There's an iconic picture that does the rounds of Shay Given in his Celtic kit alongside Gordon Marshall, Packie Bonner, Stewart Kerr and trialist Brad Friedel.
Neither Given, released as a kid, nor Friedel – who didn’t make the cut – would feature in the first-team group shot. Which only left Hoops fans wondering what might have been as the pair emerged as Premier League legends. Celts’ No.1 Joe Hart has gone the other way, making his name down south before becoming the main man in Glasgow’s east end.
And Given is convinced the former England keeper can remain in the Parkhead picture for years to come. Hart has achieved instant hero status as one of Ange Postecoglou’s on-field generals, the move turbo-charging a career that met with struggle at Burnley and Tottenham in the three years prior. And former Newcastle No.1 Given said: “I played against Joe a lot and we were team-mates at Man City. He was the No.1 but Pep Guardiola eventually didn’t fancy him. It was the same for me when Roberto Mancini didn’t fancy me. It happens in football. Joe had to go away and rebuild a little bit. He went to West Ham, had a few moves and things didn’t quite work out.
