LIKE FATHER, UNLIKE SON...
A chip off the old block? Kasper Schmeichel of Leeds United. A few more years barking at incompetent defenders should make that nose nice and red.
Picture the scene if you will; a long ball bounces towards the area, Bruce allows it to bounce in front of him which causes Schmeichel to make his own error and the oppostion are left celebrating a goal they never expected. We could be describing an unlikely bit of slapstick from the all-conquering Manchester United side of the early 1990s, but we're not. In fact this happened very recently, October 25th 2010 to be precise. We weren't even describing the short-comings of Steve and Peter rather their sons, Alex and Kasper. So, with this in mind, thegoal-line.com looks at famous fathers and their less than successful sons.
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Johan and Jordi Cruyff When you think of the greatest players to have ever kicked a ball no doubt three names will come easily to mind; Pele, Maradona and Cruyff. Johan Cruyff only played at one World Cup (1974) but that hardly matters. In that tournament the Dutch genius put his name to a manoever which has been often discussed and copied ever since. You know the one, it went like this. Inevitably, his playing career was showered with honours. At Ajax, (including three European Cups) Barcelona and lastly at Feyenoord. Meanwhile, on the International stage he helped Holland reach the 1974 World Cup Final when they narrowly failed to win the competition. His managerial career was no less spectacular. Returning to Ajax and Barcelona he won numerous domestic titles as well as a first European Cup for Barca in 1992. To call him the greatest European footballer of all time would hardly be an exaggeration. He was a true Dutch master. You have to feel some sympathy for his son, Jordi who was weighed down by the family name from the very outset. He began his senior career at Barcelona under his father, Johan. (It is said that he was named 'Jordi' after the Patron Saint of the Catalan capital.) By the time his father was sacked in 1996 he had established himself in both the Dutch and Barcelona first choice elevens and was on the verge of a £1.4 million move to Manchester United. By now he had taken to having "Jordi" on the back of his shirt as the Cruyff name became more and more of a burden. His years at United were blighted by injury and he eventually left in 2000 to join Spanish club Alavez. Whilst his father swept all before him his son is probably best remembered for a late headed goal in the 2001 UEFA Cup Final against Liverpool to make the score an incredible 4-4. (Alavez would go on to lose the final 5-4 in extra-time) After which his playing career drifted somewhat and he finished at Valletta in Malta in the Summer of 2010. Ray and Stephen Clemence For a time during the mid 1970s England boasted two of the best goalkeepers in world football; Peter Shilton, the other was Liverpool's Ray Clemence. He was signed from Scunthorpe United for £18,000 in 1967 and within three years had established himself as Liverpool's Number One. During a heavily decorated Anfield career he won five English league titles, one FA Cup, three European Cups and two UEFA Cups. It was said that he eventually left Liverpool in 1981 because he he became bored of winning so many trophies! He must have been really fed up when he picked up two more at Spurs; the FA Cup in 1982 and another UEFA Cup winners medal in 1984! (Although he actually missed the Final itself due to injury.) In later years he managed Tottenham on a temporary basis during the 1992/93 season and Barnet from 1994 until 1996. He is currently goalkeeping coach to the English national team. Stephen Clemence came through the ranks at Tottenham Hotspur as a rather unspectacular but steady midfield player. He spent six years at Spurs making nearly 100 appearances for the first team but often found himself dogged with injury. He was signed by Steve Bruce at Birmingham in 2003 and played a major part in the clubs resurgence but again was hampered by injury. Eventually Clemence dropped down the pecking order and he was sold to midland rivals Leicester City in 2007. Unable to shake off reoccurring injuries he was released three years later and has since rejoined Steve Bruce at Sunderland as a development coach. Gordon and Gavin Strachan Gordon Strachan was a right-sided midfielder who formed an important part of Alex Ferguson's dominant Aberdeen team of the early 1980s. He'd started his career at Dundee but it was when he joined the Dons in 1977 that he enjoyed his most prolific period of his career. Under Ferguson he won two Scottish League titles, three Scottish Cups and one European Cup Winners Cup. His dynamic style earned him a move to Ron Atkinson's Manchester United in 1984 who paid £500,000 for his services. A year later he claimed his only trophy with the Red Devils, the FA Cup. The following year he took part in his second World Cup finals in Mexico, famously being the victim to a vicious foul by Uruguay's Baptista which earned the Uruguayan a red card after only 49 seconds. Strachan also scored Scotland's only goal of a disappointing campaign against West Germany, once again under the guidance of Alex Ferguson. A few months later and Atkinson was sacked, Ferguson was given the job and following a loss of form Strachan was sold to Second Division Leeds United in 1989. However, promotion soon followed under Howard Wilkinson and as club captain, Strachan led Leeds to