Mickey Thomas writes EXCLUSIVELY for Red Passion

My new job is going brilliant. I’ve been hosting my radio show on Century FM for about a month and a bit now and I’m really enjoying it. It’s really good fun and the punters are great. I feel quite comfortable on the radio - not nervous at all. My co-host is a guy called Chris Cooper. He’s my partner-in-crime, if you like. He sets me up and makes sure everything goes smoothly. He's a top bloke and organises everything very well. He’s really helped me along. Joey came in one night as well - but usually it’s just the punters and me. Women, men, children - the callers are a real mixture. They’re also very respectful - which is really nice.

I get loads of questions - a real variety. But football’s been my life and I’d like to think that I know the game inside out. There’s the odd tricky question and a lot of people think that because I played for Man United I’m very biased towards them. You can never please everyone. But I can handle it. You’ve got to remember that I’ve had 50,000 people calling me a ******, so I’ve learnt to look after myself. One caller predicted that Shearer would score another hat-trick for England against Poland. His name was Alan Woodcock - and he said that if he was proved wrong he would come in and buy me a drink. So…he came in and bought me a drink. And it wasn’t a lime and soda either. It was Guinness. It was good to see him - nice of him to come in.
I’ve had a lot of calls about Shearer and England. I think he’s past it - but a lot of punters have disagreed! I’ve also had Liverpool fans on the phone, Everton fans, Chester fans, and also Wrexham fans. One guy called and asked me about Flynn. He asked me whether I thought Brian had been at the club too long. I basically said that Wrexham fans will have to see how this season goes. Flynn’s done a great job, and this year will be crucial. The team have had a decent start this season. And the new stand is looking fantastic. But there’s only one problem: it’s facing the wrong way.

It’s disappointing that Wales have gone out of the Euro-2000. But even so, I’m sure there’ll still be a full house at the Racecourse for the Switzerland game. With Hughesy as boss and Giggs in the team, I’m convinced the place will be full. I’ll be at the game of course - working for BBC Wales TV. I really am a media star these days: a co-commentator on the BBC, a roving reporter on MUTV, a phone-in presenter on the radio, and a columnist with Red Passion. What a great life! I love it.

I interviewed Gary Speed for MUTV the other day. A top bloke. But I’m doing so much media work at the moment that I’ve not played yet for Amlych.

But I did play in the recent Home International ‘Veterans’ tournament. It was televised on Sky and it was a great event - even if the whole thing was in slow motion. Wales beat England 4-3, lost to Scotland and then beat Ireland. And in the final we beat Ireland again. Glyn Hodges got the first, and Rushie the winner. Great stuff. We were the underdogs, but we came through in the end. We had a rotating side: Flynnie and Joey were playing, and so was Barry Horne. Gordon Strachan was in the Scotland squad and Hoddle and Waddle in the England team. Joey had a bad back though and was wearing this belt to help him through. He was playing in defence and I was in midfield with Rushie. And Flynnie looked good when he was playing. Every member of the Wales team received a bottle of champagne for winning. I love playing football and I love winning - even in my ‘40s. The whole event was tremendous.

My lad Aaron scored two for Bangor against Connah’s Quay the other day. And at the end of that Veterans tournament my daughter Jade came onto the pitch and had a kick around. Everyone was impressed. She’s just like her dad: she’s got loads of skill and she never turns up on time.

What’s going on at Chester? It was sad to see my mate Kevin leaving, but that American guy is amazing. I’m sure he’ll get them out of the division. They’ll probably end up in the Conference. Or in some zany American league.

And remember, if you’d like to call me on my radio show, I’d love to hear from you. It’s broadcast Monday to Friday on Century FM. Call me on 0161 400 0000 now!

Cheers

PS. I’m so busy at the moment I’ve only had time to write one page this time. I’ll write more in the next issue!