Peter Schmeichel: United Need Xhaka, Carrick Deserves The Job & I Should Never Have Left United

31:06And then we decided not to lose the game again. And it became a saying in the dressing room. We'll win another 15 games and we'll have an unbelievable season. But it was never pressure. I never felt it was pressure. I never felt that we went away from also having fun. I said this yesterday on a TV program. I said, you would not believe if you walked into our dressing room on the day, for instance, the semifinal against Juventus, how relaxed it was. People were playing foot tennis over the treatment bed and sitting, having drinking tea and a little bit of a biscuit. Half the team changed, the others in their suits still 45 minutes to go.

31:49And it was just very, very relaxed. The manager having a laugh with everybody. and that's how I remember that team that's what it was like we weren't over coached I think probably what you're saying now is a lot of teams a lot of players they are over coached and players are different because a lot of players now want coaching we I wouldn't say we were coached not at all we had sessions yeah and we enjoyed it as you said it was all about enjoying yourself I think you look around

32:20Nicky:the training rooms as well and you look at the players that are in that training room and the confidence that was in every single player there. Even the bench was ridiculous, like Oli coming off, Teddy coming off the bench, certain other people. But literally, the confidence around there, you knew that one-on-one, someone goes through, then they're still not going to beat him. You knew he'd score a goal. You knew Giggs, you produced some magic or Bex, and you got Dwight and Yorkie up front. You got Keeney driving the team. It was just so comfortable. I think that is why you're so relaxed before a change.

32:47Nicky:I never felt in that period of probably 96 to when I left, I never felt we'd get beat, ever. It sounds big-headed down, confidence, but I never did. It's actually really interesting, because I never thought about that. I always went on the pitch knowing that we'd win. I'd be very disappointed if we did. I've never ever put words to it until I watched the third part of the 99 film when Phil was talking about the replay of the Arsenal semi-final when he made all those changes. can I swear on this program? Absolutely. I've never heard Phil swear but he goes, fucking hell this guy really trusts us and I never thought about that, honestly never ever regardless of how we lined the team up I never felt that we were a weak team, I always felt that we were the best team and I always felt that we were entitled to win because that's how good we were and yeah you can argue that if you go man for man, probably find better players somewhere.

33:55But as a group, it was an unbelievable group, and it was led by an unbelievable manager. And obviously most of the time that I was there was Brian Kidd, which I still consider to be the best coach I've ever had. And then Steve McLaren came in, and I was only with him for six months. I was very, very impressed with what he managed to do and how he managed to win every player over in that short space of time. but we were well coached we were I mean whatever we did in training or were supposed to do in training had something to do with what we were going to do in the way that we played and it was a progression from when I arrived and probably before as well and all throughout the time I remember coming in you know the cliff you come in and you're listening do you hear this sound?

34:46yeah then you stay away from the Gaffer Futuro but if you heard then you walk up to the coach's room and have a cup of tea and on this particular day this is this is on a Sunday I think before we play Fernavaggio away from home at this point we've never won a game away from home in Europe and it was a bit of a problem we played every team off the park Juventus remember we played them off the park and then of course Nsaki 1-0 you know and it just kind of repeated itself and Brian Kidd had come up with this idea of you and Roy instead of playing next to each other you should go like that one in front one behind and they were discussing that and so Alex was a little bit you know but Kidd was adamant and by the way this is Manchester United the tactic board was a biscuit tin with little magnets in different colours by the way and they were going like this you know by the way that's how we won the travel yeah the lid of a biscuit it was unbelievable and we on that Sunday we always sort of warmed down from the game on Saturday and then on the Monday it was only time ever the gaffer did a session and it was a tactical session of how we were going to play and he had you guys lined up like that and we won the game 2-0 so it was kind of like little little steps along the way did you ever get involved in a tactical side of it but when we walk past the office obviously just walk past the office to buildings tiny yeah I know about streamers you'd see like a Peter or a Brucey or a Polly or Brian Robson sat with the coaches with you but not really not really and I was intrigued yeah I quite often I went up there because I'd like to be in early and took the kids to school and then draw off to training and then now that would take me in an hour before training so I always went up and just sat with the coaches Pop Robson and Jim Ryan of course Kido and if the gaffer was there and Bruzy, Pally sometimes as well Chucky and of course Brian Robson would be there as well just you know having a cup of tea and then listening in to all this and you know obviously you guys outfield you were more bound by tactics for me my game was very simple in that sense so it was quite interesting to hear all this and it was also a way of connecting with the coaches and I like that Was Kiddor at City when you signed for them was he there?

