1. Full Name Michael Stuart Appleby
1.2. Nicknames - Mick, App, Mick App
2. Age - 47
3. Place of Birth - Leeds
4. Position - Retired Centre-half or Right-back.
5. Boots - Adidas
6. Playing History - Old Modernians (1985-2007), Nat West Bank (Sunday 1987-1992), Midland Bank (Sunday 1980-1987) now coaching Stanningley Albion JFC U9s & part-time summer coach at the Mods (if I'm asked back?)
7. Best Player/s you have played with - I played with all 3 on Sunday mornings in the 80s but all 3 have also made their mark at the Mods. Firstly John Ramsden who was captain of the Midland Bank team in the early 80s when I first started playing open age football a naturally gifted footballer, perhaps the most skilful footballer I have played with, who was also the best captain I played with during my career always positive & talked to his team throughout the game.
Secondly Gerry Reynolds the best natural goalscorer of his generation both at the Mods & with Midland Bank on a Sunday. There were many occasions when he received the ball on the left when I knew the ball would be in the back of the net within the next few seconds (I'd often turned & headed back to my kick off starting position before the ball had hit the net).
Thirdly Clive Smythe who was Gerry's partner when they were the greatest goalscoring partnership in football in the 80s. For a big striker Clive used his obvious attributes to good effect but he was also very quick and skilful which often caught out opposing defenders.
Fourthly, I had to include a player who I have played with at the Mods & this has to be Dave Collins, I first came across Dave in the mid-90s when I had been left out of the 3rds (a bit of a low point in my Mods career) & Dave was 4th team captain he welcomed me to his team & I felt an important player immediately. I subsequently played with Dave for most of the rest of the 90s & early 00s & he very rarely had a bad game an excellent shot stopper & still performing consistently today.
8. Best Player you have played against - This is a difficult one I've never taken much notice of opponents to be honest always concentrating on my own game. I'll have to go back a long way to the late 70s when I made a rare appearance for my school team & we played against a Terry Connor (later played for Leeds, Brighton, Portsmouth, Swansea, Bristol City & England U21's) inspired Foxwood School. It was obvious how good he was although I think we lost the game 2-1 & Connor got them both. He is now assistant manager at Wolves & is seen in the background every week on MOTD.
9. Football Idol - Alan Ball. My childhood hero the Paul Scholes of his day an outstanding midfield player with tremendous energy (although I did go off him a bit when Everton sold him to Arsenal for £200,000 in 1972, a British record fee at the time)
10. Favourite supporting football memory - Keith Edwards late equalizer in the FA Cup Semi final v Coventry in 1987 springs to mind as an outstanding moment, to be a Leeds fan that particular day was very special. As a memory Leeds winning the title in 1992 stands out & to pip Manchester United at the death made it extra special. Will Leeds ever win the title again in my lifetime?
11. Worst supporting football Memory - Has to be seeing Leeds relegated in 1982 at West Brom. I honestly thought before the game that there was no way a club like us could go down. But their performance that night was absolutely abysmal (Kenny Burns in midfield?) there was no fight in fact they appeared to go down without trying. Although England drawing at Wembley with Poland in 1973, and therefore failing to qualify for the 74 World Cup, has to come a close second. Remember it was only 7 years since England had won the World Cup it was the start of a very dark period in the England national team's history.
12. Greatest playing memory/achievement - 3 memories stand out. Firstly in my first spell as 3rd team captain achieving promotion when losing only a couple of games all season unfortunately Matthew Murray only lost one all season (in the final game against us) & won the title. A very young Richard Hoole was a key player in that team I think it was 1989. Then winning the Hodgson Cup in 1994 with the 3rds we won in the final 6-0.
Finally my proudest moment in a Mods shirt was captaining the 4ths in the Hodgson Cup Final in 2005, a team that included Ramsden, Smythe, Johnny Walker, Chris Roy, Richard Hoole, Billy Hudson, Kevin Horigan, Tony Mullin & Bob Eastwood. The game was played at the Mods (we lost 4-2 to our 3rd team).
13. Worst Mods or previous club memory - That leads on from the last one I was actually close to tears after the Cup Final defeat in 2005 although it was eased slightly by knowing that a Mods team had lifted the trophy anyway
14. Mods Hero - has to be Andy Hoole who epitomised exactly what a Mods player should be. Started off in the lower teams as a young lad and by shear hard work & making the most of his obvious ability made himself into a first team regular for many many years. Not sure what his best position was he could play equally well in a number of positions, may be Centre-half, but if you asked he'd always say Right-Wing (although it clearly wasnt). Would play for any team anywhere and in any position if asked. A True Mods Hero.
15. Best ground you've played at - Having never played for the 1st's or 2nd's playing on the Club pitch even when it wasn't that good was always a pleasure. I played at Deepdale a couple of times when they had a plastic pitch and always enjoyed playing at Wakefield City who's pitch was always a good surface.
16. Favourite Band/Artist and Track at the moment - I'm currently listening to a few American Indie bands from the 90s & 00s including Red House Painters, Death Cab for Cutie, The Decemberists and The Velvet Teen if I had to choose a track of the moment it would have to be 'Medicine Bottle' by Red House Painters from 1992. Although my favourite artist of all time remains Elvis Costello.
17. Pre-match preperation routine - Always had beans and poached egg on toast for lunch when I was playing. As I got older I started giving this a lot more thought and took on board an energy drink about an hour before kick off & kept myself well hydrated in the build up to the game.
18. What do you do on a Saturday when not playing football - Thats every Saturday now I coach in the morning then more often than not I watch a game with my boy in the afternoon occasionally its Leeds but more often than not its a Mods game although we are going to watch Farsley Celtic this Saturday. Now that the pitch is as good as it is I do enjoy watching a game at the Mods these days.
19. Best Friend/s at the club - A difficult choice but I would have to go for Dave Collins & Pete Jimack. Dave & Pete are both similar standard footballers to me so I've played a lot of football with both of them over the years and through that they have both become good friends. Which reminds me when are we going out for a few beers Dave or Pete? Mines a Pint of Mild.
20. If you could change 1 thing about the club what would it be? I think I would have to echo what a number of players have said when answering this question in that a lot of the problems areas have now been addressed by Clive and the club is now moving in the right direction. I noticed when helping with the coaching at the club this summer that the club spirit that seemed to have been lost over the last few years had returned. One of the most enjoyable things about the Mods for me was returning to the Club on a Saturday evening & finding out how everyone had done and then going out for a few beers with not just players I had played with but a group of players from various teams. This sort of camaraderie has finally returned to the Club. As for changing 1 thing at the Club not sure I could pinpoint one thing just that we need to ensure that the groundwork Clive & his new regime have laid down is now built on & that the Club continues to become more organised & professional in its approach.