‘A local hero we will never forget’
AS A famous son of Collyhurst himself, Brian Kidd understands the achievements of Nobby Stiles better than anyone.
The tough north Manchester enclave perfectly defined the term ‘working class’ back in the 1950s and ‘60s when Stiles emerged as a national hero in the making.
Through sheer determination and no small amount of skill, World Cup winner Stiles, who has died aged 78, made it to the very top.
Kidd said: “We went to the same school, St Patrick’s in Collyhurst, and my older brother was in Nobby’s class.
“At 15, he was playing for England schoolboys and even at that age everyone in Collyhurst knew who he was and was proud of him.
“When I joined United Nobby wrote me a lovely letter welcoming me. “But the tone of the letter was to make sure I always gave my best, fight as hard as I could.
“He looked out for me when I was a schoolboy and made sure the senior pros knew I was a local lad.
“It wasn’t always wise words and advice from Stiles though.
“He gave me plenty of bollockings.
“Once when I was a youngster I kicked him during a training game and he booted me up in the air. You didn’t mess with Nobby even if he liked you!”
But fellow 1968 European Cup winner Kidd pointed out Stiles wasn’t the hatchet man he was often painted as.
“Forget about that – he had great ability and was very good technically,” added Kidd, now a coach at Manchester City.
“He left a bit on opponents at times because of his tenacity but he had great awareness and was a superb reader of the game.”