Muzzy Izzet | “I Just Loved Playing!” | Leicester’s The Place: Episode 9

Our latest guest on Leicester’s The Place, our official podcast, is our legendary former midfielder Muzzy Izzet.

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Hello and welcome back to lessers the place with me Jerry tager and no it’s not D bits and hopefully it will not be D BS ever again now ladies and gentlemen do we have an absolute legend for you today yes we’ve been tracking him down for

Years we thought he’d up sticks and move back to his ancestoral home but no we’ve managed to find him in a small village just outside of Lester he is without doubt one of the most talented players to ever put on the blue shirt of leer City and I have pleasure in saying

Probably the most talented player I have had the pleasure of playing with it is of course the one and only MOS is it MOS welcome to Lester than thanks cheers Paul how’d you like that oh and I forgot to mention my big sidekick you got halfway there course the only man that I

Know that can put on half a stone in a lunchtime sitting it is of course Big M Elliot harsh but true son harsh but true how are you Paul all right mate yeah no pleasure yeah how you feeling a big drum roll there mate that was some intro well

Thanks Paul appreciate that yeah yeah thank you very much so we’ll get into yeah yeah let’s go it’s finished now you can go now yeah yeah go on there MK do you want to well listen it’s great to catch up we still see each other yeah

Socially Not Enough by the way is it that we don’t get together as often perhaps some of us would like we’ve got a little thing planned don’t we yeah yeah occasionally but uh nice to meet in a sort of like more formal professional setting we’re going to grill you let

Go very very information I’m I’m prepared mate let’s have it you’re going to regret accepting this invitation not at all not at all mate quite the opposite just nice and relaxed and try and give leester City fans the opportunity to get to know you the individual a little bit bit more they

Know you as a player and you’re up there as one of the favorites of all time as Jerry says there but um know have a little informal chat and talking about your time life and career yeah so Mustafa Cal he’s gone deep from East London exactly that went down well in East

London believe it or not what me well if you can imagine obviously if you look at well back then I looked well I was really white and teacher reads out the registration the register and what comes out of the teacher’s mouth is ain’t isn’t John or Paul or anything like that is Mustafa

Kamal is it and obviously trying to fit in as bit of a ribbon oh God yeah did you yeah yeah yeah because they it’s not normal is it it’s not like to look at someone you’d think it would be like I say just least an East London name a

Cogne kid or whatever it is but no with obviously D being Turkish um he gave me probably he got the dark hair though didn’t he like the dark yeah but he probably he probably gave me the the most Turkish name you can give anyone and that’s when you can have that and

You know it wasit your dad’s name is yeah well he’s a he’s yeah but Mustafa Kamal is named after he was uh the ruler of turkey Mustafa Kamal tatok right so that’s where that’s where the name comes from and I was the first grandchild so I

Got a whole lot yeah the name yeah and everything yeah only in one hit oh yeah you can have that were you in the back of the class G oh God yeah well a lot of the time they thought it was Christopher because they they couldn’t work out

Muster right it was like so they’d go what’s your name I go muster Christopher and i’ be yeah all right is it bit funny down there anyway oh it is a little bit chy baby and your brother’s called K he’s Kim yeah but he I said why

Did he say his name was Kamal muster is it yeah yeah Swit it yeah but they didn’t you got double whammy I’ve got double whammy yeah but proud of it and so your dad’s greatek uh turkey tur yeah and your mom’s she’s just London London all right so L just London yeah yeah

Yeah yeah so it was um like I say it was it was great my childhood was fantastic I had you know it was just football it was it no I was actually from uh Bethel green I was born I was born in Marland Marland hospital and I lived on one of

The most famous roads in East London which was balance road which is where the craze liveed yeah yeah yeah so I I actually lived but the bance road looked looked different then because it was Flats I live in the block of flats there were still some terrorist houses yeah we

Lived in flats and uh but it was on it was on bance road yeah where the crazy yeah it official verified Cockney well yeah and being born in my land you know the bow bells and all that stuff I was yeah but muster is it yeah yeah yeah

Interesting mix Going On isn’t it but um didn’t get you inv well didn’t prevent you getting involved in in things as a as a youngster what sort of age get involved at a decent level playing football well your brother plays as well didn’t he yeah he was obviously professional at Colchester I think

Football was what helped me settle in and get you know people to become friends and stuff which football does and um from an early age I just loved it like we all did um always playing playing in the Parks and downstairs and on the Green in the flats and it just

Sort of built from there when the first ever Club I joined was a team called St Matthews which across the road from the flats there was a big Park called Weavers fields and I joined that played there for a few years and then yeah I became just just got the bug of wanting

To play it every well did every day funny how you can remember so much about your younger days isn’t it I mean I know it’s too long ago now for all of us but it just imprints on your mind isn’t it as a young boy playing football you know

You can remember I remember that teammate from back then and yeah I’m still friends with someone you know loads of different events I can remember as much about my young young football days as I can back Prof Happy Days ain’t they the most you know the when you’re most happy and like

I say I I just remember I playing football at school coming home playing downstairs in on the green and then going and play for mat team so it’s football 24/7 score was like a it sort of got in the way a bit but football was all we ever you joined you joined a

Pretty successful Boys Club where I’ve never heard of them personally but s senra and they were they well they had a lot of uh players from that team that that made to a professional level throughout yeah throughout the year so I Jo s

Rather I think I was on the 12 or on the 13s and if you went back you had Ray Wilkins was there he was um and then there like there was John Terry there was myself there was uh Bobby Zamora uh Addy come through Bo was he

Was my teammate yeah yes we was the same age um there was like there’s hundreds wow that you can go through uh uh West Ham Striker play for Tottenham look Center forward uh oh got defo defo there’s loads you know I’ll forget most but there’s loads and loads that

Came through but what it was it was a because East East London obviously is is a big place there’s a lot of teams in there but all the best players seem to radiate to to srab and because it had a a reputation um yeah and it was a

Successful team you know they won quite a few I bet you get teams like that don’t you like when you were saying before we started chatting to muy in Ireland you and Neil lenon played the same team did you play for we play for a team called

Luran Celtic believe it or not we first started which then turned into luran United uh because I think the guys at run it got FedEd up and wanted to play a bit of golf on a Saturday morning so some other guys took it over and changed

The name but yeah we right that’s where we started and there was a few other Lads that made it as well from te called D Ganon in well yeah D Ganon was that big big Club out in not not when I was going not when I was going up now they

Wouldn’t have been you get like walls end up in the Northeast yeah yeah it was my my side of London was Talan Rovers they were called us what sound very Posh it was more sorry was it Sor Ro ra ra a few players came through the ranks

There but um yeah yeah it works that way doesn’t it works that way but so going through from senrab and yeah you probably play County and well no be well I didn’t play for a County so I sco we didn’t really have a scool football team

Neither it was it was quite poor but when I was playing with senrab then it was trying to get into my uh County team which was Essex I missed the troll right and they never you know they never then came and watched me play or they they thought I’d deliberately missed it I

Think was on holiday U and so I never played yeah I don’t know where he was but then um so I never ever played from a county but what happened was when I was back then there was scouts it was probably the same when news Scouts were everywhere weren’t they especi they came

