The date is etched in my memory. I was 9, recovering from polio, and all my mates were taking an interest in football and talking of heroes like Bert Trautmann who I had never heard of before. I thought I should take an interest too and asked my dad if he would take me to a match. He checked the paper and I think was pleased to note that the local home game the next week was at Maine Road and he would be taking me to see the team he had also supported as a lad.
As we approached the ground and sat in the main stand I got a strange, pleasant feeling of excitement in the pit of my stomach, which I still get even today. Dad bought me a programme and as I read the teamsheet I was amazed to see the first name “Trautmann” – I watched his every move and decided then that I would become a goalkeeper too!
It was a rain-sodden day, a relegation battle against Aston Villa, managed (although I didn’t know it at the time) by Joe Mercer. I was transfixed to see how my dad got so animated when City were launching an attack! It finished a goalless draw in front of a 39,000 crowd – I had never seen or imagined so many people in one place before!
I was totally hooked, and have been since eternally grateful that when my dad looked in the paper for the next fixtures it had not been United who had been playing at home that day!