Article by Mark Graham, Editor, Record Keeper & Official
Reporter @ MUFCINFO.COM.
MUFCINFO.COM
PLAYER INTERVIEW - lee sharpe
Your Editor @ mufcinfo.com was recently given the opportunity to
interview, Ex Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe before
a recent Guest Speaker Dinner speech in our local area
of Whitehaven, Cumbria.
The event was held at local
football team, Whitehaven Amateurs ground & club house to raise funds for
Cancer Research.
The event was a success &
raised in excess of £1,500 pounds.
The Astro-turf pitch at the Whitehaven Amateurs ground
is also available for hire.
Transferred
from Torquay United in 1988 for £185,000, how did the
transfer come about?
An
old Man U scout who is retired now had spotted me
playing on the left of attack for Torquay & alerted
United.
You made
your United debut against West Ham United on the 24th
September 1988 at Old Trafford, what can you remember
about the atmosphere & overall feel of making your debut.
I
actually played before that game I think against against
Newcastle United in a Centenary Cup match, I had played
nearly two hours of football prior to that."
I
was warned by the manager about a player called Mark
Ward who was a real tough character who was on my side
of the field, I also remember it being very hot & the
atmosphere was impressive especially with the with the
old style terracing back then.
Can you
remember the scorers?
"Id say....Brian McClair?"
No it was
his partner
"Mark Hughes"
The other
scorer's a bit more difficult, it was Peter Davenport.
Your first
senior goal for the Reds came after battering Millwall
5-1 in September 1989 at Old Trafford, what can you
remember about your goal?
It was a right foot shot,
which had ricocheted into my path
1991 saw
you win your 1st Trophy with Manchester United after a
2-1 victory of Barcelona in Rotterdam, you played the
game on the left of attack, what do you remember?
It was one of those old style
European nights, with red flares & smoke, massive flags
& two thirds of the Stadium were Man U fans.
Were you
nervous?, do players actually still get nerves even
though they put themselves through the same scenario
time & again?
Yeah. I was nervous. It
really depends on the type of person you are to be
honest, you'll find the likes of Steve Bruce, Robbo and
that sort of player don't get nervous, but I remember
Gazza (Paul Gascoigne) he used to.
Who was
the greatest player that you ever played along side of?
It would have to be Bryan
Robson, he could tackle, score, pass, play box to box,
and with me being a Aston Villa fan (great season last
season by the way) I didn't really appreciate what he
could do as my hero's were Villa orientated, but when I
joined United and saw what he was all about, I then had
no doubts, a fantastic player.
Who was
the greatest player that you ever played against?
Gazza (Paul Gascoigne).
What would
be a true reflection of the famous SAF turning up on
your doorstep saga?
It wasn't even a party, we
were actually getting ready to go out for the night & by
chance one of Giggsy's mates went to answer the door
with hte only two bottle of beer in the whole house.
When the manager then saw an apprentice wandering in the
background with his shirt off & the beer bottles, the
apprentice he was actually looking for an ironing board,
the manager then cleared the house & gave us all a
telling off, a telling off which continued in the office
and training & for a few days after that.
 Where
did the idea come from for your goal celebrations?
It was just spontaneous, with
the Arsenal hat trick & scoring at Goodison happening
only a few days later. I remember the Goodison pitch
being really dry &
Paul Ince telling me to watch I don't injure myself
sliding on my knees.
I'll put
you on the spot now, how many games & goals do you think
you played & scored for United?
260 something games
We have
you down as 263, that's including Charity Shield
matches, which apparently the FA count as a competitive
match now.
What about
the goals then?
35?
nearly its
thirty six
Of the
thirty six, What goal is your personal favourite?
The back heel against Barcelona.
mine to
Yeah.. it think as well with
the importance of Man U not being beaten at home in
Europe for 40 years.
I heard a
story once that a female fan used to send you chocolate
bars in the post as fan mail?
yes....It wasn't just
chocolate, there were other things
What like,
was it down to the heart throb status sort of thing?
I think so, she used to send
dog chews for my two dogs
Dog
chews?, what sort of dogs did you have?
I had two Bull Dogs, called
them Bonnie & Clyde.
 What
is Lee Sharpe doing at the moment?
I'm actually playing football
tomorrow (Saturday) in Manchester in the Masters
Football.
Good luck with that, any team mates we might know?
There's
Keith Gillespie, keeper Fraser Digby, he was a
United apprentice, played at Swindon,
Giuliano Maiorana, do you remember Giuliano?
Yeah, I
remember, didn't see him play but I was searching our
archives @ MUFCINFO to determine what nationality he was
for a project I was doing, an Englishman contrary to his
name.
I actually played a match in
Cambridge not so long a go for Charity for Giuliano
after his father had passed away, There's also
Andrei Kanchelskis &
Clayton Blackmore.
Good luck
with that then, you partake in a bit of golf with
Gary Pallister don't you?
I play a bit with Pally.
Who's the
better player
Clayton Blackmore's the best
What's
your handicap?
mine, its about 6, Clayton's
is about 3.
What's Mr
Pallisters then?
12, but he's getting better.
Mark
Graham was talking to Lee Sharpe.
(Editors
note: in case our readers were wondering this was how
Lee's team got on in the Masters,
MUFC Masters
finished 2nd in their table after losing 4-3 to Man
City, goals coming from Sharpe, Maiorana & Gillespie
before beating Oldham 3-2 with Gillespie, Kanchelskis &
Clayton Blackmore all netting for the Reds.
Bolton
Masters then beat Oldham 2-1 in the final, to become the
Screwfix North West Masters Cup Winners.
The entire
squad was
Fraser Digby
Simon Davies
Russell Beardsmore
Clayton Blackmore
Lee Martin
Giuliano Maiorana
Andrei Kanchelskis
Lee Sharpe
Keith Gillespie
If you are interested in
booking Lee Sharpe for a Sportsmans Dinner please email
Office@mtc-uk.com
Lee's charity's include
Ambassadors in
Sport & Lee Sharpe Soccer Schools which is based in
communities in South Africa and America.
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