To the better teams and there was you know Chelsea West Ham uh Arsenal Tottenham Chon all the all the London clubs that run and then for some reason odd reason man united used to come down so I think they was the sort of one of the the first sort of clubs from outside

London that used to come down and sort of that’s how that’s yeah that’s how he same age yeah so he came through at the same time as me but he was a massive man united found and they got him quite early I think about 12 13 yeah and he

Went on he went up there but I started off at cholan as a young kid yeah that’s where I started at the manager was uh Lenny Lawrence was the manager at the time no yeah bu he the a different now the reason I’m saying it like that is

Cuz that’s the first pro club that I signed for and then was a manager yeah so he would have been the first he would have been the first team manager I was 12 13 at the time yeah I it makes sense to me fair so I signed that first year

Pro contract you were probably at the club yeah yeah it was uh was that training around the valley or something the training ground what it called the valley no that was in Elon Elton um I can’t remember what it’s called to be fair but but anyway we we um yeah so

That’s my very first pro club was Chon I went there I was there for I never knew that what year was that just so youan i’ have been 12 13 12 86 87 I’m 49 up made masses we work out later so he would have been years

Yeah you would have been yeah there we go well so yeah there’s a possibility you to I was there for a good few years and then a lot of them left to go to Chelsea for for whatever reason and I stayed because I thought Charon was was

Better for me um better pathway you know you sort of looked at it then and um and they actually offered me a contract like a yts back then they offered me a twoyear yts two years before so twoe school boys that I’d left and then they

Was going to give me a two-e yts so 16 yeah so that would have been great you know I mean I thought yeah that’s great and then CH Chelsea came in and offered me the same deal but offered me a Year’s Pro and I was like in

Onsight if I could take say I could take it back I probably should have stayed at at Chon and yeah difficult though hard one is it but it’s an Hard One to say in nsight because I just think the the pathway because at Chelsea the M of Midfield don’t for getet they was

Playing 442 so there’s only two Center Midfield players the amount of Center Midfield players they had they had Alan Dickens Vinnie Jones Andy tanzen um Nigel spackman then they had people like Eddie Newton Craig Burley you know there there’s seven not there then why is he

Was on the on the white like left or wide right so there seven Center Midfield players and you got only two spots do you know what I mean it was like you think it was weird they had a massive Squad but they seem to be over thingy

With Center midfielders you I mean it just made it hard to get through see interesting you say that and I think perhaps well parents as well but youngsters listening to this maybe take heed a little bit because like you say that that pathway that you chose you for

Obvious reasons you want to play with Chelsea yeah right and you think then OD was the manager whatever or no not that stage when I first went there it was uh Bobby Bobby Campbell was Bobby Campbell was the manager and then I think it became Dave Webb became the manager there I

Might have it in the wrong order in portfield was the manager there and then I and then I think it was OD as I was becoming yeah coming to the pro side of it OD became the manager but even a player like yourself without being too kind to you

With the ability that you had you know you found it difficult we’ll come to that M at Chelsea because of size of the club people further down the line in their careers of found it difficult to break through a chse I think there’s a there’s a train of thought sometimes

That if you go to the bigger clubs to begin with and it don’t work out there’s a better chance you’re finding yeah a club it like you said you offered a Year’s contract Pro you’re like that was massive yeah massive choed off at the end of your yts sometimes

Yeah exactly it was massive problem is though if you go to a So-Cal bigger club now and you look at these facilities that we’re in today and you get released from here and all the pros and cons that go with this is you know the facilities are magnificent you know you got good

Coaching you get released from here and you go to a lesser Club adjusting yeah that can be difficult you know so there’s there is pros and cons personally like I say I I would always anyone watching this young kids out there I would look at starting off at a

Smaller Club look at your pathway and look at a realistic opportunity can I can I break through and I that’s the way I would look at it that that’s sort of the point I was coming to and I think leicester’s quite a good Bal bance for that really you’ve got the facilities

You got the opportunity you got the level whether it’s in a championship or in the Premier League at whatever level you’re going to be there but you do have the opportunity to break in the first team well yeah as long as you’ve got a manager that’s giving youngsters

Opportunities like this club has but there’s there’s other clubs that are just buying players aren’t they you know 40 millions and they can’t and you know the big and you know what it’s like now you know a few bad results managers get s they can’t they just need results

Don’t they can they trust a young 18y old something God basically it’s worth considering when you know as a player and as a parent yeah assessing the situation what was that like being around Alex Vinnie Jones musle he was brilliant it was yeah so like they’re dressing down the King’s Road as well

Well I didn’t have that sort of money but it was you know I was a young kid second year Apprentice or a young pro um people think oh you professional yeah but I was on 225 quid a week as a first year Pro which that that wasn’t important I

Was the fact that I was a professional and on on the right Pathway to try and get in someone’s first what it was about but they had a great atmosphere Andy tanen was brilliant good he’s a great bloke he’s on the talk sport he’s fantastic Vinnie Jones was class um yeah

David Road Castle there great bloke so Robert Fleck do you remember Robert Fleck the squad they had um they were brilliant you know I mean every day they go in and the their ban was fantastic you know and the reserve teams that I played in I out yeah but the

Reserve the reserve team I played I played alen Dickens Nigel Batman was in Midfield with me we played in in the three and you could have David rastle on the right because he had a bad knee so he he couldn’t play but he had play in the reserves you had flecky up front

Because he couldn’t get in the first team so you learned a lot you know what I mean you learned L A Lot in that Reserve team oh reserves a proper League oh mate it was brilliant League loved it man you learn yeah it’s great and the teams you played against had senior

Players as well oh yeah you learn against them yeah pretty much every week you coming up against established yeah experienced players weren’t you yeah yeah definitely so that that was where you got what age are you there playing in the reserves was it a slow progress

It was slow for me as well yeah it took me a while to break it well the TR for the matter was is I I got offer the pro contracts and then the the last minute they weren’t going to give it to me because they looked at my size they

Looked at my strength you can imagine me at sort of 16 leaving school I was I was really small um they said oh yeah good ability but back then Southeast CS football was tough when it it was physical it was box to box and stuff like that and the

Manager at the time was a fell called Dave cier he just didn’t he just didn’t fany me as a player um he had he wanted bigger players that could get forward and get in the box and be set pieces and that and they gave it to me because I

Had it in had it in writing so they had to give me that apprenticeship yeah so they gave me the apprenticeship and then within them two years at 16 17 18 I started to develop Dave collee got the sack and then um the Welsh International midfielder um

He got did you put the word out he became the he became yeah CU I get rid of it um what’s his name W was Captain became the youth team manager Nicholas uh not h on I think oh I know you mean play for play Crystal Palace play

Crystal Palace in Chelsea on then tell us tell us then oh not oh no n Nicholls something n yeah we we’ll get we’ll get get round he became he became the manager and I thought oh he was a right yeah he was a right aggressive uh footballer I thought he

Ain’t going to cuz I just got into the team like at the end of the first year Dave College see something thought oh yeah he’s actually doing right and then he got the sack and then he came in and I thought oh no he’s an aggressive

Midfielder he ain’t going to f but he did he thought it was right and then they offered me a threee contracts Pro contract halfway through the second year apprenticeship yeah well and I thought all right great now is I’m on the right pathway and it started happening sort of

Thing yeah so so B no first team appearances no none I did you qu alone no no so I was playing reserves every week at about 18 um learn learning loads learning off of the players that I was playing with players against and I started you know I

