Erling Haaland's Eyebrows
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Champion gurner, excellent kit man and mickey-taker to the stars, Les Chapman is one of those people who bring heart and soul to Manchester City.
But behind the fun and the fussing over millionaire footballers is a serious football man, who made more than 700 Football League appearances and has served many clubs with distinction as player, coach, and manager.
He likes to remind the international superstars who toss their dirty kit on the floor rather than use the bins he provides; “Seven hundred and forty-nine Football League appearances and I have to clear up your crap!”
And now, ‘Chappy’ is to finally get the recognition he richly deserves, in the form of a tribute match to be held at Edgeley Park on August 4.
Anyone who spends time around City will know that Chappy is much more than just a kit man – he is chief prankster, a listening ear and a helping hand – the kind of person who helps to glue a football club together.
In an era when mega-rich footballers arrive from the ends of the earth, and top-flight clubs appear over-populated by pen-pushers and number-crunchers, Chappy is the type who reminds everyone – from superstar player to tea lady – why they are there in the first place. A real football man.
It comes as no surprise that when City old boys’ football team manager Derek Partridge began seeking Blue legends to play in the match, he had 27 volunteers without trying.
Shaun Goater agreed to fly in from Bermuda for the game, Robbie Fowler will come from the USA, and names like Asa Hartford, Peter Barnes, Steve McManaman, Andy Morrison, Paul Dickov, Kevin Horlock and Uwe Rosler have all signalled their intention to be there.
The organisers have also plans in the pipeline for a few extra special guest players on the day.
City’s Former Players’ Association has also thrown its weight behind the match, and a dinner to be held later in the year in Chappy’s honour.
Royton-born Chapman played for 22 seasons in the league, including two spells at home-town club Oldham, as well as stints at Huddesrsfield, Bradford, Rochdale and Preston, punctuated by a season with San Jose Earthquakes in the North American Soccer League,
Former City player Fred Eyre, now an accomplished author, after-dinner speaker and broadcaster, said Chapman is one of football’s unheralded heroes: “I believe he is in the top 20 of all-time league appearances. And one of very, very few players who has played on all 92 league grounds.
“I actually tried to sign Chappy when I was Wigan manager and he was at Bradford. He was getting on a bit by then, so thought I could get him on the cheap!
“He was a top-class professional who knew all the nuances of playing down the left-hand side, but I wanted him because he was also, and still is, a top person in terms of character in the dressing room.
“People talk about someone who would give you the shirt off their back, but I remember Chappy literally doing so, at a testimonial dinner for former team-mate Keith Hanvey a few years ago.
“He joined me on the top table and started off auctioning the tie he was wearing, then moved to the shirt. By the time he went home, he was down to his underpants and decided to call it a draw, mercifully.”
Once his remarkable playing career was over, and after his season as player-manager at Stockport, Chapman was manager at Preston for two years.
In 1993 he became reserve team coach at City under Peter Reid, and went on to be Huddersfield’s youth team coach before returning to the Blues during Joe Royle’s reign.
But he has been much more than a glorified laundryman down the years, with his comedy routines and impersonations now the stuff of legend.
He was the man who sorted out the ‘Why Always Me?’ T-shirt which Mario Balotelli revealed after opening the scoring in the 6-1 derby rout at Old Trafford, an image which has passed into football legend.
Chappy, who turns 65 later this year, was also one of the stars of the ‘Harlem Shake’ video staged by City players last season.
City would have staged the game at the Etihad Stadium, but the summer pop concerts, and need to re-seed the pitch in their aftermath, meant that was impossible, and Stockport were happy to help out.
“We want to make this into a really special day for Chappy,” said Partridge, the former City scout.
“He has been such an important part of this club for so long that a few of us got together and decided we had to do something to mark it.
“City is such a high-profile club these days, with players coming here from all around the world, but we want to ensure the club stays together as a family club, and one which serves the community.
“Chappy helps to do that, by supporting the fund-raising of our former players’ team and in all kinds of other ways.
“He is a fantastic personality, and in his day he was a very, very good player.
“He loves a laugh and has a great knack of bringing people back down to earth – if the Queen walked through the door into the City kit room he wouldn’t be any different.
“He treats the young lads at City the same way he treats the first team players, and will do anything for anyone.”
Partridge also promises that fans who go along to Edgeley Park on the day will see a proper game.
