DAVID DOCHERTY RECALLS AN ENGLISH STRIKER WHO PROVED A BIG HIT ON FOREIGN SOIL…

AS A former miner, Gerry Hitchens was physically strong but he was also mentally tough.
It was that strength of mind and character, coupled with his mature approach, that enabled him to spend most of the 1960s plying his trade in Italy whilst other big-name British recruits to Serie A came scurrying home wagging their grievances behind them.
In those days, to paraphrase Ian Rush, Italy was indeed “a foreign country”. The culture, food and social attitudes were manifestly diferent to those i...