Was doing I thought I was doing really well and still still not getting in the squad and it took me to about when I got to about 19 19 and a half hodle then saw something and went right getting the squad started training every day with

Them and then got on the bench um but that was about two subs weren’t it back then yeah two or three sub weird yeah to sub um and we was playing West Ham at home and I thought I was on the bench I thought God I get on against it them as

Well dream debut you know what I mean and Dave Lee got injured he was actually playing Center Midfield I think or Eddie Newton someone got injured in Midfield and rudol was playing sweeper yeah forget yeah rude was playing sweeper at the time was best ever play I’ve ever seen yeah was he was

Unreal yeah he was Unreal and he called over to the bench put muzy on and I was like I can’t believe you just dropped that in no but he did did I dream that get muzy on get on son no I’m sure he he did he put Muzzy on because I was

The other Midfield player we’re 8 nil up put as no we was nil nil and hoddle didn’t he put I think he put someone I think he put himself I can’t remember how already done it but he put someone else in Midfield and I thought H and hullet I can’t remember no

Hullet stayed at the back and then I just thought after that thought God maybe this ain’t gon to this ain’t going to work you know what I mean so I went in after a few weeks and said look is there any way I can get out on loan and

Try and get a little bit of experience you obviously don’t quite fancy me to put me in for whatever reason I like to try and get out Al loan and do something and a few weeks later I heard nothing and then he went oh look we’ve got we’ve

Got a club and that was it’s a natural way I suppose isn’t it you know it makes sense and these days sometimes Lads don’t go on even think about going out on L like 20 21 22 do they a little bit older I was actually glad to go come to

Come away from the club because I’ve been there for so long yeah try something different and come out of my comfort zone and come up to the Midlands um didn’t know what to expect didn’t know too much about leester to be honest um but Martin Andel saw something

And you know I thought yeah let give it a go you know what I mean didn’t you say i t to remember us having a chat about your time at Chelsea I mean you just mentioned there rude hulet yeah doesn’t come much better than him I I remember REM marking me was playing

For Leicester and looking at and was trying to work out how this had happened I’ll pick him up was thinking like he’s bed about what good Moz he had that much influence the training ground was terrible believe we used to Northern irland used to train at Harington

Yeah yeah right near right near he it’s a terrible training ground 11:00 every day Concord with take off you could not hear honestly it was a nightmare but anyway rud it turns up I think he just won the the year just won something and he comes to Chelsea and he he obviously

Hadn’t seen the training ground and he’s obviously thought what is this didn’t even have a bath didn’t even have a bath like yeah he got them to fit a bath in for him just for him within a couple of days so he could have a b off the train

But he did all yeah yeah they used to come so Laing out the back didn’t he he was playing oh mate he was s he was the first person I saw in real life that made football look easy he was like and he was 6’4 as well yeah great he would

He would get I think I told you this he I think Dave B Dave bessent was the goalkeeper it’ roll it out to him on the edge of the box he was sweeper it’ take the center forward on you know it’s unheard of back then W it you know you

Take the center forward on go into Midfield play a little onew go through Midfield and then have a shot yeah and then just walk back honestly that’s how he played every week but it was class different gear and then huddle yeah similar level yeah yeah yeah

Didn’t you didn’t you say I remember you telling me a little bit about yeah he was like well what I’m looking for you to do is and he go outside of the left foot half volley we doain s there you go and everyone’s well he could do every he

Could do anything with the football Left Foot Right Foot he’ do like keep you up his with out outside of his right over his head or outside of his left over his head and he’d do you know he expect you to be able to do all that because he

Could and obviously most of us couldn’t yeah um but he’d play reserves as well and you’d you know you’d learn loads of him um not we didn’t see ey to ey he’s just he just didn’t at that time think that I was ready and you sort of go you know

What I need to go elsewhere then didn’t want to take a gamble on you oh obviously not have you seen him since no no never bumped into him or I haven’t to be fair no I’d be interested to see what he see if he thought yeah maybe I should

Have stuck with well I don’t know well they tried to sign me back but he had already gone he was the he was the England manager by then tried to sign you back they yeah but they wanted me to go on a free transfer that was a

Difference right I had a year left on my contract so I would have gone into the last year of my contract at Leicester right and they wanted to Bosman had kicked in yeah they wanted to take me on they wanted to take me but I was like I

Didn’t know if I wanted to go back into that environment was not same scenario you know what I mean you know I I just didn’t feel start starting to move through the GE forward yeah I know Chelsea as a club we starting to through the MoneyWise EXA big it do you want to

Go in there you think yourself I’m playing every week here you go there and but then they sign Frank Lampard do you know what I mean and that’s sort of the probably greatest one of their greatest ever sign is is it you know what I

Mean never know M never so you come to leester do you remember your first meeting when Martin I met him at i’ I already signed on um at Chelsea like to Alternative is it and then I went up not seen him not spoke to him well went up i’ met um

Steve Walford at [ __ ] Fosters station because I didn’t drive at the time neither soed to get a train to [ __ ] Fosters from East London which was an hour to jump in his car and he took me up he took me down here and one to Leicester well he lived down there

Didn’t he yeah he lived yeah he lived down there so I met him drove up uh didn’t know what to expect you know while was a great blow when he you know he’s are you’re going to be you’re going to love it here blah blah I okay mate

Yeah yeah uh and gone out to train looked at the training ground the training pitch it was like cuz it would have been January February time I guess yeah coming along so like winter had kicked in the training you know what it’s like it would you have seen it when

It was really bad was you was there then I I signed the next uh January yeah so they were a blade of grass on on the pitch it was and he just came home and said look thanks for coming um you’ll have a good time and that was it

And pretty relaxed back there yeah it was a bit yeah that was it you have a great just got dropped in there didn’t you yeah you go yeah and you go and I did you know it was it was but that was I loved that I thought you know I didn’t

Have time to worry about anything it was like go just go out there and it yeah so you came for was it a month’s loan come for come for a month’s loan the famous Sheffield United game where there was all calling from Martin’s head him and all that I’d come

On a sub he he’s been in there and he’s spoken about that game did he by the way yeah he did one of the podcasts and he mentioned that game didn’t he well that was my debut yeah that was my daily yeah I came on a sub we was losing I think we

Was losing 2 new or 21 I can’t quite remember but they they want new signings the crowd and all that and then I come on no one’s ever heard of me yeah and they’re like and we kid and we lose 2-1 and then after the game I think he had a meeting

With some fans didn’t he um and they sort of said he want to leave or whatever it was and they lost was it seven on the Trot or something ridiculous they didn’t have a win in his first eight games or something like that n games not that it sticks in his

Mind that much be honest I about his wife and told him in the car but afterwards yeah he REM oh yeah he told a story about his wife jine saying something like you know that quick Irish wet basically yeah and then we had yeah and then we had from there that next

Game I think was choken away on a Tuesday night I think they was flying at the time and we beat him one nil and that made my first that was my four debut and then we had Crystal Palace away uh on the Saturday and we beat them one

Nil and then we just went on this you ended up playing in the playoffs and then went on this run of sort of win I think we only lost one yeah because you got sort of out of the running was well out of it yeah and then we just came you

