The Last Busby Babe: The Autobiography of Sammy McIlroy by Wayne Barton;

Author:Wayne Barton;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mint Associates Ltd
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

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FORTY-EIGHT HOURS after being told in no uncertain terms I didn’t have a future at Manchester United, I was making my debut for my new club, Stoke City, up at Sunderland’s famous Roker Park stadium.

When I went to Roker Park with United in the Second Division, 45,976 fans packed in to the ground on a cold January afternoon to hopefully see a thrilling repeat of our game in November. They did not. We drew 0-0, a good point for us on the day. Playing there for Stoke was the first of many culture shocks I received. Just 14,317 were there for this Wednesday night First Division match.

I was still feeling ill, and hadn’t got to know any of my new team-mates, but I think I was still motoring on this adrenalin coursing through my body and trying to make sense of it all. It was a tight affair. Just after the hour, Brendan O’Callaghan, a forward with a modest goalscoring record by top-flight standards, gave us the lead. Soon after, in their rush to get back into the game, one of the home lads made a sloppy pass. I intercepted it and skipped past a couple of challenges to score a decent goal past Barry Siddle, their goalkeeper. Our local newspaper described it as one of the best goals in Stoke’s history – I’m sure they were just caught up in the excitement of the debut, a goal and a win. At least someone was.

Even getting up to go to training was a surreal experience. I was driving in completely the opposite direction down the M6. The first morning I remember thinking, ‘What am I doing?’ My routine was completely gone. ‘Why is this happening to me, at this stage of my career? I’m supposed to be at my peak. I’ve left the love of my life. What have I done?’ Dad wasn’t happy with my decision. None of my family were. But I was left feeling that it wasn’t even my decision.

I have to stress this isn’t anything to do with Stoke. It was a feeling attached to the impulse I’d acted on to move so quickly and of course the emotional conflict I was experiencing of leaving my club. The welcome I had was tremendous and I was very appreciative of that. There was a lot of press as I pulled up at the Victoria Ground, and I was made to feel as though I was wanted, and that meant a lot to me. I went into the dressing room for the first time and I felt like all the lads were looking at me. I froze. I couldn’t speak and was relieved when the first person spoke to greet me.

Training was different. They had a facility of fields with wire fencing next to the motorway. You could watch the traffic. It was fine, but basic. The lads were doing everything to make me feel welcome. They spoke about Mike Doyle, the Manchester City legend who’d just spent a few years at Stoke.

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