MCFCforum.com Talks Exclusively With Darren Huckerby

Manchester City at the start of the new millenia certainly was a strange time for us. Back in the Premiership, after succesive promotions from the third tier, only to find ourselves once again relegated (and then promoted - it was enough to make you sea-sick).
But during these days, we had a team that could be immensely exciting to watch, and one of those players who made it so enjoyable for us was Darren Huckerby. Signed at the back end of 2000, for around £3m, Darren's blistering pace was a joy to watch, and in his first full season racked up 26 goals.
MCFCforum.com caught up with Darren to catch up on some old times and to find out what he is up to today.

MCFCforum.com: How difficult was it for you to make the step up from starting your career in the old 3rd division with Lincoln City, before carving out a successful career at Premier League and Championship level?
Darren Huckerby: It was difficult at first; I probably always had raw ability, but it was just a matter of learning the game and adapting it to play against better players. The old saying is true, everybody hates playing against pace and my biggest weapon was speed and change of direction. I was lucky at Coventry City - Gordon Strachan worked with me a lot.

MCFCforum.com: You played for City under Kevin Keegan. The season that we won The Championship was arguably the most enjoyable season for me as a City fan (even though we weren't in the Premier League), with our forward line and midfield consisting of great talent including yourself, Goater, Wanchope, SWP, Berkovic, Bernarbia and Horlock. Was this one of the most enjoyable chapters in your career?
DH: It truly was a wonderful season even thought the start of it wasn't that great for me personally. I didn't really get established in the team until about 13 or 14 games in, but after that it was an amazing season. It was a pleasure playing with all those talented players. The best thing was the team dynamic; we all brought something different to the table, whether it was Goat's goals, or Ali and Eyal's faultless vision.

MCFCforum.com: You signed for us, but yet we went down that same year. Is there a particular reason as to why you stayed on with us (and thank you for doing so, by the way)?
DH: City are a massive club, whatever division they are in, and I believed the players owed it to the fans to stay and get the club back up.

MCFCforum.com: Gordon Strachan once said that you were a scorer of great goals, but not a great goal scorer - did you agree or disagree with his assessment, and have you changed your mind since then?
DH: I probably agree with his assessment. I was never a player who just stood around the 6-yard box waiting for a chance, I did a majority of my work outside the box and on the wings. I was quite happy with my back catalogue of goals, and hopefully the grand-kids will enjoy them too!

MCFCforum.com: I notice now that Norwich are very close to your heart and I wonder why this is? and what does it take for a player to have so much affection for a club they have previously played for?
DH: I've been lucky that every club I've played at, the fans have appreciated the way I play. When I left City to sign for Norwich I think this coincided with me playing my most consistent football; I love the place and people, and Norwich City is a tremendous family football club.

MCFCforum.com: Did it strike you as funny winning the MLS Newcomer Award in 2008 being that you were in your early 30's at the time? Do they have a decent youth system in place? Or is the league likely to continue attracting older players for the foreseeable future?
DH: It's always nice to win awards especially in a country where nobody knows who you are! The MLS is growing, but will always struggle against European Leagues.

MCFCforum.com: Do you think there's a lot of anti City reporting in the media, or do you honestly think us City fans are a little paranoid by thinking this? I mention this only because at the weekend when Jonny Evans did what he did to Stuart Holden of Bolton, all the media seemed to be bothered about was how United would cope with another defender out, but yet when de Jong made his tackle on Ben Arfa there seemed to be a media witch hunt for De Jong.
DH: I think the media are doing what they always do: build something up to shoot it down. Since City have become this powerhouse, with vast amounts of money, I think it's changed peoples perception of City. For all the people that like City, there will be just as many that don't, just because of the money they have got to spend.

MCFCforum.com: In which areas do you think that the club could currently strengthen in order to improve in the future?
DH: I think City will strengthen in all areas, but the biggest aim is keeping hold of Tevez, because when he doesn't play the team looks half as good.

MCFCforum.com: With your experience, what would senior players do, or say, to how Mario Balotelli is acting at City? would they pull him to one side and tell him how he should be acting, or would they let the manager sort things out?
DH: Balotelli is obviously a talented player, but his attitude seems to let him down a lot. As team mates you can only tell him so many times, and I expect him to move on at the end of the season.

MCFCforum.com: Could the Darren Huckerby, of his City days, get into the City squad of today?
DH: I'd like to think so, but you never know.

MCFCforum.com: What is Darren upto these days ?
DH: I've started my own charity up, which can be found at www.darrenhuckerbytrust.co.uk plus my own website www.dh6.co.uk. I'm also working through my coaching badges.

MCFCforum.com: Thank you very much for taking the time out to do this, but there's one question I personally would love to know the answer to: What possessed you to clap to an empty stand when we played against Millwall away, when the City fans were banned? It was one of my all-time funniest moments watching football that .. . Absolute class.
DH: I planned it before the match. At first I was going to jump into the empty stand and sit down, but I thought I would get busted up by the stewards. The celebration did work out well. We knew that it was a joke that no City fans were allowed, but we still managed to show our appreciation.

Many, many thanks to Darren for doing this for us, and please be sure to check out his charity at www.darrenhuckerbytrust.co.uk where his trust has become sponsors for The Teenage Cancer Trust on their Blue Moon Walk to raise funds to build a teenage cancer unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England.
Additional thanks go to bluemooner_mcfc for setting this interview up for us.

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