Know one team always does don’t it just came late of um so talk about that loone spell and mo so it was initially a month then it got extended for another month another month yeah and then yeah and that was it so and then what they what

Had said was we we really want to sign you um but we could do we go into the Premier League and getting some getting some money in bit space because Chelsea had some sort of sellon claws of x amount of money I can’t remember how

Much it was um and I was like God if we don’t go in if we don’t go up I’ve got to go back to Chelsea and go through all that again you know what I mean and then hodle obviously hod rud rud became the man rud became manager yeah um I thought

I don’t want to go back to that environment you know if we can if we can go up and they’d be great you know what I mean and perfect scenario it was perfect yeah luckily yeah something worked work well for me yeah was you playing the playoff final played in what

Do you remember about that experience uh I couldn’t believe I was playing at wemy Stadium I literally couldn’t believe it I was like it was a child of dream to you won the penalty didn’t you I did win the penalty yeah I um but it was like I

Just remember walking out thinking I can’t believe I’m here I do remember that because only three month two or three months ago I was playing in front of one man in his dog the king Stans in reserve ,000 and now is 85 or 880,000 whatever it was I thought God this is

This is amazing um and yeah the actual game itself um we I think we felt confident we’d already beat Palace leading up to it but they took the lead I managed to get a penalty um Park scored that and then close scored that famous Shin sh yeah from the edge of the

Box but yeah then that was it it was like party time did you get the feel at Leicester like I certainly did I think most players did but it was like uh I was trying to think the best way to describe it but raggy ass Rovers

Basically would it Pam it was I mean you just mentioned characters there Gary Parker he’s not your everyday professional footballer is he clar certainly isn’t and you got Lenny and I think Jamie Lawrence about he’s a bit of a boy in he there was characters all

Walks of life Scotty Taylor all there in the Melting Pot and Casey Keller came along and it whole mix isn’t it diverse mix it I think we all had something in common we didn’t I didn’t quite fit in at Chelsea maybe Lenny needed to leave

Crew and not bad yeah it was like we sort of but somehow we all sort of jailed together and we all had that same mentality didn’t we we was all like we came from an era where you went out after a game and had a few beers and you

Socialized and I think that brought us closer and closer together and I think that’s probably why we got some of the results we did you know yeah do you think it was a he never went out M he wasn’t a li he was never allowed out no

I didn’t go out went oute too much yeah were you I went out I did go out out out out out yeah yeah yeah I saved it up but um there was saying to Martin asking him before you think it was like a conscious thing from him or it’s just how it sort

Of worked out didn’t it you know did he go almost St a bunch of scalles w we like I think even the forest team that he played in yeah Brian K I don’t think he didn’t mind it did he I think it was same sort of back then I think it was

Even the great Liverpool teams would did that didn’t they they they had that camaraderie that that drinking culture man united teams did and Arsenal teams did I think I think we were just brought up in that era of um where it was acceptable a lot of players had points approved didn’t

We in one way or another or hunger you know because your story what you’re saying there I came in I was 28 it was now on ever for me at premier league and know do or die sort of thing come from Bolton Bolton Bolton yeah yeah tags well

Not so much a point to Pro did you but I just I had more suffer from injuries had just trying to get a run games and a team for a change yeah every time I did well I got injured was more me ankles back M went so yeah but G was coming

Up late opportunity at a higher level Lenny from crew yeah Lenny and saon you know their way for your reputation it’s but the one thing that we had and I think what Martin always want regardless of you what talents you had for the team it was about working hard on the pitch

Weren it and it was like that work ethic was really important to the gaffa weren it you know with and without the ball organized know your job kept it quite simple with these say tactics and stuff and it everyone just knew exactly what was expected from no gr area thought he

Let people naturally do what there were good at they were good at anyway didn’t ask it’s it’s when you tried to do something you weren’t good at yeah didn’t exactly didn’t want what are you doing just yeah there was never never went out I thought I never went out on that pitch

Confused I I knew exactly what my role was and he that’s how it was weren’t it yeah simple simple but effective do you remember any Runnings with with Martin where you didn’t quite do exactly what and he he one of The Golden Boys I know he was but I’m just thinking it was

There on any occasion where Martin might have flipped his lid well he he tried to he rain me in because I was going out with Neil Len and Scott Taylor too much at one stage he like so he said listen he got all three of us in that when

Scotty injured himself being out can’t remember it was exactly that time that but he got us in that you’ve been seen out and about blah blah blah blah blah rain it in a little bit them two went out and then he kept because I was the

Youngest a couple of Terrors them to cuz I was the youngest listen I don’t mind you having a beer but come on it was that sort of thing you know even John John Robertson was in the meeting stop drinking John Robertson great blow contradiction yeah yeah but no it was

Like just raining yourselves in a bit you know big games coming up yeah that sort of thing and then what I think when I played against you know the game that W uh Walsh she scored the goal against arsenal when it was 3-3 yeah he dragged

Me at half time I think it was half time or just after yeah just well Vieira was just running through me weren’t he and he was like you’re you’re everywhere the ball ain’t you know what I mean he’s like the ball should be yeah you’re where the ball should be and he dragged

Me off but no he was you know I think he saw it that the three of us in the Midfield were hardworking and you know he liked that didn’t he he liked people working hard for the team and stuff so I was one of the lucky ones I think his

Favorite was gups though was it yeah gups was the Golden Boy The Golden Boy you were a a system oh yeah I forgot about a as well yeah yeah which is fair enough yeah ARG yeah exactly yeah exactly even Lenny used to clash didn’t they I can remember

I can remember an incident where you might have got a a Talon off M oh yeah that was in the of I initially got the blame for it yeah yeah you’re right yes I didn’t want to remember it I didn’t want you weren’t on the trip that was L

Manga L manga 2 oh L manga one L manga one yes yes yes and there was a picture on of Us coming out of he for airport and my my face is at the side of the window and there’s two fingers being stuck up remember and then it’s in the

Paper it’s in the mirror all the Sun or something and Martin gets me in to his office and I remember it to St he’s like yeah he just slaps the paper down on his desk it did look like T yeah yeah I remember seeing the picture he’s going I

Suppose you’re going to tell me it wasn’t you with with my face and two fingers up the window and I’m going yeah I am it wasn’t me and so he goes who who was it I says well I’m not telling you says I’m no grass I’m not telling you but I’m

Telling you it wasn’t me I promise you it wasn’t me went back down the dress and Cameron never lied he came out to the um he came out to the training on the pitch on the pitch and said right who who did this yeah and I was like oh

Yeah it cuz I I was like that behind tags and uh and I was like no it was it it was me gaffa I can’t remember what you can’t remember what he said there I can’t remember no I can’t quite remember something like you idiot you know what yeah something like

That I can’t remember if he find me or what he probably find me or something like that the thing was times the next day the next day he called me into the office again there was another picture of me sat down with not well1 20 notes

Stuck in my face and again he went suppose you’re going to tell me that wasn’t that was you that one two days running yeah yeah did he find did he find you no no I got away with because I’m I was just enjoying myself a game of cards yeah yeah yeah yeah enjoying

Myself you know I wasn’t doing anything wrong I didn’t let if I extinguish off the stress you go through as a manager so have you got any any games Mozzy apart from obviously you know you said about your first time playing at Wembley I suppose like us all Once you

