It has been an odd week after being contacted by Adrian Webster, a Seattle Sounder team-mate of mine, after all of these years and in my case millions of them after my coma experience. Adrian was already a Seattle player, when I arrived, in a team that apart from Mike England of Spurs and Tommy Jenkins, Southampton, had not played in the old English First Division, although a lad named Tommy Ord and Derek Smethurst did a little bit there. Derek actually came on as substitute in the European Cup Winners Cup final after scoring the goal that beat the holders Manchester City in the first leg semi-final. I will be meeting up with Adrian in the next couple of weeks to no doubt run through all of those wonderful times spent together, off the field. He was there when Harry Redknapp was Youth Team coach under Jimmy Gabriel, and our team was what you might say “lightweight” but in those days the others in the NASL, like the New York Cosmos and Chicago were not shy at “Splashing the Cash”, when the team from the Big Apple boasted Pele, Chinaglia, Bogicevic, Cruyff, Neeskens and several other players who in fact were World Cup  finalists in 1974 when West Germany beat Holland in that final when Jack Taylor became famous for giving two penalties, one inside the first minute, I think. After speaking to Ade, I was walking from my morning coffee with Peter Millard in the Mona Lisa and out of nowhere came Rodney Udall who looked at me as if seeing a Ghost.  I took him in The Riley where we spoke about so many “If onlys” one of which if only he had took my fathers’ rather strong advice about concentrating on his football. There were only two players my father Bill talked about outside of me and my brother John in our kitchen prefab (Football Headquarters) and one went on to become exactly what BiIl said, although it was put like this as he told Bobby Robson, “Have a look at Ian Hutchinson at Burton Albion after seeing him against H-John who was then playing for Bexley, or was it Guildford?

But it was Rodney that was rated so highly by Bill, a tall, leggy, wiry, good striding midfield player who was seen by Bill as an “exceptional young player with great promise”, but Rodney as he told me yesterday “Did not see football as a living” and chose his academic skills instead of his football ones. I can remember Rodney as being a lot bigger than me, but then everyone was, who reminded me of a player who would have actually been perfect in the new game that followed me in the 80s. When the game went from inside-forwards to midfield players, when the players engine, which he seemed to have,  became the main part of the players equipment. My father though, obviously saw a lot more than that, because I was too wrapped up in enjoying my short trouser days and ignoring the world around me, and as for being academic, forget it. As I said to Rodney, who I had for a minute I think pondering over the “if only” which, is quite obviously something we all do in later life. We spoke about all of the things, both good and bad, that had gone on in our lives since the Chelsea Boys Club Under 14s when we won the National Federation of Boys Club trophy at Craven Cottage and was presented the cup by none other than Johnny Haynes, and if that wasn’t an incentive being our best player in front of the iconic John Haynes what would be?

However, it was the most delightful couple of hours which followed the call from Adrian and the ;little lady who told me the Loose Button story, in a week where I am going to present Luiz Suarez with a gift from me and George Best at the Football Writers Players of the Year on Thursday night. Now do you see what you’ve been missing Rodney?

I wish all of our issues we talked about get sorted out and say that it was also very coincidental being my grand-daughters Stevie-Marie’s 4^th birthday today, so it’s been quite a week. After Thursday I’ll be at Sutton United Saturday to manage a Celebrity team for the Bob Watson Foundation and next Tuesday  reunite with Martin Knight for one of our ‘Evening With Alan Hudson’  at the Kelvedon Labour Club in Essex, and I’m really looking forward to that event as Martin and I do give the audience their money’s worth and as you might imagine it’s very close to the bone, and sometimes unbelievable, but true.

I’d much rather be preparing for Brazil though….and who knows had Rodney listened to Bill, he might have felt the same way?