A special Sunday for ‘Moore’ reasons than one
This is a special weekend for me in English football as my fellow Bermudian Nahki Wells steps out onto the Wembley pitch tomorrow on the 20th anniversary of the death of my former West Ham captain Bobby Moore.Bobby was only 51 when he died of cancer on February 24, 1993, but his legend will live on at West Ham, for whom he played 544 times between 1958 and ‘74. The club will honour the former England captain with a ceremony on Sunday and on Monday they will hold a minute’s applause prior to the start of the home match against Tottenham. I understand some former teammates, including Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst, will attend the match. Bobby was the England captain in 1966 when Geoff’s hat-trick led England to a 4-2 win over West Germany in the World Cup final.Twenty years have gone by quite fast when you think about it. It’s quite fitting that we pay that sort of tribute to Bobby because he was a fantastic soccer player, probably one of the best in our lifetime and also a fantastic human being. Everybody at Upton Park loved him, they still speak of him today, we have photos of him hanging there and if anyone deserves it it is him. He’s who I call Mr West Ham and was a fantastic person. He had the charisma to come into a room and make friends.He helped me on many occasions when I arrived at West Ham as a youngster and taught me how to handle certain situations and certain things during the game. He was a mentor and helped me tremendously during my time there. He’ll have a first class tribute and what better way to do it then with one of our neighbours, Tottenham, whose ground is about 20 minutes to a half-hour from Upton Park.We were two clubs where all the players got on with one another, but when it came time to play it was a war and it is not going to be any different on Monday.I would have liked to be there for the tribute but I told them already not to call me in the winter time, call me in the summer time. It’s too cold, I can’t take that anymore, no way. I was last over there last summer and saw the first game of the season against Aston Villa, that’s a good time for me, the summertime. I like to go in the summertime, I can’t handle the winters, it’s too harsh for me, it’s bitter cold this time of the year.I’ll be watching the game in the comfort of a nice warm room in the house, though I must say that in Bermy sometimes it is colder inside the house than outside.I certainly won’t envy the many Bermudians who travelled to London this week to see Nahki play at Wembley in the League Cup final against Swansea. But I am glad to see so many going over to support Nahki, it’s a fantastic thing to be able to play at Wembley and I just hope he is able to go out there and let people see that he can play.I really hope he has a good game and hits the back of the net. Not many players get the chance to play at Wembley and score at Wembley so it would be great to do it. I want him to do well. I know he will be nervous but I’m sure as soon as he touches the ball that will be gone. That’s what I would advice him, don’t get caught up in the hype, go out there and play your game like you would normally do on a Saturday.Being at Wembley will be a memorable occasion for the Bermudians, especially those who have never been there before. They will be among a crowd that is bigger than the population of the country they live in. To see everybody there enjoying themselves and hopefully watching a good game of football is rewarding if you are a football fan.The thing that will take them by storm is the passion the fans have and their love for the game. My advice to them would be to make sure you are wrapped tight and not to get into any confrontations with fans over who is going to do what. Be mindful of what section you are sitting in and what you say. Don't be confrontational, you don’t want to be shouting for Bradford if you are in the Swansea end.Swansea are a good team so it is not going to be easy for Bradford. But let’s hope they are able to go there and put on the same performance that they put on in the previous games in the cup. Before the whistle it’s anybody’s game, but once it starts it depends on who is going to take the initiative right off the bat. Wembley is a different place and sometimes players get caught up in the emotions and I hope it doesn’t happen to them.