Shocked to hear of his premature passing this morning.
Never met him but felt like I knew him having seen him play countless matches for us. Reading the tributes paid by Brian Horton and Stan McEwan, I'm glad that the good impressions I had of him from the terraces were backed up by people who actually shared a dressing room with him.
To say he always gave 100% in no way does him justice as a player, plenty of them did and do as that's what they're paid to do. What made him special was his understated toughness (very similar to Les Mutrie in that regard), his lack of ego, his quiet air of 'they shall not pass' and the aura he gave off that no opponent fazed him or got under his skin. He didn't need to boast about his toughness or get involved in squabbles with opponents, just dealt with them quietly and no fuss, his years in the uncompromising local leagues preparing him more than adequately for most of the 'tough' opponents he would meet in league football
He came into football the slow and unconventional route - when was the last player we recruited from local club football?- and it served him well, as he never seemed up himself or distracted by the shallow footballer lifestyle.He knew what real life was outside the football bubble, and to me at least it always seemed like it was one of us up there in a City shirt, not some gilded 'star' or temperamental transfer-seeking player just passing through. The fact that he was so good at what he did and so unassuming about it ,made him all the more memorable and treasured as a City player.
Condolences to his family and friends - they can at least take comfort from the fact that he was a special player to so many people and gave so much pleasure to so many thousands of fans. .
RIP Peter Skipper.