Seven players who share names with footballers better than them: Adama Traore, Danny Rose…

Sean Fisher
27 June 2022

If you find your club being linked to Adama Traore, Danny Rose or Ben Davies, you might want to check which one it is first before getting excited.

Hull City were linked with Adama Traore last week. The Championship side were even priced up in the betting to sign the in-demand Wolves winger, who spent last season with Barcelona.

Sadly, it is his less talented namesake the Tigers are poised to sign, with the Mali international turning up at the MKM Stadium last weekend to finalise his move from Hatayspor.

Bizarrely, Hull's Traore was previously at Metz at the same time as another Adama Traore, also an international for Mali.

Traore isn't alone in having to live up to a more talented, identically named player, though. In fact there are a number of players who have suffered the misfortune of sharing their moniker with someone far better than them.

Alan Smith

One Alan Smith ended his career as an Arsenal legend, the other at Notts County having not scored a single goal in 86 appearances.

Arsenal's Alan Smith, who you'll find nowadays as a co-commentator on Sky Sports, managed 264 appearances for the Gunners, and scored 86 goals to stamp his place in the club's history books.

However, his younger namesake didn't quite reach the same heights. Despite starting brightly for Leeds United at the beginning of his career, Smith failed to perform at nearly every other club he played for.

He moved to Manchester United in 2004 but ended his three years at Old Trafford with just seven goals in 61 appearances.

He continued on a downward trajectory thereafter too, with his five years at Newcastle United not even resulting in a goal. Miserable stints at MK Dons and Notts County followed, before he hung up his boots in 2018.

Mark Hughes

Former Manchester United and Chelsea striker Mark Hughes will likely come to mind, but spare a thought for current Plymouth Argyle assistant Mark Hughes, whose career peaked at Bury and Morecambe.

In contrast to his more famous namesake, Hughes plied his trade as a defender. He made his professional debut for Everton in 2006, but his career hardly scaled the heights of the current Bradford manager.

To make matters worse, Hughes appears to have even been mistaken for the former Wales international on his Wikipedia page, which states he played 25 times for Manchester United, and scored 23 goals!

Frankly, his Wiki mishap may be his biggest claim to fame. Hughes hung up his boots in 2022 and joined the backroom staff of former Everton team-mate Steven Schumacher at Argyle. At least there he's not alone in sharing a famous surname.

Paul Robinson

Former England No.1 Paul Robinson ended his career having made 41 caps for his country. Alongside that, over 100 appearances for Tottenham and Blackburn etched his name into the Premier League history books.

But at the same time as Robinson was around, there was another - slightly worse - Paul Robinson also playing in England.

Paul Peter Robinson, a left-sided defender, started his career at Watford, making 219 appearances over seven years before departing for West Brom, where he spent another seven years, clocking up 214 appearances.

Further stints at Bolton, Leeds and Birmingham were never quite enough for Robinson to cement his place in England's top flight like his slightly younger namesake, and he also never managed a cap for his country.

Want to make things even more interesting? There's another Paul Robinson who will be envious of both players above.

He did once play ahead of Alan Shearer for Newcastle United though, after Ruud Gullit's bizarre decision to drop the Tyneside legend.

However, this particular Robinson only went on to feature 11 times for Newcastle before being shipped off to Wimbledon. Following that? Robinson went on to play for 25 other clubs before retiring at Dunston UTS in 2016.

Frank Lampard

It takes some ego to name your kid after yourself, and it must sting a little when they go on to eclipse everything you've achieved in your career.

Frank Lampard Sr did end his career as a West Ham legend, having made 551 appearances for the Irons over an 18-year period, but it hardly compares to his son's trophy-laden career at Chelsea.

The current Everton manager also started his career with West Ham, but ended up settling at Chelsea, where he went on to win three Premier Leagues, four FA Cups and the Champions League.

Add on top 106 England caps and 29 international goals and it quickly becomes irrefutable that the younger of the Lampard's boasted the better career.

Lee Martin

Both Lee Martins in question played for Manchester United during their careers, but definitely with varying levels of success.

The younger of the two started his youth career at Wimbledon and caught the eye of Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal scouts. Yet, he ended up being picked up by the Red Devils in 2003 for an estimated £1million.

He made the bench in 2005 for two Champions League games and eventually made his debut against Barnet. Seventy-five minutes later he was back on the bench and never stepped foot onto the pitch again wearing a United shirt.

Compared to his one and only Manchester United appearance, the other Lee Martin managed 73. Martin played for Sir Alex Ferguson's side between 1988 and 1994 and helped them win an FA Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

He then went on to play for Celtic and Bristol Rovers. What was the other Lee Martin's career path I hear you ask? Well, after several failed loan spells he ended up at Ipswich, Millwall and then Ebbsfleet Town, where he continues to play today.

Danny Rose

Former Tottenham and England left-back Danny Rose was never world class but his CV is far more impressive than the other Danny Roses.

After all, 156 appearances for Tottenham and 29 international caps with England is no small feat.

As for the two other Danny Roses, one currently plays for Darlington in the National League North after spending much of his career at Newport County, while the other represents Stevenage in League Two having enjoyed previous spells at Bury and Mansfield Town.

.@dannyrose_32 joins #StevenageFC! ✍️
— Stevenage FC 🔴⚪ (@StevenageFC) May 25, 2022

Despite there being three Danny Roses, each of them play in an entirely different area of the pitch - one being a left-back, the other being a midfielder and the third being a striker.

Ben Davies

One Ben Davies may play for Liverpool and the other for Tottenham but there's a huge gulf in talent.

Tottenham and Wales' Ben Davies has amassed 177 appearances for Spurs and 74 caps for his nation, while playing a crucial role in their World Cup qualification this summer.

He looks inspired under Antonio Conte in north London, and at 29 years old has plenty of potential yet to fulfil.

As for the slightly younger - but less talented - Ben Davies, he's spent most of his career at Preston North End.

Ben Davies ➡️ Liverpool #Random #Transfers #Liverpool pic.twitter.com/15H6vA3JB5
— Most random signings (@randomsigning) June 20, 2022

Similar to the other Davies, he plies his trade at centre-back and it surprised many when Liverpool submitted a bid for him in 2021.

The Reds picked him up for a reported £500,000, but he failed to make a single appearance and has since been loaned back out to Sheffield United. Simply put, he doesn't look Premier League quality, it's just a shame he's named the same as someone who is.