#danny webber

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Paul Scholes and Manchester United pals in charity game

Paul Scholes once famously made a U-turn on his retirement from football to return and help Manchester United win a Premier League title. And the 42-year-old proved you still cannot keep him off the football pitch after the former England international turned out in a charity match on... Read More

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Everton winger, Aaron Lennon detained under Mental Health Act

Everton winger, Aaron Lennon detained under Mental Health Act

Everton winger, Aaron Lennon detained under Mental Health Act (more…)

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INSIDE FOOTBALL WITH: Danny Webber - FA Cup memories ride high as dream begins for Salford City

Danny Webber relives some FA Cup memories after his team, Salford City, drew Notts County for their first ever game in the first round proper.

I stood close to my former assistant manager Stuart McCall for Monday’s FA Cup first round draw in Bradford. It was live on BBC2 and I said: “Don’t give us a dud team.” ‘Us’ are Salford City.

Stuart pulled out the ball which meant we’ll play Notts County. We’re all happy with that, with players like Alan Smith and Roy Carroll coming to Moor Lane. They’re in a dogfight in League Two, but they’re all full-time, they’ll be well organised.

In my last column, I said that I was hopeful Salford City could stay in the FA Cup. We did that by beating Bradford Park Avenue, then Southport on Saturday. That got me the invite to an FA Cup draw for the first time.

I’ve actually got a FA Cup runners-up medal from my time at Portsmouth. I didn’t play in the final as I’d ruptured my cruciate ligament, but I played in every game up to the sixth round. I didn’t think that I deserved the medal at the time because I didn’t set foot on the Wembley turf, but I’ve changed my mind.

I was invited to the draw along with James Poole, my Salford team-mate who chipped Southport’s ’keeper from 40 yards on Saturday to send Salford through to the FA Cup first round proper for the first time ever.

Let’s hope James Poole can get another wonder goal. He was a youngster in the same year as Daniel Sturridge at Man City. He had spells at Bury, Hartlepool and was at Dover last season. You can see that he knows his way around the block by his technical level. He still scouts for City and his goal was superb.

Southport are two divisions above us and brought around 500 fans to Salford – half the crowd. It was a big test for the players and the managers who are used to managing against teams who play in a largely full-time league.  

Not only did we win against Southport, but we beat them well. Everyone was buzzing. Gary Neville, one of the owners, came in the dressing room after the game. You could see what it meant to him and a few of the newer players who’ve not met him were buzzing off meeting him.

Gary, Scholesy, Ryan (Giggs), Nicky (Butt) and Phil (Neville) keep a distance from the player and managers. They watch games standing on the other side of the pitch from the only seated stand at Salford, their only luxury is a white barrier to lean on.

At least one of them will be there for every game and the players know where they stand. You don’t have time to worry about what they’re thinking during the match, but they’ve achieved loads in little over 12 months.

We won promotion last season and we’re well placed this term. We’ve won our last 18 away games, an incredible run, though that was put at risk at Colwyn Bay in Wales a few weeks ago when a closed motorway saw four of us stuck in traffic for two hours.

We’d arranged to meet the team bus and my car was ahead of the bus, but then we were caught up in the accident traffic and the team bus behind was able to divert and make the game. I learned on Twitter that I’d been made sub and I finally got to the ground at half-time. I was brought on the pitch with 20 minutes to play and managed to head the winner to make it 3-2. What a great feeling.

I’ve played in England’s top four divisions, but there’s a togetherness in this Salford dressing room that I’ve only experienced at Sheffield United in a promotion season, a winning mentality I’ve only experienced at Manchester United. That spirit wins you points over a season, you want to win for each other.

We’re not short of detractors, people who accuse us of only being at Salford for the money. They think we eat caviar before matches and travel to games in private planes. I’ve heard figures about what I’m supposed to earn which are so far off the mark it’s laughable.

They’re here for the same reason as me, because they believe in what the Class of ’92 lads are doing. Their drive and desire drew me in. I don’t regret that decision.

From the glamour of the FA Cup draw to a league game against Matlock Town on Tuesday night. We’ll try and put the FA Cup talk to the back of our minds, that and a new documentary on BBC1 about Salford which starts this week, though one of us will have to go to the owners and ask them to get their cheque book out and treat the lads to a night out if we continue doing well in the FA Cup.

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Former Manchester United striker Danny Webber opens up on his career, chipping Peter Schmeichel, playing non-league football, the Class of '92 and the late Jimmy Davis.