“The City old boys’ team is unbeaten in five years, and very proud of that record,” he says.
But behind the fun and the fussing over millionaire footballers is a serious football man, who made more than 700 Football League appearances and has served many clubs with distinction as player, coach, and manager.
He likes to remind the international superstars who toss their dirty kit on the floor rather than use the bins he provides; “Seven hundred and forty-nine Football League appearances and I have to clear up your crap!”
And now, ‘Chappy’ is to finally get the recognition he richly deserves, in the form of a tribute match to be held at Edgeley Park on August 4.
Anyone who spends time around City will know that Chappy is much more than just a kit man – he is chief prankster, a listening ear and a helping hand – the kind of person who helps to glue a football club together.
In an era when mega-rich footballers arrive from the ends of the earth, and top-flight clubs appear over-populated by pen-pushers and number-crunchers, Chappy is the type who reminds everyone – from superstar player to tea lady – why they are there in the first place. A real football man.
It comes as no surprise that when City old boys’ football team manager Derek Partridge began seeking Blue legends to play in the match, he had 27 volunteers without trying.
Shaun Goater agreed to fly in from Bermuda for the game, Robbie Fowler will come from the USA, and names like Asa Hartford, Peter Barnes, Steve McManaman, Andy Morrison, Paul Dickov, Kevin Horlock and Uwe Rosler have all signalled their intention to be there.
The organisers have also plans in the pipeline for a few extra special guest players on the day.
City’s Former Players’ Association has also thrown its weight behind the match, and a dinner to be held later in the year in Chappy’s honour.
Royton-born Chapman played for 22 seasons in the league, including two spells at home-town club Oldham, as well as stints at Huddesrsfield, Bradford, Rochdale and Preston, punctuated by a season with San Jose Earthquakes in the North American Soccer League,
Former City player Fred Eyre, now an accomplished author, after-dinner speaker and broadcaster, said Chapman is one of football’s unheralded heroes: “I believe he is in the top 20 of all-time league appearances. And one of very, very few players who has played on all 92 league grounds.
“I actually tried to sign Chappy when I was Wigan manager and he was at Bradford. He was getting on a bit by then, so thought I could get him on the cheap!
“He was a top-class professional who knew all the nuances of playing down the left-hand side, but I wanted him because he was also, and still is, a top person in terms of character in the dressing room.
“People talk about someone who would give you the shirt off their back, but I remember Chappy literally doing so, at a testimonial dinner for former team-mate Keith Hanvey a few years ago.
“He joined me on the top table and started off auctioning the tie he was wearing, then moved to the shirt. By the time he went home, he was down to his underpants and decided to call it a draw, mercifully.”
Once his remarkable playing career was over, and after his season as player-manager at Stockport, Chapman was manager at Preston for two years.
In 1993 he became reserve team coach at City under Peter Reid, and went on to be Huddersfield’s youth team coach before returning to the Blues during Joe Royle’s reign.
But he has been much more than a glorified laundryman down the years, with his comedy routines and impersonations now the stuff of legend.
He was the man who sorted out the ‘Why Always Me?’ T-shirt which Mario Balotelli revealed after opening the scoring in the 6-1 derby rout at Old Trafford, an image which has passed into football legend.
Chappy, who turns 65 later this year, was also one of the stars of the ‘Harlem Shake’ video staged by City players last season.
City would have staged the game at the Etihad Stadium, but the summer pop concerts, and need to re-seed the pitch in their aftermath, meant that was impossible, and Stockport were happy to help out.
“We want to make this into a really special day for Chappy,” said Partridge, the former City scout.
“He has been such an important part of this club for so long that a few of us got together and decided we had to do something to mark it.
“City is such a high-profile club these days, with players coming here from all around the world, but we want to ensure the club stays together as a family club, and one which serves the community.
“Chappy helps to do that, by supporting the fund-raising of our former players’ team and in all kinds of other ways.
“He is a fantastic personality, and in his day he was a very, very good player.
“He loves a laugh and has a great knack of bringing people back down to earth – if the Queen walked through the door into the City kit room he wouldn’t be any different.
“He treats the young lads at City the same way he treats the first team players, and will do anything for anyone.”
Partridge also promises that fans who go along to Edgeley Park on the day will see a proper game.
“The City old boys’ team is unbeaten in five years, and very proud of that record,” he says.