Can a player sign for his blood rivals?

Football rivalry is a big part of the game and players transfer from one rival to another all the time. However what happens when a player joins a club he has hated since birth?

I raise this question as my beloved Portsmouth are closing in on Scummer Bridge. The England international has been second fiddle to Ashley Cole for both club and country for too long and wants to re-establish himself as a top class left back. With Portsmouth shopping at a very high-priced and well regarded shop with regards to players this summer, Bridge to Portsmouth sounds perfect on paper, however there is history.

Wayne Bridge was and is a Scummer. Brought up in Winchester in Scum country he grew up a Southampton fan and played for his boyhood club as a youngster. He wasn't just a Southampton player, he was a Southampton fan and there is a difference. He wasn't just employed by the club, he was one of them.

After he left the club for Chelsea he scored against Portsmouth and boy did he celebrate. He sprinted right over to the Portsmouth fans and let them know how much he enjoyed the goal. It has been said before that we were the one club he never wanted to sign for but now it is a real option for him.

Pompey are in the hunt for a new left back and Bridge is top of the wanted list. Fellow England international Nicky Shorey is also an option but Bridge is the man Redknapp wants and in recent times it has been whatever Redknapp wants, Redknapp gets.

The problem the manager faces is persuading Bridge that it is the right move for him. Portsmouth fans will be split on the move however, some will welcome yet another international calibre player to the club whereas others will wonder if the club are selling out signing people from the enemy. Remember there are still Portsmouth fans who don't like Harry for his Southampton connections.

Now most that know me will know that I am pretty liberal on football rivalries, it is only a bit of banter and bragging rights, it should be nothing more than that. However would I as a professional footballer ever play for the team that are the rivals to the team I supported as a boy? I really don't think I would ever go there.

Scummer Bridge is one of the players most disliked at Portsmouth along with possibly James Beattie. I would love him at Fratton Park and would welcome him with open arms. If he did agree to come then he would be a bigger man than me as I don't think I'd be able to do it. It would be a terrific move for Portsmouth FC and a real coup.

Bridge to Portsmouth is a good move for him and the club – the only question is whether the gaffer can persuade him of that.