Played against him in a charity match a few years ago - what a player. Against mere mortals he just absolutely ran the show without the need to put too much effort in. All his passes were crisp and perfect and even seemed to account for the poor touches of some of the players on his side. He would have been maybe 41/42 at the time, our team was mainly lads 22 - 28 or so and no one got near him really.
Always fun to see how pros and ex-pros are against amateurs. I've played to a good level myself but it still surprises you the difference - I played a different charity game years back when Rob Hulse was at Sheffield Utd. I'd seen him play for years at Crewe and always thought he was a hard worker but essentially a lump without much of a touch or technique. That may have held weight playing at Championship level but even against a bunch of semi-pros and good amateurs, he absolutely shredded our defence. Touch, movement, strength, unplayable at that level.
I've also played v Ricardo Fuller and he was shite.
