Ian Rush illustrates which direction Chester City Football Club were heading
Whilst researching the history of my local team, Hawarden Rangers Football Club, local legend, former Liverpool and Wales International striker Ian Rush spoke of his early days in the game.
The word "legend" is somewhat over-used in football these days, but an entire generation of football fans will no doubt agree that Ian Rush is one player truly deserving of the title.
A true football great, Rush is still idolised on the Kop for his goalscoring exploits for Liverpool throughout the club’s golden era in the 1980s. Still the Reds’ record scorer with an incredible 346 goals from 660 games, Rush is revered on Merseyside along with Kenny Dalglish, with whom he formed arguably the most successful strike partnership in British football history.
We discussed his experiences as a young footballer in Wales and the start of his football journey, at none other than Hawarden Rangers Football Club. Asking the great man how his journey began, Rushie answered:
“I played for Hawarden Rangers in north Wales at club level and also for Flintshire, the area side. That’s how I was brought up. We used to play two or three times a week sometimes. We just loved playing.”
Q: “What age were you when you joined Chester, your first professional club?”
A: “I joined when I was 14 as a schoolboy but 16 when I was an apprentice.”
Q: “So thinking back to the days before you joined a professional club, what do you think of when you think of grassroots football? What’s your abiding memory?”
A: “My abiding memory is that we just loved playing. We used to play on really muddy pitches in them days but it was just a matter of playing and winning. We were fortunate that we had a good side and we always kept winning but it didn’t matter if it was a Saturday, Sunday or a midweek game, it was just a matter of getting out there."
Q: “You said you had a good side there. Was there anyone else who you played with as a kid who has since made it?”
A: “I played with Kevin Ratcliffe and Barry Horne, people like that. A few years after me people like Mark Hughes played. North Wales was quite a hotbed!”
Q: “If you had one stand out memory from your early days in football what would that be?”
A: “Once when I was playing for my school team we played the local rivals, won 8-4 and I scored the eight goals! Something like that is a great memory.”
Q: “Excellent. That’s quite a story for them as well I’m sure!”
A: “I suppose it is, yeah!”
Q: “Who was the biggest influence you had when you were a young man?”
A: “There were a couple. My dad was a big influence because he helped me to go wherever I wanted. We didn’t have a car then so he used to take me on the bus everywhere. Also, Cliff Sear at Chester was a massive influence. He gave me the confidence to express myself as I should. From 14 when I signed for them up to when I left Chester, he was a big influence on the football side.”
Q: “And what was the best piece of advice you ever received as a young footballer?”
A: “It’s always worth listening to advice. You never stop learning in football, even now. I think listen to what the coach says and enjoy it. There’s a lot of pressure on kids today so I think the most important part is to enjoy it, because if you’re not enjoying it you won’t play your best football."
Q: “When you played on the park as a kid, did you have visions of scoring in front of the Kop or for Wales?”
A: “Yeah of course you do, because you have dreams don’t you? I had dreams of scoring in FA Cup finals. As an Everton fan as a kid I had dreams of scoring in front of the Gladys Street End. If you don’t have dreams, what is there?"
Ian Rush profile
Date of birth: 20 October 1961
Place of birth: St Asaph, Flintshire
Height: 5′ 11" / 1.8m
Position: Striker
Grassroots clubs: St Richard Gwyn High School; Hawarden Rangers; Flintshire
Professional clubs: Chester City – 39 appearances (17 goals); Liverpool – 660 (346); Juventus – 39 (14); Leeds United – 43 (3); Newcastle United – 14 (2); Sheffield United (loan) – 4 (0); Wrexham (player coach) – 24 (0); Sydney Olympic – 2 (1); Career total – 825 (383)
International caps: Wales – 73 appearances (28 goals)
