Alex Revell - The Stevenage striker talks us through his football memories
First game you watched live? The one that stands out is Cambridge v Leicester when it was the play-off semi-finals to reach the Premier League when it first started out in 1992.
I grew up in Cambridge, so I went to both legs at the Abbey Stadium and Filbert Street. I’d been to a few games before that but they’re the ones that stick out in my head.
I love the club, so at the time, it was great. They didn’t go through but it was great to see what it meant to the town. First football hero? My first footballing hero was probably Ian Wright. He was the first person that I looked to – I watched him score goals when I followed football and it was definitely him.
But at Cambridge, Dion Dublin was someone I looked up to as well.
I remember him being one of those people that just scored every week, and was just unbelievable to watch – and then, of course, he went to Manchester United! First football boots? I remember that I had the Hi-Tec boots with the big tongue that Paul Merson had but the first ones that I remember having were the Paul Gascoigne-signed boots that he brought out – I think they were by a brand called Brooks.
I went through a lot of pairs – I remember having boots by Pony and then the pinnacle were the Ian Wright Nike Tiempos. First kit? The one I remember the most is an old Tottenham Hotspur shirt
with Paul Gascoigne’s name on the back. It was a light blue one.
I think I got it for Christmas and I remember wearing it on Christmas Day, out playing in the freezing cold with my brother.
My dad (Ray) was a Spurs fan and if you liked them, then it was Gazza or (Gary) Lineker, wasn’t it?
I loved Cambridge because I played for them since I was six, whereas, back then, Tottenham wasn’t easy to get to for us, so I didn’t really get to go there. First professional game? My pro debut was for Cambridge away to Northampton in 2001.
John Beck had just taken over from Roy McFarland and I remember playing in a reserve game on the Wednesday, and he came and watched me – I was only 17.
I signed professionally the next day, and then played 15 minutes for the first team at the weekend.
It was an absolute whirlwind – and I remember having to make a lot of teas on the bus on the way there. First professional goal? It was against Bournemouth later that year in a 2-2 draw.
I’d had a tough pre-season – John Beck’s pre-seasons were renowned for being like that – and I’d had a stress fracture as well.
But I was fit to play in that one and I remember scoring a header at the back post.
It was obviously a boyhood dream for me to score because it was my club from growing up. First red card? I’ve not had many – I didn’t even feel like I’d really had one until last season, when I got sent off once for Northampton and once for Stevenage, which wasn’t great. But my first one was for Rotherham back in 2012. We were playing against Barnet and I got a red for a challenge (on David Stephens).