Autobiography

I was pleased I had secured the trophy for the
nation, and I will almost certainly donate it to
the National Football Museum when I die –
although I do not plan for that to happen for
some time. In the months after purchasing the
cup I worked closely with the museum on a
programme to display the cup, at various
venues. In October 2005 I was invited by the
museum to go up to Manchester with the cup
for the latest Hall of Fame inductions.
Seeing the greats like the Charlton brothers
and so many other top stars was wonderful. I
was proud when they put a picture of the cup
on the screen, and I was then invited up to the
podium to say a few words about why I had
bought the treasure. Also present that day was
the legendary Bert Trautmann who famously
broke his neck playing in goal for Manchester
City in the 1956 FA Cup final. Despite the
injury in a challenge with Birmingham’s Peter
Murphy, he amazingly carried on playing till
the end of the game. I admired Bert’s
resilience even though it was against the
Blues. When he asked why I had bought the
trophy I had to apologise and say it was
because I was horrified at the thought of it
going to Germany!
Many of the greats including Sir Bobby
Charlton came up and told me how pleased
they were I had purchased the cup.
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