The single best bloke I had the honour of meeting, and becoming friends with, in football. Just a thoroughly decent human being with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the beautiful game. Really good to see that. And former chaplain, Pete Amos in the background. Another hero of Oakwell.
It all feels really surreal now. Nearly 30 years on. Especially given our decline. The most unbelievable thing, that actually happened. And nothing can ever change what he oversaw and created with a combination of flair and grit. An incredible time, and for those lucky enough to witness, an absolute privilege.
Never mind it seeming a lifetime ago now. When we were in the dregs of the Rochdale mk2 experiment, only 10/15 years after, it seemed like a completely different universe to what the club was then.
I met him a few weeks ago in sheffield. They say don’t meet your heroes ..apart from Danny. A top, top bloke.
The evening with Danny and book signing at Oakwell a couple of years ago was brilliant. He had time to chat to everyone and told me and my dad a couple of funny stories about one of the Premier League squad who’s a friend of ours. We were also lucky enough to be on the row in front of the special guest who sneakily came in to ask a question. Viv Anderson. Great night all round.
Trust me, there were a few heroes I met who definitely fell in the 'wish I hadn't bothered' bracket. But Danny and of course, his right-hand man Eric were first class and it only made that era feel more special to me.
