Allan Cockram is a former Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford footballer, but that doesn’t mean he’s rich. “If only!” says the 58-year-old from west London. “We got kicked up in the air on muddy pitches for the damn love of it.” When he was playing, footballers weren’t paid multimillion-pound salaries.
Cockram always wanted to be a professional footballer and made his Tottenham debut in the old First Division (predecessor of the Premier League) against Watford in 1984. “It was almost gladiatorial,” says the former midfielder. “That excited nervous feeling when you’re in the tunnel, waiting to go out.” After leaving Spurs, he played for St Albans City and Brentford, then became a player-manager at Chertsey Town before hanging up his boots and retraining as a firefighter.
