Craig Shakespeare shook up football - but stayed true to himself

Having been released by his boyhood club Villa aged 16, a knock on the door from former Walsall chief scout Ron Jukes paved the way for a footballing career which would span across the next five decades.

Aside from honing his wand of a left foot, which he would later become renowned for, Shakespeare was taught the importance of responsibility very early on.

His first few days were spent clearing weeds from the Fellows Park stands, while the two buses he took to training everyday from his Great Barr home kept him on his toes.

Football has long since moved on from the days of cleaning boots and washing kits, but Shakespeare adopted key values from his time under youth team coach and Walsall’s then all-time record appearance holder Colin Harrison.

Aged 18, Shakespeare made his debut from the bench in a 2-2 draw at Huddersfield Town in September 1982 and was handed his first start at Preston North End in the Milk Cup three days later.

His talents were clear from the outset and Shakespeare finished his debut season under Walsall’s record scorer turned manager Alan Buckley (then in his third spell in the dugout) with four goals in 33 appearances.

He was an ever-present for the following campaign which will eternally hold a special place in Walsall’s history.

Walsall dispatched Blackpool, Barnsley and local rivals Shrewsbury Town in the early rounds of the Milk Cup to set-up a mouth-watering tie at the home of English juggernauts Arsenal.

Despite boasting the talents of Pat Jennings, David O’Leary and Tony Woodcock, the ‘Buckley Babes’, as they became known by the Walsall faithful, pulled off a famous giant-killing at Highbury thanks to goals from Mark Rees and Ally Brown.