An Englishman abroad

Flashback to last August and the English transfer window saw plenty of shock moves - Robinho to Man City perhaps being the highlight.

But one transfer that nearly slipped under the radar was arguably one of the most surprising of the whole summer.

English full back Tyrone Mears, whose Derby side had finished bottom of the Premier League the previous year, swapped the East Midlands for the French Riviera with a shock loan move to Marseille.

Not a bad swap I’m sure you will agree. Such was Mears’ desperation to complete the move that he skipped Derby training and flew to France for a trial without permission. His boss at the time, Paul Jewell, was understandably miffed and fined him six week's wages, claiming he had ‘insulted’ the club.

Insulted or not, it was a remarkable transfer for the former West Ham and Preston defender, especially when you consider Derby had amassed a record low points total in their 2007/08 Premier League campaign and had begun their Championship season with a home defeat to Doncaster.

A knee ligament injury had threatened to derail Mears' dream move and he only made his debut last weekend after an injury to defender, Laurent Bonnart. But things would get better for Mears in the following match, a UEFA Cup second leg tie against Ajax. The defender pounced in extra time to grab the vital goal which levelled things at 2-2 on the night and secured the French club a 4-3 victory on aggregate. Derby, meanwhile, are struggling in the bottom half of the Championship.

Whether Mears can go on and build on this start remains to be seen but it does raise the question as to why there aren’t more English players playing abroad. David Beckham apart, there have been very few players who have been successful on the continent. Michael Owen left Madrid after a year while Jonathan Woodgate spent more time on the treatment table than the Bernabeu pitch.

The Premier League is arguably the greatest league to play in, certainly financially, so why go anywhere else the players may ask. But if more players were to take the step, like Mears, the experience of different footballing cultures could only be of benefit to not only the player but the English national team.