SO often we hear of the massive amounts of money in football, but so often there is a failure of the hugely-paid players to connect with the ordinary, avid supporter.

As a Sunderland supporter, I see so many fans who hope for success. They are the bedrock through thick and thin. Sadly, there isn’t that true connection between the players and the fans.

Graham “Butch” Williams was the ideal player. Loyal, dependent and consistent were qualities that were often missing from the team, but Graham was there for every match. On the bus from his own village of Kelloe through Coxhoe and on to Sunderland, his club and culture, his football family.

His mood reflected the success and the disappointment, just like every Sunderland fan. He lived and breathed the team.

Sunderland fans understand that hunger and passion.

But in that mood was an honest and compassionate man full of humanity.

Graham died a year ago. It was a life brought to a close too quickly, but a legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of supporters in Coxhoe and Kelloe and beyond.

Footballers might generate a lot of income and wealth, but Graham achieved a lot more in his support. You cannot calculate the strength of what he felt for Sunderland in financial terms.

The greatest individuals are those that do the simple and most fundamental things, like making sure that you were alright and had a fixture card.

Graham wanted to know that people within his football family were alright. Such and endearing quality from a man with a deep soul who genuinely cared. He will never be forgotten.

Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe