Han kunne vært på Uniteds A-lag nå

Spilte med flere kjente United-spillere

– Jeg spilte ved siden av Jonny Evans i Royal Antwerp, sier han.

– Etter debuten hans der skjønte jeg at han var bedre enn de andre. I løpet av kampen spredde han pasninger på 40 meter med begge føtter og til begge kanter. Det var som å se Beckenbauer. Selv 17 år gammel var han rolig og avslappet med ballen i beina, og han kunne lese spillet like godt som en veteran.

– Det som likevel imponerte meg mest var oppførselen hans på og utenfor banen. Han hadde hodet på rett plass og var ekstremt fokusert. Jeg visste at han ikke kom til å spille for oss hele sesongen ettersom han herjet i de fleste kamper. Han ble også kalt opp til det nordirske A-landslaget.

– Deretter ble han sendt på lån til Roy Keanes Sunderland i desember, og bidro til å vinne Championship med dem. Han var et tap for oss, men en suksess for dem.

Evans’ erstatter i Royal Antwerp ble så Ryan Shawcross, som akkurat har spilt seg inn på det engelske A-landslaget.

– I og med at han var 191 centimeter høy da han var 17, så visste Ryan at han måtte jobbe med å bli raskere på de første fem meterne for å bli en toppspiller, sier Hilton.

– Ryan har imidlertid fantastiske holdninger, og har alltid jobbet hardt for å utvikle seg som spiller. Han ble alltid igjen etter treningene for å trene på svakhetene sine. Han er hva man kan kalle dedikert. Samtidig var han meget klar over sine egne begrensninger.

Darron Gibson var en annen av spillerne Hilton spilte sammen med i Belgia.

– Førsteinntrykket mitt av Darron var at han hadde fantastiske kvaliteter, men ikke de beste holdningene, sier Hilton.

– Darren var en av de mest talentfulle spillerne jeg har sett i den aldersgruppen. Han spilte alltid ballen fremover på banen, og han kunne åpne forsvar med sine nøyaktige og avgjørende pasninger. Det eneste som manglet var arbeidskapasitet, og vi pleide å kalle ham Darren «lenestol» Gibson fordi han var så lat. Men heldigvis, både for Everton og Darren, så har han modnet. Nå begynner vi å se den spilleren han hadde potensial til å bli.

David May var en av de mest markante personlighetene Hilton spilte med da han kjempet seg gjennom juniorlagene og opp på reservelaget sent på 90-tallet.

– Maysy var den største spøkefuglen, og drev alltid med noe tøys, mimrer Hilton.

– Maysy og jeg var begge mye til behandling den gangen, og vi utfordret alltid fysioterapeutene i hva som helst mens vi var til behandling.

– Hver fredag møttes spillerne og fysioterapeutene til en innebandy-kamp, men det liknet på noe helt annet enn en innebandy-kamp. Maysy sendte ofte motstanderne langt ut over sidelinja eller gikk for hodet deres med kølla.

– Han var imidlertid en fantastisk person å ha rundt seg. Var man litt deppa fikk han alltid frem smilet ditt med noen av sprellene sine.

Kom til United da han var ni

Carrington var mindre énn et par kilometer unna der Hilton vokste opp i Flixton.

– Jeg spilte for Flixton Juniors da jeg var liten, og ble oppdaget av United da jeg var ni.

– Brian Kidd kom for å se meg tidlig en søndag morgen, og spurte etterpå moren min om jeg var interessert i å komme til The Cliff (Uniteds gamle treningsfelt) for å trene to ganger i uka.

– Jeg gjorde det fra jeg var ni til jeg ble 14. Jeg var veldig liten for alderen, men United bekymret seg ikke så mye for størrelsen da spillerne var i den alderen. Da handler det om de tekniske kvalitetene. Så skrev jeg under på en toårskontrakt som schoolboy da jeg var 14. Man får ikke betalt, men man er da offisielt knyttet til United.

– 16 år gammel fikk jeg et seks ukers prøvespill. United var usikre på meg, og jeg ga alt jeg hadde. Jeg hadde jo ikke lyst til å forlate klubben. Etter seks uker fikk jeg så en telefon fra Sir Alex Ferguson.

