Steve Bull clears up Gary Lineker fight rumour, reveals biggest wish from Italia ’90 and tells hilarious Gazza debut story

In the third part of a Ladbrokes Fanzone exclusive, Wolves legend Steve Bull clears up what happened with Gary Lineker, discusses his Italia ‘90 regrets and his England debut at Hampden Park.

Click on the link for part one in which he chatted about his love for the Black Country and part two for his thoughts on Pedro Neto and his shock prediction to win the Premier League.

Clearing up the Gary Lineker fight rumour

No. I didn’t hit him. All I did was take his crisps off him. That’s all I did!

But honestly, there was no disruption. I know there was something in the paper about me giving him a black eye and that Bully had given it him because he was taking the mickey out of how I spoke, or whatever. But, on my daughter’s life, nothing at all happened between me and Lineker during that World Cup.

Maybe he didn’t like me trying to get his shirt, I don’t know. But nothing happened between us, on or off the field. We were there together, and that was it.

There were rumours about David Seaman breaking a finger because he was splitting me and Lineker up, but it’s just not true. I think he did that in training, one of the balls had hit him and bent his finger back.

I don’t speak to Lineker all that much nowadays. I haven’t got his phone number. The last time I spoke to him, I was doing a piece for the BBC. I’ve not got him in my phone, but I’ve got loads from that team.

But we have a good relationship, all of us, Lineker included in that. They know where I am and I know where they are if we ever need anything. We just carry on from where we left off.

First of all, I know I’m very lucky to have played for my country 13 times. To come from a side in the third division, to play for my country at the World Cup in 1990, I’m very, very lucky.

I’ve got no regrets about how it all came to an end. Nothing against Graham Taylor, and I’m not bothered about all the speculation. You’ve got the likes of Alan Shearer coming through and, yes, I feel I should have had more caps, but whether it came down to my style of play, or my style not suiting the way England wanted to play, you don’t blame the manager at all.

It’s all about circumstance, and quite simply, you have to acknowledge and accept that there are players coming through who are better than you. It’s the same as when I was at Wolves and I wasn’t playing because Robbie Keane was coming through. When someone told me ‘we think he’s better than you’, that’s fair enough…that player deserves the chance.

I’d have loved 20 minutes against Germany at Italia ’90

I think ‘Italia ’90’ and I think Germany. That Germany game. The only time in my life when I’d wished somebody had given me a chance was in that semi-final.

Things weren’t really going to plan in that game, and Bobby Robson asked me to get warmed up. I took my jacket off and there’s a picture of me and Bobby walking together on the running track which went all the way around the pitch. He was giving me instructions, I’m ready to come on and Gary Lineker scores…

“Just sit down a minute.”

I had to wait until the end of the game and then we had extra time. I’ll always just wonder why he never gave me 20 minutes. In 20 minutes, I would have got a chance, I know it. In football, when you’re a natural goalscorer, it doesn’t matter how long you’re on the pitch, you’ll get a chance.

I just wanted 20 minutes to run around like a Tasmanian devil – they wouldn’t have known what had hit them! That’s the only thing I wish I could have changed in my career.

We should have won it. Honestly, we should have won it. I’ve got a fourth-placed medal sat next to me here. I look at it every day, but it should be a winners’ one.

I’ve got a signed shirt from that tournament, too, something all the lads signed for me. I’ve got my 13 caps on the wall. I walk past them every day and I still have to pinch myself that it actually happened. I’m a lucky, lucky person.

Gazza ignored me in favour of ‘clique’ during England debut

When it comes to my time with England, I’m asked most about my debut goal. It was such a strange story for me. At the time I was one of the over-age players with the Under-21s, and I think we were out in Albania or somewhere for a couple of days with Dave Sexton, who used to be Sir Alex Ferguson’s number two.

One night, there was a knock on my door and I’m told the gaffer, Bobby Robson, wanted me to join up with the senior team.

“When?”

“Now.”

Now? It was eight o’clock at night, but I was put straight into a car to the airport, flown back to the UK and in Scotland for training 12 hours later. It was surreal, it was just all surreal.

I turned up for training and you’ve obviously got all of these huge names: Gary Lineker, Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne, Bryan Robson, Peter Shilton…and then Steve Bull from Tipton!

But they took me under their wing, especially Bryan Robson, who I used to play with at West Brom. He just told me to do exactly what I’d always done throughout my career – it didn’t matter whether I was playing for Tipton or England…and that put my mind at ease a bit.

I felt like I was getting better and better, even in those few days of training with those lads. “I can do this!”, I thought.

Then we got to the day of the game against Scotland and it was all just absolutely unbelievable. It was so hostile up there… it’s like any rivalry, Wolves and West Brom, Man United and Man City, Celtic and Rangers, it was brutal up there. Everything you could think of hit our bus. Bricks, wood, tomatoes, eggs, everything. When the driver opened the door, he had to wipe it down before we could get off.

We got into the dressing room and the gaffer said his piece to us, and told me to go out and have a look at the pitch. It always makes me laugh when a manager says that. Why do I need to go and have a look at the pitch? It’s green, rectangular and flat, why do I need to go and look at it?

But I walked out, and I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing…86,000 fans surrounding the pitch. 80,000 Scottish and 6,000 England fans. As I looked closer, I made out what must have been 3,000 Wolves shirts! They’re all singing “Bully! Bully!” I was giving some back to them, like Peter Kay in those old adverts – it was unbelievable.

So kick-off comes around and I’m on the bench, watching the first half, when John Fashanu went down. I’m not sure what happened with him, but the gaffer told me and Tony Cottee to go and warm up. I’m stretching, thinking I’m about to go on, when Fashanu got up and played on!

A few minutes later, he went down again, and the same thing happened. Bobby Robson did the same thing, told me to get warm, and all of a sudden I went on. I put my hand out to shake Fashanu’s and he just smacks it and says “all the best babe!”

I got on with about 12 minutes left in the first half, and Gazza could have set me up for three goals in that time, but he didn’t. In certain groups, you end up with cliques. Lineker, Beardsley, Gascoigne and Chris Waddle…that was their clique, and I was a disruption, I think. So three times he could have passed to me, but he played it to those lads instead, and I just thought ‘I’m going to have a word with him at half-time’.

I went back into the changing room at half-time and waited for the gaffer to do his talk, and Gazza got up and went for a wee. I gave him 30 seconds then followed him into the toilets. He started walking towards me, and I grabbed him by the elbow.

“Pass me the ball!”

There were a few more words thrown in there, by the way.

“Ha’way, man. Ha’way, Bully, man.”

We went out for the second half and the same thing happened again, twice. I was so fed up with it, running around left, right, and centre.

My goal came about from Trevor Steven and Gary Stevens down the right-hand side. They had Alex McLeish, Dave McPherson and Jim Leighton in goal. Gary Stevens pumped this ball right over the top, and I jumped with McPherson and the ball hit me on the shoulder, just falling perfectly for me to turn and hit it. Bang!

All of a sudden, all I saw was a microphone shoot from the corner of the net. ‘I’ve scored! I can’t believe it!’

I ran off to celebrate, not realising I’m heading straight for the Scottish fans. ‘What are you doing, you idiot?!’

I turned around and put my hands in the air, and who’s the first player to come over to me? Gazza.

“You can f*** straight off!”

I ended up celebrating on the ground, and by the time I had been picked up by Robson and Waddle, you can actually see there’s tears in my eyes. I’ve just scored at Hampden Park on my debut. It was like a dream come true.