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Football Legend Gordon Banks Talks Spireites, '66, Wembley And That Save


Tuesday 7th February 2012
picture courtesy www.gordonbanks.org

The Legendary Gordon Banks Speaks To The Chesterfield PostSay the name 'Gordon Banks' and most people will think of the 1966 World Cup Finals or THAT goal which he saved from Pele, 4 years later in Mexico.

His illustrious football career though began in Chesterfield at Saltergate, 57 years ago and continued, through the ranks, via Leicester and Stoke. His England career spanned 9 years and earned him 73 caps.

Ahead of the Spireites' JPT trip to Wembley, a place that Gordon knew well and, as the old Saltergate ground prepares to be demolished, we spoke to Gordon and asked him about his memories of football at the Recreation ground and what Chesterfield players can expect when they step out on the hallowed turf next month.

Gordon is retired now, aged 74, though he still works on the Pools Panel and remains a humble man, despite his great success. He's a man with loads of stories, told with humour and you get a sense that he was very proud to be able to carve a career from doing something he loved.

You can also hear the interview in full using the audio player below.




We began the interview by asking him to tell us about his early career at Saltergate...

"I started in the youth team, then went into the reserves. Then I did my National Service and when I came out, I signed on as a full time player. In my first season, Ronnie Powell the first team Goalkeeper got injured and I managed to play 23 matches - then I transferred to Leicester.

Old Saltergate ground - now ready to be demolished, was the starting point in Gordon's footballing career.

"Saltergate (above - now waiting for demolition) is a compact little ground - we didn't have a training ground in those days so just ran round the pitch to keep fit and the ball work was conducted at the far side of the ground where we walked in, near the stairs and where there was a bit of room. I had people throwing balls at me for handling skills - I couldn't get down to them though as it was a hard surface!"

Despite being a Semi Professional player contracted to a club Gordon still had to work another job...
"I was a bricklayer when I started as a semi professional, I still worked and then went training Tuesday and Thursday night to keep fit. I had to work, catch 2 buses to get to training and then work the following day, but it was worth it for the privilege of being a semi professional footballer."

One story that sticks in Gordon's head is the day he took the Chairman back to Sheffield after a game...
"I had a works van but the passenger seat wasn't screwed in, so I could get my ladders in! I took the Chairman, who lived in Sheffield, home after a game, along with a player, and he sat on this seat. I had to brake at one stage and the seat went forward and he nearly hit his head on the window. He got out at Sheffield and said 'Gordon, remind me never to ask you for another lift again!' "

That’s probably why you went to Leicester?
"Probably!" (laughs)

The world of professional football is so different now - you were working then too weren't you?
"Even when I was working full time as a professional, you couldn't earn more than £20 pound - it was £3 at Chesterfield - very little money! So it was the thrill of being a full time professional player, the wage was worked out as the equivalent of the average mans working wage in those days, but it was the thrill of keeping fit and running out in front of a big crowd - and getting paid for it."

We asked about the cup final of 1966...
"It was the thrill of a lifetime! Any professional who's played in a World Cup final would tell you that.

"It was our year - the build up had been great - we'd won 14 games without losing and had beaten a lot of big countries on their soil. We couldn't go in saying 'we'll win', we just said to ourselves 'we'd do our best' because you never know in a tournament that size what's going to happen.

"But it went right to the final, to extra time and it was such a thrill, the elation, when it was over - people were jumping in the fountains in Trafalgar Square and there were so many people, they blocked the road outside our hotel. A day I'll never forget."

And all the more satisfying to do it on home soil?
"In front of your home crowd, yes. One or two people have said 'you only won because it was at Wembley' but it doesn't matter who or where you play - you have to win."

Everyone talks about the next World Cup you played in though...
"Pele! People talk about that more than anything! I'll be remembered for that more than the 1966 final I think.

"I'd worked hard out there and had lots of shooting practice with lads like Bobby Charlton - the ball came through the air very quickly because of the altitude there, so it came across very quickly and I had to get used to that. I had to anticipate how it would kick up. I had to anticipate how high it would bounce after Pele headed it and how high it was going to bounce, I got my hand to it and fortunately for me, it went over the bar."

Chesterfield won the League 2 Championship last year - and this year they're headed to Wembley for the JPT final. You've played at Wembley in Cup Finals, explain to us how it feels...
"Very proud! You only get there once in a lifetime normally, it's part of your career you don't forget.

"It's a wonderful day - win or lose - it's wonderful to walk out on that ground and hear the roar of the crowd. Get lots of photographs of walking out and of standing for the National Anthem! I want to wish them all the best.

"It's funny, I was looking the tables the other day and they'd won a couple of games and got off the bottom and I was thinking 'go on', they've lost since and are back on the bottom but if they keep working at it and battling, there's a chance, it's still tight and only a few points separate them from safety."

Although retired, Gordon still keeps busy...
"I work as a member of the Pools Panel - we have to still earn a few pounds to keep things ticking over! So I go to Liverpool and sit on the panel. Last week lots of games were cancelled, 24 were off, so we had to make a decision on all those so we were there quite a while. That keeps me ticking over and I enjoy that."

Many thanks to Gordon for his time talking to us. A true Legend!

 

 


 


 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


For more information and other CFC news, go to www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk

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