FUNNY MONEY
I was a YTS lad at Spurs earning £29.50 a week. Gazza drove in one day and started throwing banknotes at us. There was a proper scramble it ended up with me and Sol Campbell fighting over £20... there was only one winner MORECAMBE BOSS STEPHEN ROBINSON ON
STEPHEN ROBINSON is hoping to hit the jackpot at Tottenham tomorrow – 30 years after failing to get his hands on Gazza’s cash.
Morecambe boss Robinson takes his League One side to Spurs in the FA Cup third round, returning to the club where he started out as an aspiring 11-year-old.
Robinson, 47, has fond memories of his formative years at Spurs, in particular the legendary Paul Gascoigne, whose madcap antics ensured life was never dull at the club.
“Gazza drove in one day in his car,” recalled Robinson.
“We were on £29.50 a week, us YTS players at the time, and he was throwing money out the window at us. He was throwing £20 notes and £50 notes at us! That was a week’s wages for us, so there was a proper scramble, me and Sol Campbell fighting for a £20 note. There was only one winner there, unfortunately.
“Gazza also had the young boys running to get – well, it wasn’t Kentucky Fried Chicken, it was a cast-off from that – from a shop at the top of the road.
“That was Gazza’s prematch meal, us running about at half-past-one and we’d probably get a £50 note or £20 to go and get it for him. That was our job – to do that for him on a Saturday.
“He was very generous, very kind-hearted and people forget that about him sometimes. Gazza was a top, top footballer, of course, but he was also a really genuine, generous guy.
“When I signed at Spurs from Belfast, I was injured.
Gazza was recuperating from his knee operation, so I spent a lot of time in the gym with him and in the swimming pool. Many years later, he played for Boston. He came into the Luton dressing room and remembered me.
“He came in, asked where I was and it was fantastic for me to look around at the rest of the players and say, ‘Some of us actually played with good players back in the day!’
“It’s brilliant to see him in better health, he’s a fantastic guy and a superstar of a footballer.”
Drawing Spurs is a dream tie for Robinson, who played twice for them in the 1993-94 season, before moving on to spells at Bournemouth, Preston and Luton
The former Northern Ireland international moved into management at Oldham and Motherwell, before joining Morecambe last June.
“It was obviously the tie I wanted,” said Robinson. “You always want to go back to your former clubs and it was Luton, Bournemouth and Spurs obviously being the biggest one.
“I was there from the age of 11, back and forth from Belfast all the time. I signed under Terry Venables and played a few games under Ossie Ardiles.
“At the time I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t get more than two games, but Jurgen Klinsmann, Nick Barmby – who I’m still in touch with – and Teddy Sheringham were better. I had to move on to further my career.
“But I look back on it fondly, lots of good memories, lots of good people and for me it will be a trip back down memory lane. Now we want to enjoy the day and to put Morecambe on the map.”
EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID McDONNELL ALFIE McCALMONT will be inspired by England midfielder Kalvin Phillips when Morecambe face Tottenham.
The Leeds loanee came through the Elland Road academy like Phillips before him and is hoping to emulate his rise to the very top.
“Kalvin is a massive inspiration to me and a lot of the young lads, because he’s been in the same position,” said
McCalmont. “He’s got time for everyone. He’s a really down-toearth lad, whenever you see him he always asks how things are going and it’s great to see how well he’s done.
“Kalvin deserves it, for all the hard work he’s put in and the way he handles himself on and off the pitch.”
McCalmont, 21, a box-to-box midfielder who scored 10 goals last season at Oldham, is relishing the chance to test himself against Tottenham, on such a big stage. “We’re going into the game with nothing to fear and I’m looking to showcase what I’m good at and hopefully catch a few eyes,” said the Northern Ireland international (right).
“I’d like to test myself against the best, against the likes of Harry Kane. Spurs are a massive team but we’ve got no pressure.”