Comic tried to motivate his beloved Man City

Eddie Large once gave Man City a half-time team talk.

Mel Machin, who managed the club from 1987 to 1989, invited the comic to the dressing room, without telling the players.

Midfielder Paul Lake recalled the incident in his memoirs, which has been repeated on The Guardian’s Euro 2020 blog today.

He recalled that as they went into the break 3-0 up, the boss had promised a pep talk from one of his pals, but didn’t reveal who, until out ‘toddled’ Large, a big fan of the club.

‘What followed was the most surreal half-time team talk I’ve ever experienced,’ Lake said. ‘Eddie wearing a shiny grey showbiz suit with rolled up sleeves, proceeded to dole out individual advice to each of the players using his well known repertoire of celebrity impersonations.

‘So Deputy Dawg ordered me to keep tight in defence; Frank Carson told Nelly [Neil Young] to use the width and pace of Whitey; Cliff Richard advised Trevor Morley to shoot on sight; Harold Wilson told Bob Brightwell to keep it simple and Benny from Crossroads told Andy Dibble to stay awake. Final score: 3-3.'

Published: 25 Jun 2021