Manchester City Forums

Hi Mike, it's Small Talk here. Hello Small Talk. I'm driving at the minute but I'm hands free, so you're all right.

Good stuff. You were perhaps the star of the legendary Manchester City team managed by Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison. That must have been nice? Well it was. I came in right at the beginning of it too – I think I was Joe Mercer's second signing. I already knew him quite well and I really admired him so, when I signed for the club, I was really signing for Joe Mercer.

You used to find time to chat to City fans as you bombed up and down the wing. Was that sort of thing encouraged by the management? Well, it was different in those days. You could talk to the crowd then because they were nearer to you so it was just something you did. It was just my personality, I suppose, but no one ever told me not to. If you did it today they'd have a go at you for bringing the game into disrepute.

The opposition fans weren't so fond of you. What was the worst thing they ever said? Oh, lots of things. I had a big nose, and still have, so they used to sing "Summerbee, Summerbee, I walked a million miles to the end of your nose". It didn't really bother me, I took it as a compliment. Actually, to be honest, I encouraged it. Whenever I played at Old Trafford they sang songs about my nose, so I'd go and blow it on the corner flag to antagonise them. You could do that then; football was different in those days.

That it was, Mike. The Everton fans had a particular fondness for you. They used to like making fun of my nose too but it was all done in a nice way. I remember coming out on to the Goodison Park pitch with a plastic nose on. They all had a good laugh because they saw I could take a joke.

Not so much fun being on the end of some of your notorious tough tackling though, was it? I was brought up in the Third Division at Swindon where you had to look after yourself. I was unusual because I was a winger who used to kic … [hastily correcting himself] … used to get stuck into people. I was an aggressive player but I wasn't a dirty player. The other team were always going to kick me at some point in the game so I thought it best to get stuck into them first.

Your best mate George Best once said you used to work out moves whenever the two of you faced each other on the pitch. Is that true? We did work out one or two moves. His idea was to run up to me and put the ball between my legs to make me look stupid. I said to him, "If you do that, I'll have to kick you and you won't be going out tonight," so he didn't bother. He was such a great player; it was a privilege to be on the same pitch as him.

You and George used to create something of a stir off the pitch as well. Do you remember your best night out with him? It was bit of a blur to be honest. We'd start in the top clubs and end up in the doss houses. We'd play a bit of cards in the nicer places, then end up in Moss Side in a shebeen. Manchester was a swinging city then. All the pop groups were around – The Hollies, Herman's Hermits – and we were part of the atmosphere. We were professional though: we'd only go out on a Saturday or a Monday night and I don't think we drunk more than anyone else. George was as fit as a fiddle then, too, it was only in the latter part of his life that the drink took hold.

Was it easy to get the ladies alongside him? Well, he'd get mobbed by the girls and I ended up with the waifs and strays. When you're a professional footballer – and it's the same today – to an extent it doesn't matter what you look like. There will always be a certain kind of woman attracted to you. So we enjoyed that. We were single at the time and Manchester was full of beautiful women, as it is today, so we had a bit of fun. George Best was a very handsome man so you can imagine just how much fun we had. He was my best man and I think I'm the only person in the world who has wedding photos where the bride is eyeing up the best man.

Was his best man's speech any good? It was perfect. He was brilliant on that day, he did everything right. He was an absolute gentleman and he's still very much in my family's thoughts. He was such a nice man.

Talking of your family, you, your grandfather, your uncle and your son Nicky have all played professional football. Will you be leaning on Nicky's kids to get involved in the family business? Nicholas has a boy called Harley but I can't see him playing football. I think he's more likely to be a beach bum or a playboy. I've got another grandson by my daughter called Samuel and he's quite useful.

You and George set up a clothing business together, which he said was just another way of pulling birds. Did you take it any more seriously? Well, there were always ladies hanging around as the shop was in the centre of town. Whenever George was there, the number of girls walking past would go up a bit, too. But it was a business and we both worked pretty hard at it. He was always very fashion conscious.

You ended up making shirts for the likes of Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone. Were you hawking your wares around the film set of Escape To Victory when you were in that with them? Well, I did take all my patterns with me, yes!

Do Sly's shirts require a lot of fabric? Not really, he's actually not a big man. He was very muscled but not very tall.

Were his goalkeeping skills in Escape To Victory as bad in real life as they looked on film? He didn't know what goalkeeping was at all. He was only in it to sell the film to the Americans. Being part of that was great fun, though. All the actors in it wanted to be footballers and all the footballers wanted to be actors.

Did you try to kick Pele at all? [Chuckling] No, no. Pele was a lovely man. He was in a different world to us when it came to playing football. He was absolutely outstanding. We all got on well together. We had a very good time, as you might imagine of a group of footballers together in Budapest.

Given that you know a bit about the film business, then, who would you get to play you in a movie? The man who played Dr Who before this current one.

Christopher Eccleston? That's him. He's got a big nose like me. Or Liam Neeson, he's got a big nose too.

You've got a bit of an eye for the ladies, Mike, so would you choose Keira Knightley or Scarlett Johansson? [Immediately] Scarlett Johansson. Keira's a nice looking girl but Scarlett Johansson is more my type. She's got a bit of meat on her ... [trailing off wistfully].

Cheese or chocolate? [Very decisively] Cheese. I'm not a chocolate man.

Who would win a fight between a lion and a tiger? A lion.

For any reason? I like lions.

Good enough. What would you put into Room 101? What's Room 101?

[Small Talk embarks on rambling description involving 1984, the omniscience of the state, rats, nightmares and then gives up.] It was that telly show with Paul Merton and Nick Hancock. Oh yes. Now then, what aggravates me? Football fans who can't play, who shout at players who can play. All they are is henpecked husbands. It would be nice to put them all in a room somewhere.

That it would. Right then, finally, can you tell us a joke? Oooh – someone told me a good one earlier today and I've forgotten it already. Now then, what was it? It started like this: what happens when a woman watches a pornographic movie? But I've forgotten the punchline. I do apologise Small Talk.

No problem Mike, Small Talk didn't like where that one was headed anyway. Ta-ra. Bye Small Talk.

Mike Summerbee: The Autobiography is published by Century and out on Thursday September 4

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