Having arrived in Australia as a one year-old immigrant, Lancashire-born Robbie Slater began playing junior football in New South Wales when he was seven, on his way to winning 44 caps for his adopted country and being inducted, in 2005, into its national Football Hall of Fame. His pro career having begun at St George – the first of his many Sydney clubs, commonly known as the “Saints” – Robbie’s initial attempt to launch a career in England was thwarted by Brian Clough’s brash approach to bargaining. Nottingham Forest’s manager acknowledged that Robbie had impressed during a three-month trial, but told him that “he was not worth a fee.” St George declined to haggle and Robbie returned to Sydney.

When he next tried his luck in Europe, he had a brief, unproductive spell with Anderlecht, before moving to Lens, where his performances won him the Oceania Footballer-of-the-Year award in 1991 and 1993. But one game for Lens almost cost him his life.

After a home defeat by Paris St-Germain, he was walking in the city, the next day, with his partner, when he was attacked with a baseball bat by two PSG thugs – and hospitalised for three days. The doctors told him that his partner’s timely intervention probably saved his life.

He left France for a second tilt at English football and played for four seasons in the Premier League. He got off to a solid start at No.4 for Blackburn, but then featured only intermittently in their Premiership-winning side. He played more often in a season at West Ham, before Graeme Souness brought him to The Dell in the summer of 1996 and played him regularly in midfield.

Robbie then started the 1997-98 season under Dave Jones, but he was soon out of favour and dropped down a division, in March, when he joined Wolves. After only a handful of games, he returned to Sydney, where he moved, before long, into coaching. Having established The Robbie Slater Soccer Academy, he additionally found an outlet for his outspoken style as an analyst and commentator for Fox Sports.