Dette intervjuet er skrevet både på norsk og engelsk, scroll lengre ned for engelsk versjon.
This interview is written in both norwegian and english, scroll down for english version.
Nick Culkin er født i 1978 i byen York og er en tidligere keeper som ble kjøpt av Manchester United fra York i 1995 for 250 000 pund, han var ett stort talent og fikk sin debut for Manchester United borte mot Arsenal på Highbury i 1999. Dette ble dessverre hans eneste offisielle kamp for klubben. Nick Culkin måtte dessverre legge opp altfor tidlig grunnet en kneskade da han kun var 27 år i 2005.
Nick Culkin har også spilt for klubber som Bristol Rovers, Hull, QPR og skotske Livingston.
Nick, Du som mange andre hadde en barndoms-drøm om å bli profesjonell fotballspiller, hvor gammel var du da du oppdaget at dette kunne bli mer enn bare en drøm?
Jeg som så mange barn i York på den tiden spilte fotball etter skoletid hver dag pluss helger, og det var noe jeg virkelig elsket, den gleden jeg fikk av å spille fotball var enkel å bli hektet på. Da jeg var rundt 10-11 år gammel startet jeg med keeper-posisjonen, det høres kanskje rart ut for mange, men jeg bare elsket og stoppe ballen, om jeg så fikk den i ansiktet spilte aldri noen rolle for ballen skulle aldri forbi meg uansett hva. Den gleden jeg kjente da jeg hindret en scoring ga meg en vanvittig deilig følelse. Da jeg var 12-13 år spilte jeg for mitt lokale lag og det var vel da jeg innså at jeg hadde ett talent for dette. Det var også noe jeg ofte fikk høre av folk som kom for og se på oss spille eller bare så på oss trene. Etterhvert tok York City kontakt med meg for ett prøvespill, og jeg fikk kontrakt der heldigvis.
Du er født og oppvokst i York, hvordan var det og få sjansen til å spille for sitt lokale lag og hvor stolt var du da du debuterte for York?
Vel, det som er litt spesielt er at jeg aldri rakk og debutere for A-laget til York City, jeg har kun spilt for deres ungdomslag og reservelag, men uansett så var det ett flott øyeblikk og debutere for York som var mitt lokale lag og stedet der jeg vokste opp.
Du var med Manchester United til Norge på pre-season og du spilte 2. omgang for klubben mot Brann i en kamp hvor du holdt nullen og United vant 4-0, er du fornøyd med debuten?
Ja, det stemmer, vi vant vel 4-0 og jeg spilte 2.omgang da Schmeichel ble skadet. Jeg er kjempefornøyd med debuten hvor jeg spilte en god kamp synes jeg. Det var en stor opplevelse bare det og bli med førstelaget på pre-season, og med så mange fantastiske spillere var det en ære. Når Sir Alex ba meg gjøre meg klar pumpet adrenalinet og jeg var 110% klar for min aller første kamp for førstelaget til United. Holde nullen er jo en keepers jobb så det var en fin start for meg rett og slett.
Du har spilt med og sett verdens beste keeper Peter Schmeichel på nært hold, som en ung og lovende keeper finnes det vel ikke en bedre læremester enn han? Hvordan var det å spille med og lære av han?
Peter var uten tvil verdens beste keeper på den tiden i mine øyne, jeg vet ikke om du har møtt han, men han er en kjempe rett og slett, han var meget fryktinngytende og komme mot. Bare det å trene med han og se han trene var nesten som en “ut av kroppen” opplevelse. Han var helt eksepsjonell som skuddstopper og han var en fantastisk læremester for meg som ung keeper, og han var jo helt fantastisk for Man Utd.
Da du var liten hadde du en drøm om å få spille for Manchester United og United sin talentspeider som den gang var Les Kersaw, hadde “scoutet” deg i ca 12 måneder mens du spilte for York, kan du fortelle litt om den opplevelsen?
Det stemmer det at han gjorde det, det og ha en speider gående rundt på treningsfeltet med United- logoen på jakken kan nok virke skummelt for mange, men for meg var det helt motsatt. Jeg trente hardere og følte meg skarpere så man kan trygt si at det hadde en positiv effekt på meg, for hvem vil ikke til en klubb som Manchester United. Jeg er jo United supporter fra barndommen av, følger klubben i dag og har fortsatt kontakt med en del av de gamle gutta. Vi spilte faktisk kamp her forleden og da var gamle spillere som Wes Brown, Russel Beardsmore, Frank Stapleton og Danny Webber med. Det er alltid flott å se gutta igjen og spille kamper.