37:39Do you remember when Graham Taylor came to United? No I don't know he'd been asked to come and do a bit of a talk I think I don't remember Greg Taylor why would he come and do a talk I don't know if it was someone to the PFA or the FA or something was he England man at the time no I don't think he was and it was after it was near Christmas and there'd been a bit of trouble at Christmas too and he started bollocking us that's a whole new podcast he started bollocking all of us did he yeah was Sir Alex in the room no Sir Alex weren't there it's Sir Alex was in his office it was in one of the rooms way way after I've oh yeah yeah must have been yeah yeah but he was but he started going I said what the fuck he was not doing letting that man down in there I do remember yeah I do remember yeah and he's quite a party to the manager's office yeah we thought he was coming in for like a motivational speech how does that work I don't know we're looking at Why did you actually leave in the first place?

38:42I was worn out. Completely worn out. I'd had four consecutive years without a single break. I had the European Championship and the World Cup every two years. And then in the years with no championships, I had operations. So I was recovering. And I played every game as well. It's not like we got quite a bit of rest.

39:06with maturity I would say that first of all now every player they have like a big team around them so they've got somebody to bounce you know their worries and their situation their feelings off with and I didn't have that I don't think any of us really did have a team around us so I just really felt worn out and we're in the World Cup we're in we're in July in the quarter finals get knocked out by Brazil phone the manager the next day and I said okay we're out when do you want me back and he goes tomorrow and I'm like tomorrow I can't you know that's the summer after not the summer after the Champions League is it that's the summer before we weren't even qualified because we finished runners up to Arsenal and back then we had to qualify mentally you need a break oh my god But I was, I mean, we were on a really, really big high for the World Cup.

40:06Because we'd done really well, played well. Got knocked out. But Brazil was kind of one of those games where you don't realize how good you are until the game's over and you should have won. And then you get told you're coming back tomorrow. And, you know, you're thinking, okay, preseason. And you're playing Crystal Palace away. I'm like this. My head's, you know. And I'm just thinking, I can't do this anymore. I really can't do this. So I spoke to the gaffer, I spoke to the chairman, I said, I'll play this one season. Because I had three more years left in my contract. I said, I can't be doing this.

40:39And I know now, and I think this needs to be said, because it's kind of when you get so far away from playing football, and with maturity and thinking about what you could have done, I should have spoken to him. I should have said, you know, I want to play every Premier League game. But, you know, the League Cup, you can play with Raymond, for instance, or now and again maybe just not playing me in the game. And it's not because I'm weak. It's just because I, you know, I want to, you know. And the thing is, I didn't realize that, that that could have been an option. And even I went in, we played Bayern Munich at home and I hadn't played particularly well that sort of month.

41:21I've made some mistakes. Sheffield Wednesday, I made a really big, I'm catching a ball like this. the goal is there and still I managed to put it in there it's kind of like really really crazy that's what Paddy does yeah no I wasn't waiting for that because I'm quite polite you know waiting for that waiting for that and so I knocked on the door and I said I know I'm not playing well but I'm I'm drained I'm mentally drained I need a break and instead of arguing he just looked at the fixed chillis and he goes yeah you can go away there so he found 10 days he was good at that 10 days and even though it was like two months ahead away from that I was like whoa I started to play alright again I could have done that had I done that at the time I probably should have stayed I know I should have stayed it was just a silly thing but I went to Portugal that first year was really really good for me I got recharged and we won the championship which helped a lot because it was so different I mean, you're talking about Newcastle being different, but you go to a different country.