– Jeg husker at jeg var veldig nervøs på om de ville beholde meg, men han sa at han var fornøyd med meg og la til at jeg kom til å bli tilbudt en toårs juniorkontrakt. Dermed fikk jeg betalt 65 pund i uka for å gjøre det jeg elsket her i verden.

– Vi trente fire dager i uka, og studerte den femte dagen. Vi rengjorde A-lagsspillernes fotballsko, og vasket også andre rom på treningsanlegget. Det var oppbyggende siden vi visste at Beckham og Scholes hadde gjort det før oss. Det gjorde oss ingenting, men hvis du ikke rengjorde A-lagsspillernes sko ordentlig så fikk du høre det.

– Jeg hadde ansvaret for skoa til Dwight Yorke og David May, og ved juletider ga de meg gjerne 50-60 pund som gave. Kampene spilte vi om søndagene.

– Etter at de flyttet til Carrington så trenger ikke unggutta lenger å rengjøre A-lagsspillernes sko, og jeg synes egentlig det er litt trist. En stor del av det å være på juniorkontrakt er å ha beina godt plantet på jorda, og ikke la seg lure til å tro at man har «klart det» før man faktisk har lyktes.

– Jeg var venstreback i samme juniorlag som Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Michael Stewart og Luke Chadwick. We ble slått ut av FA Youth Cup av Everton etter at Francis Jeffers scoret et hat trick. Manageren var ikke fornøyd, og vi hadde underprestert. Vi burde gjort det bedre.

– Mot slutten av den toårskontrakten ble seks av oss kalt inn til et møte med manageren. Jeg trodde det ville være gode nyheter, og ja, han ga oss en ettårs proffkontrakt.

– Tilbudet var på 250 pund i uka, men Gary Neville la inn et godt ord for oss, og de økte det til 350 pund i uka pluss bonuser. Vi var overlykkelige – samtidig som vi var skuffet på vegne av dem som ikke lyktes.

– Vi hadde selvsagt klare tanker om hvem som kom til å bli frigitt, men det var likevel tungt å se at lagkamerater man hadde spilt sammen med siden man var 12, måtte dra. Man sier alltid at man skal holde kontakten, men det skjer aldri innen fotballen. Jeg tror heller ingen av spillerne som ble frigitt fortsatt spiller.

– Det er en skam, men en del mister kjærligheten til fotballen eller selvtilliten. Derfor slutter de bare. Noen av dem var veldig talentfulle også.

– Jeg matte tenke på meg selv også. Jeg var blitt en profesjonell fotballspiller i laget jeg alltid hadde holdt med. Det var drømmen som hadde gått i oppfyllelse. Da jeg var liten hadde Kiddo (Brian Kidd) også skaffet meg billetter til kampene, og så lenge jeg ikke spilte så fikk jeg med meg alt.

Dro til Belgia

– Jeg beit tenna sammen, og som unggutt i United må man alltid fokusere på spillerne rett foran og bak deg i køen. Spilleren rett foran meg var Danny Higginbotham, som var et par år eldre enn meg. Han spilte på reservelaget, mens Denis Irwin var på A-laget.

– Jeg måtte rett og slett et steg opp fra matchingen jeg fikk på U19-laget, og ble spurt om jeg ville dra til Antwerpen. Jeg visste at Ronnie Wallwork og Danny Higginbotham hadde gjort det bra der, og ville ta utfordringen. Det var et riktig valg.

– Der spilte jeg A-lagsfotball foran 10.000 tilskuere, og det var god matching. Det var også en god erfaring på å leve i et fremmed land, og jeg spilte den beste fotballen i livet mitt. Jeg spilte sammen med Luke Chadwick, en skikkelig hyggelig gutt, og vi rykket opp til den belgiske toppdivisjonen. Antwerp ville ha meg i ett år til og jeg ville gjerne. Da ville jeg spilt mot lag som Anderlecht.

– United var også fornøyd med utviklingen min, og ga meg en god treårskontrakt.