United tok sitt siste Premier League- gull i 2013, tror du det går mange sesonger før vi får gullet tilbake der det hører hjemme, nemlig på Old Trafford?
Vel, etter Sir Alex forlot klubben har det vært en massiv forandring i klubben, med mange som ville kopiere det Ferguson gjorde uten og klare det. Det er vel noen interne utfordringer på ett høyt nivå samt man har vel kanskje heller ikke helt lykkes med sine signeringer de siste årene. Jeg tror på den retningen klubben går nå under Solskjær så med ett par signeringer til vil United komme raskt tilbake. Pr. i dag er dessverre Liverpool og City litt foran de andre klubben i Premier League, men United marsjerer videre nå både på og utenfor banen. Med ett “transfervindu” til eller to bør United være der oppe for og kjempe om tittelen, imens kan vi sanke en FA- Cup eller ett Europa Leauge trofe, det ville vært fantastisk. Manchester United har gjort en flott pre-season med mange unge spillere som brøyter seg fram så det er lovende. Se opp for United sin kommende sesong for mange undervurder dem. Jeg sier topp 3 kommende sesong.
Din overgang fra York til United ble offisiell dagen etter at dere slo United i 1995 i cupen, men du hadde ingen anelse om at klubbene hadde blitt enig før kampen, du må mildt sagt ha blitt overasket. Hva var din reaksjoner på dette?
Det var en morsom historie egentlig, jeg var som sagt kun i troppen uten å spille og etter kampen da vi var kommet oss hjem til York fikk jeg beskjed om og komme på managerens kontor neste morgen. En avtale med selveste Manchester United var gjort. For meg var det virkelig en stor opplevelse fordi jeg visste som sagt ingenting og jeg var bare en 17- åring som fokuserte på York City den gang. Tenk deg selv du får beskjed at Man Utd vil ha dine tjenester som fotballspiller. Det morsomme er at jeg spurte manageren om hva hvis jeg ikke vil dra (som selvsagt var fleip) så svarte han: “Du skal dra uansett, vi trenger midler til nytt treningsanlegg”. Den påfølgende mandagen var jeg på plass hos Sir Alex som Manchester United spiller. Husk at jeg gikk rett fra U-laget i York City til A-laget til United som var en ganske stor overgang for en 17 år gammel gutt.
Manchester United har hentet inn meget gode forsvarspillere som Wan-Bissaka, hvor viktig er det for en keeper og ha tillit til sine forsvarsspillere?
Det er ekstremt viktig, dette er noe som går begge veier. Her må keeperen stole på forsvaret sitt og omvendt. Så dette er en nøkkelfaktor som man jobber med hver dag på treningsfeltet, for uten tillit i de bakre rekker har man ingenting
Du har spilt med mange gode Manchester United spillere, hvem er den beste du har spilt med?
Jeg har spilt og trent med mange verdensklasse-spillere, men av spillere som helt klart skilte seg ut så må jeg si Paul Scholes. For en spiller han var, han kunne treffe hva som helst fra hvor som helst og i tillegg jobbet han knallhardt både på trening og i kamp. Han er den beste sammen med Cantona jeg har spilt med, det er faktisk ikke så lenge siden jeg spilte en veldedighets- kamp mot Scholes og han spilte på akkurat samme måte som han gjorde som aktiv, strødde pasningene som aldri før med sitt overblikk og selvfølgelig kan han fortsatt ikke takle. Som sagt, Scholes er det Man Utd står for så jeg vil trekke frem han som den aller beste jeg har spilt med. Det er ikke ett lett valg for jeg spilte med ett av de beste United lagene noensinne som også hadde stjerner som Giggs, Keane og Beckham blant mange.
Du debuterte for United på Highbury i 1999, fortell om hvordan det føltes da du forstod at du skulle debutere for Manchester United mot Arsenal?
