Millmoor

Millmoor open day, October 4, 2024

Transcript

00:00Well it's a fantastic occasion isn't it, you know the old ground it used to look really tired I used

00:05to pass it many a time off to Medder Hall and I used to look at it and think well surely something

00:12can be done with it it's looking tired and then all at once the idea come and the Booth family

00:19have invited us today they've opened it up they've done a great job actually because the last time

00:23I come in it there were trees on the terrace and I know Ken Bowles would have been really proud of

00:30what the Booth family have done to get this to get to this stage and to use the stadium for

00:36Wickersley youth are playing on it every weekend there's games on it and I think it's a great

00:42great gesture from the Booth family to open it up. The club's in a different era now but what

00:47does this place still mean to fans? Oh it means a lot to the older fans and you've seen it in there

00:52they've got some kids in there that's showing them where they used to sit and telling them the

00:57stories and then all the players are in this ex-players some great players in there that's

01:01played over the years and like Gerry Forrest come down from the north east, Seamus McDonagh's come

01:07from Nottingham, Canclo lad played in Rotherham Boys with him at 13 and we got in the first team

01:13he went on to have a great career but I've got great memories here and you know in them days

01:19it was an apprentice professional football contract at 15 I knew every cupboard here I

01:25knew every hiding place as well and you know we've got some unbelievable memories it's just great I

01:31mean football's moved on but what I like about this now it's like a museum because whenever

01:38football clubs have moved out when they've moved out it's knocked down they knock it down within a

01:43week and they build on it where it's just fantastic it's a shrine in this you know you

01:49see people smiling and coming up with memories there and the ex-players are just unbelievable

01:55and a bit of word on the dementia side of things that you've been doing yeah we've just had the

01:59dementia 12 o'clock we've had Dave Watson there his 78th birthday we had a beautiful cake made

02:05for him and he's as happy as anything there you know sadly there's a few dementia lads there

02:11there's a couple that's come across and it is sad it's a terrible disease and you know these

02:20lads I always say they just want a bit of love and if we can just give them a few memories just

02:26try and get the brain working a little bit and I think we've achieved that we've had a great two

02:31hours at the football club that's the dementia club and then anybody that wants to come across

02:36it's just coincided it's fantastic so I'm really I'm really pleased with it and as I say I can't

02:42thank the Booth family enough for giving me the pleasure to have a look and I'm going to walk on

02:47the grass in a minute and I'm going to try and find a spot where I scored that wonderful goal

02:52against Peter Varota when we beat Chelsea I only scored eight I think eight or nine something like

02:59that I remember every one of them