Former Leeds United goalkeeper Scott Carson has admitted he does not have fond memories of his first start for the club, which came against Manchester United in 2004.
Scott Carson recently called time on his playing career, having taken his first steps in the professional game with Leeds United during the 2003/04 season.
The Whitehaven-born goalkeeper joined the Leeds academy in 2002 and was thrust into the limelight at Old Trafford as Paul Robinson served a suspension.
Carson was one of only two senior goalkeepers in the threadbare Leeds squad that season, as they would eventually slip to relegation from the Premier League.
Now, the former Leeds man has lifted the lid on how it felt to be thrown into the Leeds side by Eddie Gray, as the Whites travelled to face their arch-rivals in a crucial game.
Scott Carson warms up ahead of Manchester City FC v West Ham United FC - Premier League
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Scott Carson recalls his Leeds United debut
Speaking on Ben Foster’s Fozcast, Carson recalled how he felt in the build-up to his first Leeds United start.
Carson had made his debut in a brief cameo against Middlesbrough after Robinson had been sent off, and the former England international believes the fact that he had weeks to think about his first start made the experience more nerve-wracking.
Carson said: “When I made my debut for Leeds at Old Trafford, Paul Robinson got sent off a couple of weeks before. I don’t know what it was, but [his ban] didn’t kick in for a couple of weeks.
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“Obviously, I knew I was playing all along, and that night in the hotel before the game, it’s just horrible. You don’t sleep, you’re waking up thinking, you’re dreaming about the game.
“I’d never been to Old Trafford before, pulled up on the coach and saw that, and I’m like I just can’t wait to be back on this bus, and hopefully it didn’t go too bad.
Asked what he remembered about the day, Carson added: “To be honest, it’s a blur. I’ve never watched it back, and I think in general I didn’t do too badly. I think the goal was, I think Gary Neville’s like half pulled a cross back, I’ve pushed it out, and it’s got tapped in.
“But I think in general I didn’t do too badly because, considering I was 18, I don’t think I would have even started a friendly or anything for the first team. So it was literally just thrown in right at the deep end.”
Scott Carson looks on during Derby County v Leeds United - Sky Bet Championship
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What Scott Carson said after his first start vs Manchester United
Carson was thrown into the first team as Leeds grappled with the fallout of the Peter Ridsdale era, as the club attempted to cut its expenditure drastically.
First-choice goalkeeper Robinson would eventually leave Leeds at the end of the season, but Carson was nearly asked to step up on a more permanent basis before Tottenham allowed Leeds’ number one to remain at Leeds for the remainder of the 2003/04 season.
Carson barely put a foot wrong on debut for Leeds as they secured a battling point and, speaking to the Telegraph and Argus after the game, he opened up on the experience of walking out in front of such a big crowd for the first time.
The former Leeds man said: “When I walked out into the stadium in front of 67,000 people, I just couldn’t believe it. I kept looking around, trying to take it all in.
“Fortunately, I settled down a bit once the game got going. I tried to keep my concentration and kept telling myself to keep a steady head, and we would get a result, and thankfully we did.”