– Dette var sommeren 1999, og jeg kjøpte en bra bil, en BMW 318, og for første gang i livet mitt tjente jeg ok med penger. Alle de andre gutta kjøpte også den bilen siden det var en bra bil som ikke var altfor dyr å forsikre.

– Jeg fikk prøve meg med førstelaget i noen testimonial-kamper. Lee Martin hadde en mot Bristol Rovers, og jeg spilte sammen med Beckham og Scholes i en preseason-kamp mot Selby Town. Livet var bra, men hvis noen spurte meg om hva jeg drev med så sa jeg at jeg studerte på universitetet. Hvis man fortalte at man var United-spiller så ville folk enten ikke tro det eller så tenkte de gjerne at du var full av deg selv. Folk visste selvsagt sannheten der jeg kom fra, men jeg pleide å dra ut i sentrum. Mine beste venner var kompiser jeg hadde kjent siden jeg var 11 – ikke andre fotballspillere. Sånn er det fortsatt.

Omtrent samtidig ble Danny Higginbotham solgt til Southampton for to millioner pund. Sir Alex uttalte at han ikke var bekymret siden han hadde en enda bedre venstreback i klubben. Han snakket om Kirk. United Magazine gjorde en sak på ham. Manchester Evening News også.

Skadeforfulgt

– Like etter fikk jeg et problem med lysken min, sier Hilton.

– Deretter måtte jeg gjennom en dobbel brokkoperasjon. Jeg klarte å komme tilbake bare for å få et tilbakefall like etter.

– Jeg var knust.

– United ba meg om å hvile i åtte måneder. Ordren var at jeg ikke skulle gjøre noe. Da jeg returnerte ble jeg så bedt om å trene opp området rundt bekkenet. Alt gikk etter planen, og jeg brukte én måned på grunntreningen.

– Førstelagsspillerne støttet meg også. Jeg husker fortsatt at Ruud (van Nistelrooy) stakk innom for å si hei. Sånt betydde mye når alt handlet om hva man gjorde i gymsalen og ikke med en ball. Det var frustrerende, men jeg måtte følge opplegget slavisk.

– Fysioterapeutene pleide å kalle meg «racketmannen» siden jeg pleide å gruse dem i tennis og bordtennis. Faren min var europamester i bordtennis i 1980, så jeg hadde nok arvet noe av ham.

– Jeg kom meg gjennom preseason, men så fikk jeg et nytt tilbakefall. Jeg fikk beskjed om at jeg måtte gjennom en lyskeoperasjon, og at det var 50 prosent sjanse for at jeg aldri kunne spille fotball igjen.

– Det var vanskelig å akseptere, men jeg hadde lite valg.

– Moren min var opprørt også. Hun og kjæresten Sean ville se meg tilbake på banen, og støttet meg hele veien selv om det ble vanskelig når operasjonen nærmet seg.

– Operasjonen i seg selv var vellykket, og jeg følte det var på sin plass. Jeg fortjente litt hell. Samtidig hadde jeg mistet to hele år i United – to år som kompisene mine hadde brukt til å slå gjennom på førstelaget. Jeg husker at jeg var misunnelig og tenkte: «Det kunne ha vært meg». Min sjanse hadde imidlertid kommet og forsvunnet.

– Sir Alex sendte meg på lån til Livingstone, men det fungerte ikke noe særlig. De trente på kunstgress hver dag, og jeg merket mine gamle skader. Dermed dro jeg tilbake til Old Trafford, og Sir Alex tok en prat med meg:

– Du har vært veldig uheldig med skader, men vi må slippe deg nå. Det er også noen lag som er interessert.

– Manageren var alltid veldig rettferdig, og for å være ærlig så visste jeg at det kom til å skje. Bak meg kom også spillere som Danny Pugh.

– Jeg var imidlertid blitt 22 og trengte førstelagsfotball.

Ny klubb

– Steve McMahon ringte fra Blackpool, og jeg dro dit gratis. Jeg husker at han spilte 5-a-side med oss i to timer hver fredag, og av og til var vi utslitte da kampen startet søndag.

