Many congratulations to Mick Hewitt, secretary of the Vine Branch of the Leeds United Supporters Club who tonight will travel to his 2,000th consecutive Leeds United match.

Says Mick: “Norwich City away will be, fingers crossed, my 2,000th consecutive game. This includes all the first-team fixtures including friendlies in Japan, China, South Africa, Canada, USA, Thailand, Australia and wherever.”

The first game of Mick’s incredible 34-year run was Southampton away on November 22, 1980.

Superfan Mick has, of course, seen many more Leeds games than 2,000 having first watched the team play Arsenal at home in the league in 1968. A former print worker these days Mick, aged 54, works for a trade union representing print industry workers. When he’s not following the Mighty Whites from his home in the Ireland Wood area of Leeds he also regularly travels to watch England home and away, returning from Estonia just in time to get on the Vine bus to Rotherham last Friday.

“Coincidentally, my first away game was Rotherham United in the FA Cup, I think it was 1971 (It was, we drew 0-0, then beat them 3-2 in the Third Round replay). Then as a treat for passing my 11-plus I got to go to Juventus away for the Fairs Cup final in Turin in May 1971. I later went to Paris in 1975 for the European Cup final and started attending the pre-season tours in 1978, going on every one since.

“The last game I missed was a friendly against Sutton Town on November 18, 1980 which I believe was arranged to inaugurate their new floodlights. However, we were unaware of this game. Before that, in June 1980, I missed one when we played a Morocco XI in Casablanca. But that was when I had to sit my City & Guilds examinations.”