Antony Sweeney has paid tribute to former Pools star MichaelMaidens on the 12th anniversary of his tragic death.
Michael sadly passed away following a car accident on Friday19th October 2007 and the Club subsequently retired his Number 25shirt.
His parents, Doug and Heather, along with other family
members and friends are guests at Victoria Park for today's FA Cup tie against
Brackley Town.“I think I am one of only a few people at the Club now who
was also around when Michael was a player,” wrote Sweeney in his Programme
column for today's game.“I know how important it is that his name and his memory iskept alive here, twelve years on from his tragic death.
“I know people move on, but he's still part of our Club – we
have the Maidens Restaurant named in his honour and, at this time of year in
particular, Michael is in our thoughts.“I know that his parents, Doug and Heather, and other family
and friends of Michael are here for today's game. It's obviously a difficult
time of year for them but hopefully they can take some comfort from being here
today.“I haven't spoken to Doug and Heather for a while so I hope
to go and speak with them after the game today - it will be nice if we can be
celebrating a win with them too.”As always, Pools fans are encouraged to pay tribute to
Michael with a minute's applause when the scoreboard hits 25 minutes during
this afternoon's game.