Former Charlton and Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee talks us through his football memories
First game you watched live? That would have been a West Ham game. I couldn’t tell you who against. I used to go with my mates from school in my early teens. It was the late 70s so the teams with Trevor Brooking, Billy Bonds and Alan Devonshire. Upton Park is a very special ground to me. I trained with West Ham as a kid and eventually got to play for them. I was very old, but I still managed to play for them! First football hero? I was a West Ham fan growing up but I also had a soft spot for Liverpool, purely because of Kevin Keegan. He was the David Beckham of my era. Growing up, he was the picture I had on my walls. People say never meet your heroes and you put them on such a pedestal they let you down. But he was everything I thought he’d be when he signed me at Newcastle. He speaks to anybody, he could talk to the Queen of England or anybody at all. He’s very charismatic and people listen to him. First football boots? My grandad went out and bought me my first pair of boots when I was three. They were black and white. He was a huge West Ham fan and insisted on buying the boots just as I’d started walking! First kit? It was a West Ham kit. It wasn’t that big a thing at the time, certainly not to have names on the back of the shirt. It was different for my sons, they had all sorts of shirts when they were growing up. But I can’t say we bought too many in my childhood. First professional game? I made my debut for Charlton against Grimsby in 1984, at the old Valley as I call it, just before it closed down. We drew 3-3. It was February and very soon after the game we learned the ground would be closing down and we’d be going to Selhurst Park. Maybe they realised it wasn’t going to get any better than my debut goal! First professional goal? I was lucky enough to score on my debut. I was put through on goal by Martin Robertson, a good friend of mine who actually recommended me to Charlton before they signed me. He was playing on the left, he slid me in, I went one-on-one and hit it with the outside of my boot into the far corner. The club was in a lot of turmoil and had massive financial problems, we didn’t have many players. That meant there were opportunities and it was a memorable day. First red card? I didn’t get many in my career. I played nearly 300 games in the Premier League and only managed to be sent off once! My first one was for Newcastle against Everton, a second yellow. I think it was Andy Hinchcliffe – a dive obviously, trying to get me booked. The only other one I can remember was for Derby at Bradford away.