football firsts

Former Doncaster and Derby midfielder Paul Green talks us through his football memories

First game you watched live?

I remember going to see Doncaster against Farnborough in the final of the Conference League Cup (in 1999).

It was the second leg and Donny won 3-0 – I remember

Ian Duerden scoring twice – to lift the trophy in front of a big crowd (over 7,000 at Belle Vue). One of my friend’s dads was a big Doncaster fan so he took us to a few games and that was probably the biggest, being a cup final.

First football hero?

I’ve always loved Paul Scholes. He plays in the same position as myself and he’s ginger as well!

He scored goals, he got up and down the field and was a brilliant passer of the ball. He’s someone I tried to model my game on. First football boots? I think I started playing in hand-me-downs from my brother but I remember getting a pair of Puma Gascoignes for Christmas, which I absolutely loved.

They were black with a green and blue stripe and they were class.

First kit?

I had the blue Manchester United away kit from the early 1990s, the one with the zig-zags going down it and Sharp as the sponsor. It had the kind of shellsuit shorts that came with it and it was one of my favourite kits growing up.

I didn’t really support anyone when I was younger, I BRILLIANT: Manchester United’s Paul Scholes just used to go against my brother – so if he was supporting Liverpool, I’d get behind Man United. Nowadays, I just look out for the clubs I’ve played for.

First professional game?

My professional debut was for Doncaster against Northwich in the Conference in March 2002– I came off the bench at half-time. My parents were in the crowd and it was a special feeling. Having been in the youth system, cleaning the boots of the first-teamers and painting the stadium, it made all that hard work worthwhile.

We were promoted the following season and my first Football League match was in our first game back in the EFL, when we won 3-1 at Leyton Orient. We won the league that season to earn back-to-back promotions, so it was a great time to be part of that Doncaster squad. I’m still in touch with quite a few of them.

First professional goal?

I scored on my first start for Doncaster against Hayes, a few days after my debut against Northwich, but I honestly can’t remember much about it. Put it down as a screamer – I don’t think there’s any video evidence to prove otherwise!

My first EFL goal was against Southend in Doncaster’s first home game back in the Football League but my memories of that are not great either – it was a long time ago now! I do remember it being a bit of a weight off the shoulders to get off the mark early on at a higher level and it helped me push on. First red card? That was much more recent. I got two yellows for Oldham in a game at Scunthorpe in 2016 – I still maintain I got the ball for one of them!