Simpson Just Loves Vintage Sheri

He went to Man United, so the saying goes, and won the lot; every major honour in the English domestic game after a move in 1997. But Teddy Sheringham’s class was made long before he became a household name in the Championship. At least that’s the impression you get if you listen to Preston manager, Paul Simpson.

North End boss Simpson, whose side will face Sheringham in his current Colchester United guise on Saturday, recalls a time when Teddy was an eager fledgling, as opposed to what he is now – a seasoned pro and icon of a generation.

“Anyone who has watched football for the past 21 years will know exactly what kind of a threat Teddy is,” Simpson told Sky Sports on Thursday.

“I played in an England Under-18 tournament with him in about 1983 in Yugoslavia,” he continued. Now, at 41, Sheringham is still going strong.

Recalls Simpson: “He got a hat-trick that day in the first game and he’s still quality.”

A class act, then, from day one. A most charming footnote, a decade after football fans everywhere thought Sir Alex Ferguson had bought a has-been when he arrived from Spurs, is that, even now, he’s still proving them all wrong.

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