Random Stories About Footballers

[dave shelley]

On the Bobby Charlton thing, the late Denis Howell MP was a former football league referee and also a member of the Birmingham branch of the Referee's Association, as I was myself.  Due to political committments he wouldn't be a regular attender but one night he turned up and he told me that in all his refereeing career the player who never stopped moaning most throughout any game he had him in was non other than that paragon of virtue one Bobby Charlton!

In 94/95 myself and a friend brought a group of under 16's over from Ireland and I'd written to the club beforehand regarding a trip to Bodymoor Heath.  To cut the story short Villa were training on the farthest pitch away from the public area and I thought that's where we had to stay but I was sought out by an official and we were all of us brought around to where the lads were training, it truly was an exciting experience not just for the kids either! What stood out for me was when training was over most players stayed around for our kids' and the others over in the public area to give autographs.  The last player to leave when he was certain everyone who wanted an autograph had one was Dalian Atkinson, a very decent bloke.

Another aspect of that trip was watching Paul McGrath standing behind the goal collecting the balls that had been kicked behind by the others and that was all the training he did.  I have some great photo's of that trip and Villa treated us very kindly.

[eric woolban woolban]

Also once when I was about 10 I went on one of those villa summer football camps for a week. We were taking penalties. Sid was teaching us at the time. I had took mine and scored. When not taking the spot kicks we all had to line up by the side of the foal  on the touch line. Sid was talking about technique but was wasn't listening. Telling the lad next to me how great my kick was blah, blah, blah. I heard this shout, turned to look at Sid as this ball came flying towards me and smacked me in the face and I hit the deck. I saw a blured Cowans through the tears, towering over me and he said
"when you can do that, then you can ignore me. Until then you listen. Got it?"

Love him!!
 

To be fair, he was just horsing around.

[midnite]

Yeah, u got to love the iPhone and predictive txt!!

[Big Dick Edwards]

I once had a chat with Steve Bull while we were both having a piss in a pub bog..

[Matt C]

As a kid I was on a summer football programme at Tudor Grange where it so happened Blose happened to be training at the time because their training ground was out of action (fire I think?). We were playing a game of one touch five-a-side in the sports hall when the Blose team came in from training and 'jokingly' a few of them decided to join us. The late Les Sealey went in goal for the team I was playing against and I duly managed to put a scuffed shot past him. I'm sure he was hardly trying his uptmost but he made a swift exit afterwards with his team mates unsurprisingly giving him some serious stick for it.

Terry Cooper was their manager at the time seemed a very nice bloke. Paul Tait didn't. 

[robbo1874]

Some funny stories on this thread- the Sid one above is classic.

I've posted this one before I think, but here goes anyway... I was on the piss one weekend with some mates in nuneaton and it was just before italia 90. I thought I spotted Nigel spink in bilberries just going out the door. I told my mate who also supports villa who took the piss saying I was bullshitting. A bit later we went to the railway tavern by the station and he was standing outside with his mrs. We went in and got some drinks and then went out for a yarn to him. Very friendly and signed autographs for us.

I asked him if he was going to Italy and he replied laughing, what with all the hooligans? It was a bit perplexing cos he was a great keeper at the time and it was a genuine question.

Another time I was at euston station before the Leeds cup final in 96 and I saw jack charlton on the concourse with John barnes. I ran in Menzies and got a pen and some card and went back to where they were. Had bit of a chat with jack whilst he signed the autograph, think he was still the Ireland manager at the time and he was quite popular. He  came across a really nice guy just like on the Telly.

As I turned to leave John barnes made to take the pen and cards to do his autograph. I just blanked him and carried on walking. He was a great player in his day and probably deserved more respect, but I've always thought he was a cvnt after he scored that cvntish free kick at villa park whilst the keeper - spinksy probably - was out of his area arguing with ref about the free kick. One of those ones where you'd have loved it if it was one of our players that did it. But I've never liked him since that.

[gerags]

It's well know that Gary Shaw drinks around Harborne and he was in my local, The White Horse, on a Sunday afternoon.

The barmaid, who had a season ticket in the Holte at the time, served him a round of drinks and he attempted to pay with a credit card. Which she flatly refused.

When we asked her why she had done this to a Villa hero her comment was - "he could've been anyone !"

[PeterWithe]

As I turned to leave John barnes made to take the pen and cards to do his autograph. I just blanked him and carried on walking. He was a great player in his day and probably deserved more respect, but I've always thought he was a cvnt after he scored that cvntish free kick at villa park whilst the keeper - spinksy probably - was out of his area arguing with ref about the free kick. One of those ones where you'd have loved it if it was one of our players that did it. But I've never liked him since that.

