The time has arrived and Omar is delighted to share with you an
interview with a Sky Blue legend, the 'Ballymena Boy' himself , Norman
Clarke. Norman has given a full and frank interview, holding nothing
back and telling it as he sees it and his memories are as fresh as they
were when he saw United lift the Irish cup in 1958, beating the mighty
Linfield at the Oval, 2-0. A few short months later Norman fulfilled his
and all Sky Blues fans dream, by making his debut for his beloved
United against Cliftonville at Solitude and the rest as they say is
history. You can read the first instalment of this interview tomorrow,
Tuesday night, exclusively in Sky Blue Sport, entitled The Norman Clarke Interview,
we think it will make for compulsive reading, enjoy!
The inimitable Sammy Patterson (no relation to big Tommy of Seven Towers fame, or Billy of the dry humour), has written an introduction to the interview and we publish it here:
Omar has managed to secure an exclusive interview with Ballymena
United legend Norman Clarke. Norman made his first appearance for
Ballymena in the 58/59 season, playing on the left wing - making his
debut against Cliftonville at the age of only 16. A trophy soon followed
in the form of the Ulster Cup in 1960, as Geoff Twentyman's legendary
side ran out 3-1 winners in the final against Glenavon. Norman played
his part the following season when United came within two points of
winning the Irish League.
Norman's talents saw him
represent the Irish League at inter-league level, representing Northern
Ireland at amateur level and winning two caps at U23 level. Not only
this but he quickly attracted interest from across the Irish Sea and was
signed by Sunderland in 1962. Unfortunately for Norman and for the
Black Cats, the Ballymena Boy suffered a knee injury at the age of 22
which put an end to his professional career.
Norman
returned to Warden Street in 1966, as player / caretaker manager.
Following six games in the Warden Street hot seat, Norman continued to
play for the Sky Blues.
Omar is privileged to secure
this exclusive interview, having got to know the Ballymena Boy properly
when they were neighbours during Norman's second spell at the
Showgrounds. Norman showed his class during regular kick-a-rounds at
Smithfield Park (formerly "the dump") with jumpers for goalposts. Norman
always gave 100% and certainly gave Omar the run-a-round.
Norman
is not only a Ballymena legend but a real gentleman and was kind enough
to give a frank and detailed interview by mail from his home in
England. I'll not ruin any more of the story, I'll leave it to the man
himself. If you're lucky enough to have a copy of his 1997 book "The
Ballymena Boy" you can read a lot more about his career. Omar has a copy
in pride of place on his book-shelf but he's certainly not keen to lend
it out.
A summary of Norman's achievements:
5 Youth Caps
6 Amateur Caps
1 Great Britain Amateur Cap
2 Inter-League Caps
2 U-23 Caps
Ulster Cup Winner
Irish Cup Runner -Up
City Cup Runner-Up
Omar
has been frantically transcribing Norman's hand-written manuscripts and
anticipates publishing the interview in four parts, as follows:
Part 1: December 3
Part 2: December 10
Part 3: December 17
Part 4: December 24, just in time for Christmas!
I
hope you enjoy. Please excuse any inaccuracies or errors above, Omar is
relying on memory and Google. Regardless, I dare-say none of this would
diminish the message that Norman is a true Sky Blue legend!