Walk out at wble it’s like yeah yeah it’s the mecca yeah isn’t it it was any other games that sort of stand out for you at your time last any you know any goals cuz I can remember a few unbelievable goals that you scored but

Obviously I want you I think um the I suppose the very first the very first goal I scored for Leicester was to get us into the playoffs when I we beat uh Watford one nil and that was my very first ever goal um wow and I I remember that like it was

Yesterday um didn’t really get involved in the game that much I was I played wider um but I found myself in the Box it was a bit of a scuffle the B come across and I just reacted and edit it and it it went in I was like uh so that

Was my first goal so I remember that I remember the Tottenham goal um that’s the one still show out at kingp every week yeah so and that was the day Mar I was all loing up the Martin O’Neal yeah stay signs W cuz he was been links with

That was the Monday Night Football game lead it was leads when I got dragged at halftime did you I’m off about that but yeah that’s that’s one of the goals I remember that was a great and I suppose the European game at filber Street where there was a

Few penalties that maybe I could have had played one of the better games I suppose um yeah there was there was loads weren’t there you know going to anfield and winning or going to Old Trafford andn Le got a good goal against Le yeah yes got a yeah to be fair um

Lipo yeah after H moved that was a bit later on that was post Martin o’a but you scored a second goal I think it was yeah you I you B it down and played M remember went up we just throw you up front didn’t we last 10 minutes I’ll just slow getting

Back yeah but no but you I just start playing at them grounds you know Toten them away with a great place to play wen’t it at Newcastle you scored two that day didn’t you yeah and you got and you got the other one I got the last one

Yeah but you scored two yeah did you did you get that film as I pretty much know you did but we did collectively didn’t we but also within your little section I the Midfield yeah whether it was you Lenny and Parks initially then it became

Sav more in there as well but did you feel like pride and excitement sort of going up against the big hitters supposedly for one of a better phrase you know and going up there and whether it’s the SKS and Kean or Gerard and redn

You know or yeah and Vieira and P yeah I think not too much IDE there it was just a matter of hanging in but the viir and petite one was was because they were so big as well wer they they was like they like built like center backs weren’t

They but they was athletic and they was skillful and they had you know they had good ability so you knew you had to be you had to have your aame going out there against you you know you had to be really switched on and even that sometimes weren’t enough

Do you know what I mean so you know not against them but against other Premier League teams you were going out not only matching them though but like as a trio you were like dominating in that area as well yeah we I think it’s because we had a good

Mixture didn’t we but what we all had we had good good legs didn’t we we all had we could all get about Parks well par yeah but what parks time what parks didn’t have he had better than all of us didn’t he had that great passing range

Yeah great player Parks you know you can imagine him like being really mobile legs under can you imagine can you imagine him with great you know being able to run around like Sav or something like that it’d be like amazing but we sort of all work well together didn’t we whether

Parts came on or he started and then then it was me Sav and Lenny don’t forget Scott Taylor was there as well unfortunately got a few bad injuries on his knees um but yeah we we sort of formed that the three of us formed that

Trio of right don’t let these we need to dominate this Midfield that’s what I always remember like you’ve just said M was apart from say two or three teams that had world class midfielders yeah you knew you were going into every game giving yourself a chance

Of winning because with a good we had a great engine ring yeah you know the Midfield was out worked the opposition yeah and then he weren’t just Runners though let keep it all day long you do a little wle and something saage just upet everybody sa his quality didn’t they

Yeah I think what we did well we we figured out with us three gups and whether it be imps on the right or whatever and aill or clarage orever we we worked the Press we actually pressed quite well we sort of figured that out then without really working on it too

Much we sort of figured out that if we com press eye because we knew the strengths of our our back could set that off could and’s pace and everything else um and days were that used to work the the the one that stands out the most

Would have been Derby when it Derby away when we sort of within the first 20 minutes we sort of just overrun them I just remember that and four headers weren’t it yeah four headers and I just remember that game thinking that that’s probably As Good As It Gets with the

Midfield side of bit um air working well up front um but we had you know we we did pride ourselves on trying to get the better of other teams Midfield and like I say when you played against the best teams it was tough because they had they

Just had more possession didn’t they one when you have more possession you’re running around too much and 70 minutes you yeah the big big it is it was tough even for even for you boys in your field but I can remember a number of times speaking to lads after a game or

Supporters or whatever and they used to think we work hard or you boys in Midfield work particularly hard but they were like can play a bit can’t you yeah as a team and yourself in particular like say Lenny keeping it we had some good players in there as well people were

Surprised that how much football we could play at times yeah M Martin never really he never wanted us to play out from the back did he really it was like right let’s let’s go playing their ass it yeah get it h we didn’t have the best

Pitch in the world to be able to do it on for a start and I suppose we never really worked on a lot of teams didn’t we played to Asam we knew that we we got the ball in the final third we can cause a little bit of chaos up there and and

We that was our strength wasen it that was how we sort of set ourselves up set pieces with used for it at the back we was fantastic defending attacking they weren’t better there weren’t many better than usually at that was there man of goals that you scored well we had some

Lumps didn’t we you know what I mean the amount of goals you scored from set pieces and stuff and the defending side of it we didn’t hardly concede from set pieces you moved up to the area M as well you well and truly cemented yeah my roots I’ve lived in

Leicester long in London yeah exactly exactly yeah same same myself um I don’t know whether it’s I don’t know there something about the club or is it just timings because the kids have been brought up here and whatever and you end up staying don’t you but a lot of

Players tend to stay here after their careers don’t they well yeah I I love where I live you know I three kids all born in Leicester um load of friends here wife made load of friends why you know why would you move would you go back to London and London’s not the well

Certainly where I’m from yeah ain’t the type of place or ain’t the same as what it was when I was there as a kid no not things have changed is it so it works out well at Le didn’t it like you say trophies I think Leicester is one of them clubs especially back

Then and even so now where if you get yourself in the team and you do well you don’t really want to leave that I mean like all three of us have had chances of moving on certainly you you know back after Martin left there was rumors of you wanting to get transferred

It was seemingly every week and and for whatever reason you didn’t leave until until they inevitable no I I didn’t re I didn’t really want to leave Leicester the only when Les was not trying to sell me but they look I was looking at it they were looking at

It going like I was thinking can I can I get into that next level like that tier of Champions League football yeah and that was my my next ambition you know to try and cement myself in that try and get there cuz I don’t think was we

Didn’t have the resources at lesser to ever get to that no that level um I don’t blame you for thinking that no it was that sort of thing but capability to go well yeah it never happened and then it became um like tag said I was being linked with this club that Club

Mid I went I spoke to them yeah when spoke to M BR Blackburn spoke to Graham sud host of clubs didn’t there through the years yeah there was a few that um but like I say the buram one was a weird I really like Steve Bruce when he came

Out I had a chat with him it was you know just even might have been Martin O’Neal to be honest he was that sort of blow quite open and honest and yeah yeah so yeah just weird how it sort of fizzled not fizzled out but it was my

Obviously leester was in a situation where we got relegated again the second time yeah you you played we was all there in the championship weren’t we was all there when we when we came up um and then we got relegated again didn’t first time then we got yeah relegated again

The contract run out and then that was that yeah everything sort of changed around that the Old Guard and all that was it yeah changed a lot didn’t it time to move on yeah to move on so you you played you played in three Cup finals yeah yeah three cut final

