Emlyn Hughes - How Could You?!

Kevin Keegan, Mrs.Thatcher and Emlyn Hughes

Image is everything in today's world don't you think? How a famous person comes over means an awful lot. A great example of this is in the simple act of writing your name.

You wouldn't think writing your name could mean so much but the truth of the matter is it does. 

The man on the right of the picture was one of my early childhood football heroes. He didn't play for a team I supported but for some reason I latched on to him. His name - Emlyn Hughes.

He was Captain of Liverpool in their heyday in the 1970's. He also was Captain of England. He played for England 67 times. An enthusiastic player, what he lacked in skill he made up for in endeavour. He always seemed to play with a smile on his face. He made such an impression on little Eddie Kennedy that when I went to get my haircut at "Jack's Hairdressers" on Park Street in Congleton I would say "Can I get my haircut like Emlyn Hughes please Dad?" and Jack would duly oblige.

Anyhow, Emlyn later left Liverpool for Wolverhampton and after that Rotherham United, a team in Yorkshire. This is where the story kicks in big time of how Emlyn broke my heart, left my Mum fuming and the feelings still haven't gone all these years later!

Rotherham United, under Emlyn, came to Congleton in the early 1980's to play a pre-season friendly against Congleton Town.

"Wow!" I thought. Here was a chance to meet a famous footballer and one who'd been my favourite for years. So, off to Booth Street, Congleton Town's ground we went. To give you a flavour of what a semi professional ground looks like, here's a picture of the ground taken when Linda and I saw an  F.A. Cup tie there in 2008.

Booth Street Congleton 2008

So, alive with nervous anticipation at the prospect of seeing a hero in the flesh, I, along with several others hung around pitch side with our autograph books. The teams came out to warm up. Both Congleton Town and Rotherham United. There he was, the one time captain of England in the flesh, Emlyn Hughes!

Naturally we clustered around him. He said he was busy getting ready for the game and that autographs would be signed at half time. With a slightly heavy heart, we all resigned ourselves to waiting for half time to come.

Half time came and the excitement resurfaced. Now's the chance to get it, said my Mum. I waited and waited. Nothing! It would have to be at the end of the game now: he wouldn't disappoint his fans now would he?

He did. Word got out a few minutes after the match had finished that the celebrated ex- Captain of England and Liverpool, a man who would be a captain of the TV quiz show "A Question of Sport" and charm the nation had proved to be a complete sod and escaped out of the back of the ground and got on to the bus and gone.

It left a sour taste in my mouth. It still does. A degree of humility never does anyone any harm at all. An autograph is a cherished possession. I still have my autograph book. It looks battered now but all the signatures are still there. Emlyn's isn't and that memory will never go away. I wrote about the joy of meeting celebrated keyboard player Ian McLagan at The Ironhorse in Northampton (www.iheg.com) in my companion blog www.thelateenglishbreakfast.blogspot.com; the joy he gave to my wife and I cannot be quantified. The contrast in emotions felt couldn't be more obvious. The signed copy of his autobiography is one of our treasured possessions. I once got Sir Alex Ferguson to sign a copy of his autobiography. That was at the inaugural Hall of Fame Induction Dinner in 2002. A cherished memory.

Many years later Linda and I attended a Manchester United reserve game at Altrincham F.C.'s ground, Moss Lane. A couple of young lads were desperate to get some autographs. They tried to get them at a a time when the players had finished their pre-match warm up and were just going off to get their final instructions. They asked me for some inexplicable reason (or was it?!) when would be a good time. Now I swear I wasn't thinking about that night in Congleton but my explanation seemed to work. I'm glad I helped them. I didn't want them to have the feelings I had about Emlyn Hughes.

It's a shame we've become more cynical and opportunistic . . . clubs train behind closed doors and ban the players from signing autographs as they don't want the signatures on eBay. However, the joy a signature of a player or any celebrity gives to a fan can last a lifetime.

Enjoy the summer of football - United are on their way to the USA!!! Look out for pictures and a blog post on the big game from yours truly.

Thankyou for reading this whereever you are in the world,

Ed