Three cheers for Alan Tate!

It’s rare that I’m happy to see a non-Swansea player sign for another non-Swansea team. It’s rare that I even care.

However I was genuinely pleased to read the news that Alan Tate had joined Port Talbot Town, hopefully finding a permanent home just a few miles up the road from Swansea - the club he spent 12 years at.

After joining Swansea on loan from Manchester United in 2002, and playing a huge part in the crucial Football League survival match against Hull in May 2003, he signed for the club permanently in 2004.

After that he was a mainstay in the first team, proving his worth as a tough tackling, gritty defender who was at home in the centre of defence or out on the left. He captained the side on several occasions and even had a famous spell in goal back in October 2008.

Perhaps not the most agile of defenders, Tate made up for it by displaying unrivalled heart and huge club pride, always playing for the badge - especially against Cardiff.

It’s easy to forget that Tate played in the Championship Play-off Final against Reading in 2011 (after Neil Taylor was sent off in the previous match), before starting against Man City in Swansea’s debut Premier League game the following season.

This appearance made him one of only a handful of players to have represented the Swans in all four divisions of the League pyramid.

After breaking his leg in a bizarre golf buggy accident in August 2011, Tate never regained a regular place in the side, and saw loan spells at Leeds, Yeovil, Aberdeen and Crewe Alexandra, before eventually saying goodbye to Swansea City in May this year.

But thankfully the 33-year-old has followed in the footsteps of former team-mate Lee Trundle and joined a Welsh Premier League club to see out the final years of his career.

And, like Trundle, the hugely experienced Tate is bound to be a huge asset to his new club. A big name for the Welsh Premier League, and one that will undoubtedly draw the crowds to the struggling Blues.

It’s also nice for Swans fans to know that their hero is not too far away. He’s still owed a testimonial match, and it would be great to eventually see him rejoin Swansea in a coaching capacity.

But for now get ready to hear a rendition of ‘We all dream of a team of Alan Tates’ echoing from the Genquip Stadium on a cold Saturday afternoon.