What do you remember about I don’t think I played well in any of them I was just I can’t remember having a good didn’t I particularly have a good game against Tottenham it was weren’t a great game none of them were great games no uh the middlesburg game weren’t particularly

Great I was better in the um the replay I think at cheff wesy MH uh trir you think that was the experience of playing at Wembley or in a different kind of atmosphere so through that is we can laugh now well that’s s were we two one up then no W that it

The first touch my first touch you of all players your your first I already I was already celebrating when I was already celebrating believe not celebrating but I thought I’m going to score yeah I remember the ball coming to me I’ve only got to touch it and exactly

And I thought not muy surely I could believe honestly I thought I’m going to scor wimbley yeah point that was 2-1 then as well finished it off that killed me that really SP that spot the win for oh dear that big mat comes with two yeah well to be fair

Even though I get recognition for that final or scored the two goals I don’t feel I played particularly well that game I it was a gr wasn’t it yeah yeah no one played amazingly we was expected the only game one of the only games well we weren’t expected to win most games

But we was expected to win that final well the one we I thought we well just as definite wi Tottenham game like when they went down to 10 men we faned ourselves we always had a good good thing against Tottenham didn’t we yeah yeah exactly we beat him before we

Beat him after not long not long after game for us though and it was oh one of those days made us doubly determined though against jix come on don’t let this slip yeah agree even though you did your best to coook it up yeah that’ll stick with me that

Chance yeah so it was your first touch you didn’t no it’s touch I misc controlled it I was like no cuz I was already looking up to see where I was going to put it yeah and the ball just got away I was like

No And A M missed one as well I think as well miss a good opportunity yeah we had we had a few didn’t we we had a few got there in the end got there so what was it like there Mo Wembley walking up get brilliant it was like amazing it was

Just like you as a West Ham fan I remember Trevor Brooke in doing it in 1980 against Arsenal yeah or it was I just remembered Trevor Brookins goal sorry I think it was Billy shouldered it in bond was the captain I’m sure he would have been Captain yeah Trevor

Brook it was Alan Dev down the left chips it across cross Brooking di Eder and I just remember think I’d love to be able to do that and then you’re there you know what I mean how many years later you think wow it’s what it’s about

It’s what you know it’s not about it was never about the money when you’re growing up was it it was never about that it was like you want to replicate what you see on telly and that was how I always looked at just slightly rewind a

Little bit say winning the cup final but the playoff final there as well that must have been like you said jumping there playing from one man his dog to 80 climb up step I was like God I was like sort of right get got to get myself

Together a bit here you know what I mean I didn’t want it to overwhelm me you know what I mean because it can can’t it you sort of should I really be here do I deserve to be here and blah blah blah it seems so real it you just come alone

It’s not you’ve gone through the season with the club you don’t know the boys that well and I was playing on the left I think I was playing on the left at the time cuz wal she hit that ball down the line like a one of his channel balls

Left footer and it’s sort of took me into the box yeah banana ball it took me into the box I took a touch and I can’t remember who the fell was he came lunging in didn’t he like just let it don’t say much for you swallow dive straight over

The yeah no but then we and to win it it was amazing I remember just remember the journey back home back to the sketchy range it was just like magical moment that you sort of I could I could tell a few St that hotel couldn’t it sketchy great it certainly

Could I assume so yeah yeah yeah again I think that was was that club tradition or was it Martin who instigated that well he was he was quite superstitious wor Martin I think I think he’ like to do the things the same stay at the same

Hotels and that sort of win or lose there was going to be a do wouldn’t there or even yeah even when we lost to Tottenham we went there I’m sure we did yeah it did and also we did well even the replay with Middlesboro he went back I

Had not long joined the club he went back there even though the game was replay was only a few days later wasn’t it yeah yeah like the Wednesday everyone’s partying and reeving well I was going to ask you do you remember the trip back after the 2000 got FAL cuz uh I

Do too F so that would have been against TR TR you remember the boss trip back yeah B JD yeah you remember that yeah good old in good old the bottle oh maning it rain on the were out as well wer they yeah why that that one that W

When Emil was sick no that was coming back from Middlesboro yeah that was a middles one and Emil got carted off on the replay he never used to drink did he and he half a b of staggered off the bus it was collapsing his dad picked him up Tyrone

Yeah you don’t mess with Tyrone he come up we were like time just just let relax let him enjoy cup Fally Matt just leave it man we had that moment we definitely had that culture did we like where we all like to celebrate after certainly after

A win used to encourage it yeah we definitely we definitely liked it didn’t we we we’ve gotten great with everyone didn’t we like everyone sort of enjoyed the moment it was and it was like Martin would say would it even if you won playing bad celebrate it yeah you know

What I mean he would never be oh yeah he would never be right you got to do this better next time or it never that was win a win was a win let’s go that’s all he was B about yeah yeah yeah it didn’t matter if it was I don’t know let’s say

A team who was down the bottom of the league Sheffield United or something one nil scruffy win and that’s what I could never work out when I played for other managers and they would dissect a win yeah I’d be like can’t we just enjoy it

Do you know what I mean I could never work that out because you don’t win many deal and you get that you get that buzz about that don’t you res he’s similar yeah he encourages Harry wins was telling sit exactly where you are now ten that the players got half told off

For not celebrating enough oh really they were frustrated with themselves oh right they could have played better can’t remember the game was against there but mes was like no no no win that’s it enjoy it yeah many times where it does happens enough at the moment

But so another twist I suppose on your career don’t know whether it’d be expected or not but turkey comes into the frame excuse me International Football well I was being touted at the time with England as well England Kevin Keegan was the manager yeah that’s right and I

Remember I’ve started off the season scoring quite a few goals had a bit of a purple patch and people started saying more like muzy for England maybe he deserves a cough competition well it was well that’s another you got to look at it realistically then ain’t as you go

Right okay let’s have a look at the list of the lads that are in front of me am I ever going to play even if I get in the squad once which were Gerard SK SK yeah I think even people like go Str to get in the team didn’t he in was

Still about Gaza was still about um who else was there but it was you know the the list was like that Wen it do you know what I mean and you think red n but there was all these players that was that was in front if you if you like and

You think saying you couldn’t compete with them you know you’re doing it week in week out but it’s just getting the nod isn’t it yeah and they put a play and at that time would they and it’s different I suppose are they looking at the clubs that these guys are playing

Yeah would they if you look at it yeah possibly yeah and it would have been a bit different but at the same time then turkey got in in touch and I thought all right i’ listen to him and and whatever you I think they came down to watch me play against

Watford um and then afterwards they said would you be interested I thought I I’ll just see what Kevin Keegan’s um opinion was so I’ve got me Agent to because I just wanted to keep me options open and he bumped into him on on a train D David manasse did right

And had that conversation he said look we had the same agent didn’t we yeah yeah we had the same agent and he said look look at the people in front and Kevin G was just being like is he gonna really blah blah blah blah and

That sort of made my mind up so and I was you know thankful that turkey did and that was great you know it was it was a weird one because there was national service and all this started coming into and I hang on a minute yeah I thought two

Years national service thought oh my God I you started digging a hole for yourself need this but um Kevin a c I went to the Embassy and uh they’ve done it bit like this but if you can imagine there was hundreds of these all around me and I’m with like the Ambassador the

