Best wishes, Horse

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Geoff Horsfield faces up to his toughest battle on Thursday - cancer.

Having been diagnosed with testicular cancer, that has brought to a premature end his football career, the man known to all and sundry as 'Horse', is due for surgery tomorrow.

He is in a positive and determined frame of mind, as you would expect, that's what he was like on the field itself.

I have exchanged texts with him in the past few days and he has been extremely touched by the level of support and goodwill messages he has received and seen.

We all have our favourite memories of Horse, Blues and Albion fans both.

One of mine cannot be repeated on this blog (let's just say he ensured this correspondent was stitched up and left worse for wear in Malaysia's Asia Cup during an all-night game of 'killer' on the pool table) but plenty of others can.

His goals in the League Cup semi-final, play-off final and the pair against the Villa in 2002-03 straight away spring to mind.

Horse was also a real man's man, who would pass the 'pub test' every time ie the sort who would happily sit and talk with anyone over a pint, and never be patronising or give off an air of superiority.

His devilish sense of humour was brilliant for the Blues dressing room and I recall the time when the publishers of the 2002 play-off final programme asked me to interview a player who would give a run down of his team mates for a pen-picture spread.

Horse was the obvious choice and they rang me back after I emailed the finished article to them in a panic, asking was I sure this was what he wanted to say.

For example, Curtis Woodhouse was described as 'Shrek', Stan Lazaridis a 'convict', Steve Vickers age was given as 44 and Michael Johnson's waistline likened to Sherman Klump, aka The Nutty Professor.

As for Jeff Kenna, he commented: "Our shandy-drinking right-back tried to keep up with the big boys at the PFA do and failed miserably . . . "

Horse's description of himself was " Shy, quiet, a model pro and probably the most feared striker in Britain."

Nico Vaesen was revealed as "By a (large) nose the worst dresser at the club . . . ".

Nico had half of Belgium over in Cardiff to watch him and called out to me at the team hotel on the eve of the game (the programme went on sale days in advance): "Tattum . . . I'm going to kill you and Horsfield." Don't shoot the messenger, naturally, was my response; Horse couldn't stop laughing at the carnage he had caused.

Norwich's equivalent was straight-laced, more befitting the seriousness of the occasion. But that was Blues strength back then, a great togetherness and earthiness.

Horse was no mug on the football field. In fact, he was under-rated, he played to his strengths and was clever enough to adapt to the strength of others.

You could say he formed an unlikely alliance with Christophe Dugarry - hod carrier and World Cup winner - but they were superb together and Dugarry absolutely adored Horse.

It still makes me smile one of Horse's quips after Dugarry invited him to spend the summer on the Côte d'Azur along with his best pal Zinedine Zidane: "I hope they don't get the ball out!"

Geoff, all the best big fella. A fine player, a top bloke.