42:30I mean, the whole, we had a coach who insisted on everyone eating exactly the same, exactly the same. So we had our right back, this guy called Kim Berto. He was half my size, and he had the same amount of food as I. I was hungry all the time. Plus, you're in a hotel all the time. and he played like a nine o 'clock kick-off on a Sunday night who was the coach Pete? it was a guy called Matarazzi so Matarazzi's dead was it really? yeah yeah why did you go to Sporting Peter? did you just think a league that probably not everybody will be able to watch there's still big clubs and Sporting are big club your Benfica's your Portos you think you'd probably be less intense because I was thinking this morning you're the best goalkeeper in the world was it not like Barcelona, Real Madrid AC Milan were them teams not trying to sign you?

43:20what it was was a place it was Lisbon it was yeah so I I promised the chairman and the manager that I would never speak to a football club before we'd finished our season and I kept my word on that so the week following the Champions League final and there was like kind of a list of options and the first place we went was Lisbon and And I've been to Lisbon a couple of times. I've been to Estoril and guys and all that. And straight away I said, it's going to be here. And obviously I met the people from the club and they were very, very nice. What were the other options? You remember? Yeah, but they were not that.

44:11It wasn't like the AC Milan's. When I first sort of decided that I was going to go, the big one I really wanted to go to was Monaco.

44:27More for the living than the football? No, it's completely only for the living.

44:33Brilliant. Because of the second part of that season, I felt I played really well. I think everyone played really, and I had so much fun playing that. I kind of felt I needed a little bit more football in it. And I made a big mistake after the final because the chairman and the gaffer called me and my agent, and they wanted me to stay. It's quite silly, this, but we'd already packed the house down. Really? And I was so tempted. And I go, no, I can't be bothered finding a new house. And the thing is, I mean, you know yourself, you were there. That trip from when we finished in the Manchester Evening News Arena, You know, when did that bus to go back to our cars?

45:20Remember that trip? The quiet? That's how I felt for days completely empty. I mean, completely. There was nothing worked upstairs. Because you just put so much into it. Oh, my God. Those last 10 days, even though it was quite fun, and I didn't realize the pressure that we were under, as soon as we'd won the game, I kind of went blank. I can't remember anything from after the game. No, yeah. you know but just but it's just um yeah and then you know are you are you in a proper state to sort of make a rational decision i wasn't at the time um and yeah i've been as i said with maturity and yeah inside and the benefit of that so you went to sports for two years and then you was going to come back to us now one year one year sports yeah i was all done and then why well why just a year you was missing the proper intensity yeah I kind of realized quite quickly that it's really weird I mean you're you obviously you felt it it's weird to be somewhere else it's weird not to even when I came back and played against you guys for villa actually we actually drew in the cup as well so yeah I had an extra game of pain playing against you guys Was that the one where Gaz wouldn't shake your hand in the tunnel?

46:45No, that was Sitter. Oh, sorry. No, sorry. Can I just clarify that clip? I'm not trying to shake his hand.

46:52Nicky:Yeah. I'm trying to get him over to the other side. Ah. Yeah, so when you see him get over to the other, I'm not, no, come on.

47:04And with all the money he's got now, and I can't believe he hasn't bought that clip and just erased it. He didn't do himself any favour in that game. He was very serious though, guys. Games like that, it was really... I don't even think he shook Phil's hand, did he? Remember, they were both captains. Oh, he's at Everton. Yeah, yeah. He played Phil as well. But it's... You know, you're talking, it's interesting as a football fan, when you were saying about Monaco and Lisbon, going to Lisbon and looking at the place and going, it's gorgeous here. Like, all of you, maybe not so much you, but how much of that comes into it when you're looking at a new club?

47:41You've won it all. Are you thinking, what are this club, what's their ambitions? Or is there that side of it you go, right, got to take wife and kids, got to look at the lifestyle there and everything else. How much of them percentages, which is the most? Is it the where you live and all the club? I can't comment on all things.