– Jeg solgte bilen siden det kostet meg 20 pund hver dag bare å komme meg til Blackpool og tilbake. En spiller på det nivået tjente nok cirka tusen pund i uka, pluss penger for kampene, men vi fikk kun 300 pund per kamp.

– Jeg skrev under på en ettårskontakt, og gikk rett inn på førstelaget. Jeg scoret i debuten, og det var fantastisk å få være del av et førstelag. Fansen var fantastiske, og jeg hadde det bra.

– Så fikk jeg lyskestrekk.

– Jeg ble kastet utpå igjen før jeg var klar, og lysken røk på ny. McMahon ble erstattet av Colin Hendry som hentet en ny venstreback fra Preston.

– Da var det over for meg i Blackpool.

Nytt land

– Jeg dro til USA for å spille six-a-side.Jeg forsøkte i to måneder, men likte det ikke. Dermed dro jeg tilbake til Manchester, og Sammy McIllroy spurte om jeg ville komme til Stockport.

– Jeg sa ja, men dro dit med en kneskade. Så ble Sam sparket. Spillerforeningen, som gjør en fantastisk jobb, betalte for en bruskoperasjon. Hadde det ikke vært for dem måtte jeg ventet i to år på samme operasjon, og det var aldri et valg.

– Deretter dro jeg til Altrincham i Conference North-ligaen for å spille fotball jevnlig og komme i form igjen. Jeg hadde nemlig savnet regelmessig fotball.

Etterpå dro Hilton tilbake til Antwerp, og mellom 2006 og 2008 fikk han 23 kamper der sammen med Evans, Shawcross og Gibson.

Så tvang et hofteproblem ham til å legge opp.

Nytt liv

– Jeg kunne nok vært heldigere med skader, men det er mange som har hatt det verre enn meg. Man må bare forsøke å være positiv og leve livet videre.

Hiltons liv fortsatte ved at han flyttet til Dubai med kona Lynsey, som han giftet seg med i 2008. Flere av hans tidligere lagkameratet kom til bryllupet.

I Dubai jobbet han først med tidligere Premier League-spiller Carlton Palmer, før ham satset for seg selv og en egen fotballskole.

– Det er hardt arbeid, men det går bra. Vi har noen fantastiske unggutter her, og jeg gir 100 prosent for å hjelpe dem i den videre utviklingen. Jeg er i kontakt med flere klubber i Storbritannia, og forhåpentligvis kan noen av dem reise dit senere.

Andy Mittens column in english

On Kirk Hilton

The former Manchester United professional has the initials ‘KH’ on his shirt. He’s come straight from running his Soccer School to the restaurant near his home of four years on Dubai’s Creek in the United Arab Emirates. Kirk Hilton is 31. Sir Alex Ferguson once rated him as better than Danny Higginbotham, whom he sold for £2 million. Higginbotham played over 400 professional games, many in the Premier League. Hilton didn’t, for reasons he’ll explain, but he’s not bitter as he talks about the lads he played with.

“I played alongside Jonny Evans at Antwerp,” he says. “After his debut, I realised he was a class above everyone else. During the game he was pinging the ball 40 yards with both feet to both of our wingers’ feet like Beckenbauer. Even at the age of 17, he was so calm and composed on the ball and could read the game like a middle-aged pro. What impressed me the most was his behaviour on and off the field, as he was very level headed and extremely focused. I knew we wouldn’t have him for the whole season as he sailed through the games at ease and was also called up for the Northern Ireland national team. He was soon sent on loan to Sunderland in December with Roy Keane and featured in their championship winning team. Our loss was their gain.”

Evans’ replacement at Antwerp was England international Ryan Shawcross.

“Being 6 ft 3 at the age of 17, Ryan knew he would have to work on being quicker over the first five yards to become a top player,” says Hilton. “Ryan has a superb attitude and always wanted to improve as a footballer. He would stay behind after training and work on his weaknesses. He is what you would call a dedicated professional who was very competitive but knew his limits as a footballer.”

Darron Gibson was another who Hilton played alongside in Belgium.

