Much is made of players reaching appearance milestones but not often fans, however, Blues supporter Phil Taylor’s achievement of 1,000 consecutive Town games certainly deserves recognition. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Watford saw Phil hit that mark after more than 19 years and eight months without missing a match in a major competition.
"It was never a target,” Phil, 40, told TWTD after Saturday’s game. "I’m pleased that I have reached this milestone, though I doubt I will do another thousand!
"The last game I missed was the early kick-off at Liverpool on Grand National Day on April 9th 1994.
"I had been offered a week of work worth about £500 - a lot of money to a student in those days - but I had to commit to working the whole week or get nothing.
"As I had missed the Newcastle game a couple of weeks before, breaking a previous run of 262, as Newcastle weren’t admitting away fans that season due to rebuilding work, I took the job as I thought I wouldn't be going on that sort of run again.”
He says the first match of the 1,000 didn’t particularly stick in the mind: "I had to look up it up, not surprising that a 1-1 draw at home to Swindon doesn't register in the memory. I do remember the 0-0 at Blackburn on the last day of that season very clearly though.”
Phil, who is currently based in Northampton, cites the 2000 play-off final as the best game of the 1,000 and says that at times he has had to climb from his sickbed in order to keep the run going.
"There have been many occasions when I have dragged myself to games despite illness, injury or even the day after having my wisdom teeth out when Newcastle at home was rearranged in 1995,” recalls Phil who has regularly travelled to matches on his motorbike.
"Going to Old Trafford the following Saturday still swollen up wasn't a fun experience either.
"Plenty of midweek trips have been a mad dash on the bike, it's not usually in the early season warmth though, snowy trips to Cardiff and Scunthorpe stand out in the memory, alongside many cold and/or wet trips.
"I have finally passed my driving test, so now it will be a decision based on the weather and being able to get through any traffic jams.
"I would like to thank everybody that has helped me get to all these games over the years. It is perhaps fitting that the score was the same as in the very first game in the run and also ironic that it came against the same opposition that I saw in my first ever game at Portman Road.”
Having hit the 1,000, is he going to keep going? "I will take each game as it comes," he joked. "I seriously fully intend to make 20 seasons, after that I will go to every game I can but maybe not at risk to life and limb any more!”
And he has plans for when he reaches that 20-year milestone in April: "I wanted to do something to mark the 20th anniversary, so I thought I would cut off my long locks that have been ever-present throughout that time.
"The idea was first suggested when I appeared on Soccer AM in April 2000, Tim and Helen promising to match any money I raised.
"Unfortunately other commitments meant I couldn't make a return visit when invited to appear ahead of the play-off final. I wasn't ready for it anyway.
"However, I decided to use my long run of consecutive games as the catalyst for a fundraising effort. I'm hoping that there will be plenty of people that recognise me from my years following the Town, and can afford to pledge a little towards my target.
"Both the charities, the British Heart Foundation and the MS Society, support research into conditions that have affected members of my family, so it would really mean a lot to me to raise in excess of the target for them.”
Phil’s Just Giving page can be found here.