Chris Greenacre is an English footballer from Wakefield, and in a career which has seen him play for Manchester City, Cardiff City, Mansfield, Stoke City and Tranmere Rovers, the striker decided to pack it all in, in Blighty and decided to give playing football abroad a go.
In April 2009 Chris signed for New Zealand based A-League side Wellington Phoenix. As well as playing 55 times for the Wellington and scoring 14 goals, Chris is also doing coaching work with the team. Sportsvibe.co.uk caught up with Chris to discover what it's like plying his trade so far from home.
Q. You began your career at Manchester City in 1995 and were on the books at the club for five years – how hard was it to get into the City first team?
Obviously being at such a great club it is always going to be difficult getting into the first team as City have had such a successful youth production system through the years. Although it would be difficult you could see a light at the end of the tunnel as many former youth players had and were playing in the first team. At the time there were internationals and very high profile players in the team but training with those players could only help you improve in the long run.
Q. During the five-year spell you had at Manchester City, you had five loan spells, what was it like going out on loan?
As a young player the opportunities with the first team don’t always come along that often with such big squads around and so you play a lot of reserve team football. After a while you become a better player and with that you are looking for the next challenge. However, opportunities with City were few and far between. Going on loan was the next stage in my development. Playing in a first team lower down the leagues was perfect. First-team football at any level is far more demanding than you would think. It made me realise that I wasn’t ready for the big stage and that I still had a lot of work to do which in the long run helped me. At some of the clubs you really appreciate what you have at such a big club. I had to wash my own boots, kit etc. No fancy hotels, pre match meals on the team coach and poor training facilities. This was a great lesson for me and even to this day I appreciate everything that our club do for me and supply for me and the jobs people do, it certainly was an eye opener!
Q. The last club you played for in England was Tranmere Rovers – how did the move from Tranmere to Wellington Phoenix come about?
I had three and a half great years at Tranmere and the last six months were plagued by injury. Obviously I was disappointed with being injured and, having been the top scorer for those years, the manager at times left me out in that third year so that was on my mind. An Aussie team-mate of mine, Gareth Edds, had an offer to go back home but wasn’t that interested and I just happened to be with him when he received the letter. He asked if I would fancy it and not thinking for a second that I would be here now, said “yeah, why not”! His agent contacted me and asked if I was serious and things progressed very quickly from there. I saw a lot of the A-League footage on Sky Sports so was aware of the league and the standard and thought it was a great chance to do something different and playing less games may prolong my career.
Q. Before moving to Wellington in 2009, were there other clubs in England or from abroad interested in signing you?
Before I left the U.K my agent was speaking to a number of clubs but as I was injured they wanted to wait until the end of the season to decide which divisions they were going to be in and also budgets for the following seasons. The Phoenix had offered me a two year deal straight on the table so I was very serious about taking that. I agreed terms at the end of March/early April and after consulting with my family and my agent we thought this was a terrific chance and so we went for it.
Q. What influenced you to move abroad to play football in New Zealand?
Initially it was the challenge of playing in a new league, climate and culture. We had never visited New Zealand or Australia but knew how beautiful they looked. To be offered the opportunity at this stage in my career to live somewhere like this was the chance of a lifetime. When I spoke to our coach, Ricky Herbert (New Zealand National Coach) my mind was made up. The stadium is 35,000 all-seater with the best playing surface you can imagine. The experience of travelling to Australia every other week and seeing places like Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane and playing in these 50,000-seater stadiums was something I wanted to do.
Q. How long did it take you to settle into life in New Zealand?
My wife, Lynsey and I have been very fortunate to have settled immediately. The friends we have made at this club will be friends for life. Everyone of my team-mates lives within the city and the city is only as big as a town in the U.K so everyone socialises together during the week and at weekends. Everyone can be together within ten minutes of asking. We have a very special bond throughout the team as the majority of players and staff are from overseas. The people of New Zealand are a very special breed. They have welcomed us with open arms and that is something we will never forget.
