Former MANCHESTER CITY star and club ambassador Richard Edghill was as nervous before kick-off against West Ham on Sunday as he was at any time during his 209 appearances for the club.
Edghill, 49, has worked as a learning mentor at a primary school for the past 14 years and was thrilled to see Pep Guardiola’s class of 2023-24 put the finishing touches to another league title this season.
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City have earned a place in the record books as the first English team in history to win four consecutive top-flight titles.
Former right-back Edghill, who played for City between 1993 and 2002, has seen the club grow into a completely different stratosphere since leaving around 23 years ago.
Edghill’s football career is summed up by the title of his autobiography ‘Once a Blue, Always a Blue’.
From catching a bus at the age of 15 from his home in Oldham to the old Maine Road, being part of the YTS scheme, graduating to the first team and now looking after City fans in his role as match day ambassador.
It’s the journey of a lifetime, with Blue Moon’s lyrics always playing.
Edghill’s love of the game began as a child, playing in a field opposite his parents’ home in Oldham.
He said: “Being from Oldham, I went to Boundary Park with my dad and Roger Palmer was the big hero.
“But I gave up on signing with them because of the artificial pitch they had at that time.
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Man City’s five key moments this season
A look at five key moments from Man City’s title-winning campaign…
- Luton 1 – 2 Manchester City: City recovered from a four-game winless run to begin their unbeaten run.
- Newcastle 2-3 Man City: Kevin De Bruyne returns from injury to come off the bench and inspire a late comeback against the Magpies.
- Man City 3-1 Man Utd: Phil Foden delivers a masterclass as City set a milestone in their title ambitions and overtake their local rivals in the process.
- Man City 0-0 Arsenal: A goalless draw which, whilst disappointing, meant City were still keeping pace with the teams around them and could maintain their position in the title race. A defeat could have put Arsenal out of sight of the Cityzens.
- Man City 4 x 1 Aston Villa: After consecutive draws against title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool, City bounced back with a thumping of Unai Emery’s Villa to keep the pressure on the Gunners.
“I was spotted playing for Slumberland Rangers by a guy called Paul Walker.
“I used to take the bus to Maine Road where I trained on Thursday nights.
“When I finished school, I joined the city’s School of Excellence. I remember signing up to the YTS scheme for £29.50 a week in the first year and then this increased to £32.50 in the second year
“I still look back with great memories of working under the guidance of club legend Tony Book.
“It was an incredible feeling when I was offered a three-year contract when I was 17, for £350 a week. I thought I had won the lottery!
“I debuted at Wimbledon. I remember being in the tunnel at Selhurst Park against Wimbledon as an inexperienced 17-year-old.
” I looked and saw Vinnie Jones, Eric Young and John Fashanu. They looked giants to me, just huge.
“After about five minutes I was waiting for a Wimbledon player to take a shot and out of nowhere I got an elbow to the side of my head.
“It was Fashanu. He gave me a sly look and said, ‘You’re playing well.’
“It was an amazing thing for him to say and it gave me a huge boost.”
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Edghill was selected for the England Under-21 squad in 1994, followed by a call-up to the England ‘B’ squad.
But with an England cap on the horizon, Richard’s career suffered a major setback when he was sidelined for 21 months after his knee broke following a tackle at Leeds.
He said: “I was out for almost two years and had nine operations where they had to rebuild my knee.
“It was one of those horrible moments where I was told I only had a 50% chance of being able to play again.
“I was very lucky to have been looked after by a guy called David Dandy.
“Thanks to him I was able to play football again for another 12 years. And touch wood, 30 years on the knee is still OK.”
When Edghill returned, a lot had changed at the club.
He added: “Kevin Keegan offered me a one-year contract at City but I wanted a longer deal. Keegan said that was all that was at stake.
“I will always be grateful to Ian Holloway, who called me and asked what I was doing.
“He suggested I travel to London. I joined QPR in 2003 and spent a wonderful few years at Rangers.”
In 2005 Edghill joined Colin Todd at Bradford. He said: “I had two good years with them.
“After a spell at Macclesfield, I was 34 and knew my playing days were coming to an end.
“I started studying to get the coaching badge, but I didn’t really like it. I then started running my own football schools and summer camps, which I thought was great.
“I was asked if I could work in a primary school, which led me to join the school as a physical education teacher.
“That was at Oasis Academy Harpur Mount around 2009 and I enjoy working there as much today as I did when I started. It’s extremely rewarding.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
