PETER Dobing spent two decades tormenting England’s top defenders with his powerful running and eye for goal. Now though, just the thought of the modern day game leaves a sour taste.

Give the former Blackburn Rovers forward a fishing rod and a dram of whisky and he is content. Bring up the riches available in today’s Premier League and you will be given much shorter shrift.

It is easy to understand Dobing’s resentment towards the rewards on offer today as well as, had players had such power in his day, his own legacy on the game could have been far greater.

Not that he is devaluing the times he enjoyed at Ewood Park or at Stoke City, Rovers’ opponents tomorrow, but he can’t help reflecting on what might have been had he been allowed to join one of football’s greatest ever teams.

He said: “It was halfway through my career at Stoke when it happened. I was happy there and playing well but out of the blue Matt Busby came in for me for Manchester United.

“This was a chance to play with some of the greatest footballers of our time, the likes of George Best and Bobby Charlton, but Stoke simply said ‘no, you are not going anywhere’.

“I accepted that back then and the chairman did say they would give me a testimonial at the end of my time there. Well I was there 10 years but when I retired, Stoke simply told me they couldn’t afford to give me one.

“I have never been back since. In those days the clubs had all the power but now it is ridiculous, the players hold all the cards and what is happening in the game has become obscene.”

Born in Manchester in 1938, Dobing was brought to Ewood Park from Crewe as a 16-year-old by Rovers boss Johnny Carey, despite significant interest from some of the game’s bigger names.

He made his debut at just 17 and went on to establish himself as a regular in the inside-right spot in the 1956-57 season, while also helping the youth team through to the last eight of the FA Youth Cup.

Dobing forged an exciting partnership with inside-left Roy Vernon and the pair bagged 35 goals between them, with Dobing scoring 20 himself, as Rovers clinched promotion to the First Division in 1957-58.

Before leaving for Manchester City for £37,500 in July 1961, Dobing helped Rovers reach the FA Cup final in 1960, scoring five goals in their run, while he also earned England under 23 honours and represented the Football League.

His Maine Road spell was never a success though and he moved on to Stoke City in 1963, where he scored 94 goals in 372 appearances and captained the club to League Cup final joy in 1972.

After hanging up his boots, he started up his own pottery business and the 72-year-old remains living in the Potteries today – although don’t expect him to pay too much attention to Rovers’ Britannia Stadium visit tomorrow.

He said: “I look at the results of Blackburn and Stoke sometimes because I enjoyed such good times at the clubs, but to be honest I don’t really have any time for the game any more.

“You give me a fishing rod and a dram of whisky and I am happy. Start talking to me about football nowadays and I’m like one of those grumpy old men.

“When games are on the television I will just look the other way. The game is obscene now. When you think about how it was in my day and how it is now, it just isn’t right.”

Tomorrow afternoon’s Premier League clash will bring back some memories of Dobing for fans of his generation, with his own long throw rivalling that of Rory Delap and Morten Gamst Pedersen.

But with a few ‘bombs’ expected to be hurled into the area from both sides, Dobing admits “my throw is nowhere near as long as theirs”.

“I left school at 16 and have fabulous memories of my time at Blackburn,” he said. “I was in a team with some fantastic players, the likes of Bryan Douglas and Ronnie Clayton.

“It was the same at Stoke. I had great times there, but that doesn’t mean that I have stayed in love with the game because I haven’t.

“We would have paid to play in my day, now players are on £150,000 a week. It is a different world and not a better one if you ask me. Football is so expensive to watch as well that I think it has distanced itself from the average person.

“In my day, we were just ordinary people. When you think about the financial situation the country, the world, finds itself in, it is no surprise that people are growing disillusioned with the game.

“Will it change? It will have to, because more and more clubs are getting into financial trouble and are being threatened with liquidation. It isn’t a game any more.”