IT seems hard to believe that it is now 16 years since we lost David Rocastle. The words 'legend' and 'superstar' are branded about far too easily these days, especially at people who have not truly earned it. But someone who certainly did deserve those accolades was the man simply known as Rocky.
So what made him so special? Well at his peak he was quiet simply the best footballer I have ever seen. Back in the late 1980's people talked about Glenn Hoddle or Paul Gascoigne, and Arsenal fans would always mention Liam Brady. But for me Rocky topped the lot.
He had everything; strength, pace, skill, vision. He could run, tackle, pass, shoot, and score goals. Wonderful, wonderful goals. But above all else he was just a down-to-earth guy who never forgot where he came from, who he represented, and how lucky he was to playing football for a living.
Rocky was born on a tough council estate in Lewisham, South-East London, on May 2 1967, and was brought up by his mother following the death of his father in 1972. After leaving school in 1983, Rocky joined Arsenal as an apprentice and I first heard about him through his exploits in the youth and reserve teams.
It was therefore no real surprise when he made his Arsenal debut in September 1985 against Newcastle United at Highbury. It was not a particularly memorable match (it finished 0-0) and it was not a particularly memorable season (we finished 7th) but Rocky shone like a beacon through the mediocrity and he became an instant hero of mine. And he was only a year older than me.
The following season saw a then 19-year-old Rocky really establish himself in the Arsenal side under new manager George Graham. He was a regular in the No. 7 shirt on the right wing as we won the Littlewoods Cup at Wembley, and he became a true Gooner legend when he scored the injury time winner in the semi final replay at White Hart Lane.
Over the next two-and-half years Rocky became one of the best young players in the country as Graham plotted the downfall of Liverpool. He was ever-present in the 1988-89 title winning season and gave us many more great memories; a wonder-strike against Middlesbrough where the ball seemed permanently stuck to his right foot as he slalomed past challenge after challenge; a 30 yard chip at Villa Park, and a great goal at Liverpool in the Littlewoods Cup. And lets not forget it was Rocky who won the free kick that led to our all-important first goal in the title decider at Anfield that May. He was voted Young Player of the Year and became a regular in the England squad.
It was a shame that injury and illness began to affect his performances just as he was reaching his peak. I recall an article in the match day programme by Graham in early 1990 saying how Rocky was out of the team as he had been suffering with breathing problems, perhaps the start of the ill health that would ultimately cost him his young life.
Following an incident at Millwall in 1989 when he swallowed his tongue, Rocky suffered a difficult 18 months and played just 16 times in the 1990-91 title winning season. Many were writing him off as it appeared his best days were already behind him, incredible when you think he was still only 24.
However the signing in September 1991 of his childhood friend, Ian Wright (the pair had grown up together on that same council estate in Lewisham), seemed to re-invigorate his career and he enjoyed a fine 1991-92 season, missing just four games. The highlight was a wonderful solo goal at Old Trafford where he chipped Peter Schmeichal from 25 yards after out-muscling both Paul Ince and Bryan Robson.
But that proved to be his last season at the club. I will never forget when I heard the news he had been sold to champions Leeds United for what seems an incredibly low fee of just £2million. Rocky WAS Arsenal and it seemed unbelievable that he would no longer be playing for us. I heard he cried when Graham told him they had accepted Leeds' offer and that tells you all you need to know about the man. He loved Arsenal; it was his club and he showed it every time he pulled on the shirt.
Unfortunately his career rapidly went downhill after that. Following two largely unsuccessful years at Elland Road, Rocky played half a season at Manchester City, where he helped them avoid relegation, before returning to London with Chelsea in 1994. His time there was blighted by injury and the highlight was helping them reach the semi final of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1995, which had they won would have seen him face former club Arsenal in the final. In the end he made less then 30 appearances in his four years at Stamford Bridge, where he also spent loan periods with both Norwich City and Hull City.
He ended his playing career in 2000 in Malaysia with a club called Sabah where he was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, an aggressive form of cancer that attacks the immune system. I did not even know he had been ill when the news of his death broke on the morning of a North-London derby on March 31 2001. He was just 33. It was the most emotional match I have been to and even though we beat Spurs 2-0, it meant nothing. We had lost a legend and I had lost my first football idol. The chants of 'Oh Rocky, Rocky...' were sang through tear-stained eyes that day...
I was actually lucky enough to meet Rocky once in the early 1990's. He was out of the side injured at the time and I was at the ground picking up a ticket when he emerged from the main entrance with David Hillier. Through my work in the media, I have met and spoken to many footballers over the years but this was different, this was Rocky. Although I was around 23-years-old at the time, I felt like a lost little boy as he approached me and smiled. I really wanted to say something but I was, for the first and so far only time in my life, completely star-stuck.
In the end I managed to utter some nonsense about his injury but he was only too happy to stop and chat, telling me he was on the mend and would be fit in a week or two. He then shook my hand, signed my ticket stub and he was off. Of course I now wish I had spoken to him in more depth and told him how much I idolised him but I was just a quivering wreck who could barely manage a smile and a thanks! Unfortunately this was in the days before camera-phones so I have no pictorial evidence of our meeting, but that is the moment I always look back on whenever I think of him.
Of course I am not a member of his family, I was not a personal friend of his and, apart from that one brief encounter, I never knew the man. Yet I feel a part of me died that day 16 years ago. He had been a big part of my life and contributed to so many of the greatest moments I had ever experienced.
Football may have moved on and many players have come and gone since, but Rocky will never be forgotten. We have won many trophies and enjoyed many great times but rarely does a day go by that I do not think about the great man in the No. 7 shirt.
He was from a different time; a time when players played for a love of the club and not the pay cheque. In fact he would probably have played for Arsenal for nothing. He was one of us yet one of a kind. He was simply our Rocky. RIP to a real legend.
