Cheltenham crowd rise to acclaim Robin’s legend and fuel fundraising for his ongoing care.
It was an privilege to contribute in a small way for Cheltenham Town’s recent fundraising and tributes to former striker Neil Grayson who returned to the club on the final day of the season.
Neil helped fire the club into the football league for the first time in 1999 and is revered at Whaddon Road for his fearsome left-foot strikes and relentless intensity.
But at just 61 Neil has been diagnosed with dementia.
Many of his former teammates, rallied by ex Robins defender Shane Duff returned to the club for the final game of the season on Saturday May 2nd to help raise funds for Neil’s care.
It was another heart-warming illustration of the power of sport to do good, to act as a focal point for communities to rally around people who’ve hit tough times.
I was pleased to find Neil relatively well in the circumstances. I chatted to him on mic in the hospitality rooms at the club and again on the pitch pre match.
It was stirring as the crowd spontaneously erupted into a chant of ‘there’s only one Neil Grayson’ and warming to see the smile on Neil’s face in response.
Cheltenham manager Steve Cotterill signed Grayson in 1998 in his first spell in charge and had organised both sets of players to stop playing in the ninth minute – Grayson wore the number nine shirt – and the club hero was treated to a standing ovation from the players and the four corners of the ground.
Shane Duff had also set up a Justgiving Page (click HERE to donate) for Grayson’s care and donations flooded in from Cheltenham fans and supporters of the other clubs the striker served with distinction.
Cotterill donated £1000 to the cause.
After more than 20 years in sports journalism, you can sometimes feel a little jaded. But it’s days like this that remind me of the power for good that sport contains.
Cheltenham suffered a home loss on the final day to Colchester.
But safety had long since been assured after Cotterill’s fairytale return saw an upsurge in results.
In truth, the scoreline felt almost insignificant compared to the deeper meaning of the day. We wish Neil all the very best.
