Less than a week after Ferdinand joined Sunderland, defensive partner George McCartney was also tempted into a move to the North-East. The Northern Irishman would be rejoining his former side, but the sale was not welcomed by his manager Alan Curbishley, who soon resigned after the Hammers hierarchy allowed McCartney to leave. Like Ferdinand, McCartney would make an instant impression at the Stadium of Light, but when Keane left the club just over a year later, the left-back did not get a look in under Steve Bruce. Injuries put paid to McCartney's attempts to win back his place in the side, before he spent two loan periods with Leeds United. Three years after his departure, McCartney would return to West Ham on a season-long loan, before eventually penning a permanent deal. He made over 150 appearances during his two spells with the club, but he must wonder what could have been had he not been tempted into a return to his old club when he was in the best form of his career.
A degree-educated, dart-throwing, non-smelling sports journalist based in a small Staffordshire town that has just become Floyd Mayweather's answer to the question: "What's the strangest place you have ever visited?"