their first English League title for eighteen years in 1992. He finally retired from playing whilst player/ manager of Coventry City at the age of 40. In what is becoming something of a reoccurring theme Gavin Strachan began his career at Coventry City then managed by his dad, Gordon. But his appearances for the Sky Blues were few and far between and when his father was given the sack in 2001 Gavin also left the club. Since then he drifted down the divisions playing for the likes of Peterborough United, Notts County and Hartlepool United. He became more famous for his blog for the BBC News website, which he was compiling as part of his degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University. He now plays for Hinckley United in the Conference North. Kenny and Paul Dalglish Regarded by his fans at Liverpool as 'the King' and widely accepted to be the greatest player to have ever pulled on a red shirt, Kenny Dalglish is one of the greatest British players. Four,Four,Two magazine recently voted him as the greatest British striker of all time. Dalglish began his career at Celtic and the goals and trophies began to flow almost immediately. By the summer of 1977 he had amassed four Scottish Titles, four Scottish Cups, one Scottish League Cup and over a century of goals in little over than 200 appearances. Meanwhile Liverpool were on the verge of losing their talisman striker Kevin Keegan, only one man could fill those boots. In a playing career that lasted until 1990 he won a further eight League Titles as a player and player-manager, three European Cups, four League Cups and two FA Cups, one as player manager. He scored over another century of goals, forming a lethal partnership with Ian Rush. His record at International level was no less impressive, earning 102 caps and scoring 30 goals. He also won a Premier League title in 1995 as manager of Blackburn Rovers. He recently returned for a second spell as Liverpool manager. Paul Dalglish certainly had a lot to live up to, having grown up in and amongst his heroes in the 1980s, the young striker played for both his father's clubs at youth level but didn't feature in either Celtic or Liverpool's first teams. It was during Kenny Dalglish's managerial reign at Newcastle United that his son Paul was given his chance in the first team; (yes, another one!) quick but lacking his father's subtleties on the ball he was eventually shipped out to Norwich City from where his career would drift. He would eventually have a crack at management himself with FC Tampa Bay in the MLS but was dismissed in September. Steve and Alex Bruce Steve Bruce was a brave, no-nonsense defender at Gillingham, Norwich, Manchester United, Birmingham City and Sheffield United with a nose that told a million tales. In one season for Manchester United he scored an incredible nineteen goals. He was only denied a twentieth in the 1991 European Cup Winners Cup Final when Mark Hughes turned in Bruce's already goal-bound effort against Barcelona and claimed it for himself. Strikers, eh? In a glittering career at Manchester United he won three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup as well as a further League Cup with Norwich in 1985. The most amazing statistic about Steve Bruce's playing career is that he did not win a single full England cap. Therefore, Alex Bruce is the first one on our list who actually is one up on his dad! Alex is a full International, albeit for the Republic of Ireland. His early career saw him play for both Manchester United's and Blackburn Rovers' youth teams although he never broke into their relative first teams. In 2006 he was signed by guess who? Yes, of course, his dad Steve, who at that time was still manager of Birmingham City. The young centre-back was quickly moved on Ipswich Town where he became popular amongst the Ipswich fans. That was until he fell out with Steve Bruce's old team mate, Roy Keane and following a loan spell at Leicester City, Alex was sold to Leeds United with whom he now plays for in the Championship. Sir Alex and Darren Ferguson We were a bit worried about this one to be honest. How do you compare the two? Not by their managerial records, its clear who's on top there, but who knows where Darren Ferguson could go in the future? Darren Ferguson is only 38. When Fergie senior was the same age he had won as much as his son, nothing. Even so it seems impossible that the son could eclipse the father who is now the most successful manager in British football history. So how about their playing careers? Alex Ferguson began as a prolific amateur striker with Queens Park whilst working in the Clyde shipyards. Before moving on to St Johnston and then Dunfermline where he became a professional player at the age of 24. in the 1965-66 season he scored a fairly impressive 45 goals in 51 games and was joint-top scorer in the top flight with thirty-one. He then joined Rangers in a deal worth £65,000, a record between Scottish clubs. he continued to score regularly but in the 1969 Scottish Cup Final he was blamed for the goal which won Celtic the cup. He was demoted to play with the youth team and soon left to play for Falkirk where he was player-coach but following a snub he moved onto Ayr United where he finished his career. His son Darren, as seems to be the general law, came through the youth ranks at Manchester United and made his first team bow in 1990. This was around the time that Alex Ferguson was laying the foundations for what would be two decades of near domination and