Roger Osborne will always be remembered as the man who scored the winning goal at Wembley to bring the FA Cup to Ipswich Town.

He also boasts legendary Dutch ace Johan Cruyff's Barcelona shirt among his many souvenirs.

But one thing that will surprise his many fans is the fact that jolly Roger, from the tiny Suffolk village of Otley, actually made more appearances for Colchester United than he ever did for his beloved Town.

"It even surprised me," said Wembley hero Roger, just embarking on his 52nd year and enjoying his recent appointment as manager of Ipswich's Rushmere Sports Centre.

"I was at Colchester around half the time I spent at Ipswich and was a virtual ever present in their Fourth Division side."

Roger made 230 League and cup appearances for the U's between February 1981 until his release five years later, compared to 140 outings for Town between 1971- 80.

"I had a lot of happy times at Ipswich," he said, "but I enjoyed a couple of my best years at Colchester.

"I remember the time we played Manchester United at home in the Milk Cup.

"The United side was stacked with talent such as Bryan Robson and Remi Moses, while I was playing alongside local part-timer Dave Hubbick. That fact alone marked the massive contrast between the two clubs.

"We lost the game 2-0, but it was a great experience. I also recall the day we met Newcastle away in the FA Cup.

"We travelled all the way up north and back in a day. How we drew the game I'll never know. It was a crazy situation. The milkman had almost finished his round the next morning when I finally arrived home totally shattered. We lost the replay 4-3 a few days later.

"There was also the time we played Southampton in the Milk Cup. Saints' Lawrie McMenemy was the First to say how well we had played in forcing a replay. Sadly we lost that one 4-2 at The Dell.

"We never won anything during my time at Colchester. In fact we were relegated from the Third Division soon after I joined them.

"But the following year was very pleasing. I was voted the Division Four Player of the Season."

One of a host of players to have turned out for both Ipswich and the U's, Roger readily admitted it was like chalk and cheese.

"There was no comparison," he said. "The whole pace of life was much quicker at Ipswich.

"Playing at packed stadiums like Old Trafford, Highbury and Anfield was a far cry from the deserted stands at Hartlepool, Halifax or Darlington.

"But the slower pace of Division Four did allow me the freedom to control play more from my central midfield position.

"I would never have had the time on the ball like that in the old First Division."

Roger made his U's debut on Valentine's Day 1981, the same day as another Layer Road cult hero, Roy McDonough. Both players went on to make a major impact for the club.

But it was at Ipswich, the club he joined from local amateurs Westerfield as a 21-year-old that Roger hit the big time. He made back page headlines for his historic winning goal against Arsenal in that never to be forgotten 1978 cup final.

He said: "As a boy I often dreamed of playing for Town, but I could never have dreamed I would one day score the winning goal at Wembley.

"I will never tire of people asking me about that great day, or what really happened when I was replaced by Mick Lambert only seconds after scoring the all-important goal.

"It was a very humid day and the shock of the moment and the emotion, plus everyone clambering over me, got to me.

"Given a minute to catch my breath I'm sure I would have carried on and if substitutes hadn't been allowed I know I would have stayed on.

"Every year was a great year during my time at Ipswich and one of my biggest highlights was marking Barcelona's Johan Cruyff - arguably the greatest player in Europe at the time - out of the game in a UEFA Cup tie.

"We won the home leg three-nil, but lost the eventual tie away after a penalty shoot-out.

"I marked Cruyff so closely that I finished up with the great man's shirt."

Roger also enjoyed a four-month spell playing for Detroit Express in the USA where he got to play against some of the world's best like George Best and Germany's Gerd Muller.

"I got to see most of America then and while I was at Ipswich I practically filled my passport with trips to European ties and other exotic places like Bermuda, Hawaii and Barbados."

On quitting the U's, Roger was at a loose end for some time and he drove a lorry for his brother-in-law's haulage firm before switching to the Willis Faber Sports Centre - now renamed Rushmere Sports Centre - then managed by former U's manager Dick Graham and ex-defender Brian Wood.

He also joined Sudbury Town for a season where they won almost everything in sight before moving on to Braintree Town and Felixstowe and then back to his Ipswich and District League roots with Westerfield where he was first a player and then manager up to two years ago.

A family man with his wife of 26 years Margaret and three sons, Robert, 22, Carl, 20 and Tom, 17, Roger's job leaves him with no time for football these days.

And although he admits today's top football is a completely different ball game, he also confessed: "I'd be daft to say I wouldn't have liked some of the silly money that goes with it."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.