Man Utd vs Crawley Town, 19th February 2011!!!!! A date that will be in the history books for Crawley Town Football Club and a dream that became my reality. We had made it to the 5th Round of the FA Cup and when the draw was made I remember being sat in the harvester with 10 of my family members whilst my mate was on the phone relaying the draw to me. When he said we had drawn Man Utd away everyone at our table shouted out so loud that the people eating there must of thought we were a bunch of loons but we didn't care. The footage of the Crawley fans in the Redz bar watching the draw summed up what it meant to the Club and the town. It is a footballers ambition and one that not many players outside of the Premier League will get to experience in their career. The team were buzzing with the draw and you could imagine what the dressing room was like for the next few weeks leading to it. The only trouble was we also had to make sure we stayed focused on the league as we had 3 games leading up to Old Trafford.
The big day was soon arriving and our journey started on Thursday 17th Feb a couple of days before so that we could prepare properly. I'm really not a morning person and on this day I was up at 6.50am with my bags already packed from the night before and in the back of the car. I literally rolled out of bed, ate some breakfast and then chucked my clothes on to go. We had to be in training very early as the club were holding a press day and wanted to get all the camera circus done and dusted then get on the road. As soon as we arrived at the stadium the excitement and hype had begun, the car park had even been decorated...
Whilst training there were loads of cameras filming us and wanting to interview players about the big occasion. I think my partner had every news channel recorded that day just so I could catch a glimpse of myself which was very minimal, if any haha. After training the spotlight had moved over to the stadium lounge and that's where the official press conference was being held for the management and staff. It was also where reporters could get interviews from the lads...
I've never witnessed anything like this before in my career as a footballer but for that hour I could get a slight insight into how it must be as a premiership player every week, it's madness!!! Don't get me wrong we enjoyed it but at the same time it can get very tedious, especially for the managers. Here's me and Dannie Bulman taking in a bit of the atmosphere...
and Sergio Torres being interviewed outside...
Once the media mayhem was over we got onto the team coach and headed for Manchester and as you can see the coach is covered in The Sun stickers as they were sponsoring us for the game...
The journey was fairly quick considering and I used the time to watch a film whilst also playing a bit of Mario Kart with a few of the lads on my Nintendo DS which can always get quite competitive! Whilst on route we were told we'd be heading straight to Old Trafford to go and have a look inside and get a feel for the place, this is when it really started to sink in. Here's us getting our first glimpse of the Theatre of Dreams...
Here's some pics of us all taking in the moment...
The Subs bench reminded me of something out of Formula 1 plus the Home seats were heated unlike the away ones which weren't.
Here's Sergio and Matt Tubbs posing for The Sun paper...
We were shown where all the Crawley fans and families would be sat and then someone asked the head security what was the expected attendance for the game. I was thinking he'd say about 30,000/40,000 and when he said full house the lads looked over and were thinking WOW! It was great to be stood on the pitch where Rooney scored that overhead kick last week and where Cantona chipped the keeper and did the famous staring at the crowd. It was quite a sureal experience trying to imagine we'll be playing on it with a full house in 2 days time was amazing.
After seeing the pitch we were then taken to the away dressing room so I thought I'd film the experience for you exactly as I did...
It was great to go into this dressing knowing that all the greatest players in the world have been there and then here's my shirt hung up ready for the game...
Here's some more from the away dressing room...
and Sergio being a typical tourist...
The hallway outside dressing room leading to the home changing room. I did ask if we could go down there but the computer said no!
The famous tunnel where the players line up before kick off...
For the hour that we were there the majority of the team were typical football fan tourists. It was great taking all the photos and filming but once we had finished we left the stadium and it was time to switch on and start preparing for the exciting game in 48 hours! We headed to our nice hotel just outside Manchester and set up shop. I roomed with Willie Gibson who's your typical Scottish fiery character type. He is so easy to wind up that I don't think he'll want to room with me again after what I put him through. There was also the usual traveling banter that goes on. On the Friday we trained in the morning and went for a walk in the afternoon just to have a stretch of the legs. Me and Scotty Shearer enjoyed taking in the sights...
That Friday evening you could see the lads were excited and maybe slightly nervous but enjoying the experience. A couple of the lads here having some grub...
Surprisingly, I didn't have any problems sleeping that night but woke up Saturday morning with a few butterflies in the stomach. However that didn't stop me filling my boots at breakfast. We noticed that day that Notts County were staying in the same hotel as they had their big FA Cup replay against Man City that Sunday. Paul Ince popped his head in and wished us good luck and I think our gaffer is good friends with him so they probably shared some tactical notes. We were given 2 matchday shirts for the occassion of which you can see me wearing before throwing on my suit...
We had Pre Match food around 2pm and the TV cameras were there to get footage of the lads preparing as you can see...
Once they'd got what they wanted it was time to have our team meeting and for the gaffer to announce the team. When I found out I was starting I couldn't wait to tell my family. I didn't expect to be in the starting 11 as I hadn't been for the last two FA Cup games but I was overwhelmed when I saw my name on the sheet. Now was the time to focus on the job at hand and we were briefed on the Man Utd team. The thought of playing against Obertan and Chicharito was amazing and it was a chance to test ourselves against World Class players and see how big the difference was!
