66: Neil Redfearn, Bradford City, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League 2000, Millennium Edition Sticker Collection

When Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland returned to the Premier League promised land at the end of last season there were very few pundits providing their fans with optimism ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty condemned both the Clarets and Mackems to an instant return to the Championship in his pre-season predictions. FourFourTwo went further and decided all three newly promoted sides were doomed. As it happens Max Rushden in The Guardian had the current bottom three spot on with only Burnley cut adrift which suggests he might have had the misfortune of seeing Scott Parker’s charges play beforehand. Leeds have put together some impressive results in recent weeks by means of reminding Dominic Calvert-Lewin that’s he’s a decent striker while Sunderland have shocked everyone by not being anywhere near as shite as they were on Netflix for a few seasons.

To give the soothsayers their due promoted sides have had a knack of struggling in the Premier League in recent years despite attempts to ape the preposterous spending, constant managerial changes and poncing about keeping possession that have brought success higher up the table. In the 1990s the top flight’s new arrivals took more prosaic approaches to preparing for the challenge in terms of recruitment often looking to marry Premiership experience with continental flair. Little else can explain Crystal Palace’s 1997 recruitment of Paul Warhurst and Atillio Lombardo or Barnsley’s acquisitions of Ashley Ward and Georgi Hristov. Both sides, along with newly promoted Bolton Wanderers, suffered instant relegation but some of their charges came out of the wreckage with their reputations intact. Neil Redfearn was one such player.

Redfearn arrived at Bradford City ahead of their debut Premier League campaign in the summer of 1999 along with similarly experienced heads Gunnar Halle, Lee Sharpe and Dean Saunders. Saunders made an instant impact with the winning goal in the Bantams’ first game against Middlesbrough while Halle was an ever present in defence. Meanwhile Redfearn managed just one goal in a 3-1 victory over Leicester City and after just eight months, and seventeen appearances, he moved to Wigan Athletic. This meant that he missed out on Bradford’s final day survival heroics and the opportunity to last more than one season in the Premier League at the third time of asking.

Redfearn had started the 1998/99 season as Charlton Athletic’s marquee signing and scored in their 5-1 demolition of Southampton which briefly put them top of the Premier League. Sadly for the Addicks this was a false dawn and by Christmas they were mired in a relegation battle. Redfearn continued to perform well but was unable to prevent the club’s instant return to the First Division. His family had struggled to settle in the capital, which is fair enough if you’ve ever been to Woolwich, following his move from Barnsley with whom he had spent the previous seven years. He scored the Tykes’ first Premier League goal and found the net fourteen times in total as they enjoyed a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals alongside their arduous relegation battle. Redfearn’s goalscoring form from midfield meant he was one of very few Barnsley players to emerge from the 1997/98 campaign with their reputations enhanced and secured his move south.

After his departure from Bradford City in March 2000 Neil Redfearn did not feature in the top flight again instead plying his trade for a plethora of clubs including Halifax Town, Scarborough and Salford City while also gaining his first experience of management in a range of caretaker roles. The lifelong Leeds fan took on a role with the club’s academy in 2008 and was credited for bringing through future first team talents such as Sam Byram and Kalvin Phillips. He served as caretaker manager on three occasions before being given the top job at Elland Road in November 2014. Following several clashes with the board he was removed from his position in May 2015, and replaced by Uwe Rosler, without a formal announcement from his employers. After being publicly insulted by owner Massimo Cellino it seemed like he was better off out of it.

Following Robert Jenrick’s recent defection from the Conservatives to Reform my fellow blogger Rich compared the former Shadow Secretary of Justice to Sol Campbell moving from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal. After a bit of back and forth about the calibre of politicians who have boarded the SS Farage the comparison changed and Rich concluded “it all has the vibes of a newly promoted Premier League side signing players from the sides that got relegated the previous season.” It’s probably harsh to compare Neil Redfearn to the likes of Lee Anderson and Danny Kruger as it reduces a playing career that spanned twenty clubs, over 800 appearances and nearly 200 goals to three consecutive seasons at the back end of the 1990s. And compares him to some pretty risible individuals. Nevertheless, if you needed some midfield quality to boost your survival hopes, there was only one man for the job.