Nearly Men 35: Derek Swan, a rare Rudge punt that didn’t pay off…

Our latest “nearly man” feature covers a reasonably rare event – a John Rudge ‘chancer’ signing that didn’t pay dividends.

Top image: Derek Swan is pictured centre in the 1990-91 team photo in between Andy Porter and John Johnson.

Practically all Port Vale fans will know the John Rudge tales – the players plucked from nowhere who go on to be a success and sold for big money. However, among those names – Andy Jones, Robin van der Laan, Darren Beckford and so on, you won’t find the name of Derek Swan. Derek was the unknown Rudge signing that didn’t pay off.

Swan certainly fitted the bill of a John Rudge deal. The Irish striker had been prolific in his home country plundering 41 goals in 101 appearances for Bohemians. He was recommended to Rudge who brought him to England for a £15,000 fee. Swan takes up the story telling the Irish website The 42 “It probably just wasn’t the right time for me. I felt I didn’t get a fair crack of the whip when I went there.”

After signing, Swan had been loaned out to Dutch club FC Wageningen and had returned to Burslem full of confidence and on top form. It was perhaps at this moment he could have made his big Vale break but it wasn’t to be. Swan commented “I was flying and I was scoring regular goals in the reserves (but John Rudge didn’t seem to notice) so I just decided to come home really.” To be fair to Rudge at this point, Swan was probably well down at the pecking order. For the 1990-91 season Vale had Darren Beckford (who finished with 21 goals), Nicky Cross, Paul Millar and emerging youngster Brian Mills as alernatives to Swan upfront.

So, Swan would never make his Vale first-team debut. Rudge, ever the wheeler dealer had an exit strategy. After just five months at Vale Park, the striking misfit was sold to Shamrock Rovers, with Vale recouping £12,500 of their £15,000 outlay.

Rudge’s decision to cut his losses looked to be justified as Swan never made it in the English Leagues. However, he continued to be a great success in his homeland. He ended a seventeen year old playing career in 2002 having scored 119 goals, placing his 27th on the Irish League’s all-time scoring list.

As Vale supporters will know, Rudge’s transfer nous was legendary, netting a huge profit for the club. But no manager has a 100% success rate as the signing of Derek Swan showed.