football firsts
Exeter City striker Robbie Simpson talks us through his football memories
First game you watched live? My first live game was Chelsea v Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the early 1990s. I am an Arsenal fan and a load of Chelsea fans took me, so I was in the Chelsea end with my Arsenal shirt on underneath my jacket. I would have been about seven years old and I think it was 3-2 to Chelsea, but that might be an absolute lie! I definitely remember Chelsea winning because they played Blue Is The Colour at the end. First football hero? There were two, really – Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. I loved Henry, obviously, but playing-wise my hero would be Bergkamp. I saw the pair of them live a couple of times in Champions League games, but Arsenal always used to lose when I went! I vividly remember losing to PSG in one I went to. First pair of boots? The first pair of boots I remember having were Gary Lineker’s Quasar boots. In retrospect, they were disgusting. They had a few bright colours, yellows, purples, pinks, but at the time they were the first pair where I remember thinking ‘Yeah, these are quality’. First kit? My brother is a Manchester United fan and he made me wear a United shirt to wind me up and make me cry. The first Arsenal kit I remember having was the absolutely horrible yellow one with the blue triangles. There is a photo of me from when I was very young wearing that back at my mum and dad’s house, with my brothers and sisters all around me wearing United kits. First professional game? The first professional game I played in was for Cambridge United in the National League. It was the first game of the season and we were at home to Northwich Victoria. We lost, I think, 1-0. It was very frustrating. I was playing up front on my own and I was very isolated. First professional goal? My first professional goal was in the following game. We were away at Weymouth in the National League. It was a consolation goal when we were 2-0 down and I scored a header. The first goal that meant something was a pretty important goal. I scored a double against Woking and we won 3-0. It was the sort of game where, had we lost, the manager’s position would have been in jeopardy. I remember the chairman approaching me before the game and saying I needed to put in a performance for the manager (Jimmy Quinn). Before the game, the manager had a psychologist come in the changing room during his teamtalk and he brought in a load of wooden boards, which we were made to punch before we went out! First red card? My first red card in professional football was for Oldham. I had gone there on a permanent deal ahead of the 2012-13 season. We were playing Yeovil away. I was a bit annoyed about being left on the bench and we were 3-1 down. About 15 minutes after I came on, there was a ball going through towards the keeper and I jumped to try to get a toe on it before the keeper got there. But we got there at the same time. It didn’t look very good and I cleaned him out. A melee ensued and a red card was produced...