On route to Old Trafford you could see fans everywhere but I don't think any of the lads expected to see the amount of people waiting to cheer us off the coach as we arrived...
We dropped our bags off in the dressing room and then went out to the pitch which was totally different from when we visited two days ago. The grass was cut perfectly whereas before it looked too long. Crawley fans had started to enter and they were shouting loud and proud even that early before the game. Once in the dressing room we prepared like it was another league game with the same CD playing and the same routine of getting changed. We went out to warm up and the reception from home and away fans was brilliant. All the players had a smile on their face and made sure they enjoyed having a ping on the Old Trafford turf. I made sure I struck a ball in the goal to at least say I've scored there! I felt good warming up and couldn't wait for the game to start. Looking around, the stadium must of been about half full as we were heading back inside after our warm up and that seemed amazing. Little could we imagine what was to come. As we were standing in the tunnel lined up with the United players I looked at them thinking what great players I'm about to play against. My mates let me know that I should appreciate every moment of the day and give it my all as they'd give anything to be in my shoes...and then came the moment when we walked out onto the pitch. I remember just looking around thinking, WOW! I remember them playing Rocky music as we entered and I thought that it fitted the occasion perfectly whilst getting my adrenalin pumping. You could hear the 9000+ Crawley fans as soon as we walked out and it was a great feeling from the amazing support. The first thing I did was find my family in the crowd and give them a wave. I was lucky to spot them whilst warming up earlier so knew where they would be. My partner, 2 kids, mum, sister and 4 mates came to watch which was priceless and a moment that I wanted them to share with me. Unfortunately there was one important person missing, my dad. He couldn't make it as he was away in New Zealand which was sad but I made sure it was recorded on Sky for him! Some of the other players had plenty more family and friends than I had attending. One or two of them had 100+ there!
So on to the game and what a game it was for Crawley Town. I think the majority of neutrals were expecting to witness a thrashing but the lads done themselves proud. We didn't change our strategy of how we play every week and we gave it our all and I'm sure even most United fans would agree with me in saying we at least deserved a draw! I think the first 45 minutes United had the better of the game and I believe that was due to the team not knowing what to expect but once we went in at half time we realised that there isn't much difference and we could actually get a result there. Well the second half we were brilliant and did everything but score. Yes I've had many of my mates hammer me for my left foot shot, you can't even imagine how many times I've gone over it in my head thinking 'what if', but my missus said to me I should count myself lucky to even be playing in that game...but I still keep thinking! Man Utd brought Rooney on a half time and I think that was a sign of respect from Sir Alex Ferguson. It was mad seeing one of the best players in the world waiting on the half way line to play against us! Every now and then when someone went down injured I'd look to my left and think "ha that's Wayne Rooney". It was great to play against these premiership players and give them a run for their money. When the attendance was announced at 74,778 I looked at the score board where it was showing it and I just looked around taking in the atmosphere. Unfortunately our journey was to end there, I guess bowing out at Old Trafford isn't a bad place to do it but we were so close. Our performance earnt a standing ovation from both Crawley and United fans and the lads could hold their heads high for what they had achieved. I want to take this chance to thank everyone that made the journey north and the team appreciated all the effort put in. It was a day that we'll all never forget and maybe not witness too many times but at least we can say we were there. It was great to be able to get Rooneys shirt to cap the experience, It's definitely a shirt I'll be holding on to and I'm sure the first thing he did when he got home was frame mine above his bed ;0)
After the game I was able to take my eldest daughter down onto the pitch which I don't think she was too bothered about haha. I then took my family to a local TGI's in Manchester with fellow teammate Scott Shearer and his family where we ate the place out of food. We had all booked a hotel for the night so that we could really make the most of the day up there. I had to try on the shirt before I went to bed...
My phone that night was on fire and I decided to not reply to anyone until the next morning...
Thank you to everyone that sent there support on twitter I hope I managed to reply to all of you. The next morning I was reminded by my daughter that I still had nail varnish on from when she painted them before i left for Manchester for good luck! I wonder if I'm the only player to of worn nail varnish at Old Trafford???
I think I'll keep that on the down low ha. We had breakfast and then started to make the trip home whilst taking a pit stop to buy every paper available to see if I was in it, I had a pleasant surprise...
It was madness, I made sure I kept every picture and write up and my partner has made a separate scrap book for it. There's been some great pics on the internet of the team and I'm thinking of getting this on blown up and put on my wall...
What an occasion! I think everyone that's been round my house since the game has either tried on Rooneys shirt or had a picture with it. I feel extremely honored and lucky to have had the experience and the memories will stay with me forever. I hope that the Premiership players appreciate every day that they are playing at that level as I'm sure every Crawley Town player would give anything to be them. If there's any young aspiring fooballers wondering what it felt like my answer is amazing but know that if they ever get the chance to do the same don't be scared as we proved if you play without fear you could achieve anything!
Our main focus has and always will be the League and getting promoted but this was a great example of myself as a player appreciating why the FA Cup is so special...
