MY FOOTBALL MAT HORNE
What was the first match you ever saw live?
It was Nottingham Forest vs Spurs, at the City Ground in 1989. I’m from Nottingham, so sat with Forest fans – but we won 2-1. I’d been Spurs from the age of seven. I was really into football, but didn’t have a team. My dad asked me if I wanted a football kit for Christmas, so I looked in my 1986 Panini sticker album and chose Spurs’ – the Hummel one with arrows going across it. I was a young full-kit wanker, but from there I became a Spurs fan.
Who was your childhood hero and did you ever meet them?
Clive Allen [above right]. They a few years ago, on the day of the North London derby. The players were warming up before kick-off, and Clive was part of the coaching team. It was when Dimitar Berbatov [above left] was playing for us, and I loved Berba. When I walked past him, I reacted in a childlike, “Oooh!” way – lost for words and in awe of the man. Clive was right behind him, then he turned to me and said, “He is a human being, you know?” I thought, ‘Oh Clive, you’ve just f**king ruined my life!’ with that rather curt response. His little quip destroyed me.
