It was with great delight that I picked up the phone from my Dad to hear him tell me that he recently wrote in to Fulham Football Club to share a story from his childhood when he met Johnny Haynes.  Fulham have recently been asking fans to share their favourite stories from the past with the most memorable being featured on the site, and Dads was chosen; Check out the Maestro Memories here.

My Dad is a life long Fulham fan and he took my brother and I to Craven Cottage to many matches over the years. I've enjoyed seeing the ground develop and still remember when I was a kid standing on the terraces around 25 years ago. I shot a few images of the stadium a little while back and had a print of the Johnny Haynes statue blown up for my Dad which now hangs on their wall at home. 

When I speak to my Dad about Johnny Hayes there's an instant sound of excitement in his voice. A real flair player with outstanding passing abilities. Dad said Pele described him as the best passer of the ball and if you get a comment like that from Pele you know you are up there with the greats. I watched a video on the Fulham FC website and the players said that Jonny just had a magical way of getting the ball to people's feet even when he had his back to them.  So a legend of the game was also a legend in my Dad's eyes and I please to share his story with you now, when Dad ran to buy a deck of cards for the legend; 

Here is my Dad's story along with a photo I shot of the Johnny Haynes statue earlier this year, March 2015. 

*Snap shot above taken from http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/october/18/maestro-memories-the-man