Dane Richards is becoming a crowd favorite with his play on the wing, and I have been thrilled by a number observations liking Dane to a young Carl Valentine. As a result, I spent some time with Dane to see how much we are alike, both on and off the pitch.
Dane is Jamaican and I have Jamaican blood (my dad is from Jamaica, so this is not just a good tan…), we both have lots of sisters - Dane has five to my four. We both have had some scary hairstyles and we both agree that our afros are not to be seen again.
On the pitch, we both played on the right wing, had speed to burn, and both of our left legs were for standing on. Both of us are not very tall, but learnt to bounce off defenders get to the byline, cross the ball, and energize the crowd with exciting wing play.
The only thing that separates us is our taste in food. Dane is a chef who likes good Jamaican food and I was brought up on your traditional English fish and chips.
In my playing days, my nickname was ‘Chalkie’, as managers told me to hug the sideline (chalk-filled lines). Now the ‘Great Dane’ (yeah, I made that up!) gets to do that job on the right wing for the ‘Caps and I will be feeling a little ‘Déjà Vue’ every time he speeds down the line.
