I WAS deeply saddened to hear of the recent death of Shaun Maby, a well-known local footballer. I was at Mangotsfield United with Shaun in the mid -90s and appreciated then what a great bloke and talented footballer he was.

I remember him as a tough-tackling midfielder, who always played the game in a no-nonsense manner. Although he was strong and tough, he was a fair tackler, and I would describe him as being one of those players who you were glad was on your side.

Shaun was a bit of a nomad as a player, turning out for many clubs over the years. He played alongside his great friend Gary Sloper at several clubs, having started off as juniors together at Bromley Heath and Avon Athletic.

In senior football, apart from Mangotsfield, he enjoyed spells at Cadbury Heath, Hanham Athletic and Paulton Rovers. During his spell at Mangotsfield, another good pal of Shaun's, Tim Britton, took over as manager of the reserves.

I spoke to Tim last week, and although he was understandably upset, he said that he can't think about Shaun without smiling. He told how Shaun was always known for never having any football boots. Every week, he would ask to borrow someone's, and on one occasion he was lent a pair by his team-mate Aggy Smith. After the match, Shaun sold them to another player!

He also 'borrowed' a new pair of boots from his goalkeeper, Andy Weakley, who, unfortunately, didn't know he had taken them out of his kit bag. It was only after the match when Andy spotted them on Shaun's feet, with a split running down the side of each boot, that he realised he had borrowed and ruined them!

Shaun also enjoyed playing Sunday football for many years. He particularly liked a few beers with his buddy Dave Barratt after the game, which could go on for some time. He played for Hanham when they entered the Sunday National Cup competition, where something strange happened. He scored the winning goal in an early round – it was very rare for Shaun to notch, and both Tim and Dave can't recall him scoring another goal – ever!

He also played for the infamous Essex team, based at Kingswood, when Dale Dampsey was in charge. Shaun and Dave had a spell running the team for a while. I was also told that Shaun had been on trial with Arsenal in his youth. He played in a practice match for them, but failed to tell the team manager that he was playing with two broken toes. Unfortunately, he never made the grade, but on the bright side, he came away with Paul Merson's boots!

My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends, especially his three sons.