Following on from Musty's thread, who are the nicest and most unpleasant footballers you've met in real life and why (you are not allowed to name a player from your OWN club) For me, a really nice guy and a true gentleman Denis Law I went to a football dinner where he was the guest speaker, my boss at the time who was one of the sponsors was at the bar with Denis Law and introduced me, his exact words "Hello mate, my names Denis" like I didn't know! The guy was drinking soft drinks, but insisted on buying his round for the five or six of us that were in his company, got chatting and I asked him to sign my menu, so I could auction it for Greyhound Welfare a charity I support.......no problem..............the guy then took my name and address, and said he'd send me something else to auction. TBH I thought no more about it, then a week later a signed Scottish cap turned up in the post, OK I know he had 55 of them but a wonderful gesture, whats more he'd offered to open the bidding and buy it back for £100 if nobody else bid more. Class act and a true gent.............it raised over £400 if I remember rightly a lot of money in the early 80's. The worst (and not just because he's a Jack............Alan Curtis and Roger Freestone were nice guys ) Leighton James I was out one night in Swansea (with BongoJack and a few others funnily enough) we were in a curry house having a drink and waiting for a table. James came in with a bunch of hangers on just as a table became free, and went straight to sit down........the manager pointed out that there was a queue (not just us but another group as well) and asked if they wanted a drink at the bar while they waited as tables would becoming free pretty soon. He then uttered the immortal words beloved of dickheads everywhere: "Do you know who I am?" The manager didn't. He then made an even bigger fool of himself. "I'm Leighton James, they can wait" We didn't, and I think James ended up with a kebab or something. What a prick.
I went to a charity fund raising dinner near Pontypridd. Keith Cooper, the ex-ref, was the warm up with Wilf McGuinness the main speaker. Both very good. A young City player turned up out of the blue (no pun intended) just because some of his mates were going and he knew there would be a lot of Cardiff fans there. He paid for his meal and drinks (soft of course) and was happy to chat with everyone and sign autographs - a young Earnie. I've always held him in high esteem since then. I saw in a recent programme that he drives a Bentley. Anyone else think he must have 3 inch wooden blocks on the pedals and sit on cushions so he can see over the steering wheel? On the other side, my Dad was a transport police detective on Newport Station back in the sixties. There had been a big game at Cardiff, international probably, and Bobby Charlton and others were in the cafe on the station having a coffee while waiting for their connection. There was no one else around so my Dad politely asked if they could sign autographs to bring home for me. They didn't even say no, they just turned their backs and ignored him. Never liked old comb over head since then.
One of my son's, before he saw the light went on a trip to Sold Trafford, He always says what a great guy Norman Whiteside was, speaks well of Ryan Giggs, and what a dick Steve Bruce was.
Met Brian Clough years back during a trip to London. A bunch of mates and I chatted with him next to the tower of London. We spoke for about 10 minutes even though he was obviously heading off somewhere. Haven't personally met a prick yet.
i've got a slightly different story, when i was younger i used to follow cardiff rfc before they became cardiff blues. they were playing away to a regional team called cross keys and there must have been only a hundred or so people there. i was minding my own business when a cross keys player punted the ball in to touch, the ball bounced off the floor and smacked in to my face, it hurt alot. the player had a mauri appearance, so i looked up his name in the programme, seremaia bai, i've got a bone to pick with you.... now fast forwards to 2011.. reading a newspaper and i spotted his name in fijis world cup squad! turns out this once amateur / semi pro fijian plying his trade in the second division of welsh rugby ended up at the super 14 french team castres via clermont and some other teams, and to top it all off he represented his country in the world cup this year! couldnt be happier for the guy
The guy who used to run the shop next door to me tells a nice tale (and he wasn't a BS merchant ) When Liverpool played West Ham in the cup final at the Millenium, a Merc pulled up outside his shop and the driver went in to check directions, apparently the satnav had taken them off the A48M and brought them down Rover Way past the steelworks and on to South Park Rd, and the driver was convinced he was lost, and stopped to ask directions. He went out to show the driver the right way to go, and sat in the back of the Merc was Arsene Wenger and Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood......as his nephew was a mad Arsenal fan he asked Wenger for his autograph, apparently the guy couldn't have been more pleasant and obliging, on top of this he asked if his nephew ever got up to London to watch the Gunners, he told him that he got up maybe once or twice a year.........he said that if he rang the club a couple of days before going up and asked to speak to his secretary, and then got to the ground early he would arrange for the lad to go on the stadium tour, OK it didn't cost him anything, but a nice gesture all the same. I don't know if he ever took up the offer though.
two gentlemen i have met were Billy Ritchie ex Rangers keeper in the 60s, they played Glentoran in the 60s in a euro match and he gave me the glens badge he was presented with, other was Jack Charlton at a QLD v Boro match in the 70s when they toured here, he must have spent hours signing autographs, also Ian Botham when he was playing cricket for QLD, cant say i have met an unpleasant fellow however there are a certain few i would like to meet (Giggs, Ferguson, Dobbie, Adam) and a few i would not (Barton, Rooney).
