Ken Doherty on his love for United and meeting Eric Cantona
When Ken Doherty potted that blue in 1997, he etched his name into snooker history among the greats as he realised his life-long ambition of becoming World Snooker Champion.
This triumph also made him the first player to have been world amateur, and professional snooker champion. He states that one of his proudest moments of becoming World Champion was the opportunity to parade the trophy at Old Trafford.
This week, I managed to catch up with ‘Crafty Ken’. We spoke at great length of his passion for Manchester United which stems from imitating his heroes as an 8-year-old, kicking a football around a car park growing up in Ranelagh. It is clear to me that his love for United burns as brightly as ever as he recalls his conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson with great excitement (in his best impression of a Scottish accent).
We also discussed the growing importance of psychology in sport at the highest level, mental techniques and the benefits of employing such techniques in competition. It is becoming more apparent that the mental side is equal, if not superior to the physical aspect of sport, as stars chase success.
Nowadays, Ken divides his time between playing, punditry and co-hosting a sport radio show which airs every Saturday morning on Sunshine Radio at 9AM.
Morning Ken. What are your earliest memories of supporting Manchester United?
Morning Jimmy. It was either Manchester United or Liverpool in my class at school, and on the avenue where we lived. I was about eight, and my friends I played football with were Manchester United fans. We were always United players when we were playing, Pearson, Macari, or McIlroy. When United beat Liverpool in the cup final in 1977, that was my earliest memory of watching Man United, as an eight year-old. I’ve been a fan ever since.
So, did you play a bit of football growing up?
Yeah, I played football on our road and we had a little carpark that we used to play in. We made goals against the walls; we painted them against the walls of the gable ends of houses. We had great little games every day after school. 3 or 4 a side. They were some great times.
Who are your favourite players United players? Past and present.
Mark Hughes, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, there are so many. Probably around the late 80’s my favourite player would have been Mark Hughes.
What is your favourite United memory?
That’s easy! I managed to get to the Champions League final in 1999 in the Nou Camp. You couldn’t top that one. I have been to quite a few FA Cup finals, but the Champions League final is the best of the best. Thankfully, I stayed until the end and didn’t leave 5 minutes before like some of the United fans did. I was right down in the corner where they took the corner kick for the goals; it was quite amazing. I’ve never seen so many grown men cry at a football game in all my life!
I think my other favourite Manchester United moment was after I won the World Championship in 1997. I got a phone-call and didn’t recognise the number. I picked up the phone and it was Alex Ferguson inviting me to parade the trophy at Old Trafford. I thought it was somebody winding me up on the phone. He took me around the ground and brought me into the canteen to meet the players. I walked in with Ferguson holding the trophy and he said to the players ‘guys, this is Ken Doherty, he has just won the World Championship and he is going to parade the trophy at half time.’ The whole room went silent, nobody budged!
That sounds awkward.
Yeah, nobody budged. There was just silence for about a minute until this big fella stood up off a chair and walked straight over to me. I was looking up at him, he was towering over me and he said ‘congratulations, Mr Doherty & welcome to Old Trafford’. I was so in awe of this guy that the only words I could muster were, ‘thank you Mr Cantona!’. I was like a little boy! Once he came over, the rest followed and came to congratulate me. It was amazing.
What a player.
What a player, yeah. What a player.
Am I correct in saying that you actually scored a goal at Old Trafford?
I did! I scored a goal at a charity game for Irish Autism arranged by Keith Duffy. There were 6 teams: United, Man City, Liverpool, Newcastle, Celtic and a team from Coronation Street made up of soap stars. I played for City though and we needed to beat United by 2 goals or more to get to the final. We beat them 4-0 and I scored one of the goals as we knocked them out. In the final we beat Liverpool on penalties. It was brilliant.
What a memory.
Fantastic. But in the wrong colour!
What do you think United need to do to topple rivals City?
I feel we need to utilize the wide-men more, like the United teams of old: guys bombing down the wings. In the way that Giggs, or Ronaldo, used to do. These guys get the crowd going and get the hairs on the back of your neck standing. We don’t see enough of that now. We are lacking width the last few years. It’s too narrow; all down the middle and in front of the defenders.
Do you expect Jose to give licence to play more expansive football next season?
I think he has to, yeah. I don’t think the United fans will stand for the football. I think there are a lot of frustrated United fans. Okay, we got second, we have improved: but some of the performances are just not good enough.
Like most United fans, I am hopeful and excited for the beginning of the new season. In my opinion, United boast attacking options as good as anybody in the Premier League. Having said that, it seems we have become a team more worried about nullifying the threats of the opposition; as opposed to playing to our own strengths.
In spite of this, I am optimistic that with a few new additions, United can be back at the top of the pile. Time will tell.