Goalkeepers united in praise of their mentor

FELLOW GOALKEEPERS were united yesterday in their admiration of Gordon Banks’ skills.

Peter Shilton, who succeeded him as England’s number one, said: “I trained with him for about a year once a week and he was always helpful, he was always a gentleman.

“When you work with Gordon, it’s bound to rub off on you a little bit. I always admired his positional play in that era.

It was a different era for goalkeepers, different rules. But it was still the same job, keep the ball out of the net, and he was the best around at the time.”

Ray Clemence, who won his first of 61 England caps in November 1972, six months after Banks played his final game for the national team, said: “What I loved about him was he made the game of goalkeeping look so ridiculously easy, and yet [was] capable of making incredible saves like the one against Pelé.

“He will be remembered for that, but also he will be remembered for being a wonderful person. He always had time for people, always had a smile on his face, never bragged about what a great goalkeeper he was.

“He was a great mentor for me, not only on the training ground and how to play in games, but also how to behave off the field as well.”

Peter Schmeichel, the former Manchester United keeper whose save from Rapid Vienna’s Rene Wagner in 1996 drew comparisons with Banks’ feat in 1970, called him “one of my heroes and a true legend in life and football” and “a winner and a true gentleman”.