PAUL SMITH

Maximo Park's frontman on a rocket from Rochemback, meeting Gareth Southgate at Colin Cooper's big bash and being dropped for a doppelgänger

- Niall Docherty

What was the first game you ever saw live? Middlesbrough vs Watford on a cold, rainy midweek night in March 1990. I’d won the tickets by phoning into my local radio station and replying to a question, the answer to which was Bernie Slaven. Me and my dad went to see us lose 2-1. We were in the Dickens suite, Dickens being a local DIY superstore which once sponsored Middlesbrough, and none of the players came up to the lounge afterwards, as promised, because they’d lost miserably at home. But I was bewitched by it all – the towering floodlights, and the walk to Ayresome Park.

Who was your childhood hero, and did you ever meet them?

It was Bernie Slaven. I’m actually quite friendly with Bernie now: he sometimes invites me to the matches as a guest, which is a dream come true. He was the main goalscorer. He had his flicky hairdo and was as verbose as you would want a prolific striker to be in his interviews. I was drawn to his flair, his enjoyment of the game and his scoring exploits. I had a poster of him on the wall next to some of my favourite pop stars and Michael Jordan. When I told him about that, he said, in typical Bernie style, “What were you doing with me up on your wall? You should’ve had some models.”

What’s your best moment as a player?

We won the league and cup double at Northfield School in Billingham – that was good. I scored five goals in a game and was quite excited, then for the next match I got dropped as there were two lads in our team named ‘Smith’ and we looked like each other.

What do you like most about going to a match?