48:01Nicky:I think when I left United, I was 30. I think I was 30, I think. And when I was leaving, listen, I was never. So when I was all my career at Man United, I was always the one not always but I'd miss out or I'd be in but I'd always play 30, 35 games a season and I used to knock on the manager's door because my bravado my self pride would make me knock on the manager's door so I'd knock on example in some line of way and I'd go why am I not playing and he'd go well Scholes is better than you and Roy's better than you and I couldn't really argue that no it was as blunt as that but I liked that because it was no bullshit it was basically at the minute but to be fair to him when I played well he'd keep me in so I got to a point where I accepted the fact that I wasn't playing every game but at the end of the season when I sat down on hold there with the missus and the kids I'd be sat there going I played in that game I played 35 games I played a semi-final against Arsenal I played in the final because obviously suspensions and what have you but I got to a point when I was playing getting dropped for people I knew I was better than on a nap with me done I'm out I'm out yeah so not so much and I had choices of certain places I actually got asked to go off Carlos to go to Real Madrid and I was really thinking we had two dogs at the time and even got the dogs passports to come so excited about going there and they ended up signing Graveson instead if you remember um brother he's making a career yeah yeah so literally and then obviously the manager I don't know if Pete had the same thing the manager would never really want you going to any rivals and they were arriving in Champions League and you're not going I was like was gutted actually so anyway then that was in the January and then in the June I went on pre-season tour to Chicago wasn't it you probably went there further and through it's goes on and left anywhere three hours away yeah so literally Newcastle come in and at time so Bobby was a god of the football I really loved him that's Shearer there Clive at there Shea given there Jonathan Woodgate Kieran Dyer Jermaine she had a really good team and they were playing in the Champions League and so what you're getting at your question there and also I just had my first child Jersey was born and it was only really two and a half hours away from home yeah I'm thinking I'm away three nights a week with football with European games and I had to be a bit not too selfish with the family as well so that was a big decision as to why I went as well obviously Newcastle was a brilliant attraction for me with the fan base but it was the fact that it was only two and a half hours away from Manchester as well so for me it did it was a little bit of both I wanted to be still playing football at a really high level but I also wanted to be alright with the family and me and Scaldi are homeboys I've lived in Manchester all my life and the day I was born until probably the day I die.

50:38Nicky:So that part of it for me was big as well. Just going back, picking up on something you said as you started there then, the dogs have passports. Yeah, you can't. You've got to get them all the port. Come on, stop being so English. There is another world out there. You were telling me you knew a dog has a passport. Yeah, of course. I had dogs as well. Yeah, you had. What, did you go down to a photo booth for a dog? You can't just take your pit bull on a fucking Ryanair, you know, and say, go get on. get on Tyson you know you go to the photo machine and sit there for your photo what do you do it fucking does they have to get the dog to sit still no expression yeah they have to have all the rabies jabs and all the jabs more injections you have to see this picture of the dog though shut up on your knee no you don't the passport's more injections and they have to stay in in a kennel over there for three days make sure they're fine but anyway never happens actually it's actually quite complicated to bring a dog into this country this is an island yeah so the island didn't have rabies for instance so you need to provide proof that your dog doesn't have radius and then it has to go into a camera for yeah quarantine for but that's it's not like that and nobody used to be like that bloody hell you need you need you need prove that's a passport yeah I need prove that you have all the injection I think passport with a lot smile also I thought I was another question because what hits me here is you you were had an opportunity to go to real Madrid and you said no because you had two dogs yeah I'm not leaving Fido reminds you mind you wouldn't let me go and ended up staying and I went and up in Newcastle he was in that Real Madrid team then it was all the all of the and I think Carlos was the one who rang me because Carlos went to my gym and I got on when Carlos was there he really liked me and got on well with him and he was a good coach and he called me and said would you be interested and I'm like yeah obviously and basically it didn't happen and then they signed Graveson they wanted someone to just sit in front of that back four and be a bit protection because even the back four went forward in that team I know you've had an amazing career and you've won bloody everything there is to win but surely there must be times does that not you not go fucking hell Real Madrid I could have gone there I see Stevie Mac quite a bit in Hale he lives in Hale still and his career he had when he went to Real Madrid won all in Champions League I'm not saying I would have had the same kind of career but I would have liked to give it a go because that's my one regret now it was Bexler Bexler's there but you know like you say about at the same time yeah he went the year before but you don't say you get old and you have your regrets I wish I'd never left United however I had a great time at Newcastle, it was ups and downs obviously with relegation and what have you, but I'd love to have gone and played abroad and let's experience abroad.