Vel, kampforberedelsen var som alltid overnatting etterfulgt av lagmøte, hvor jeg fikk beskjed om at jeg skulle sitte på benken og Van der Gouw skulle stå i mål siden Schmeichel var skadet. Da kampen gikk mot slutten ble Van der Gouw skadet og Sir Alex snudde seg mot meg og sa: “Nick, gjør deg klar for du skal inn”. Det morsomme her er at jeg spilte vel bare 30 sekunder eller noe, men jeg er stolt over at jeg har spilt for Manchester United, det er ett privilegiet ikke mange får. Bare det å løpe ut på matta som Man Utd- spiller var en surrealistisk opplevelse. Dette var jo på gamle Highbury som var en liten bane, så jeg husker jeg fikk mynter kastet etter meg. Dette var jo ett klassisk engelsk oppgjør mellom to store klubber så amper stemning i en slik kamp var normalt. Husk Keane og Vieira var på banen som ikke akkurat lettet stemningen. Da jeg skulle ta det første utsparket kom Henning Berg bort og spurte om han skulle ta utsparket for meg hvor jeg fulgte opp med: “Aldri i livet, denne tar jeg!”, og før ballen traff bakken igjen blåste dommeren av kampen og vi vant 2-1 på bortebane mot Arsenal.
Du innehar rekorden for den korteste Premier League debuten, du var på banen i 30 sekunder og rakk vel kun ett utspark, er det mange som minner deg på denne rekorden?
He he ja det er det, men den rekorden er jeg stolt av og den kommer ingen til å slå. I tillegg er det ingenting som kan ta fra meg denne debuten for Manchester United. Det er mange som husker denne kampen godt så det er virkelig gode minner som jeg mer enn gjerne deler.
Du fikk oppfylt din drøm som ikke mange får, nemlig det å spille for Manchester United, men dessverre måtte du legge opp altfor tidlig i 2005 grunnet en kneskade da du bare var 26 år, hvordan håndterte du dette og hadde du planer for veien videre?
For å være helt ærlig har jeg aldri kommet meg helt over det at jeg måtte legge opp så tidlig, det var virkelig en vanskelig tid etter at jeg måtte legge opp for så og tilpasse seg den “vanlige” hverdagen på en så brå måte som jeg måtte dessverre. Skaden skjedde da jeg spilte en kamp for QPR borte mot Swindon, jeg burde ha byttet ut, men dessverre spilte jeg videre. Kall det en blanding av stolthet og dumhet. Jeg skadet kneet mitt virkelig hardt den dagen og jeg ble aldri frisk igjen dessverre. I dag driver jeg mitt eget selskap innenfor vedlikehold av hager etc. og det har jeg drevet med i 10 år ca. og trives vel helt ok med det, men klart jeg savner fotballen. Sånn er dessverre livet, men jeg er virkelig stolt av min karrière og det vil jeg alltid være.
Til slutt, hva er ditt tabelltips for United kommende sesong og hvem tipper du er det neste “stjerneskuddet” til United ?
Jeg elsker Mason Greenwood, ett enormt talent jeg tror vil blomstre og jeg gleder meg til å se spille for United. Han leverte jo ett par scoringer under pre-season og i tillegg så ser det jo ut som Lukaku drar fra klubben, som vil være til fordel for Mason. Ole vil nok gi han kampene han trenger den kommende sesong samt han virker til å ha hodet på rett plass så det lover godt. Som nevnt tidligere trur jeg på en topp 3 for Man Utd, det vil være en massiv prestasjon den kommende sesongen. Klart en klubb som United skal vinne trofeer, men det er ikke lenge til vi er der. I tillegg er det ekstremt viktig at United får en god start på sesongen så vi får bare krysse fingrene for at det skjer.
Tusen takk for at du tok deg tid Nick, det var meget hyggelig å treffe deg her i Manchester og få dette privilegiet til å høre på din historie.
English version:
Nick Culkin was born in 1978 in the city of York and he is a former goalkeeper who Manchester United bought from York in 1995 for 250,000 pounds. He was a talented young player and he got his debut for Manchester United away against Arsenal at Highbury in 1999, unfortunately this was his only official game for the club. Nick Culkin had to retire too early due a troubled knee when he was only 27 years old in 2005.
Nick Culkin has also played for clubs such as Bristol Rovers, Hull, QPR and the Scottish club Livingston.
Nick, like many you had a childhood dream of becoming a professional football player, how old were you when you discovered that this could be more than just a dream?
