Boro keeper given rough ride from the kids (From The Northern Echo)

Boro keeper given rough ride from the kids

5:50pm Thursday 18th February 2010 in

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DANNY COYNE must have been braced for the difficult questions from The Northern Echo’s man at Middlesbrough’s Football in the Community centre at Eston this afternoon. Instead they arrived earlier than anticipated.

Coyne, literally, has thrown himself into community events at Boro since arriving last summer. He enjoys mixing with the fans and youngsters of Teesside. Today, though, was a little harder than normal.

When I arrived at the centre this afternoon, the experienced Middlesbrough goalkeeper was out in the freezing cold, on his day off, diving into the mud showing a group of 30 children how to be a goalkeeper during half-term week.

He never looked fazed and he looked like he enjoyed it. Then, after the training session, he headed indoors to answer questions from many of the group brave enough to speak up.

Manchester United-supporting children, some sported Chelsea gear, while others actually wore Boro gear. Shock. The youth of today!

But while I hovered at the back of the classroom waiting for the chance to discuss Boro’s play-off hopes under Gordon Strachan with Coyne, the former Wales international was hit with some probing questions from the youngsters.

“Why are Middlesbrough rubbish?” said one schoolboy, actually dressed in a Boro shirt, Boro shorts and Boro socks. “They are just crap, they just are, you just don’t win anymore.”

With a smile, stunned, Coyne simply replied: “We might have been relegated last season but we are trying to get promoted this season, hopefully we can.”

One boy made no secret of the fact that he supported Man United, like many others who stuck their hand up in agreement, with Coyne left laughing. All 30 of them then lined up for his autograph, with shirts being signed and only one sporting his name.

It was all in good spirits, and said a lot about a professional footballer willing to head there and give up three hours of his day off to mix with budding goalkeepers.

“Looking at myself when I was young, it was a big thing for me to go and work with a professional,” said Coyne, who went on to room with Wales legend Neville Southall after attending a class led by the former Everton keeper in his younger days.

“I don’t like to put myself in the same bracket as Neville, but when he came and helped me when I was young it was an enormous help. If I can give out a few pointers now, then great.

“Sometimes there is that barrier between kids and footballers, for them to see me or whoever diving around will help them. When I was in a class and Southall spoke to us, would he have thought that one day one of those kids would be playing professionally? I don’t know.”

And what about the awkward questions from the children, rather than me?

“Normally you get good questions from the kids, apart from them asking you how much do you earn or whatever,” he said. “But those questions were good. There was that kid who was fully kitted out in Boro gear and then he said what he said. Sometimes they just pick up on what they hear. It’s all good though.”

After the school children had departed – learning that Coyne’s most savoured save was when he denied Wayne Rooney during an international with England - he did spend time discussing Boro and answering my questions.

Whether they were as good as those provided by the kids is debatable.