2006)
It's devastating news. He came to one of our games at Stockport a few months ago when we played Southport and he wasn't in the best health in the last few months. He's a very highly-regarded and well respected man on Merseyside and a true legend.
David Fairclough (Liverpool 1974-83)
Anybody that knew Gary knew what type of person he was. He was a lovely lad, who always conducted himself in the right way and he was great with people, very personable and honest. His attitude was always very, very right. He worked as a youth coach at Everton and my son was in the group that Gary looked over and he always really appreciated his attitude. Gary knew how to handle himself, he never got over-excited, he was keen to help and I think everybody that worked with him at that time appreciated him.
Tony Cottee (Everton 1988-94)
First and foremost he was a very nice man. He wasn't one of the guys who got too angry, he was a family man and that's the most important thing I remember about him. As a footballer it's not always easy coming from Liverpool to Everton and there was a lot of pressure on him and a lot of questions being asked by the Everton fans, but he slotted into the team and into the squad and he was a fantastic player to have around. He developed into a really important member of the team.
Paul Walsh (Liverpool 1984-88)
It's devastating news. I joined Liverpool when I was about 21 and Gary would have been about 18; my first few games were in the reserves with Gary. He was trying to make his way - just a quiet, hell of a nice fella. I've been listening to all the tributes and Roy Evans said everything that Gary was; he was a top lad who just wanted to get in there and do well. He didn't do anything fancy but he was a great pro who trained hard and had a great attitude to everything he did. I'm absolutely stunned at the news. I knew he wasn't well but to die at 46 is absolutely tragic. There was a steely determination about Gary; you don't come through the ranks at Liverpool and play for them 100 times if you haven't got that little bit of steel underneath everything.