Like so many kids in York at that time, we played football after school every day and also in the weekends and that was something I really loved, you know the joy I got from playing football was easy to fall in love with. When I was around 10-11 years old I started out as a goalkeeper, it may sound strange to many but I just loved to stop the ball, if I got it in my face or got hurt it did not matter because the the ball was never going pass me no matter what.Just that feeling to stop the ball gave great buzz. When I was 12-13 years old, I played for my local team and it was around that age when I realized I had a talent for this game. It was also something I often heard from people who came and watch us play games or watch us in training. Eventually York contacted me for a trial, and I was so lucky and got a contract there.
You were born and raised in York, how was it to get the chance to play for your local team and how proud were you when you made your debut for York?
Well, what’s a little special is that I never made it to a debut for the York City`s first team, I’ve only played for their youth-team and reserve-team, but anyway it was a great moment to play and get my debut for York City`s youth and reserve team, this was my local club and the place where I grew up so it is really nice when I take a trip down memory lane about this 😊
You travelled with Manchester United to Norway for the preseason and you played the 2nd half for the club against Brann in a match United won 4-0, are you happy with your preseason debut?
Yes, that’s right, we won 4-0 and I played the second half when Schmeichel got injured. I am very pleased with my debut and I played a pretty good match if i can say. It was a great experience just to play and joining the first team at pre-season tour. The team had so many wonderful players it was an honor to play with them. So at halftime Sir Alex told me to get ready and the adrenaline pumped and I was 110% ready for my very first match for United’s first team. I did not concede any goal that is a keeper’s job after all, so it was a great start for me really.
You have played with and seen the world’s greatest goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel up close and as a young and promising goalkeeper as you were, there can`t be no better teacher than him, how was to play with and learn from him?
Peter was the the world’s best keeper at that time in my eyes, I don’t know if you met him, but he is a giant simply, he was very terrifying to play against so I was glad that he was my teammate. Just working with him and watching him train was almost like an “out of body” experience. He was absolutely exceptional with so many amazing saves in training but as you know in games as well. He was a fantastic teacher for me as a young goalkeeper and he was absolutely fantastic for Man Utd throughout his career there.
When you were a kid, you had a dream of playing for Manchester United and United’s chief scout Les Kersaw had “scouted” you for about 12 months while you played for York, can you tell us a little about that experience?
That’s correct, you know when a scout for Man Utd with the club`s logo on the jacket walking around the training ground may seem scary to many, but for me it was quite the opposite. I trained harder and felt sharper so you can safely say it had a positive effect on me because who would not want to play for a club like Manchester United. I am a United supporter from childhood and I like to watch the club play today. I am still in touch with some of the old guys. We actually played a match a couple a weeks ago with some of the former players like Wes Brown, Russel Beardsmore, Frank Stapleton and Danny Webber joined in as always.It is always great to see some of the lad`s again and just play games.
United took their latest Premier League title in 2013, do you think it will take many seasons before we get the title back where it belongs back at Old Trafford?
Well, after Sir Alex left the club there has been a massive change in the club with so many people trying to copy what Ferguson did for United without being able to do so. There are probably some internal challenges at a high level in the club and also they have not succeeded with all their signings in the recent years. I believe in the direction that the club is now going under Solskjær so with a couple of more signings i think United will get there. Unfortunately, Liverpool and City are a bit ahead of the other Premier League clubs but United are now marching on and off the pitch so with one “transfer window” to or two, United should be up there for the title. If United during that time could win the FA Cup or Europa League trophy, that would be great for the club. Manchester United has had a great pre-season with many young players making their way up so it look`s promising. Watch out for United this upcoming season because I think too many underestimate them. I say top 3 upcoming season for Manchester United.
Your move from York to United became official the day after you beat United in the cup in 1995, but you had no idea that the clubs had agreed before the match, you must have been mildly surprised? How did you react to these fantastic news?
It was a funny story really, as I mentioned I was only in the squad without playing that night at Old Trafford. After the game when we got back to York I was told to come to the manager’s office the next morning and when I spoke to the manager he told me that an agreement with Manchester United was a done deal. For me, it was really wonderful news and as you can imagine quite shocking news. I was only a 17 year old boy focusing on York City at that time. Imagine yourself being told that Man Utd wants your services as a football player. The funny thing is that I asked the manager what if I do not want to go (which of course was a joke) he replied: “You have to go anyway, we need the money so we can get a new training-ground”. The following Monday I met up with Sir Alex Ferguson as a Manchester United player, just amazing 😊 Remember I went straight from the youth-team in York City and straight to the first team for Man Utd, which was a pretty big move for a 17 year old boy.
