What do you think Tranmere’s Gary Stevens has missed most about English football in the six seasons he’s been north of the border with Rangers? Being interviewed by Gary Newbon? Playing Wimbledon away? Nope – flat pitches. Your ever eager 90 MINUTES finds out more…
Ten long years have passed since the glory days at Goodison Park. But as Everton shimmy their way towards the Endsleigh League, a former hero has returned to help Merseyside counterparts, Tranmere Rovers, replace them among the country’s elite.
After six years at Ibrox, aiding Rangers’ current dominance of Scottish football, Gary Stevens is back on the Wirral bolstering the right-back position which has proved so troublesome to manager Johnny King after an injury to Tony Thomas and the departure of Ian Nolan to Sheffield Wednesday.
“When I left in 1988, Tranmere weren’t just the third team on Merseyside, there were probably non-League sides who may have been better. I remember playing against them for Everton and it seemed pretty much like their last game – the gates were being shut and the doors locked.
“To have achieved what they have in such a short time is astonishing – moving through the League so rapidly and now knocking on the door of the Premier and having cup runs like last year’s Coca-Cola campaign. We only have to hope for a small percentage improvement now and we’ll be there.”
The move to Prenton Park came as a surprise to many, not least the former England international himself.
“I believe Johnny King and Walter Smith speak quite regularly and whether I was a specific topic or not, I don’t know. But I’d been playing reserve team football at Rangers and on the transfer list since the Cup Final in May and I knew I needed first-team football. Johnny King offered me a loan period, so I jumped at the chance. When I came, I never expected to be a Tranmere player within three-and-a-half weeks, but the set-up here is tremendous and coupled with the offer of a four-year contract, it was too good an opportunity to miss.”
Some unkind souls have pointed out that Tranmere is becoming something of a refuge for ageing internationals. Is it an issue which concerns Stevens?
“I’m 31 now and I don’t suppose there’s too many people around with that much experience – and that counts in a league like the First Division, which, I believe, is the hardest in the world. There’s so many good quality sides and players here and it’s going to be very difficult to get out of, particularly this year with only two sides going up. Even finishing second is no guarantee of promotion.
“However, I’ve spoken to Pat Nevin and Aldo and they’re both still getting rave reviews here. In fact, Pat has played more times for Scotland since he came to Tranmere than he did when he was at Goodison and Chelsea, so that tells me just how highly people think of Tranmere Rovers. My ambition at the moment is to play Premier League football with Tranmere during the next four years with them.”
With the aforementioned Nevin and Aldridge still competing internationally, and the England right-back spot still to be regularly claimed, is there another comeback – à la John Barnes – in the offing?
“It’s only been two years since my last England game just before the European Championship Finals in Sweden and although I wouldn’t shut the door on my international career, I’ve got to be realistic. I’ve only just returned to first-team football and I believe international full-backs should be fairly young. However, if there was a flu epidemic affecting English right-backs… well, we’ll see. But I’ve got to play well for Tranmere and prove myself before anything like that happens!”
Whilst we speed hurriedly to the nearest lab to discover that incurable right-back-afflicting strain of influenza, Gary mulls over some of the things he’s left behind north of the border.
“The main thing is the poor standard of stadia and pitches up there,” he remembers. “I’ve had a very good living and an enjoyable experience from Scottish football but I’m not going to miss that part of the game. I’ve never understood the ‘there’s a hill, let’s build a pitch on it’ train of thought in Scotland. So far, I’ve played at the likes of Burnley, Middlesbrough and, obviously, Prenton Park and you don’t realise how much you miss that sort of standard. Then there’s the fact that Scottish football is bordering on the frantic, the parks are very tight and everybody wanted to beat Rangers…
“Here, I get a little more time to look around, even though it’s still quick, quality football. At my age, that extra time available doesn’t hurt!”
Was, ahem, the lure of European football a factor in Stevens’ decision to join Tranmere?
“I’ve probably played in as many European games for Tranmere this season as I did Rangers, but no, the Anglo-Italian wasn’t really part of my thinking!”