53:33Nicky:Yeah. Because it was, like you just said then, a massive world, because we were brought up in Manchester, we never had to leave because we were playing for the best football club in the world, we was winning everything, we had our families here, our best friends here, school friends a mile away from you. It's almost the grass is always greener. perfect now if Man United were a really low down team and you watched chase winning things we might have easily have left I don't know don't forget you moved into coaching and obviously did really well the academy if you hadn't moved if you didn't have another experience from somewhere else you would not have been made a good coach because you said it we were brought up this is like the stand we think this is how it is and it's not it's not really it's interesting because Casper But Kasper always says this.

54:20My whole life is football. This is how he says it. My whole life is football. I got brought up with a certain standard. And I always thought it was like that. But obviously he's been, you know, he had nine loan moves from Man City. And then obviously a long spell at Leicester. It's never been like that anywhere else. Because it is very special. And to be a coach, I think you need to see both sides of that. And if I have to be completely honest in my choices, because I wanted to go into management. And my choices at the end of my career, a lot of it had to do with me trying to get different input.

54:59And one of the reasons I went to Man City, a big reason was obviously that Kevin Keegan was a manager because that was a magic in the 90s. Him and Sir Alex, obviously we had a different way of playing. They had this incredible flair and they all loved Kevin Keegan. And I kind of wanted to have the experience in that. And when I went, it's the first year they're back in the Premier League. And they've been all the way down to League One. And, of course, I phoned Alex up and said, you know, I have these options. The family wants to. And he knew the family wanted to get back to Manchester. Because we have, obviously, two years prior to that, we had a deal.

55:38But he knew. So I said that all this, you know, would this be a problem? and he said it's not a problem I explained to him also you know I want to go into management and I want to have different experiences different inputs and sorry Pete what was your deal when you left you said if you ever come back it would only be to United no never said when I went in I couldn't I said this is going to be my last season I could not go to another Premier League club I had to leave the country ok yeah or they would shoot me yeah So when you're at City, obviously massive rivals, but... Not really. Now, today, yes, of course.

56:21Not then, no. Not then. Not as big then. Liverpool were the main rival. So the main target for Man City that year that I was there was to survive. Right, OK. What year did you sign for United, Pete? My first season was... I came the summer of 91, so the last of the old first division was my first season. and my second season is the first premier season. I always remember people talking about when he was going to sign. Blonde, bright blonde hair and he can throw it to the halfway room. I remember him throwing it. That's what I always remember. You remember, don't you?

56:53Nicky:Oh, it took Andre Kocelski to throw, wasn't it? It was, yeah, I mean, so where I grew up, we didn't have facilities to play football all year round. So we played indoor football and handball for four or five months and it was the same team. Football. Which is where your big famous... Exactly, so I learned all that. What's it called? What do you call that? Stargell. Has it not got a name? It's Michael Spread or something. Michael Spread? It sounds accessible. Starfish. Starfish. What do you call it in handball? It's not got a name. I don't think it has a name. But we played handball and handball is a quick game.

57:37I don't know how familiar you are with it. it is a quick game so goalkeeper is equally important to the team as in ice hockey for instance so you know but what what you do I mean you can reset the game all the time even if it's a goal scored you can throw the ball up to the halfway line they can restart even if the team is still in your half so it's very very fast very quick and what we used to do was you know and somebody had a shot I would either save it or it would go wide and get the ball quick and then the wingers would already be up there so that kind of counter attacking good practice yeah it's easy easy wins in handball because sometimes it's really difficult to score and it's a very physical game so those were the easy goals to score and because we were the same players playing football in handball we kind of that came into the game so when I came when I came to to United and I had players like Ryan and Andre and Sparky by the way it was I mean I get the ball come for a cross I would look where he's sparking I would literally just throw it this high this high jump and I know he chest it down and we'd turn the game around quickly

