Norwich City's legends squad will not let Andy Marshall forget his Ipswich links but Darren Eadie has called on Canaries fans to lay off his former team-mate.
Some Canaries supporters have been annoyed to see Marshall added to the legends squad which will face Inter Milan at Carrow Road on Sunday, May 20, to raise funds for the Community Sports Foundation.
The man who famously swapped City for Town back in 2001 has said he's happy to risk a warm reception if it means he can help raise funds for the charity's new hub, The Nest.
'He was a mate of mine, we came through the youth team together,' Eadie said. 'I understand how the fans feel about it, it's their club and he went to their bitter rivals, so you're going to feel a bit aggrieved about it.
'But from a players' point of view I always look at it that it's a short career and you've got to do what's right for you at the time, and Andy felt that was right and I'm sure financially it was probably the best thing for him to do. I'm sure if Norwich had matched his contract he would have stayed, no doubt about that.'
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The duo also played for the England Under-21s together but while Eadie was sold to Leicester for £3million in 1999, Marshall joined top-flight Ipswich when his Norwich contract expired, just weeks after being voted player-of-the-season.
'It was a controversial move but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to,' continued Eadie, who will play alongside former team-mates including Bryan Gunn, John Polston and Iwan Roberts.
'Do we forgive him? I don't think you ever forgive someone that plays for Ipswich! But he's a pal at the end of the day.
'I understand fans' frustration towards him but time has passed and he played really well for Norwich when he was here.'
The exhibition game is helping towards the £2.5m target for the Build The Nest campaign.
'You have to put thing in perspective,' the City legend concluded. 'He's not done anything bad enough that should really warrant the stick he has got. I understand it but it's just one of those things, let it go.'
• Tickets are £9.93 for adults and £1.93 for U18s and are available at tickets.canaries.co.uk, by phone on 0844 826 1902 or from the ticket offices at Carrow Road, Castle Mall or Chapelfield.
• Find out more information about the Build the Nest campaign at thenest.org.uk
• For all the players announced for the game, see our Build The Nest section
Norwich City Legends: Bryan Gunn, Darren Huckerby, Adam Drury, Chris Sutton, Spencer Prior, Gary Holt, Darren Eadie, Lee Croft, Iwan Roberts, Grant Holt, Mark Bowen, Rob Newman, Daryl Sutch, Youssef Safri, Paul McVeigh, Robert Ullathorne, John Polston, Phil Mulryne, Andy Marshall, Darren Kenton, Scott Howie, Mark Walton
Inter Forever: Jurgen Klinsmann, Javier Zanetti, Nicola Berti, Maicon, Marco Materazzi, Giogos Karagounis, Francesco Colonnese, Massimo Paganin, Giuseppe Baresi, Alessandro Bianchi, Francesco Toldo
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