That’s where the treasure lies, but alas, it is proving harder to find. Far better to spend any spare money on a bit of fun and amusement.That’s the point of all collectibles If it’s not fun, you shouldn’t do it. If the market collapses, you’ll still have something to stick on the wall, look at and admire. One kid was in tears, as he’d got three signatures, but not John’s So I signed it John Lennon. I often look for it at auctions.Collecting football memorabilia is a huge business, with regular sales at all the main auction houses, and on the net.

Sotheby’s has a big one at Olympia on 11 September.Prices are going up all the time, the choice stuff doubling every two or three years, so it’s an excellent investment, compared with stocks and shares, while anyone with a pension is probably wishing they’d never been tempted. Clubs want their £100,000-a-week stars to be training or resting, not knackering their wrists signing their names, hence a bit of subterfuge Which is understandable. I was once on a train with the Beatles, going to Bangor in north Wales, and autograph books were being shoved through the carriage window. In front of her, was a large size photostat of all the signatures of the first team pool.

What she was doing, probably was always doing, in idle moments every day, was copying out names of the club’s stars onto a never-ending supply of footballs.No need to name the club. OK, they play in white, which limits it, but I didn’t say which season The point is: beware. When someone, some dealer, some auction house, even some respectable charity, is offering autographed football items, it is very hard to be sure they are genuine. Arrived a little bit late, so went straight in to what I thought was the manager’s office, but found myself in a side office where a secretarial assistant, female, was bent over a desk. She jumped up, startled, looking guilty, and tried to hide what she was doing. Naturally, I leaned forward to find out.
On her desk was a line-up of gleaming footballs, unplayed with, virgin white. I was at this Premier Division club, about to see the manager.