58:49Nicky:that was growing up that was so we all talk about 99 teams and your 2008 team my favourite team to watch as a fan when we were apprentices was the 94 team I thought they were like every single one of them are gods all like I was doing a Q &A they all tell you that's when you're breaking in you play games in that season yeah they said to me what was the best team 99 or 2008 and they almost forget about the 93 94 team for me that was unbelievable the players in that that's when Roy came Roy and Incy Roy and Incy Robbo you Bruce Andre Paul Parker Bruce Paddy Dennis Roy Incy Andre Gixey Chucky and Sparky no Eric and Sparky oh my god there was no better team than that I think that's the best team yeah I'm not only that it was a character's and then Sharpie and yeah I remember when we first started coming in and we get told there's like spotty face 17 18 year old kids right Wednesday bullshead 12 o 'clock team meeting and literally turn up likes like skinny like that and we'd be like stood down I'd be still like that because like all your heroes that you grew up oh yeah the previous few years you've been in your bedroom like two years old and you're sat drinking and and you're like that right I'll keep up with Robbo Wave and my two pints literally literally half past two you'll be like let me scold you all on the floor but the bigger thing for me were the actual team they were an unbelievable team but unbelievable human beings like proper men that looked after us and people always talk about our group coming through class of 92 whatever they call it you'd never have heard of us if we went into a team at United now I'm telling you and it's not me trying to be nice it's fact if we would have come into any other team apart from the team that they had I reckon Scorsi might have made it I might have made it somewhere else Ryan was there anyway Bex would have made it probably somewhere else we would have never all come through because we was a really good youth team we won all of us every time we played so we're not saying we wasn't but to break into a first team one person you have to have good people there around you four or five was broken they were like they were like not only gods as footballers but really really good blokes that looked after you all the time they'd bollock you I was going to say that they would annihilate you I mean to the point where you nearly think nearly I don't want to play football ever again the next day if you've got an issue if you have your arm round you they'd look after you you'd go to a bar or somewhere have a go at you everyone's together I'm not condoning that but it was everyone was together it was like the Man United Island and no one fucks with any of you and that's what helps us players now probably couldn't handle it no they couldn't handle it when I was first coming through the team I used to be a spare man I used to have to warm Peter up I don't know if Peter remember this it's the scariest thing ever I was losing sleep the night before yeah because you put the ball in you lock it in yeah but you've got to kick the ball at certain sports there's always one from the wide so you can dive across like that if you miskick it I remember I remember wearing Peter up once right so after that how many times after that you're going through that process how many times do you miskick the ball then well you know what never ever it's brilliant practice all as well we used to think so we go on to our parents and go oh I'm in the squad next week my squad sat with my dad thinking I've made it we wasn't in the squad we was getting the fish and chips we was cleaning the kit up and we were warming Pete up I remember seeing I remember trying to clip it to Pete I was more nervous warming Pete up than I was in the Champions League final and I remember this the fans on the side the way fans were I can't remember what game it was I remember they put about three and he's gone came mad at me and the fans are next to me because you're on the wing if you like and the fans have gone hey you you little ginger dick you better not you better you better not mess this one up and have literally shaking feet you know and you clip one in they were our fans as well you'd think you'd think it's perfect it's quiet and he'd go whip it in and I'm going I can't do whipping I'm a centre midfielder I'd get specs out there growing up was the goalkeeper I bet when you was first coming through I bet they were in goalkeeper coaches kiddo used to warm him up kiddo I've been very lucky because obviously showing some kind of talent from a very young age and there's always someone who wanted to do a bit extra work with me and and and I always had somebody doing that giving that time and once once I became a senior player I I signed semi-pros with with one of the Copenhagen clubs and there's a guy there who'd been a goalkeeper in Belgium himself he had shops in the lit so he could pick his times to coach me it was an unbelievable coach by the way so I never really did goalkeeping training with the team when the team was there and it became a thing that you know goalkeepers should never ever do goalkeeping training when the team is there they should never see you as a goalkeeper they should see you as a teammate so um i always i then always did everything that the team was doing so we were doing pressing we're doing possession games or running or i was just i was involved in everything i think now something that happens in spain don't it a lot now especially my first ever training session with uh with manchester united first of all i land in the morning norman davis picks me up in the gaffer's car i i'm moving to england by the way so i'm bringing like seven suitcases so i'm thinking he's probably just going to drop me on the way uh to the ambulance hotels like you know the ambulance i can i can stick my stuff in the room right no no to the training ground and it's a gaffer's car and he needs it later on so i need to take all my gear into the dressing room and this is before the wall came down yeah you see how tiny that dressing so i've got all my stuff there you know and I'm the first one in I'm there for maybe an hour before everybody else and you know what it's like to get into you know the new dressing room and obviously in a different country as well I'm just sat there and players are walking in one by one and there's no room and all my stuff is there and they come over shake my hand and you know it's difficult to come to a new place so finally we get to the point where we have to go training which is always a relief you can you know we go to Littleton Road it shocked me by the way what?