Manchester United has brought in new defenders such as Wan-Bissaka, how importent is it for a keeper to trust the defenders in front of him?
It is extremely important, this is something that goes both ways. Here the keeper has to trust his defenders and vice versa. So this is a key-factor that you work with every day in the training-field and during matches because without trust between the goalkeeper and the defenders in front of him you have nothing
You’ve played with many good Manchester United players, who’s the best you have ever played with?
I have played and trained with many worldclass players but of players who clearly stood out I must say Paul Scholes. What a player he was, he could hit anything from anywhere with the ball and in addition to that he worked extremely hard in training and in matches. He is the best one alongside with Eric Cantona that I have played or trained with. I little story here for you: a couple a months ago I played a charity match against Scholes and he played in exactly the same way as he did as active player, he passed the ball in magical ways and of course he still can’t tackle 🙂 With that said, Scholes is for me what Man Utd is all about with his attacking style of playing football so I want to say that he as the very best I’ve ever played with. It’s not an easy choice because I played with one ofv the best United squad`s ever that also had big players like Giggs, Keane and Beckham among others.
You made your debut for United at Highbury in 1999, tell us how it felt when you realized you were going to make your debut for Manchester United against Arsenal?
Well, the match preparation was as always to spend the night there followed by a team meeting where I was told that I was in the on the bench. Raimon Van der Gouw were the goalie since Schmeichel was injured. As the match played on with only minutes left, Van der Gouw was injured and Sir Alex turned to me and said: Nick, get ready because you are playing. The funny thing here is that I only played 30 seconds or something, but I’m proud to have played for Manchester United, it’s one privilege that not many people get. Just to run out on the pitch as a Man Utd player was a surreal experience. After all, this was at the old Highbury that was a small and intense pitch. I remember getting coins thrown after me but this was after all a classical english Premier League game between two massive clubs, so this atmosphere was expected. Remember Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira were also playing so you could just feel the tension between the players. When I was about to take the first kick-out Henning Berg came over and asked if he should take the kick-out for me so I just replied: “Never in life mate, this one is mine!”, and I kicked the ball out and before it hit the ground the referee blew off the match and we won 2-1 away against Arsenal
You hold the record for the shortest Premier League debut, you were on the pitch for 30 seconds and just hit the ball once, are there many people that remind you of this record ?
He he, yes it is but I am proud of that record and it will not be taken by anyone I reckon:) In addition i would like to say that nothing could take this Manchester United debut from me so i am very proud of this. There are many people who remembers this game at Highbury so these are just really good memories that I am more than happy to share.
You fulfilled your dream that not many people get the chance to, playing for Manchester United, but unfortunately you had to retire too early in 2005 due to a troubled knee when you were just 27 years old. How did you handle this and did you have plans for the road ahead?
To be perfectly honest, I never quite got over the fact that I had to leave the game when I was just 26. It was a really difficult time in my life when I had to retire. To adapt to the “normal” everyday life I such a short time like i unfortunately had to do was difficult. The injury happend when I played in a match for QPR away against Swindon, I should have been replaced but unfortunately I played on. Call it a mixture of pride and stupidity because I hurt my knee really hard that day and I never recovered unfortunately from that injury. Today I run my own company in the maintenance business and I have been doing this for almost 10 years. I enjoy this of course but clearly I miss being football player and that environment. Unfortunately, that is how life is sometimes, but I’m really proud of my career and I always will be.
What is your predictions for the Premier League table for United this season and who do you think is the next “wonder boy” for Man. United?
I love Mason Greenwood, such a big talent I think will blossom and I can’t wait to see him play games for Man Utd.. After all, he delivered a couple of goals during the pre-season and at the same time it looks like Lukaku is going to leave the club and that will benefit Mason this season. Ole will probably give him the matches he needs this coming season as well as he seems to have his head in the right place so it looks very promising. As I mentioned earlier, I believe in a top 3 for Man Utd, that will be a massive achievement. Of course a club like United needs to win trophies, but it’s not long until we’re there. In addition to this it is extremely important that United get off to a good a great start with the season coming so let`s cross our fingers for that to happen,
Thank you for taking the time Nick for this interview, it was very nice to meet you here in Manchester and to get the privilege to listen to you story