Q. When the season gets underway how do you cope with all the travelling as the rest of the teams are in the A-League in Australia?
To be honest I really enjoy the travelling. It does take its toll on your body and I don’t think people realise how much it does affect you physically. Having said that we stay in very good hotels and stay in the airport lounges so its not all bad! We usually travel three days before a fixture so we can have a training session the day before the game to get the flight etc out of your legs. The away trip that amazes everyone is the Perth away fixture. Its a 6000km round trip! It’s the longest away trip in world football. It takes three hours to Sydney and then five hours to Perth. We also have to contend with a five hour time difference which is quite difficult. We usually travel five days before this fixture, its great for the air miles though!!
Q. You also have a coaching role at the club. What is that like and would you ever think about coming back to England to coach?
It is very early days for me as a coach as the manager has only just asked me if I would be interested at the start of pre-season. I have done two of my U.E.F.A badges in the U.K and it’s the path I want to take when I retire from football. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to coach at a club that I am familiar with and players who I play alongside. Also to do that under the guidance of our manager, who took the All Whites to the World Cup in South Africa recently, is the perfect scenario for me to learn my new trade. First and foremost I am still a player but I train with the team everyday. I take some of the forward thinking drills in training and am there with the manager when he needs support. It has been very interesting in having a foot in both camps and seeing things from a players perspective and from the manager.
In football I don’t think you can ever say never about coming to coach in the U.K but definitely for the time being I will be in this part of the world as long as I am wanted. I would love to be apart of the Phoenix for a very long time and be successful here.
Q. Two teams you used to play for have changed quite considerably; do you still keep an eye on Manchester City and Stoke, both clubs are doing well?
Yeah most definitely. I keep tabs on every club I have been at. I have been lucky enough to have made some unbelievable friendships through football and it’s always great to see how your old friends are doing. I can honestly say I have never fallen out with anyone in football and wish everyone the success they deserve. Even managers who have not played me, I have always had a very professional outlook on things and would still buy them a beer!
The fortunes of both have been amazing. At City I saw relegation, changes in manager, you name we saw it. I arrived at Stoke as they were on the up and would like to feel we had a part in helping them become a force in the Championship and rightly in the Premier League. Tony Pulis has done a remarkable job but he really does work very hard on the training ground as a hands-on coach.
I have a lot of very close friends who are Blues and the turnaround they have had is one any club in the land could wish for. Money, it seems, is no object and added to that a world class manager they can realistically challenge for the title and European honours.
Q. How does the A-League compare to the Leagues you played in whilst in England?
I have been asked this question so much since I arrived here. I think it’s really difficult to say. There is more football played here, teams like to build play up from the back, its also a physical league like the U.K. Teams in the U.K are at times a lot more direct. I think if you had a team that tried to play like the teams here but also know when to be direct and are physically fit, then you would have a team that could compete in the U.K. We play a far less number of games here so whether the teams here would compete for fifty games a season is a question.
Q. What are the differences between the crowds in England and Australia / New Zealand, in terms of atmosphere?
That’s an easy question for me to answer as we have the best supported team in the A-League. We have a fan base called “THE YELLOW FEVER” who are amazing. They are very passionate about the team. The only difference here as that you don’t get an away following like the U.K for obvious reasons but there is always a small pocket of supporters in every city we visit. We have made the finals for the last two seasons and in the first year we had two home games reaching thirty two thousand fans, so our support is fantastic.
Q. Is there anything you really miss from England and how often to you come back over?
Again that’s an easy one to answer. Family are constantly in our thoughts and with the technology available like Skype it makes it a whole lot easier. We speak to close family once or twice a week which is great. To be able to see them and speak to them is really nice. Obviously, we miss our friends but everyone understands why we are here and that given the chance they would be on the first plane out of the U.K. We have been home twice in the last two years for a few weeks. It was nice but was also great to come back. With conflicting seasons it was nice to see some of the summer at home after winter had just begun here in NZ.