1:05:18go by car we went around to Littleton Road so for Littleton Road now it's still the same yeah I know I've been around have you been there? exactly not long ago anyway you go there and kid this is pre-season training by the way I'm used to pre-season training the first three weeks you never see a football you know just running I'm ready I'm fit the season in Denmark stopped like two weeks before so I am I'm still fit from that I'm ready to go and Kido goes okay boxers old ones young ones and Peter you can go with Gary Rawls and Jim Layton and do some half wallies and I'm like no so there's no go to the culture I'm in the boxers yeah no you're not no I'm in the boxers and all the players go no you're not you're a cold keeper this cold keeper that I just went I just went and stood in the older box I just stood there and it was embarrassing right but eventually it was embarrassing for everybody so they started to play and then obviously because i've always done it i was you know i was decent in a way with it with it wasn't like i was in the middle all the time but it was important to me because they didn't know how i played yeah they didn't know that i wanted you know they seemed to be up there and i would sort everything that was coming over the top i could deal with that with my feet i could i mean and they can use me as a station if needed be and all that.

1:06:43I felt that was important because that's how I played with Bromby, right? Yeah. So, and yeah, that was kind of my first one. And, you know, when I listen to when you say all this, of course it makes you feel a little bit silly that, you know, you're like that. But there is an explanation to why it had to be like that. it had to be like that because when and you know this as much as I do when you play for Manchester United you must win the games it's not that you have to or we wish you will you must win the games and when you play for Man United you play against a team that will do anything in their power to win it is the biggest game of the season so every time you play against a team they play what's the equivalent of their final so it's always difficult to win against You need to be absolutely 100 % focused.

1:07:38And I remember Sir Alex once said, you know, for us to win a game, we need nine players to play a minimum of eight. We can carry one player, outfield player, who has a seven, a player seven. That's how well we – so that tells you how difficult it is for us. So when something happens in a game and you're there, you're playing, we because we've been there a few years we understand something you haven't got the experience of yet we need to know that you can deal with that so it wasn't like on purpose we're trying to bring you down but that was just the tone so when we're changed and training that is the tone then when we're in the dressing room it's different and sometimes it sounds a bit harsh my wife she's a school teacher and when I when I tell her stories about how it was, but just a funny little thing, Adam Sadler, who was my boot boy, he's been Casper's coach for many years, right?

1:08:37He's absolutely brilliant. And he always says to me, it was the best thing that happened to me that you were like that, because it taught me. It taught me to be disciplined. I mean, I would bring Adam in and say, what have you done to my boots? And they were shiny. They were perfect. What have you done? but I found a tiny little spot. What is that? Go and fix it, you know? And he says, it's the best thing because it taught me the discipline. Now, I tell my wife that and she goes...

1:09:09Nicky:What, you tell her you got some on your shoes and clean them? Well, but I tell her about how we work. No, it's important. And she goes, it's like torture. You can't do that. Torture. Fucking hell. Exactly. Well, that's why it's a bit softer. It was important. These players taught us how important it was to play for them. I remember, I think they came on a sub against Leicester on a Wednesday night or something. We didn't beat them and I missed a chance header. When it was saved, it was like 15 yards out or something. Every time I walked past Paul Linty, he hammered me. Like for three or four days after till the next game.

1:09:43I was fucking frightened after seeing him. And I said, fucking miss that. Fucking miss that, you're going to cost us the league. I'm like, fuck it. Jesus. That was brutal, yeah.

