JAKE BUGG
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POINT OF PRINCIPLE A Mönchengladbach fan lost
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thenameofrivalsKöln– it wasthecorrectanswer22 November 2020 FourFourTwoPortrait
Ritchie
Sumpter/Notts
County
What was the first game that you
ever saw live?
The earliest memory I have is being
about four, going to Meadow Lane with
my grandad – there’s a few Forest fans
knocking about in my family, but we
don’t speak to them. I couldn’t tell you
who that match was against, though;
we won it but I didn’t know what was
going on – I just remember people
standing up and going mad every two
minutes. Football was exciting to me
from that point onwards.Who was your childhood hero and
did you ever meet them?
My favourite player was Joe Cole – he
was a bit smaller like me, and a skilful
No.10 who made things happen. I’ve
never met him, but he’s been doing
some great punditry on television.What was your finest moment as
a player?
There were two teams on my estate,
and we were rivals for ages. One year,
we played them in the last game of
the season to secure promotion, and
I scored the winner in a 4-3 win. I also
played for Nottingham City boys and
we beat Derby in a cup final, after I’dslotted the ball through for
our striker to score the final
goal. That was pretty cool,
too – very satisfying against
that opposition.Which musicians do you
know are the best players?
[Pauses to think] That’s tough.
I’ve never actually seen Serge
[Pizzorno, of Kasabian] play,
but everyone says how good
he is. I’ve not played with that
many before, to be honest –
we’d better get some games
in. It’s well overdue... I should
probably organise one, shouldn’t I?What do you like most about going
to a match?
With the times we’re living through
right now, it’s just the atmosphere and
the fans. It’s an obvious answer, but
everyone is missing that so much and
we’re appreciating them a lot more.
I try to go when I can – the last game
was a friendly in York, where I actually
sat in the home end as I’ve got a lot of
mates from there. Sadly we got beat,
though, so there weren’t many cheers
from me that day.You’re County’s away shirt sponsor
this year. That must be weird...
It is a little, yeah. But now we’ve got
new ownership and a new structure at
the club, everybody is really excited –
so it’s nice to be a part of that. It’s a bit
funny seeing your name on the shirt,
though, especially if you’re losing – but
very cool. I’ll definitely be attending
a lot more this season – there’s not
going to be much touring for a while...Who from your club’s past would
you bring back for the current side?
Les Bradd, our all-time top scorer. He’s
an absolute legend and a lovely bloke.
We could do with some of his goals.Who has or had the hardest shot
you’ve ever seen?
It was probably watching Jimmy Floyd
Hasselbaink on TV when I was
growing up. Any time I saw
him fire off a free-kick, it
was ridiculous.Where’s the best place
you’ve watched a game?
I had the pleasure of going to
see Ajax play Panathinaikos in
the Europa League when I was
on tour in Amsterdam – it’s an
amazing stadium, and just to see
a European game was great. I was
in Buenos Aires once, too, and we
saw Boca Juniors vs River Plate from
our hotel – but even that was mental.
There were flats behind the smoking
area, and people who clearly supported
opposite teams on the balconies were
shouting at each other the whole way
through. Afterwards, loads of people
swarmed the hotel because Boca’s
players was staying there. It was such
a bizarre experience – I’d love to see
that match in person.What’s the strangest thing you’ve
ever seen or heard at a game?
‘Juventus 1-1 Notts County’ is the
most ridiculous thing I’ve seen in my
life. Sadly I wasn’t there [for the first
match at Juve’s new ground in 2011].
When we’ve been on tour [with the
band] before, we’ve played in places
like Brazil, against people that were
so much better than us with
about 90 per cent of the ball.
But we’d still end up winning- they’d never seen anything
like it, us just lumping the
ball long and playing on the
counter. I think that’s how
Juventus probably felt that
day. The history [of inspiring
their black and white shirts]
is something I’m proud of,
though – and it gives me
a second team to watch.
Where’s the strangest
place you’ve ever met a manager
or a player?
A few years ago, I got invited to this
private function at a pub in Surrey,
where Paul McCartney was playing.
The gig was rammed – I couldn’t get
a look-in – but I ended up speaking
to Mick McCarthy all night. I probably
bored the life out of him with all my
football talk, but he was a lovely chap.
[FFT: Was he a Jake Bugg fan?] I don’t
know – but he probably isn’t now...What’s the most important piece of
memorabilia that you have or wish
you still had?
Wayne Rooney has come to a couple
of my gigs, and I was lucky enough toThe Lightning Bolt
singer-songwriter
on unexpected chats
with Mick McCarthy,
and brilliantly bonkers
nights in Buenos AiresJAKE BUGG