BLUES LEGEND IN DEMENTIA BATTLE
“He’s a great character and was massive for Leek. He took them out of the Staffs County League.”
Norris was a central figure at Leek, but his performances caught the eye from rival clubs.
And he eventually left the club to take on a new challenge - in strange circumstances.
“It was typical non-league, Leek were not in the best state, money was tight and I got a better offer and went to Winsford,” he said.
“It was bizarre how it came about. We were playing Winsford towards the end of the season and they had a no-nonsense midfielder called Paul Mason who was stepping up to be manager the following year.
“He jogged past me near the end of the game and says ‘what are you doing next year?.’ I got tapped up on the halfway line!
“We had a chat in the bar afterwards and that was it, I ended up going to Winsford.”
Norris was back, though, to play a part in one of Leek’s most successful campaigns.
In 1990 they won the title and also reached Wembley in the FA Trophy under boss Neil Baker.
“At Winsford I had the chance to go and play in the Conference with Northwich Vics, but with the travelling I didn’t go,” he explained.
“I played for Eastwood Hanley for a couple of seasons and then Bakes came to Leek and asked if I wanted to go back.
“We had a great time, especially Wembley. We walked around the stadium the day before and the FA Cup replay between Manchester United and Crystal Palace had just been played.
“One of the players had struck the crossbar in the game and as we walked past, a bloke was on a stepladder cleaning the mark off the crossbar. It would have been left to crust off at Leek!
“Barrow were just too good for us on the day. But it was a good season because we won the title.
“We were miserly at the back. We played five at the back with me as a sweeper.
“We just didn’t concede goals. We would score and it didn’t matter what time it was, it would be game over.
“We won the title at Workington. We battled away in the first half and then scored 10 minutes in to the second.
“At that point people started getting the Champagne ready because they knew we weren’t going to let one in.
“They were great, great times at Leek.”
Norris’ memories of life at Leek Town as player, manager and captain remain vivid.
But day-to-day tasks can now be a problem for the Blues legend with his early-stage dementia.
“People can cope for a while and then it becomes inhibiting. There’s things you would have done naturally that you now have to get someone else to do,” he explained.
“I have lost a lot of confidence over it. At first it was cognitive, not remembering stuff which really wasn’t that important.
“I’ve stopped driving, I’m too unpredictable to be responsible, so again this affects your lifestyle.
“I now try to limit myself to what I can and can’t do. Me and Kerry have an agreement - if you can do it, do it; if you can’t, don’t.
“It could be something you could do yesterday, can’t today, but might be able to do tomorrow.
“Every day is different. If I have a good morning it’s going to be a good day. If I get up and it’s crap, I can’t drag it back then and it’s going to be a bad day.”
Leek Town has proved to be a sanctuary for Norris, although he visits have been on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Non-league football has been decimated in recent times - and Norris freely admits he misses his trips to watch his beloved Blues.
He said: “The time I spend at Leek Town is precious.
“It has been devastating for the last year or so because apart from trips with the wife, going to Leek was my day out for the week. I’m still a board member at Leek and I’ve met so many people on the non-league scene.
“Leek Town have been really good to me and I would like to think I’ve been good to them.
“But I’ve got good family and a good group of friends around me. They’ve been a huge help.”
Norris says persistence has been key to getting to the stage he is at now.
And he is urging any former players to get tested if they believe they may be suffering.
“I’m talking from a non-league perspective where players play for £100 a week, not £10,000 a week,” said Norris.
“At the minute there are ex-pros coming forward with their stories, but not many in non-league.
“I am in the system now. It took a while, but we pushed and pushed the NHS.
“I was more comfortable when I had the diagnosis. I can now look on the internet or read leaflets and find out what is coming up for me.
“I would urge anyone to keep knocking on that door to get a diagnosis. Then you can make your life path.
“You are not fighting in the dark, you know what you are fighting against.”
Norris loved a challenge on the football pitch, but now he’s facing a different one off it.
But he says there are no regrets. “Saturdays and Tuesdays were what I lived for,” he added.
“I was pretty lucky with injuries in my career, the worst one I had was a broken wrist in about 800 or 900 games.
“Just having a broken wrist isn’t too bad, but now I have dementia.
“I never considered that playing football would hurt me in the long term. I never dreamed it would happen to me.
“I loved my non-league career and I’m a big believer that you get out what you put in.
“Would I change it? Not at all. I loved every second.”