A King among men; Club stalwart is honoured.

NEXT Thursday we are hosting a tribute dinner at Tranmere Rovers for a very special man - John King.

John commands a position of respect and affection with everyone connected to Prenton Park.

He is also unique in football. How many former managers who had been sacked not once, but twice, by a club, would be welcomed warmly back into the boardroom for every home game and actively consulted on some of the most important footballing issues facing the club?

I'm not aware of any other club that has such a figure and we count ourselves fortunate that we can continue to draw on the remarkable depth and breadth of John's experience in the game.

John is not only the most successful manager in Tranmere's history, he is probably also the best loved. This is evident in the warmth of the responses we have had from the team-mates who worked alongside him during his playing days with Tranmere between 1960-1967, from those who played under John during his two spells as manger between 1975 to 1980 and 1987 to 1996 and from supporters who want to be there on his special night.

It will be an evening of celebration and a host of personalities who have been associated with John and the club will be coming back - Ray Stubbs, Ronnie Moore, Dave Hickson, Chris Malkin, Steve Mungall, Jim Steel, Harry Leyland, John Morrissey and many more.

When Peter Johnson became Chairman of Tranmere Rovers in 1987 he invited John King to return as manager. The club has changed more than most over the 15 years since Peter and John began working together. Our climb from the foot of the fourth division to the first via two promotion campaigns in 1988/89 and 1990/91 was a great achievement in itself. For a club of our modest size to then hold a place in the first division for 10 years and qualify for the Premiership promotion play-offs in three successive seasons under John's leadership in the mid-1990s was an impressive feat. Then there were all those trips to Wembley for cup finals and play-off finals.

We should not forget John King served other clubs during his career. Everton, Bournemouth and Port Vale as a player, Rochdale as a coach and non-league clubs Northwich Vics and Caenarfon Town as a manager between his two spells at Prenton Park.

But everyone in football identifies him with Tranmere. It is the kind of association between one man and one club that is becoming increasingly rare in the modern era when there is more movement of players and managers than ever before.

John is still a wise and reassuring presence in the boardroom on match day. Whether things have gone well or badly on the pitch, John always seems to know the right words to say, which isn't an easy thing to do in a boardroom.

John, as we know, is a great talker and yes, he still does come out with those brilliant, colourful quotes. It is evident from the reaction John gets from visiting directors, managers and officials that he must be one of the most popular figures in football nationally.

My most poignant memory of John is, naturally, a fairly recent one.

It was watching him take his seat in the front row of the directors box at Goodison Park before our FA Cup fourth round tie against Everton last January. I thought about how special the occasion was for someone who had played for both clubs and served Tranmere so wonderfully well. I'm glad that on the day we achieved a result worthy of him.

A TRIBUTE to John King - 'A True Tranmere Legend' is at 7pm on Thursday, November 15.

Tickets (pounds 25) are available from the club 0151 609 3305, the club shop or ticket office.

CAPTION(S):

LEGEND: John King is set to be hallowed in an evening of celebration