I met John Barnes whilst I was working at the Ryder Cup, I gave him a lift in my golf buggy. He was wearing the most God awful suit you can possibly imagine, Orange & Purple I think, he was a guest of the Jamaican tourist board and invited me into the hospitality tent for a beer, he seemed a pretty decent bloke. The thing I most remember though was the way he, totally unbidden, slagged off the then manager Graeme Souness, he hated him.

[Fergal]

Gordon Cowans once told my mate to piss off in the beggars bush.

To be fair to Sid my mate did tell him he had a crap game and that's probably the reason why we lost...
I have bumped into Sid a few times and he has been great.
As for SGT, he is without doubt on of the best.  A couple of years ago I was with my kids wandering around before the game.  I asked asked him if we could all get our photo took with him, Alan Green said he didn't have time but SGT told him to be quiet.  We saw him after the game and he remembered my Neices name and arranged for a load of ex and current players to have their pic took with us.  A total gent and thoroughly nice man.

[Pat McMahon]

Re Barnes, some mates of mine play for a team called the Polytechnic in London and they somehow often play in a tournament in Hong Kong with professional teams. About 6-7 years ago they bumped into John Barnes there and asked for photos with him. He took a camera and, at arms length, just took a picture of himself, then cracked up laughing, before joining in plenty of photos and autographs. They said he was really sound.

My uncle used to play Midlands Combination football for Smethwick Highfield and at some point in the 70s they played in a final at Villa Park. My cousin was about 8 and was mascot and went up to collect a losers medal with my uncle. Doug Ellis was presenting the silverware and gave my cousin 50p to cheer him up. As a sign of how times have changed, my uncle had been offered a contract by Peterborough in the 60s but turned it down because he had a young family and could earn more as a draughtsman.

My uncle used to work on outside broadcasts for RTE, the Irish state broadcaster. He did quite a few Ireland games, including away trips, and said that Jack Charlton was a brilliantly gruff bloke and was down to earth with everybody. He didn't believe in throwing cash about and he used to carry a plastic bag containing Guinness cans on his travels. You knew you were in the inner sanctum if Jack offered you a can  - which he rarely did.

[stubbsyandy]

I once saw Willie Anderson in his Capri driving round Shenstone...

[dave.woodhall]

There's a (probably apocryphal) story that when Jack was Republic manager he soon got into the habit of paying for everything by cheque because shopkeepers and publicans would invariably frame the cheques rather than cash them.

[Damo70]

I was working in a pub in Acocks Green in the mid to late nineties and one day (Saturday lunchtime I think), all the regular faces in the bar had about six copies of the same paper between them and were chatting and laughing excitedly whilst fighting to get a look at the paper. It was the story about Yorke, Bosnich, a girl, a videa camera and the girls underwear. Turns out she had drank in the pub until recently (before my time there) and had contacted a few of them to let them know it was her in the story. I told my girlfriend at the time and it turned out she was mates with the girl and knew where she worked (an estate agents in Solihull). Seeing as you couldn't see her properly in the paper and we were planning a trip to Australia I made sure I went to her work place and after spotting her name badge made sure I dealt with her and told her who my girlfriend was.  Basically she was fit as f**k and got us a great deal on the flights. And no, I didn't mention the newspaper story to her!

[VillaZogmariner]

I was working in a pub in Acocks Green in the mid to late nineties and one day (Saturday lunchtime I think), all the regular faces in the bar had about six copies of the same paper between them and were chatting and laughing excitedly whilst fighting to get a look at the paper. It was the story about Yorke, Bosnich, a girl, a videa camera and the girls underwear. Turns out she had drank in the pub until recently (before my time there) and had contacted a few of them to let them know it was her in the story. I told my girlfriend at the time and it turned out she was mates with the girl and knew where she worked (an estate agents in Solihull). Seeing as you couldn't see her properly in the paper and we were planning a trip to Australia I made sure I went to her work place and after spotting her name badge made sure I dealt with her and told her who my girlfriend was.  Basically she was fit as f**k and got us a great deal on the flights. And no, I didn't mention the newspaper story to her!

How did an Estate Agent get you a good deal on flights?

[eamonn]

There's a (probably apocryphal) story that when Jack was Republic manager he soon got into the habit of paying for everything by cheque because shopkeepers and publicans would invariably frame the cheques rather than cash them.

Sounds like something you should give a go, Dave