Turkish Ambassador in London with this agent fell trying to convince me to thing it cameras everywhere really like honestly right stir yeah yeah and it was all being be back to turkey live and I didn’t speak and I didn’t speak Turkish so they’re all they all they talking amongst themselves and then translate

With say something and I’m like I de in headlight here sort of thing and um I’d already made my mind yeah I’m going to yeah I’m going to play I’m looking forward I want to represent turkey that got beam back and then my first time I

Went to Turkey to go and play in a friendly honestly you know when you you know when you come out of uh departure and the thingy opens and there’s all it was that it was like seriously honestly like the Bel it like Jacks is that sort of thing I’ve gone I’m looking

Behind me seeing who’s behind me like that and it was this chaos and I’m like just remember it and they all ask me loads of questions I can’t understand too much is going on and then that was it that was how I got sort of have you

Got someone chaperoning you I I had someone with me but he he he wasn’t like fluent in English weird thing it was like he was broken English trying to say things back to me and I’m like can’t obviously understand the language it was aely understand but great you can count

To 10 though moves oh yeah yeah I’ll save I’ll save that I’ll save that I’ll save that for later he’s going to do you’re going to do gayi do yeah he’s do we all got a little party piece on but yeah and it was like yeah we obviously I

Was proud to play for him and it was it was tough because of the language barrier again on the pitch it was it was hard you know what I mean and any experiences out there that you went you went to the 2002 World cop didn’t in ker safe career yeah

There’s something to remember uh it was that was must have been unbelievable that was yeah it was good and it was tough because the language Barrel was a problem we went to Turkey for a week then to Hong Kong for two weeks to climatize MH and then we went to the

World Cup we got to the where we got to semi-finals and see I was away for about say n weeks all in all eight nine weeks I think it was wow which is a long time and when you’re not playing do you know what I mean it was like and you’re not

Getting too much feedback because of the language barrier and it was hard was there any other players speak English that you could communicate two guy wasn’t it so yeah but he was like you do you want to keep putting yourself on him all time I’m like trying to follow him

About you know what I mean what what they saying what they and I didn’t want to get on anyone’s nerves so it was quite a lonely time you know you’re in your room your train have something to anyway yeah for that long and then you got then there’s no communication side

Of it and you’re in career the telephone signals are bad you know all that sort of stuff so that was it was tough and then you didn’t know where you stood within the squad because he didn’t speak any English to manager and it was like

It was it was hard you know funny isn’t it people’s impression of it you know From a Distance on the outside yeah great great time yeah when I look back here now I think to myself I wish I would have enjoyed it more more yeah but

It was not easy though for you tough to enjoy it you know is it but then when I did cuz I’m I’m on the bench and I’m warming up and I’m like you going to stick me on nothing yes no there weren’t even a conversation after you know like

Next time I’ll be looking at this there was none of that and then playing Brazil in the World Cup semi-final and I think so just I ain’t getting on this game so I was sort of just watching the game and it was like was he play on the right that was it and

The left back was Roberto Carlos weren’t it I was like yeah I think I might run him push it down the outside just put me up just put me up against the best defender in the world and um that’s that was mad when I remember watching it came on for no no

No you’re right I remember watch coming up I just thought I’ll just did yeah I’ll just play around him give and goes I ain’t going to try and get around the back of it but no it was um but like you said he’s put you on the right wing

Hasn’t he field yeah Roberto car I’m thinking what’s he doing know right with that team yeah that was a great team weren’t they but that’s how it was it was a little bit so it was a bit like that bit unorganized you know with the language barrier problem yeah it was a

Problem but great time great Lads great Lads um manager was a nice BL coaches are all good they were lovely to me can’t you know can’t say a bad word about them it was more me because I couldn’t speak their language you know what I mean get involved as couldn’t get

I couldn’t have the band with I couldn’t do anything with him the culture was a little bit different and stuff like that you know but it was a great experience yeah I imagine so imagine so all down to m e all down to uh Slugger sluger is it

Yeah SL is it was his dad it always pops him with that one did you not play for turkey after after yeah had a few more games yeah had a few more games played uh it was just I played against France and this is when I thought this is it now I just

Can’t see me I’m playing against France we had a friendly in Istanbul and a rare start for me and I thought right and it was I was Center mid field against zidan zidan uh Vieira and petite right there was it that was there don’t any zidan played like in a 10 role uh

They had on re up front um they you’re not going to get on the ball show but like weirdly I started well you know like I had a shot and goal and I got involved in the game they didn’t particularly start well France and I thought oh you

Know when you feel like I’m doing I’m doing all right here blah blah blah dang he brings me off before half time brought me up for 40 minutes really honestly and I thought that sums this up do you know what I mean I just it that dumb me a bit

And afterwards the the Press why did you actually was sort of saying why did you bring him off need yeah I needed to try something else you know if I was playing bad I would have said look Matt I was having a stinker I wen’t I was actually doing all

Right it just seemed like who can I bring off that ain’t going to cause any Agro because he’s got no he can’t no he’s the answer that’s what I thought even that 40 minutes but I’d be happy to come off against M3 I was enjoying it though I was enjoying I just remember

Zidan cuz he’s like 6′ three and he’s massive and he’s got the ball and he’s pinged it and as he’s pinged it he’s looked at the floor as if he’s like he’s took a div it he’s he’s upset with himself and I just looked I was right

Behind I see the Flight of the ball he going right to their right like the right wing and it was like a missile I thought well if that’s a miss kick you know there’s no hope for any of us you know what I mean it was brilliant it was

So so good on the ball can’t get near him hey yeah but what a Time listen you s you became maybe slightly adjusted to Chelsea like you’re saying ulet and hodle maybe not overall by going up against players of that HK but you know when you look through

Career the players who come up again come up with some good ends like you know zidan was probably the best but you got Vier and petite Center Midfield players they weren too many they weren’t too many better than them well that Trio yeah that Trio I don’t think ke skulls

You know brilliant players wen’t they so I’m going to bring it back down to earth now a little bit more cuz in between all that ler obviously got relegated first time R under Peter Taylor yeah we’re in the championship we’re at the king par Stadium which was in The

Walker Stadium yeah and obviously the club are in a bit of trouble uh we’re sending players and not uh paying them back at that stage uh Billy McKinley obviously one of them they didn’t get paid for a while uh the option yeah Niki n sum and basically our backs

Are against the wall and and obviously it was a successful season uh we got promoted back to the Premier League but you actually managed to get yourself in the team of the year that season as well the PFA team yeah I I what do you remember about that season

As a whole personally uh I I I found the championship I found it was a big drop personally I you know i’ I did I thought you had a bit more time on the ball the players you were up against all of a sudden you were running the show yeah I

Thought wow I’ll say it for you oh well I just I just felt it was like you could feel the drop you’ve come down and you know you gone out there and it don’t we still had a good team didn’t we we had we had good players um was it Portsmouth

Was it Portsmouth Port won it didn’t they pouth won it but we was always there weren’t we I thought Mickey done a a good J he did a good job a good job yeah he done good job um you know I like Mick I thought he was he was decent good

Manager but I when he’s not a manager yeah yeah yeah he had agreed yeah I love Mickey NY he’s a great BL yeah he was intense he was mad when he old buzz like you he went mad when I called him that remember he wanted to

