🗣️ "There are two other important people leaving their clubs."
Andy Robertson pays tribute to Pep Guardiola and Seamus Coleman following his final appearance for Liverpool.
Robertson open letter
It feels a bit self-important writing a letter like this, if I’m honest. But when I was asked, I didn’t want to miss the chance to say thank you to a city and a community that has made me and my family feel like one of their own from day one.
Let me start with something that probably sounds more suited to a letter in The Herald back in Glasgow.
I’m a proud Glaswegian. I always will be. I love telling people where I’m from. It’s part of who I am. It’s where I was born, where I was raised and it’ll forever be in my blood.
But after nine years here, I’ve realised there’s room in my heart for two cities.
Liverpool will forever define a huge part of my life.
Honestly, I think the reason me and my family settled so quickly is because Liverpool reminded us so much of home.
The humour, the people, the mentality — it all felt familiar straight away. At times it genuinely feels like Glasgow and Liverpool are only separated by two different accents.
Both cities have that working-class spirit. Pride. Defiance. People who say what they think. No airs and graces. What you see is what you get.
And more than anything, both places value honesty. There’s something real about Liverpool. People here can spot nonsense a mile off, and I’ve always respected that.
I know from the outside my connection to this city will always be tied to the football club and everything we achieved together. Of course I’m immensely proud of that. How could I not be?
But for me and my wife, our bond with Merseyside goes much deeper than football.
Rachel and I arrived in 2017 as a young couple expecting our first child. Like me, Rach is fiercely proud of being from Glasgow. We actually went to school together, which probably tells you how long she’s had to put up with me.
Looking back now, we probably underestimated how daunting it was — moving to a new city, away from family, about to become parents for the first time.
But Liverpool instantly made us feel comfortable. And the incredible people at Liverpool Women’s Hospital made us feel safe at a time in our lives where that meant everything.
Over the nine years, two became five. Liverpool is where our little team was built.
A lot of teammates — mainly James Milner to be fair — loved winding me up about being captain of Scotland while having three kids born in England. But I’m always quick to correct them. They’re not English. We’ve got three proper little Scottish Scousers.
And honestly, we couldn’t be prouder of that.
The kids probably sum us up best really — Glaswegians with a Liverpool passport.
My wider family feel exactly the same way about this city.
Quite a gathering of former Hibs players in Edinburgh yesterday with players who entertained us from the 1960s and beyond. Too many to name here but the three seated players ate Paul Kane, Jackie McNamara and Pat Stanton. Such pleasure they gave us pulling on the Hibs jersey
When Andy Goram had three months left on his Motherwell contract, he already knew he was not getting another one.
He was coming towards the end of his career, driving to training with his wife Miriam, and the phone rang at half nine in the morning.
It was Ally McCoist.
That was suspicious enough on its own.
Ally did not usually phone people at half nine in the morning unless he was still coming in from the night before.
So Goram spoke to him, thought nothing more of it, and went into training.
At lunchtime, the phone went again.
This time it was Walter Smith.
Walter was at Everton then, but he told him to keep his phone on because somebody was about to ring him.
“What is it, gaffer? You got a job for me?”
Walter just told him:
“Just keep your f****** phone on.”
A couple of minutes later, the phone rang again.
“Goalie, it’s Alex Ferguson here.”
“We’ve got Bayern Munich on Wednesday and Liverpool at the weekend. Barthez is injured and Raimond van der Gouw is struggling. I need you to come down on loan until the end of the season.”
Goram knew exactly what was happening.
Ally McCoist could do Ferguson’s voice perfectly.
So he gave the only answer that made sense.
“Coisty, f*** off.”
And he put the phone down.
Then the phone rang again.
This time Goram told Miriam to answer it.
“Miriam, this is Alex Ferguson, and you can tell that fat b****** he’s got ten seconds to say aye or naw.”
It really was Sir Alex Ferguson.
So Andy Goram went to Manchester United.
Steve McClaren took him round the dressing room and introduced him to the squad.
Goram knew most of them already.
Then they got to Roy Keane.
No handshake.
Just Keane staring at him.
Goram looked at him and said:
“There’s no point is there?”
Keane just said:
“No.”
And that was it.
Keane was a Celtic man.
Goram was a Rangers man.
They did not exchange a civil word in three months.
Training did not exactly help.
They were playing eight-a-side one day, and Keane and Luke Chadwick were up front for Goram’s team.
Goram pinged a half-volley straight on to Chadwick’s foot.
Chadwick snatched at it and put the volley over the bar.
Keane turned on Goram straight away.
“Hey you, give me the f****** ball.”
Goram was not having that.
“What, do you get the ball just because you’re Roy Keane? F*** off.”
From that moment, the atmosphere was gone.
On the way off the pitch, Gary Neville came over to him.
“Goalie, we don’t talk to Roy like that down here.”
“We just don’t.”
Goram wasn’t ready to start building relationships.
“F*** off Nev, do you just do everything Roy wants? Now do one.”
Neville just walked away without saying another word.
#football
Wow.. no words to describe how I’m feeling right now. What a journey we have been on together and now again we can call Aston Villa EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!! I never in my wildest dreams thought I would play for a club the size of Villa but to help lead them to a major European trophy makes me the proudest guy alive!! UP THE VILLA 💜💜💜