1:09:52Nicky:I remember when we was 16, 17 and just getting a little bit in the first team, not playing, but no training with them and stuff. I remember because it was so small areas in the changing rooms. I remember we used to hide at lunchtime. We used to hide in the gym. There were stairs and you'd be under the stairs like us thinking, I don't want to see Pete. I don't want to see Ian, sir. I don't want to see Bruce, sir. I don't want... Because you just get it. It sounds really horrible. You don't want someone to come to my United. No, no. It was a real look out of the car. Park's hit the cars I've gone you know didn't leave trains laugh six but the grounding that you had you'd never change it because like I say further on in your career when you do come on bad times all that's part of you did you find yourself you two doing stuff when younger players come in that these lads did with you when you come through yeah not to the level of that certain things change don't they in life and our children now a lot softer than we we were because it's just what life's like in general but when we come to the level of what we're talking about p and Rob or not we just carrying the button all you're doing is carrying the Man United button yeah and you put your own little stamp on you pass on to the next one so we'd do it there do it where do you pass it on to Wes Brown Darren Fletcher there do it and then they pass it down and that's all you do and that's that's that's that's how luckily was so we were around like cheek little fuckers I'm shooting against Pete trying to chip him and stuff yeah don't chip Pete they said they're not kidding training so the chipping is fine it doesn't matter to me you're the first keeper who said that the chipping is fine if you can do it every time in the game when you have that opportunity but that's not the reality so when you have that opportunity where you're trying to take the piss out of me that would annoy me see I never saw it like that that would annoy me because when you have that one chance in a game where we're struggling to score a goal you know you don't have that training of you we did that and it's you know i would do things in games where i i know i made you would probably not know but i felt that i made a mistake i could have done better there and i would try to think about what could i have done instead i would try to reenact that in a game in training without you knowing it yeah little stuff like uh i always said to kiddo we need to do some angles you know in some shooting from angles because that was probably the you know one of most of those situations did i did i was i in the right position did i were far enough out where too far out should have been was my weight and so i try to sort of work on little things just to make that better so thinking like that and then you chip me in training because you think it's funny you know no I don't no no no it's not you it's not you it's just the principle of it that you know you're trying to do something and then you don't when you get the situation in the game you don't have the muscle memory to do the right thing and that's the day where we needed that one goal you know it's a game that really pisses me off I would try and chip keep us in a game yeah that's fine as long as you can do it and score it's brilliant Pete in training would have it all lined up and he'd look and he'd go what you do you don't score goals so you want to shoot and it was like and he'd do this thing and I'll tell a story all the time it was fucking brilliant looking back and I'd pardon the the accent you'd shoot and he'd forearm it back to you like that and you'd go again and he'd be like trying to score and he'd go again and he'd be like you'd be getting more rage because you couldn't score past him and he'd do it for the third time and he'd catch it and he'd boot the ball and go you get in you're shit You'd be walking in like this Get in your shit Wow We've already overrun Well before we go I've got to ask you What's your favourite ice cream?

1:13:54It's a bit random Isn't it? I'll tell you why The other day I was out and about Ice cream You don't really think about it much Sorbet man me Nah Lemon sorbet I'm just wondering What kind of life are you living in? Well, this is what I'm saying. I was hoping about it. I needed a quick snack. And I was in a motorway services. And they do the little tiny takeaway tubs. And I went, Haagen-Dazs, Strawberry Shortcake, Pete. No. What a treat. I ate it in the car. I thought, why don't more people get into ice cream? See. I like that. What's steady? Vanilla.

1:14:30Nicky:Vanilla. Little bits of the vanilla teas in the screwball with the bubblegum at the bottom. Remember them ones? He's absolutely nailed it there. I used to love a screwball. That's what the chewing gum is. Rock candy, royal ice. And I drink the last bit of ice cream at the bottom of the cup. Chock ice. What about a chock ice? Do you know what? I really wanted to hammer him there, but a chock ice is a treat and you'd have that last piece of chocolate in the bottom. I like to feast as well. With a chunk of chocolate in the middle. Loved a feast. Loved a feast, yeah. Have you ever had a toffee crumble?

1:15:05No. Lolly? No, I've never heard of one. This is a great conversation. I've never heard of it Vanilla Vanilla Screwball Feast Oh feast Well tell you what I'll call you choc ice then Five old school There you go That's the end of the podcast Thanks for joining us Pete thank you very much For coming on pal Cheers Pete Cheers Pete Cheers You can find us Wherever you get your podcasts Apple Spotify YouTube See you in a bit

1:15:46goin ahead