It’s the gaffer’s turn to face the barrage of our random questions as Graeme Lee takes up the hotseat for our Firsts and Lasts feature – let’s see how he gets on…

Firsts

What was the name of your first pet?
Chips. It was a budgie we had when I was really young. We actually got a dog not long afterwards and that attacked the budgie, so it didn’t come out of its cage much after that!

What was your first car?
A Ford Fiesta. I don’t think it was even a 1 litre, but we put colour-coded bumpers on it so that looked like a sports car! It had four gears and if I was going downhill, l I could get about 96 out of it! Haha!

What was your first holiday abroad?
I think we were quite lucky and went away somewhere most years; my main memories are of family holidays in Majorca.

What was the first gig you went to see?
I didn’t really go to one until I was a bit older, but I remember going to see Lionel Richie in Sheffield. That was class. It went so wild when he played Dancing On The Ceiling.

What was the first match you went to see?
I used to go and watch my dad’s teams more than anything, so I spent a lot of time watching Whitby Town. I also used to go and watch Boro when I was a kid – but it was usually my dad’s teams.

Who was your first best friend?
Apart from my brother, when I was a kid, I was really friendly with a lad called Lee Whittle. He was a school friend, and I still see him every now and then.

Who is the first person in your phone book?
Haha, it’s Adam Boyd who I used to play with at Hartlepool United. He was one of the most naturally gifted players I have played with during my career, in all honesty.

When was the first time you realised you might turn pro?
It was probably when I was offered a scholarship. I played against Hartlepool for York City Under-16s and afterwards, Billy Horner from Hartlepool asked my dad if I would sign scholarship forms with them. I had a decision to make but Pools had made the offer, so I took them up on it.

What was your first match as a pro footballer?
My first senior game was coming on as a sub for Hartlepool against Arsenal at Highbury. I was only 17 and playing in the Youth Team but they took me and few other young players with them on the trip – and then named me on the bench! They had Wright, Bergkamp, Adams, it was crazy. I remember warming up and someone shouted: “Who are ya?” at me and everyone laughed. I got on the pitch, and I remember you couldn’t hear anything but the crowd.

Who was your first football manager?
In kids football it was Gary Sykes – him and his family have run Marton forever and he was brilliant. He had a video hire van, and I remember half the players were out delivering videos for him! In pro football my first manager was Keith Houchen.

What was the first mobile phone you owned?It was a Motorola one I bought off Tommy Miller. I have the same number now that I had for my first mobile phone too. It was one of those flip phones, so it was pretty good.

Lasts

What is the last thing you watched on TV?
The last series I have been watching is A Thousand Blows. That’s been really good, and I have enjoyed watching that.

What was the last thing that made you laugh?
Haha, this interview! Actually, I was in the club the other day and the Kit Man Paul Coombes was there with his dogs, and they pulled him out of his chair on to the floor – that was funny!

What was the last thing you bought?
It will have been something for the kids, I imagine. Actually, I bought some new golf shoes fairly recently so that’s the last thing I got for myself.

What is the last thing you took a photo of?
It was a picture of my daughter and my niece during a dog walk and them getting stuck in the baby swings!

What is the last thing you ate?
I have just enjoyed a ham, cheese and pickle sandwich that I bought from the services on the way to the game at King’s Lynn Town. Obviously, I put some crisps in it – you can’t have a sandwich without crisps in!

What is the last thing you drank?
Black coffee. That’s my go-to morning drink.

Who is the last person you spoke to on the phone?
Jason Ainsley. We saw him in the car park as the team coach pulled into the services, and he was wandering around aimlessly! I rang to see if he was okay, but he was fuming because they had run out of food in Greggs!

What was the last football match you went to (where you weren’t playing)?
It was last night when I went to watch my son Grayson playing for South Shields, but they got beat 4-2 in the end.

What was the last film you watched?
I loved a good film. I watched Jack Reacher the other night, does that count? Actually, I watched that Mufasa film that’s a spin-off of The Lion King quite recently and that was pretty good.

Who was the last person to text you?   
It was my daughter earlier on. Haha, hang on – it’s actually Ian Clark because he’s heard the question and literally just sent me a text a second ago! Haha.