Crazy tags of soccer stars

Jan 31 2010 by Phil Doherty, Sunday Sun

MAGPIE fans are celebrating the signing of “One Size” Fitz Hall who is on loan from Queens Park Rangers.

But he is not the only footballer to have an unusual nickname in a game with many flamboyant and colourful characters.

Everyone in the region knows Paul “Gazza “ Gascoigne who played for both Newcastle and Middlesbrough, and then there is also Manual “Mad Dog” Pogatez a Middlesbrough defender, and Stephen Elliott, who played for Sunderland whose nickname is “Sleeves”.

But how people now remember that the great Stanley Matthews was named the “Wizard of Dribble”? Or that Jack Charlton in his England World Cup squad hay day was called the “Giraffe”.

So the Sunday Sun has decided to have a look at some of the most famous footballers who have played in the region, now and in the past, who have great nicknames.

Kevin Keegan was crowned “King Kevin” by Magpie fans when he came to Tyneside as the manager. He was also hailed as the “Geordie Messiah” when he came back again as manager as the fans believed their long time hero would save the club and lift it to new heights. Unfortunately he proved to be a false messiah and his career with the Toon ended in a bitter legal dispute with the club’s top bosses.

Jack Charlton was said to have a “kick like a mule and a neck like a giraffe”. The Ashington-born World Cup star managed both Middlesbrough and Newcastle and was affectionately known as the “Giraffe” throughout his professional career because he had a long neck.