Greg Downs may have missed out on a Wembley final during his time at Blues and Norwich City but to be involved in arguably the best FA Cup showdown ever witnessed beneath the Twin Towers was surely more than enough compensation.

Downs was part of the Coventry side that beat Tottenham in a five-goal thriller in 1987.

He is still involved at the grassroots level of the game with Norfolk non-leaguers Wroxham Town, which is where we caught up with him to chat about his playing days.

He started by telling us about his early days at Carrow Road, revealing that he actually started life as a centre-forward.

"I joined Norwich as an apprentice in 1974 and at that time I was a striker," he explains.

"I played three games up front but it was an absolute nightmare.

"In my debut away to Burnley in the League Cup I had about three kicks in the whole game!

"My league debut was probably even worse because we lost 4-0 away to our local rivals Ipswich.

"And in that match I got two kicks - one was off Beattie and one was off Hunter!

"The only other game I played up front was against the great old Leeds United side of the 1970's, so I had a real baptism of fire.

"They were three terrible games for me to come into at the start of my career and that's probably what made me think more about the idea of moving to left back."

During his teenage years Downs spent six months playing over in America when he found himself lining up against some real legends of the game.

He recalls: "I played against Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio and George Best.

"I have still got a picture in my lounge of me with Georgie Best from that era.

"At the age of 18 I was obviously a bit star struck but it was wonderful experience."

After returning to the UK, Downs actually made his Football League debut during a loan spell at Torquay and the Devon club were keen to acquire his services on a permanent basis.

He admits: "I had to make the decision about whether I really wanted to be a centre forward and possibly end up in the lower leagues.

"Or have a crack at left back and nearly 600 games later I think you can say that I made the right decision."

But his transition from attack to defence was very much a self-taught process.

Norwich were managed for the much of the 1970's by John Bond, who, of course, took over the helm at Blues later in his managerial career.

Downs enjoyed his football immensely under Bond although he admits he was possibly not the best mentor for a would-be defender.

"John Bond was a great coach and Norwich was a fantastic place to learn your football," he continues.

"Although when I get together with another of the Blues old boys, Harry Roberts, we always have a laugh about John Bond because his coaching was great fun but it was all about going forward.

"In the book that Harry brought out a few years ago, he tells about how Bondie used to turn around to Robert Hopkins and say that he'd have him playing for England one day.

"And Harry said 'Yes, but the defence would have played for Rovers Return!'

"And that's absolutely true because we never did defensive work.

"As full backs we were just encouraged to push forward and overlap."

Downs spent a decade with the Canaries during which time he made a total of 206 appearances, scoring eight goals.

So what games stand out from his time at Carrow Road?

"A lot of people still talk about when we lost 5-3 to Liverpool at home when Justin Fashanu got the goal of the season," he says.

"I also remember being 3-0 down to Man United at home and coming back to draw it 3-3."

While Downs enjoyed some good times in the canary yellow shirt, he admits that his Carrow Road career ended on something of a disappointing note.

"When we reached the Milk Cup final in 1985 - in which we beat Sunderland - it was also my testimonial year," he explains.

"But it proved to be one of my worst times because I got left out of the team at Wembley and that was probably my main reason for leaving.

"I had played in every round up to the semi-finals and then suddenly I found myself on the bench.

"So it was quite disappointing that having given ten years to the club and finally got the chance to win something, it all turned sour which was a bit of a shame but that's football for you."

But Downs did not have to wait long to make a return journey to the Twin Towers as he was part of the Coventry team that lifted the FA Cup in 1987 in one of the best ever finals.

On his time with the Sky Blues, the defender adds: "John Sillett had the same sort of philosophy as John Bond in that he wanted his team to play good football and entertain people."

Downs stayed at Highfield Road for five years before making the switch across the Midlands to St. Andrew's in 1990.

Unfortunately his move to Blues coincided with some very dismal times on the pitch with the side languishing in the old Third Division.

Although his one season with the club actually started quite promisingly, as he recalls: "I think we broke the club record by going the first 12 league games unbeaten - the only trouble was that we drew nine of them.

"Obviously the supporters at the time were expecting more and to be fair it was probably the wrong time for me to go to Birmingham City because it was a heavy transitional period.

"It felt as though the club were just trying to get rid all of its assets. They sold the training ground off and by Christmas we ended up training in the local park!

"Having come from the First Division, or the Premiership as it is now, down to the Third Division it was a massive culture shock.

"The players had to queue up to receive their wages from the chairman every two weeks.

"I can't say it was the most glorious stage of my career."

Unfortunately a serious knee injury sustained just before Christmas restricted Downs to just 23 appearances in royal blue.

Although the departure of manager Dave Mackay early in 2001 catapulted him back into the public eye, when Downs was asked to take over the reigns on a caretaker basis, alongside the then-chief scout Bill Caldwell.

And after leading the side to two wins and a draw in three matches, he admitted that he quite fancied the job on a permanent basis but his age went against him.

"I did say to the chairman that I would be interested but only being 33 and a player, I can understand their reluctance.

"And the Kumar brothers who owned the club at the time were originally from Manchester and were heavily into Man United, so they chose to appoint Lou Macari."

Towards the end of that season, Blues reached the final of the Leyland Daf Cup.

"I almost got myself fit for that final but I don't think I would have played as I was never going to be Lou Macari's type of player," admits Downs.

And he jokes: "I went to Wembley in my suit so at least I got something out of it."

Downs moved onto Hereford as player coach alongside Sillett in the summer of 1991 and went on to manage the Bulls for two years.

He subsequently did the rounds of a number of non-league clubs before joining Ridgeons League Premier Division side Wroxham as assistant manager in 2006.

"It's not a bad standard and probably on a par with the Southern League Midland Division," says Downs, who combines his role at Trafford Park with his full-time job as a policeman.

"The manager Damian Hilton is only 29 so it's a case of me being there to pass on my experience.

"I help with some of the training and work with individual players to try and help them to improve.

"Then on a matchday Damian will always pick the team but I am there alongside him on the touchline ranting and raving!"

But he didn't have to do too much shouting this season as the Yachtsmen ran away with the league title.

Although their pre-season preparations were not helped when their first friendly was postponed for the most bizarre of reasons - an invasion of rabbits!

"There is a small copse behind the ground," he explains.

"And as soon as the groundsman planted new seed over the summer, they were on the pitch digging it up!"