although his fifteen appearances guaranteed him a Premier League winners medal in 1993, his father sold him to Wolves the following year. He stayed at Molyneux until 1999 before a short spell at Sparta Rotterdam and then to Wrexham whom he made more than 300 appearances. After a successful managerial spell at Peterborough where he led them to two successive promotions as runners-up. After a falling out with the owners he left the Posh and joined Preston North End but after poor results he was fired. Ferguson is now back at Peterborough. Ian Wright and Bradley Wright-Phillips Whatever you may think about Ian Wright there's no doubting his legendary status at former clubs like Crystal Palace and Arsenal; even in his latter days at West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley he is still regarded with some affection. When you think about it, a self-confessed boyhood Millwall fan turning out for both Crystal Palace and West Ham, certainly takes some nerve! In his career he scored four FA Cup Final goals (including two for Palace against Manchester United as a substitute in 1990) won one Premier League title, two FA Cups, one League Cup and a Cup Winners Cup. He also managed 185 goals in 288 games and overtook Cliff Bastin's goalscoring record for Arsenal. (Later broken by Thierry Henry in 2005). He also played 33 times for England (16 times as substitute) scoring nine goals. He has since forged a career in entertainment and football punditry. Bradley Wright-Phillips is the biological son of Ian Wright and half-brother to England International, Shaun Wright-Phillips. By the time Bradley had become the top goalscorer for Manchester City reserve team in 2004, Shaun had already broken into the first team and was attracting attention from the likes of the newly cash-rich Chelsea. (He would move to Stamford Bridge for £21 million in 2005) In the next two years he made thirty-two appearances for City only scoring twice. In 2006 he became disgruntled with life at Eastlands and moved to south coast were Southampton snapped him up for £500,000. In his first season at St.Mary's he managed eleven league goals, his best tally to date. Although it could be said that he never reached those heights again and despite one or two off the field skirmishes he seemed happy enough. But in 2009 the Saints were relegated and Bradley Wright-Phillips was released from his contract and found himself at Plymouth Argyle. A persistent knee injury ensured that he would have to wat until March 2010 before he could make his full début against Coventry City. Plymouth finished the season in 23rd place and were relegated. Wright-Phillips has found goals relatively easy to come by in League One and has since joined Charlton Athletic after continuing financial troubles with Argyle. Peter and Kasper Schmeichel Peter Schmeichel was famous for many things; that 'star' jump leaned whilst playing handball, the screaming abuse he gave defenders, lifting the European Championship trophy with Denmark, trophies galore at United and his bright, red nose. He was voted as "The World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993 and captained Manchester United in the 1999 European Cup Final to complete a unique treble. He was signed for a measly £530,000 from Brondby in 1991 and was unmoveable from the United goal until he decided to try his luck with Sporting Lisbon eight years later. In that time he won five Premier Leagues, three FA Cup, a League Cup and of course that Champions League trophy. He would later return to England with spells with Aston Villa and Manchester City. Big gloves to fill. Whilst his dad ended his career at Maine Road, young Kasper was just starting his. Also a goalkeeper, although not as large, he shared similar traits to that of his old man. He finally broke into the City first team in 2007 only to lose his place soon afterwards to the up and coming Joe Hart. Following several loan spells he found himself dropping down three divisions and signing for ambitious League Two outfit, Notts County. This was the time of the 'Sven-revolution'. But despite the money going elsewhere Schmeichel remained at the club and helped them to the title in April 2010. Despite promotion finances dictated that he would have to leave and he joined up with newly promoted Leeds United in the Championship despite reported interest from several Premier League clubs. At the age of only 23 there is still a chance that Kasper Schmeichel could one day be remembered as fondly as his father. |
 Too much to live up to? Johan Cruyff waves to the Dutch fans before the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany.
 Ray Clemence, England goalkeeping coach and father of Stephen.
 Gordon Strachan, a player who won pretty much everything in the game. Whereas his son, Gavin, got a few games for Cov.
 Kenny Dalglish in his Liverpool pomp. Actually played his son Paul whilst managing Newcastle, not a rare trick amongst footballing fathers.
 Steve Bruce, a face that launched a 1000 dredgers. His son Alex hopes he hasn't inherited his father's football-beaten face...
 ...Maybe he has? We'll never know.
 'Wayne? I want ye to tell the press ye dinnae want tae play fer United anymore, right?'
Master of the dark arts, Sir Alex Ferguson.  Fergie Jnr, Master of Preston North End.
 Ian 'Wrighty' Wright in action for England v Brazil, 1993
 Many years after retirement, Peter Schmeichel's bright, red nose is still very much in evidence.
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