Shilton’s Experiences Through Four Decades Of Football

Starting on the modest shale car park at Filbert Street, Shilton went on to play a mammoth 1,249 games for club and country.

Football has significantly changed since Shilton’s professional debut in 1966, and the ex-City ‘keeper reflected the emotions and journey he experienced until his retirement in 1997.

“When I was starting out, I was obviously playing in the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties, so I kind of saw all of the eras,” Shilton told LCFC TV.

“The fond memories were at the beginning when it all happened, when you suddenly realised that you could be a professional footballer.

“The equipment was just totally different, the balls were different. From a goalkeeping point of view, there were no coaches – no goalkeeping coaches.

“We used to do five or 10 minutes’ shooting practice a week, so that wasn’t enough, really.”

While the resplendent setting of Belvoir Drive is fully equipped for the development of professional footballers, Shilton used an area outside of Filbert Street to hone his shot-stopping skills.

He said: “It was shale, so there was a little bit of give in it, but it was quite firm and I had to get padded up because there was no other training facilities.

“That’s where I learned to catch the ball at the highest point, getting my body behind the ball.

“That was a great time for me, especially with George Dewis, because he was a really good trainer. He pushed me very hard and strengthened me up as well.”