Footie stars and pundits Chris Kamara, Charlie Nicholas, Ian Dowie and Ray Wilkins joined TV legend Jeff Stelling in York on Tuesday (March 22).
They walked through the city for the second leg of Jeff’s Men United march, raising awareness and money for Prostate Cancer UK.
Jeff was on day two of his ten walking marathons in ten days, as he zig-zags across from one football ground to another across Britain. Today’s destination was Leeds United’s Elland Road ground.
That seemed a long way off when, after a hearty breakfast in York City’s Pitchside Bar, the walkers set off from Bootham Crescent at 8am.
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‘Cheese and crackers’
Jeff told YorkMix: “One man in eight in the UK will contract prostate cancer. One man will die every hour.
Find out more about Jeff’s Men United march here
“If people have any concerns at all they should contact an adviser at Prostate Cancer UK, maybe their GP, just to talk things through.
“Because if you catch it early it’s easy to cure.”
Chris Kamara has formed quite a double act with Jeff on Sky Sport’s Soccer Saturday. “Me and Jeff, we go together like cheese and crackers, so I couldn’t not support him.”
Loving York
Jeff and the team were all big fans of York. The former Countdown presenter said he knows the city well, coming here to watch his beloved Hartlepool United and for the races.
“It’s one of Britain’s most beautiful cities. So it’s a great way to start the day, with a walk through York.”
Chris Kamara and his son come to the Ebor Meeting at York Races every year, but he missed it last year due to work commitments.
And filming of the new series of ITV game show Ninja Warrior may prevent his return to Knavesmire this year.
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Charlie Nicholas, meanwhile, has a special reason to remember York.
So I wanted to come back to York feeling a lot happier than last time.
Will York City beat the drop?
We had to ask the assembled experts: can York City defy the odds and beat relegation out of the league?
Jeff hoped that the Minstermen could mirror the last-minute escape pulled off by his own club Hartlepool United last season.
“I think we’re all hoping that York will put together the same sort of run this season as we did last season to save ourselves. It’s not too late by any means.”
Chris Kamara was less optimistic. “When a club’s on a slide it’s very hard to reverse that slide. It’s going to be hard, that’s for sure.”
Charlie Nicholas put his faith in the Scottish manager. “Jackie McNamara is a very clever and shrewd guy… Jackie might just do the survival trick, I hope he does it.”