Raya’s rise from Southport to the Champions League

Based in Merseyside (although the locals prefer to say Lancashire), Southport is surrounded by clubs that are higher up in the football pyramid, with Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton, Burnley, Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers all within an hour’s drive.

So it might seem an unlikely stop on David's route to European glory, but as recent National League North results have proven, with “a couple of decent centre-halves” coming in on loan and keeping four clean sheets, “it shows what a difference you can make at this level if you bring one or two players in that are just that little bit better from a higher level.”

That’s according to Rob Urwin, Head of Media at Southport, who can recall David Raya’s arrival on loan from Blackburn back in 2014.

“He did rather well didn’t he?” Rob said, commenting on David's saves against Porto. “We still follow him ever since he was with us. He was only with us for 24 games, but he made a great impression, so we still follow him every step of the way. It’s good to see.

“He was on loan from Blackburn and he was only very young. I’ll be honest, he had a bit of an inauspicious start. He was in a 3-0 defeat at Macclesfield for his debut and we thought ‘oh my goodness.’ He didn’t look as though he was going to do anything! But he settled in, he was a young kid and he was absolutely brilliant.

“The thing that put him at the top of everybody’s list was that we went on a really good cup run. He came in and that’s what people remember, they don’t remember the league games. He didn’t start too brilliant because he had five against him, then three against him, but once he settled and got used to it.

"The cup run started with an away tie at Dagenham, who were in the Football League at that time, and he had a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw. It’s from then on that he went on this fantastic run and was absolutely brilliant.

“He made his name against Derby County. We had a third-round FA Cup tie there and that’s where he came to prominence. He was so well thought of by everybody at the end of it because of the performances in the FA Cup.”

"You don’t always remember players that only played 24 games but he certainly stands out in our memory"

January 3, 2015 was the date for the aforementioned FA Cup third round tie at Pride Park, where Raya produced an incredible performance, only for Southport to be eliminated by a Chris Martin penalty in the 93rd minute.

Had Southport secured a draw and a third round replay at home, Raya’s parent club Blackburn had joked that he wouldn’t be eligible to play as his loan was coming to an end.

“It was funny really, they were only teasing us,” Rob said. “That game at Derby, he sort of propelled himself to the top. It was seen on TV and he must have made eight or nine brilliant saves and he almost saved the penalty.

“He had a tear in his eye. Everyone was applauding him because he’d had a heroic game. It was on Match of the Day at night and they were singing his praises. That one game at Derby where everybody saw him nationally was the one that launched him. You don’t always remember players that only played 24 games but he certainly stands out in our memory.”

Of course, David has come a long way in the past nine years or so, becoming Brentford’s number one for their promotion from the Championship to the Premier League, and being pivotal to us having the best defence in the top-flight this season.

But he remains humble, never forgetting where he’s come from.

“He was quite a quiet lad, very modest,” Rob recalled. “If you read the interviews, he always says that it was his time at Southport that set him up as a footballer because he realised you have to do everything for yourself. It’s not like in the Premier League where the players have everything done for them. Here, you take your own kit, get your shorts and everything - it’s very different. He’s very humble about it and says that it was that time that made him realise that he’ll need to fight to get to the top and obviously he’s done that.

“Blackburn weren’t playing him before he came to us, but once he’d been with us, he’d done such a good job that afterwards they started playing him regularly. From then on he went to Brentford and the rest is history. It’s been great to follow.”

Arsenal fans have become accustomed to David’s distribution capabilities this season, calmly playing out from the back under pressure with plenty of precision, but it’s typically not a technique that goes down so well in the lower levels of the football pyramid!

“He does seem to be able to get the ball out very quickly and see the player running, but at our level I don’t think that’s always a good thing because they don’t always do what they’re supposed to do with it,” Rob said. “It was hard for him because he’d come from Blackburn down to the Conference and it’s a massive difference. When I watch Premier League football and I see you all passing around the back I’m cringing because if our lot started doing that they’d just get clobbered, somebody would kick them up in the air and they wouldn’t do it again!

“It was a bit of a slow start but once he got going he was fantastic and everybody loved him. That’s why we made him an honorary member of our Supporters’ Trust, because not many get that accolade. After he’d left us, my wife, who is the club photographer, and I went to see him and give him his Trust certificates, so we went to Blackburn training ground and he was so humble, a lovely, lovely lad. You couldn’t have asked for more. He liked to play it around at the back but I think the manager at the time would’ve tried to get that out of him at our level!”

Southport’s level, the National League North, is one where all 24 clubs will be looking to maximise the potential of Non-League Day, which takes place on Saturday, March 23, and coincides with the international break to allow fans to show support for their local non-league side.

“Our average attendance is about 900 or 1,000, but if we’re going well and get a good cup run, like at Derby that day, there were 2,500 people there and we’ve never taken that many to an away game in all our lives,” Rob explained. “It was fantastic.

“People try to say we’re a sleeping giant, we’re not. We were in the Football League back in 1970, we’re actually the last team to be not re-elected under the old system, so it’s now 45 seasons in non-league football. The actual town cries out for a good football team. It’s very up and down but, if we get a cup run, we always know the support is there.

“There are people like myself who have been watching them since the 1971/72 season and love every bit, but there are very few of us around left that are that keen!”

After more than 50 years following Southport, David Raya’s signed, framed shirt is among the select few that take pride of place on Rob’s office wall.

“Our previous manager, Liam Watson, he had a testimonial night and it was donated to him,” he said. “I’m really good friends with Liam and he knew my wife and I thought so highly of David, so he said he’d give it to us rather than put it in his auction, which is really nice. It’s sat here proudly.”

Almost as proud as Rob is of Southport's former shot-stopper representing his non-league roots on the biggest stage in world club football.