“My first impression of Darren was that he had fantastic ability but the wrong attitude,” says Hilton. “Darren was one of the most natural gifted midfielders I had seen at that age. He always played the ball forward and could unlock defences with his decisive accurate passing. The one thing missing from his game was his work rate as we used to call him Darren ‘armchair’ Gibson for being so lazy. Luckily for Everton and for Darren, he has really matured as a player and we are now starting to see the finished article.”

David May was one of the biggest characters Hilton played with as he made his way through the youth ranks and into the reserve team at Old Trafford in the late 90s.

“Maisie was the banter king at United and would always be up to mischief,” he recalls. “Maysy and I were in the treatment room a lot in those days and we would both be forever challenging the physios at any sport possible while doing our rehab. Every Friday the physios would take on the players at a game of indoor hockey. This was more like a grudge match than a hockey game as Maysy would regularly be barging the staff through the green curtain, or taking someone’s head off with the stick. David was a great guy to have around because if you were feeling down he would cheer you up with his wisecracking antics.”

Carrington was less than one mile from where Hilton grew up in Flixton.

“I played for Flixton Juniors as a kid and was scouted by United when I was nine.” He says. “Brian Kidd came to watch me play on a Sunday morning and he asked my mum if I was interested in coming to The Cliff twice a week to train at the centre of excellence. I was and I did that between nine and 14. I was very small but United don’t worry about size too much at that age. They look at your technical ability. I signed schoolboy forms when I was 14 for two years. You don’t get paid, but I was on United’s books.

“At 16 I was given a six week trial. United weren’t sure about me and I played out of my skin because I didn’t want to leave the club. After six weeks I got a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson. I was really nervous about whether I was going to be kept on, but he said that he was pleased with me and that I was going to get a two-year YTS contract. From then on I was paid £65 a week for doing something I loved.

“We trained four days a week and studied one day. We cleaned the players’ boots and the various rooms at the Cliff. It was character building to clean the boots and do errands. We knew that Beckham and Scholes had done it and it didn’t bother us one bit. If you didn’t clean the boots properly you’d get pulled by the players. I did Dwight Yorke’s and David May’s. At Christmas they would give me fifty or sixty quid as a present. Then we played games on a Saturday. Since they’ve moved to Carrington the young lads don’t have to clean boots and I think that’s sad. Part of being a YT is keeping your feet on the ground and not thinking you have made it before you have.

“I played left-back in the same youth team as Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Michael Stewart and Luke Chadwick. We were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup by Everton, Francis Jeffers got a hat-tick. The manager wasn’t happy and we did let ourselves down, we should have done better.

“At the end of my YT contract, six of us were called to see the manager. I had an idea that the news would be good and he gave us a one year professional contracts. My contract offer was £250 a week, but Gary Neville had a word for us and it was upped to £350 a week plus bonuses. We were all delighted, but felt very sorry for the other lads who were released. We had a good idea who wouldn’t get a contract, but it was still difficult to see team mates I had played with since 12 leave. You always say that you are going to stay in touch but that never happens in football. I don’t think any of those players who got released are now playing. It’s a shame, but people fall out of love with the game or their confidence gets knocked and they just stop playing. Some of them were very talented too.

“I had to think about myself and my own career, though. I was a professional at the team I’d always supported and I had only ever dreamed of that. As I was growing up Kiddo gave me tickets and I went to all the United games when I wasn’t playing.

“I just knuckled down. As a youngster at United you’ve always got to look at the players in front of you in your position and those behind you. The player in front me was Danny Higginbotham, who was a couple of years older. Denis Irwin was in first team, Danny Higginbotham the reserves. I needed to be playing a level above Under 19s and I was asked if I was interested in going to Antwerp. I knew that Ronnie Wallwork and Danny Higginbotham had done well there and I was up for moving. It was the right choice and I played first team football in front of crowds of 10,000. Games had a competitive edge, it was a good experience living in a different country and I played the best football of my career so far. I played with Luke Chadwick, a really nice lad, and we were promoted to the Belgian first division. Antwerp asked me back for a second year and I was up for that, playing against teams like Anderlecht.

