League of Ireland star-turned-musician Phil Fitzgerald knows only too well the impact that injury can have on your sporting career; his own career at top level effectively ended at the age of 28 when he did his cruciate back in the eighties. Now, at 65, he’s making a good recovery from serious back surgery – another sign of the wear and tear of a sporting life.

So when the one-time Arsenal trainee and former Shels, Dundalk, Drogheda, Bray Wanderers and Home Farm midfielder learned how some of his old team-mates and opponents were forming an association to look after other lads who were struggling medically, mentally or economically, he also knew he wanted to help.

Phil has always had a parallel passion as a musician, and after a lifetime playing music, solo, in three-pieces, and in a number of bands – including a reformed Stepaside – along the way, he finally put together his debut solo album at the age of 65.

And hearing of the plight of some of his old friends, he has decided to donate a substantial portion of the proceeds to the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association.

“I started to play when I was still playing football but I really got into it afterwards,” he says.

“Actually what happened was my knees fell apart at 28. If it was now, they’d probably just have gone in and cleaned it up a little but then they opened your knee up and I major problems after that; the cruciate went, everything went.

“So I took off to Spain with a guitar on my back and very little money and I played with a band over there. It was 87/88 and the recession was kicking in over here anyway.

“It was singalong stuff – not what I really wanted to be playing but you have to earn a crust.”

He came back and coached for many years – including stints with a number of Leinster Senior League clubs, not to mention a stint at Shamrock Rovers with his old pal Roddy Collins – but he had what he called ‘horrendous back surgery’ 14 months ago and he’s still struggling with it.

So he knows what impact injury and illness can have at all stages – which is why he decided to do something to help.

“I’m not at death’s door as regards money but that’s not the point,” he says.

“But what really shook me was when I heard about Jacko McDonagh (the former Shamrock Rovers centre-half who suffered a stroke and his early dementia) and Damien Byrne, who I played with at two different clubs and Damien is struggling really badly with dementia – and (former Galway manager) Joey Malone who has been through such a bad time.

“Martin Lawlor is a longtime friend of mine and we played in Dundalk and when he started the group up with Harry McCue, I asked if there was anything I could do to help.

“I’m not thinking this thing will make millions in any shape of form, but you should do your bit to help when you can – and I thought that if the football family could get behind it, it might help the Association as well.”

The first single from the album, All I Can Say, is already out on YouTube and the album, simply called Making My Stand, is now released on Bandcamp and other digital formats.

“I’ve been writing songs forever and people have been saying for years that you need to record them. I’ve been very fortunate to have met some fantastic musicians over the years, and they worked on the album with me,” he says.

His own musical influences would be Dylan, the Allman Brothers, Steely Dan, Bowie, but he has broad taste – and plenty of experience behind him.

He’d put together his own band, but one of the highlights was when he was then asked to front Stepaside, the seminal Irish rock outfit of the seventies, after the death of lead singer Paul Ashford.

“I ended up playing with two of them in a kind of blues jam session one night and someone asked for a Stepaside song and I knew every lyric they’d ever had. We ended up doing one or two of them and then they decided to reform the band and I ended up fronted them for a couple of years.

“Unfortunately one of the guys, Brenny Bonass, thought it was going to be like 20 years earlier – but it was never going to get back to that. It just really ran its course.”

Football fans from the eighties will remember Phil – and he has particularly fond memories of his visits to Terryland Park…even if one of his Shels’ team-mates didn’t.

“John Herrick was player/manager at the time and John didn’t take prisoners. And there was a guy called Willie Byrne, and he was playing centre-forward.

“He’d only recently signed but according to himself he’d scored 300 goals in junior football. We only realised afterwards that Willie would have to have been playing for four different teams every week to manage that.

“Pat Dunne, God rest him, was manager and I think this was Willie’s debut. John O’Reilly was our goalkeeper and – first five minutes – he launched a kick-out towards Willie and Herrick came in and took Willie, ball and everything.

“Second one, the ball was played up to Willie and he went out in the channel towards the touchline, and he landed against the perimeter wall, thanks to John.

“Third one, ten minutes later, all you hear is ‘John’s ball’ in the Cork accent and you see Willie slowly walking to the touchline, Pat Dunne asking him what he’s doing – and he turns around as says ‘Ah, listen Pat – it’s not worth it’!

“His first game in the League of Ireland and he didn’t expect anything like that. He hung on for a while but that was it really.

He remembers the Mannions – John and Tony – and his midfield opponent in particular.

“John knew how to play but knew how to put a foot in and we had Mick Moody who, as tough as he was, he has this kind of Michael Jackson pitch in his voice. And the pair of them were roaring at each other and the decibel level was ridiculous.”

John Mannion is one of the driving forces behind the IPFBA now, and Phil knows how valuable their work is, because so many of the old pros are struggling on a number of fronts.

“If we could get this to the supporters and the players today, to know that there but for the grace of God go they – and there’s still not huge money in the game. This Association is important for players from all ages – and for the price of a CD, they’re doing their bit to help.”

He also took the initiative to contact FIFPRO Europe – the umbrella body for professional footballer associations across the continent – who have also offered to get the word out to current and former pros in their network.

“They have 60,000 members or more and they’re all over Europe and I’m hoping that they’ll put it in a way that the players recognise they’ll get something back; go onto Bandcamp and download the album and a few bob goes to your colleagues who played the game and who never earned the type of money you’re making. And you never know when you might need a bit of help yourself.”

■ Making My Stand by Phil Fitz is available to download now on Bandcamp – and a percentage of all or any sales will go to the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association. The first single, All I Can Say, is available on iTunes – and you can buy the digital album on https://philfitz.bandcamp.com/album/making-my-stand.

Pictured: Phil Fitz with copies of his debut CD, Making My Stand.