Dover Athletic midfielder Jai Reason, formerly of Ipswich Town, Cambridge United and Eastleigh, pieced together a best ever XI of players he’s played alongside for The Non-League Paper’s Dream Team in this week’s edition…
Goalkeeper Lee Worgan, pictured
A very good shot stopper for his age so I have him in The Non-League Paper’s Dream Team as my keeper. Great to have in the dressing room. I played with him at Cambridge and am now back with him at Dover Athletic – he’s a great character to have in the team and he’s also a very good ‘sweeper keeper’.
Right-back Joe Partington
My former Eastleigh teammate, Joe is a very good player with a good engine on him. He thinks he’s funny though, but he’s not! We had some good times, I think he’d kill me if I didn’t put him in!
Left-back Michael Green
Another old team mate at Eastleigh, Michael can only be desrcibed really as a race horse – he’s an absolute specimen. He could be on the ball all day long.
Centre-back Paul Reid
A warrior, a Northern warrior. He once played with a broken leg away at Barrow, which is what sticks out in my mind. A really great lad as well.
Centre-back Wayne Hatswell
I was with him when I was at Cambridge when I was an 19-year-old and he was coming towards the end of his career. Still, he was everything you could possibly want in a centre half and could play with both feet as well.
Holding midfielder Paul Carden
Paul was my captain at Cambridge when I was 19 and first coming in to the game. He just knew how to play the game, he’d kill to win out on the pitch. He was a huge influence on my young career.
Left midfield Stuart Lewis
A fantastic guy, on and off the pitch but also had a short temper, you had to calm him down sometimes! Still, though, a fantastic presence, he put his body into everything. Great to have in the dressing room.
Right midfield Ivan Campo
I played with Ivan quite a bit with him with the Ipswich reserves and he was probably the best footballer I’ve ever seen. You could see he was a guy that played and won the Champions League and played in the Premier League. He was head and shoulders above everyone else, he was an unbelievable player, a legend. Off the field, he was very quiet, he was a Spanish gentleman, but he left his talking to be done on the pitch.
Attacking midfielder Ed Upson
Best man at my wedding, I’ve known him since I was ten, knew him all the way through the Ipswich academy, he was another technician of a footballer. Very good on the ball, could find a pass from anywhere. Another one who wouldn’t like it if I didn’t include him!
Striker Jordan Rhodes
Again, I played with Jordan at the Ipswich academy and he was a finisher! Any ball that dropped to him in the 18-yard box he’d finish it. He could just sniff out a goal. I’m not surprised – and of course delighted – that he went on to do what he did in his career because he deserved it – he could always put the ball in the back of the net. He’s had some career, hasn’t he!
Star striker Yemi Odubade Striker
I played with him at Eastleigh, he was strong as an ox, quick, and he wasn’t bad with his feet. Not many beat Yemi for pace, but he was also someone who was really good, and comfortable, on the ball. He had the whole package and could have played a lot higher in my opinion.
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