“United were happy with my progress too and gave me a three year contract with good terms. This was the summer of 1999. I bought a nice car, a BMW 318 and for the first time in my life I earned decent money. All the other lads were buying them because they were nice cars which weren’t too expensive on insurance. I played with the first team in some testimonial games, Lee Martin had one at Bristol Rovers and I appeared with Beckham and Scholes in a pre-season fixture at Selby Town. Life was good, but if people asked me what I did I told them I was at college studying a GNVQ in leisure and tourism! If you told them you were at United then they either didn’t believe you or would think that you were being big time. People knew locally, but I tended to go out in town. My best mates were lads I’ve known since 11 rather than footballers and they still are.”

At this time, Danny Higginbotham was sold to Southampton for £2 million. Sir Alex commented that he wasn’t worried as he had a better left back at the club – Kirk. The United magazine did a feature on him, the Evening News too.

“Shortly afterwards I realised that I had a problem with my groin,” says Hilton. “Then I had a double hernia operation. I kept coming back but then I would suffer recurrences. I was devastated. United told me to rest for eight months, to do absolutely nothing. When I returned I was told to build up the area around my pelvis. It went to plan and I spent a month doing core work. The first team players would always offer encouragement. I remember Ruud coming down to see me and that meant a lot. Just being in a gym all the time and not kicking a ball was frustrating, but I had to recover properly.

“The physios used to call me ‘the racket man ‘because I used to cane them at badminton and table tennis. My dad was European table tennis champion in 1980 so maybe I picked it up from him.

“I did a pre-season but then I broke down again. I was told that I needed an operation on my groin and there was a 50 per cent chance that I wouldn’t play again. I found that very hard to take, but I had no choice. My mum was upset too. Mum and her partner Sean just wanted me to get back playing. They were always so supportive but it got pretty difficult just before the operation.

“The operation was successful. I felt I was due a bit of luck, but by that time I’d lost two full years at United, two years in which all my friends broke into the first team. I envied them and thought: ‘That could have been me,’ but I’d missed my chance. The club are always moving players through. Sir Alex sent me to Livingstone on loan but that didn’t really work out. They trained on Astroturf every day and I was suffering niggles from my long term injury. I returned to Old Trafford and Sir Alex said: “You’ve been really unlucky with injuries but we have to move you on. There are a few teams interested in you.” The gaffer was always very fair and to be honest I knew it was coming. People like Danny Pugh were coming through behind me. I was 22 and needed to be playing first team football.

“Steve McMahon called from Blackpool and I moved there on a free. He used to play 5-a-side for two hours with us on a Friday. Sometimes we were too knackered to play on a Saturday. I sold my car because it was costing me £20 a day in petrol just to get to Blackpool and back, but a player at that level would be on a grand a week, maybe a bit more plus appearance money – we got £300 a game. I signed a year’s contract and got straight into the first team. I scored on my home debut and it was great being part of a first team. The fans were passionate and I was enjoying it. Then I pulled my hamstring. I was rushed back from the injury and tore my hamstring again. McMahon was replaced by Colin Hendry, who brought in another left back from Preston. That was it for me at Blackpool.

“I went to America to play six-a-side. I lasted two months and didn’t enjoy it. I returned to Manchester and Sammy McIlroy asked me to go to Stockport County. I went there but I had a niggling knee injury, then Sam got sacked. The PFA paid for me to have a cartilage operation. They do a great job. If it wasn’t for the PFA then I would have had to wait two years for the operation on the NHS. That wasn’t an option.

“Then I moved to Altrincham in the Conference North to get fit and play regular football. I just wanted to play because I’d missed so much.”

Hilton went back to Antwerp, where he played 23 teams between 2006-2008 alongside the likes of Evans, Shawcross and Gibson. Then he retired with a hip problem.

“I could have had a lot more luck with injuries but there are a lot of people in worse situations than me. You’ve just got to get on with life and be positive.”

He did that by moving to Dubai with wife Lynsey, who he married in 2008. Several of his former team mates came to the wedding. In Dubai, he initially worked with former footballer Carlton Palmer, before going it alone and founding his own Soccer School.

“It’s hard work, but it’s going well,” he says. “We’ve got some great young players, I give it 100% to help them progress and I’m speaking to various clubs in the UK so that they can hopefully make a move there.”