As I watched Dad die, I thought: is this me in 20 years?
ANDY Townsend was at his father’s bedside during his f i nal days this s u mmer when thoughts turned to his own future.
His dad, Don, played more than 300 times for Charlton and Crystal Palace. When he died in July, aged 89, he had been suffering f rom dementia f or ten years.
Townsend is 57 now. He has two grandsons. He is renovating a property in the Cotswolds. Talk to him, and there is a lot of living left to be done. He is as busy and brash as he was in midfield on the pitch. But there is caution, too.
‘When I was sat there watching my dad in his last few moments, it did cross my mind: “Am I going to roll on 20 years and this could be me?”,’ he says.
Three weeks before his father’s passing, Townsend lost a father figure when his former Republic of I r el and manager, Jack Charlton, died aged 85. He too suffered from dementia.
Townsend was privileged to spend time with his old boss during his final years, filming the documentary, Finding Jack Charlton. And here is something: he never knew until recently that the two men he cherished most in life played against each other. By then, it was too late to ask either of them about it.
‘It was an amazing moment,’ Townsend tells Sportsmail. ‘My sister sent me a programme of Charlton playing up at Leeds, back in 1961. In there are the pen pics — and there’s my dad for Charlton and Big Jack for Leeds. Wow. I wish I’d had the chance to talk to them about that. I just never knew.’
View a photo of Don and the likeness to his son is unmistakable. ‘Thank you,’ says Townsend. ‘It’s nice when I hear that.’
He goes on. ‘And that image is how I want to remember my dad, the man he was. He’d been in a home since my mum died eight years ago and I s aw t he deterioration.
‘I want to remember the days we played golf together. He wasn’t bad, by the way. I want to remember the only time I saw him play football, a testimonial at Palace. It was only 45 minutes, but that was special. I realised then my dad was someone who meant something to other people.
‘I remember being with him after the game and meeting ITV commentator Brian Moore. He patted me on the head. To think we would work together later in life is incredible. I have a distinct memory of that night. So the images from the last few years, I won’t allow them to stay with me.
‘It’s the same with Jack. It makes me smile recalling when he would give me a rollicking. In his prime, Jack was a force of nature. I love watching footage of him as a player. I played