Sir Tom Finney was one of the greatest footballers there has ever been; he was the type of player that people would travel a long way to see.
He’s a great man and has contributed so much to football, especially in the Preston area. They love him there.
I’m a good personal friend of Tom’s and he is very well liked in the game. He was a fantastic player – one of the world’s top players without question.
My first experience of Sir Tom Finney is not one of joy – as I stood on the terraces of Hampden Park and watched him giving one of my heroes in the Scotland team, Sammy Cox, a roasting. Winding forward all these years and actually meeting the man restores any lost faith you might have in humanity as he is such a wonderful person and so humble. Why can’t we all be like that? A credit to the town of Preston, his football club and his family – well done, Sir Tom.
Sir Tom was a great help to me in the early stages of my management career. He has an incredible passion for the game and he is somebody I have got great admiration for. There is no doubt he was one of the greatest players, but to me he is also a great man.