Watching Salford City makes me feel 9 years old again
He is probably the best english player of his generation, a man who gave fans more pleasure than almost any of his contemporaries. Yet it comes at a price, all that metronomic passing, the creativity and guile that unpicks the best defences and that determination and aggression.
‘ Your career is enjoyable, of course it is,’ says Paul scholes as he mulls over the 20 years of Premier League wins, Champions League trophies and FA Cup triumphs.
‘But the only real enjoyment is at the end of the season when you’ve won something. The rest of the time there is always a nervousness. “Can we beat this team? Can we play well? Can i score a goal? Can we get to the end of the season winning something?” That’s the only time as a footballer that you really have time to enjoy it: when you actually win something.’
This week, though, scholes has a different goal on his mind. salford City, the Northern Premier League club he co- owns with his former Manchester United team-mates Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville, will play League Two Hartlepool United in the FA Cup second round on Friday night.
Their first-round victory over Notts County was witnessed by 3.5million viewers on BBC TV, a record for that stage of the tournament.
That is why scholes is reflecting on the difference between playing for Manchester United and owning a club, which are currently on a giant-killing FA Cup run. The usual line to take in discussing salford City is to emphasise just how much their famous owners have given the club in terms of energy and impetus; often overlooked is how much salford City has given scholes and his team-mates.
At Moor Lane three weeks ago, as salford secured that famous 2-0 win over Notts County, the joys, tensions and exhilaration was clear in scholes, Butt and Gary Neville, the three of the illustrious owners able to attend that night.
‘When you’ve been playing for 20 years you lose that feeling of being a fan,’ said scholes. ‘it’s a different type of passion. Of course you want to win and you want to celebrate when you’re doing well. But against Notts County, it reminded me of being nine years old and going to watch Oldham and then their FA Cup and league runs in the 1990s. it felt like those days again.
‘When you’re playing, you’re so engrossed in winning a game, thinking about the other players you’re up against, thinking about the fact that you don’t want to let your team-mates down. it’s so much more relaxing being a fan.
‘You don’t really get nervous, that feeling in the stomach; though, i suppose we had it a little bit for the Notts County game in those last 15 minutes, when you’re trying to hang on. And i’ll probably get it again on Friday night. But it’s not your reputation or your performance to be relied on. it’s everybody else’s, which takes a bit of the pressure off you.’
While Gary Neville might be the driving force of the quintet, the club have probably got under the skin of scholes more than anyone. With Phil Neville, he attended almost every game last season as their dramatic promotion from the evo-stik First Division North was chronicled in the BBC documentary, Out Of Their League.
‘i went to loads of games, home and away,’ said scholes. ‘Now i’m working a bit more, i’ll go whenever i can. But i’d go to every game if i could. i enjoy going to watch. it’s real football again: lads giving everything while you’re stood at the side of the pitch having a pie, an Oxo, whatever you used to do when you were a kid when you went to football.
‘Winning the league last season was brilliant but the biggest sign of the fans coming back was the FA Cup game. Notts County are a big club, aren’t they? And wherever i go now, people at school, parents in the yard, people in shops, they’re always asking about salford City, which is great.’
And if scholes is a fan, he is hardcore. At a crucial game last season at Prescotcot Cables, in the Liverpool sububurbs, salford rd were beingg held to a 0-0 0 draw, theirr title bid d seemingly evaporating. Phil Neville left eft on 90 minutes, , disillusioned. scholes oles went to go as well, but could not drag himself f away. He lingered at thee edge of the pitch as the match drifted on into Fergie time and in the tradition of the former mer United manager, Gareth seddon hit a late winner for salford.
scholes enjoys all aspects of thehe club community, even n entertaining the directorsors from the opposition before a match. ‘Whoever comes to our place, we have a chat wit with them in our Portakabin bo boardroom,’ he said. ‘Our luxu luxury Portakabin — with sau sausage rolls and cups of tea.’ it has not be been a fairytale, however.how The BBC do documentary illustra illustrated that, as th the famous playe players wrestled with whetherw to sack previous man manager Phil Po Power. in one sc scene, Gary N Neville was se seen telling hi his younger br brother and sch scholes that the they had to bac back off from t talking too much to the manager, as it blurred the lines of their relationships.
‘Why the **** did we buy a football club!’ responded scholes. ‘We can’t even talk to the manager!’
it was one of the best lines of the two-part programme. ‘The only reason i said that was we were trying to not interfere at that point,’ saids scholes. ‘i don’t think we were interfering too much anyway but that was the point where we knew it had to stop and it had to be the manager who decided everything on the pitch.
‘it’s hard when you go to a game a and you’re thinking, “Why is he n not playing?” We did try and help P Phil, our first manager, and Phil Neville did a lot with him. We give our opinion. We might not agree with the team that’s been picked on saturday, we might not agree with the team that’s been picked on Friday night. But that’s not our responsibility. it’s down to the m manager.’
ORrather the managers. in the end, Power was replaced by Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley. Those familiar with the documentary might have them marked down as football’s equivalent of the shouting sergeant majors. But they have transformed the fitness and shape of the team and are well schooled in this league, having succeeded at Ramsbottom United.
‘it’s a credit to the managers that thet team spirit has been brilliant,’ saids scholes. ‘it showed against Notts County and we’ll need that again. They only have them on Tuesday and Thursday nights for training so they have to work hard.
‘But we know the first thing this team will do is give everything for the managers and the club. And wew have some talent in the likes of Danny Webber and Jordan Hulme. And the centre half, steve Howson, was brilliant in the last round. it’s amazing that some of these players aren’t playing League football but we’re glad they’re not and w we’re glad they’re playing for us.’
The glory of the FA Cup is creating something of a problem in that a fixture backlog is threatening to stall their progress in the Northern Premier League. Ultimately, the league takes priority over the cup. The goal is to take salford into the Football League — they are currently in the third tier of nonLeague — although last season demonstrated how hard that will be as promotion was only just secured.
‘We were pretty lucky in the end,’ said scholes. ‘it’s going to be really difficult to get out of this league. There are some good teams. But it’s difficult to get out of any league.
‘i look at the Conference and there are so many league clubs that have come down and they’re all fighting to get back.
‘Hopefully in the next three or four years we will be competing at that level. We know it’s not going to be easy but we think we’re on the right path.’
With a population of 240,000, salford is on a par with southampton, Bolton and Barnsley, so the capacity for growth is clear. ‘salford is one of the biggest places without a Football League club. There is obviously potential there and in 10 years maybe, if we ever get to the Football League, we could maybe attract 10,000 fans.’
Win on Friday though and salford might have a glimpse of the big time a little sooner. Maybe a third-round tie at Old Trafford is looming. And that would really test the new-found fan in scholes.