Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff (have to call him that) had a brief encounter with fellow Greater Manchester dweller Roy Keane twelve years ago and is still talking about it.
The episode involved the dearly departed Triggs, one of the iconic figures of the 2002 World Cup and a published author.
Freddie knew Triggs before he was famous.
Flintoff was walking his boisterous nine month old boxer dogs down by the river in Hale, an exceedingly wealthy village south-west of Manchester - home to various celebrities and footballers.
Cavalier hell-raiser that he is, Flintoff decided to let his dogs off the lead. The dogs went galloping after a startled labrador, who turned on his heels and leapt into his owner's arms. You will have gathered already that the owner in question was the then wearer of the no. 16 shirt at Old Trafford.
Roy apparently said nothing during the encounter but everyone else seems to be frightened to death of him. So, to Flintoff, his scowl said something scary.
I ran over in a panic. I had got them by the collars, pulling my dogs back, and I saw it was Roy Keane. He said nothing – he just gave me a nod as if to say: ‘Sort those dogs out, or I am going to rip your head off.'
Later on, Triggs was to make it big and Flintoff recognised him on Sky News, galloping his way through a forest of cameramen and photographers. Flintoff made the revelations on the Flintoff and Holcroft podcast. Amazingly he doesn't have an autobiography out this month.
Mysteriously, Triggs left the incident out of his own autobiography.
