HE may be 96 but Keith Budd is still a familiar sight to fellow football supporters whenever Mangotsfield United play at home.
Keith has been watching the team since he moved to Mangotsfield 40 years ago, and until last year he was still driving to some of their away games.
Now his long-standing support has been recognised with a presentation from the club.
Keith, a retired Lloyds Bank clerk, first remembers visiting Mangotsfield as a boy 90 years ago, long before the club was founded, when he would take a tram to Staple Hill and then walk the rest of the way to see his aunt.
After moving to the area in the 1980s, he soon started following the club home and away.
He said: “I’ve hardly missed a game in all those years.
“My favourite memories are of the cup games, to places like Bromley in Kent, Yeovil and Merthyr Tydfil.
“I’ve seen a lot of very fine players over the years but my favourite was Andy Perrett – he could always score you a goal.”
Keith’s favourite manger in his time watching the club was Andy Black, who was in charge for more than four seasons between 1999 and 2003, and also made 450 appearances as a player.
He has also enjoyed visiting other local teams, including Roman Glass St George and AEK Boco, and only stopped attending away games to clubs a short journey away when he gave up driving last year.
Keith remains a regular at Cossham Street for home games in all but the coldest weather.
He said: “I like everything about Mangotsfield – it’s a go-ahead club, it’s got nice facilities and with the new pitch it’s one of the best places you can go to watch football.”
Keith is also a former rugby referee, and when he isn’t watching the Mangos on a weekend he often watches Cleve RFC at the Hayfields next door.
He has three sons, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and one of his granddaughters plays cricket for Gloucestershire.
Mangotsfield United chairman Steve Brown presented Keith with an engraved whisky glass in recognition of his decades of support at half-time during the side’s 2-0 win over Fairford Town on January 17.
Steve said: “I’d just like to say thank you to Keith for his dedication and commitment to supporting Mangotsfield United over the years.
“It’s Keith and supporters like him who have been, and always will be, the life-blood of this club.
“It was an absolute pleasure to present Keith with a small token of thanks for the many years spent supporting Mangotsfield United, home and away.
“Chairmen, committees and players come and go, but the steadfastness and loyalty shown by supporters like Keith, through good times and the bad, are the foundations that everything here is built on.
“Thank you Keith for your continued support!”
Sport: Page 49