Fight me what I remember about that year was we was brilliant on set pieces weren’t we remember man go work on we work loads on them that’s probably the first time we ever really take them but it was like you only had to hit an area can you hit that area

Because I’ve got all these big Lads that can but the movement was great weren’t it everyone them us like could edit it was we scored the amount of goals we scored from it yeah yeah it was a good season but yeah nice Accolade though I think it was only you wasn’t it from

From our team we got that’s right Team of the Year some we got was in it you remember what the other players were no you got pied tags yeah you got pied we’re old school change there is we were just you know we were just on the way

Down I was our swan song that there slipy slope wasn’t it for us that was our one song Good see do you remember going away we um where did we go did we go Portugal that year we used to go to Portugal coule years under Mickey didn’t

We we had remember we had in like February time we had Portsmouth on the the next game yeah remember yeah it was live on and he was like make we was all out in Portugal I said Oh Come GA let’s have a few beers yeah well a few beers turned

Into come on Boss let’s up a few Lads need it we’ve got psth when we I remember saying we’ve got psth when we go back this game blah blah blah I said we’ll I guarantee we won’t we won’t lose against them you can promise without

Yeah yeah just let us have a few beers mate The Lads got well we got bit carried away got carried away we didn’t lose though no we didn’t we drew didn’t we yeah they needed a worldly didn’t they from the fullback tayor was it yeah yeah

That’s it back last 10 minutes so we was hanging weren’t we yeah yeah started off leg legs started going last 10 minutes couple of drinks took its toe on us good times good times all around though wasn’t it so and Ely M you left you went to Birmingham yeah

Uh is it fair to say again you said you know you said your your contract was was out but what was it like leaving ler where you’ve been I don’t know was it eight years years years n years eight and a half years where he was tough um still

Stay there yeah I traveled traveled down the m6 uh 45 minutes whatever it was but it was everything about it the the bad luck like my car breaking down the car twice on the m6 all these little things and then I got then I got injured after 10 games and then it was

Like someone nicked ma from the training ground yeah all these mad things going on and then when I done the knee um I didn’t think it was that bad at first but the X-ray I thought Mr ice scan it was bad because my knee was massive thought jeez that you had lots of

Niggles for your career didn’t you your ankles and ankles yeah but never like a never my knee and I remember doing it and being in agony and I thought oh God this is this is pretty bad this um the next day couldn’t get it scanned cuz it

Was too swollen so I had to wait a few days for the swelling to go down a bit and then had it had this had the thing in it was oh yeah you’ve done your what you’ve done Ts that bit of bone that came out there and it weren’t that big

And they said like we we can be we can work you I didn’t have massive fires I suppose that was another thing didn’t have these big any I didn’t have any fires so it was that as well and then I thought oh that Pain’s gone now the

Swelling’s gone down I get myself fit and I’m going to be all right but I just couldn’t so I thought right better have it looked at again and the hole got bigger and bigger and bigger and it just became unstable and I couldn’t then I

Couldn’t train so I was I was for a set Midfield play I was training Thursday and Friday playing Saturday cuz and then I play Saturday and then the swelling be so big it would take until Thursday for it to be gone is it then I was having it

Drained yeah that’s not good and I was like God mate and then you know it’s like the rest of your body starts breaking down the hip started hurting my ankle started my back and I just could not get myself to a level of Fitness without my KN blowing up yeah and then

The right was on the wall do you know what I mean what age were you then was 30 I was 30 when I’d done it so by the time I tried to keep coming back I was 31 is that where you were yeah 31 thought you were slightly older than

That no 31 yeah that’s frustrating is it you got another four years at least is you well yeah you feel yourself slowing down don’t you because the way we played at Midfield we done put a lot of mileage in didn’t we so I could feel myself

Slowing down a little bit well I took two years off your career all that running you had to do for me no it way we play it you took two years off man me just standing beside you you get involved yeah and it was you know it

Just I just couldn’t get it right and I just for myself myself I remember playing against Fulham and I was so off it playing against Danny Murphy and you know Danny’s a good good enough player but I couldn’t I couldn’t get to him I couldn’t track him he wouldn’t be as

Mobile as you though I couldn’t no that’s what I mean yeah and and I couldn’t and you know I was just off a yard and I thought I ain’t going to make myself look a idiot like this and I I got brought off at half time and I just remember going into

Games thinking I’m 80 75% fit here how can I how can I compete in the Premier League I just couldn’t so they wanted me to have another op and I was like let me take I took the scans all around London took them everywhere I said look would

You I said well we can drill your your thingy and this and that but the way that you had to play you had to be everywhere didn’t you had to be box to box your game yeah yeah and I was like is it going to what is it they do T they

Drill the Fe they hmer it yeah they hammer it and then let the Cal and then the blood Rec calcifies on the on top of the bone that he over the but obviously the bone strength is nowhere near inevitable correct and with my knee being so unstable and getting

Bigger and bigger it just micor it mic yeah it was worth it so I just thought right just call it a day and when I did I was like cuz like it’s like anything when you’re injured for over a year like your head’s gone I couldn’t get back to

Where I wanted to get to yeah so when I finally sort of called it a day I was like right that do me and then the very next day Dave Renny calls me and goes do you want to come back to Leicester and

We’ll give it a go and I was like I was in ASDA I’ll never forget it I was in ASDA with with Carly I was in ASDA with Carly with the baby with a baby baby yeah I was in as and I was like oh I was if it would have been

Maybe 3 or 4 months later I might have reconsidered everything do you know what I mean because did you officially left Burmingham by the just left birmingh just that day yeah day after and then Dave Ren Rings me the following day and said I’d love to come down I’ll have a

Look at and I was like Dave please mate I just need to get me head back you know yeah but some I think about that quite a bit if it would have been three or four months and passed and I would have sort of would been maybe it’s settled didn’t

You tell them you should have told him the ring me ring me in three or four months yeah but I you know what tags I was just like when he said oh maybe we could manage it you ain’t traveling as far maybe we can I like I can’t imagine

That for a comeback thing is though when you when when you’re not the play you used to be back at the city you sort of like my head had gone you know I was I was I just couldn’t I just couldn’t think of football at that time and I was actually quite pleased

Or happy that I didn’t have to worry about getting fit cuz that’s all that’s all you worry about every day I was waking up my man what is that sort of thing no you did a lot in your career though mate didn’t you you f been had a

Good time there had a good time we all dided make good friendship we also learn how to speak turkey well it’s a count of 10 you want me to say yeah that’s one to 10 go what’s your one let me go first cuz yours is the is

The piece to resist yeah yours is my time in Thailand I learned how to speak one at 10 HJ P why is that funny just the way you way you broke it up into two parts I can only remember it 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 go

Yours no mine mine is obviously growing up in Ireland being able to uh count one to 10wn which is just a small snippet of the Irish go and know so he adore car a shock the ha the Jo doing it before everybody was like is he all right so shouldn’t around about where

That’s one to turn an hour it just sounds com here in the right order but it’s one to 10 that’s not what he said last time making up as you go along well Mozy it’s been an absolute pleas a pleasure mate thanks a lot for coming always a

Pleasure nice one M nice one see pleasure catch up soon soci definitely definitely came a c yeah no cheers for coming along pleasure always a pleasure with mu in the house