A year ago, I was at a crossroads with my football career. I was 32 and had done a pre-season at Walsall, so I was still fit, but I was in two minds about whether to carry on.

I’d spent my life playing. I was spotted by my local club, Manchester United, as a kid and joining them was a dream. I stayed there until I was 18.

I once chipped Peter Schmeichel with a penalty in training and he was so impressed that he chased me around the training ground. One job for the young players was to collect autographs of the senior players and Schmeichel used to sign my face with permanent marker as revenge.

At 18 I went on loan to Port Vale, where I was kicked about. I’m not soft, people from Longsight, South Manchester, like another Danny – Welbeck – are not soft, but I didn’t enjoy it. I told Sir Alex Ferguson that wanted to go back to Old Trafford, that I could play a higher level of football. He agreed and sent me to Watford to learn under their manager Gianluca Vialli. There, my game came on so much and United offered me an improved contract. I turned it down as I felt I’d get more chances elsewhere, but I did play three times for United’s first-team.

I played at Highbury, when my best mate Jimmy Davis made his debut. We were 19 and up front for Manchester United. Jimmy forgot his boots! He thought I’d hidden them. I gave him my spare pair. We got battered against an experienced Arsenal side.

I signed for Watford permanently and Jimmy joined me on loan there. The lads loved Jimmy; he sang a song as his initiation ceremony.

Jimmy died when his car crashed on the M40. All United’s first-team attended the funeral. There’s not a day goes by when I don’t think about him. I wore a vest with Jimmy’s name on and keep in touch with his parents.

I moved around a lot. Injuries didn’t help, but I played for England at every level up to under-21 and for Sheffield United, Portsmouth, Leeds United and Accrington Stanley. At Portsmouth I went without wages; I also got an FA Cup runners-up medal.

By last summer, I was thinking about calling it a day. Injuries get you down, but then I asked myself, do I love football the way I used to do? And if I’m honest, I did. Iwanted to keep playing.

A year ago, I was asked to cover a game for radio between Salford City and the Class of ’92. Over 10,000 were there and I went to get a cup of tea at half-time. It was near the dressing room and Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes asked me what I was doing there. They quickly told me that they needed a fresher pair of legs as they were getting beat. I had a pair of headphones in my hands. I put them down, got changed at came on for the last half hour.

Gary asked me after the game if I was interested in playing for Salford City. We had a long chat and I told him I’d sleep on it as it meant dropping down four divisions, but Gary Neville doesn’t allow much time for sleep. He’d texted me by 6am the following day. If someone I respect so much was so keen, how could I not be?

The benefit of being schooled at Old Trafford is that I’m a team player which helps any team.

On a technical level, there are some very good players in non-league; the reason they are in non-league tends to be that they’re not consistent enough. Non-league is full of talent that has been released from top clubs, but maybe they lacked the mental toughness or concentration to make it. I was always told by Sir Alex Ferguson to concentrate for 90 minutes; make a mistake and it could lead to a goal.    

I’m enjoying playing football with freedom to play. I get a bit of abuse from rival players and fans and it amuses me. You hear everything in non-league.

“Webber, you’re finished!” fans will shout.

“You’re only here for the money!”

I’ve heard some fantastic amounts of money that I’m supposed to earn and they increase with Chinese whispers. I laugh because they’re football fans – and so am I. The only time I’ve reacted is if someone has flown in for a tackle which would be considered dangerous at any level.

Aside from that, I love it. Salford won the league last year, crowds increased from a hardcore of 150 to 350 and as many as 1,000. We had 500 there for the first game of the season against Marine, from Liverpool, on Saturday. Man United playing on Friday and City on Sunday helped, but Salford are really active in the community. You see a lot of kids at games; you even get City fans who can see past the red owners.

The owners love it. Gary and Scholesy were there on Saturday, they stand in the crowd. It’s trickier for Ryan and Nicky to come so often as they coach at United, and Phil is now in Valencia but he was really keen last season and often at training – though the two managers, Bernard Morley and Anthony Johnson, are firmly in charge.

Having the old United players there is an added incentive and pressure. Some of the young lads just have to get used to them watching, but we’ve done well and it’s good to see the club’s owners so committed.  

We play at grounds against teams which are at the heart of their community. Fans walk to games; they have a pie, let off some steam and walk home. Manchester is renowned for its professional clubs, but there are loads of suburbs or towns around Manchester with proud non-league clubs.

We want to go up again this season and get into the Conference North. I’ll play as long as I’m good enough and enjoying it, a happy end to a long football career full of upsand downs.