Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

The Day Gazza Walked Into My Life

By Matt   Woods  ::  19/06/2012   39 Comments (»Last) After getting bored out of my tits reading about David Moyes all over Toffeeweb, I thought I'd share a tale about how the best English player of a generation appeared in my little life.

The scene was set in 1987; Everton were League Champions and I was 15. I was a very small 15-year-old and had the obligatory skinhead and thought I was hard. Defo...

Me and our Neil were pestering my Dad in the Mandarin over some wanton soup to take us to an up-coming away game. I forget who it was now, but me Dad just said he'd rather wait and take us to a decent away and suggested Newcastle. Result! Me and our kid were chuffed as monkeys.

The debate in the Chinese was at the start of the season in August, and Newcastle came around end of September I think. The morning of the match and we were up early and on the road just after 8. We had a gold Cortina Ghia and there was a full car with me, our kid, Paul Bennett from school and a scouser called Ozzie who drank in the Bug in Crosby. Fuck, we hardly knew Oz, and when we picked him up he stank of ale.

We pretty much cruised up to the Toon and were looking for our tickets around midday. Now Paul's dad Wally worked for Liverpool's development office and Wally is a fanatical Blue. He had arranged for our tickets to be picked up at the Newcastle reception. This is when disaster struck. No sign of the tickets.

This was 1987: no mobile phones to jump on and a stadium redevelopment meant all Toon home games were all-ticket. Fuck! So we take off and look all around the ground for other offices, with our hopes of seeing the game fading fast. I headed back to the reception for one last try. Nobody had a clue about these tickets, there had just been some terrible mix-up somewhere. Fuck! So this hard little skinhead was starting to get watery eyes in the reception area and this lad with some sincere concern asks me what's the matter?

I did a double take of this lad who was clearly a player and recognised him as the local hero Paul Gascoigne. Now this fella was not a superstar at the time and we didn't even know he was known locally as Gazza! So here I am wiping away my eyes and telling the future England sensation that our tickets have gone missing.

"Who are ya with, mate?"

"Me dad, me brother and me mates, there's five of us."

"Well, go and find them and I'll get you in."

So off I sprint across a car park to grab the others. Screaming excitedly...."Dad, dad come quick ? I've met some player Paul Gascoigne and he's gonna get us in!!"

When we hurry back to the reception, Gazza is outside and surrounded by young geordies, who are just hanging off him, and he is just laughing his head off giving them all signed photos of himself. He then sees me and is just grinning ear to ear. This is what it is like to be a 19-year-old local working class hero.

He gives us all a signed photo and has a joke with my Dad. With the redevelopment of the ground, there was only one stand open and terrace at the two goal ends. Gazza strolls over to a gateman outside the away end. "Haway man, these are me scouse cousins, let em in for us." Without hesitation a large gate opened and in we went, Gazza telling us we had no chance today, again just laughing his head off and giving us the thumbs up.

The game was very average and ended 1-1, Newcastle had a very quick Brazilian Mirandinha, who scored, and Ian Snodin scored for us. I think Adrian Heath may have been sent off too!

After the match, I can just remember buzzing off what a great lad Gazza had been. When I got home, I wrote a letter of thanks to Gazza addressed to Newcastle Utd FC and enclosed an Everton badge and told him to sign for us!

Well, what do you know? A couple of days later a parcel arrives at our house, which was addressed to me... and ii wasn't Christmas... WTF?!!

So I open the parcel and packed inside is every imaginable piece on Newcastle stationary, badges and photos. Not only that but there was a two page letter written on Newcastle headed note paper from the man himself. In it he joked that he had looked for me in the away end, but there had been so many skinheads in there he had to give up and concentrate on the game! He also said we were jammy getting away with a draw and that he looked forward to seeing me at the return game later in the season.

Look folks, I know this sounds mental and even now sometimes I can't believe it happened that a legend like Gascoigne had the time for young lost bluenose.

Anyway, fast forward towards the end of that season, or late March maybe? Newcastle come to Goodison and me and Ray, one of the lads from school are waiting for the Newcastle coach on Goodison Road. Gazza is now hot property and a move is inevitable for him in the summer. The Newcastle coach is shit. As Gazza is getting off, I catch his eye and wave, and he just breaks out into that big grin. Now no fucker in school really believes that Gazza is gonna recognise me, and Ray's gob is on the floor.

"Haway son, are ya alreet, do ya need any tickets?"

We had tickets, but like the greedy little teenager i was said "No" without pause. Gazza then sticks his had in his pocket and gives me 6 tickets and just starts laughing... "Haway, just sell a few, and I'll see you here after the match."

Me and Ray went off down Goodison Road flogging Main Stand tickets for a cut-price 2 quid and thought we were proper spivs. We catch up with Gazza after the match and he chats to us about the game just outside the reception. Everton won 1-0 and I think maybe Sheedy scored, but Gazza missed a sitter late on and was kicking himself. Just as they were getting on the coach to head off, Gazza puts his hand in his pocket and gives me a fiver "Get yaself some sweets son," that huge grin appears and he says, "see ya next season, Matthew son!"

Paul Gascoigne went on to absolute superstardom; over the next several seasons he always looked after his Everton Scouse Cousin. I had his mobile number after he moved to Spurs although I only really contacted him prior to games I once phoned and left a message on his answer phone after he had been sent off against Manchester Utd. Just telling him to keep his chin up... when ya 19 and the phone goes in the morning and ya bunking college and the guy on the other end of the phone is English Football's saviour... it really is a mad world!

I really could go on and on and on... the shirt he signed for Everton in is signed and in my brother's house.

I'm now no longer in touch with the man. I moved to New Zealand seven years ago. As a boy, Paul Gasciogne treated me in a way I will never forget. He is an unbelievably generous man, who just wants to be treated normally and loved. I would like to thank him for all the kindness he showed to me and my friends. I pray the guy stays healthy and enjoys the rest of his life, as we have enjoyed his genius.

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