He was shot in the head by Alan Shearer for a laugh and discovered Paul Gascoigne hiding in a giant tumble-dryer cylinder.
When the credits rolled, Derek Wright had served 32 managers in 38 years at Newcastle, including three England coaches – Kevin Keegan, Sir Bobby Robson and Sam Allardyce. He even attended a staff fancy-dress party dressed in a pink tutu and Doc Martens boots, although trying to flag down a taxi by waving his magic wand afterwards proved more difficult than mending broken bones or impaired ligaments.
At every football club, the physiotherapist is an invincible gatekeeper between treatment table and pitch, an unsung hero whose surgery is open all hours. And Wright, who retired in the summer after restoring hundreds of injured Newcastle players to full fitness, is one of the best.
