ONE-TIME York City goalkeeper David Stockdale has revealed how he hotfooted it back home to watch his old club get promoted back into the Football League after being refused admission at Wembley.

Stockdale, now a Premier League player at Fulham and past England squad member, turned up for City’s Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final against Luton last month believing you could pay on the day at the turnstiles.

When he was informed tickets for the game needed to have been bought in advance, despite his elevated status in the game, Stockdale remained too modest and well-mannered to play the ‘Do You Know Who I Am?’ card and swiftly headed for his West London home having been unable to locate a bar showing Premier Sports near the stadium.

En route, he kept up to date with the final’s progress by any means possible. The 26-year-old shot-stopper said: “I went to the game with my dad because we had been told by a number of people that you could pay on the gate.

“We went back to Wembley Park station and were watching it on my phone but the battery went flat so we managed to listen to it on the radio until we got back to my house and put Premier Sports on. I was dancing around the living room at the end of the match.

“I was at the club with Chris Smith when we went down so to see him lift the trophy that meant the club were back in the Football League was a very special thing.”

Stockdale was also on the books at Bootham Crescent during current City ’keeper Michael Ingham’s first spell with the Minstermen on loan from Sunderland nine years ago.

He made his professional debut at the age of 17 as a half-time substitute for Ingham during the final game of the 2002/03 campaign and Stockdale has now hinted his first big chance came not as a result of injury, as widely reported at the time, but because of a gesture from the Northern Irishman, who he is delighted will be a League player again next term.

“Michael Ingham definitely deserves to be in the Football League,” Stockdale said. “He works hard and is a good goalkeeper.

“He’s had to go down the divisions to get back up and anybody who does that deserves credit. He’s been capped by Northern Ireland in the past and, you never know, if he does well in the League, he can get back into their international set-up.

“He’s such a nice guy and I can remember him being able to kick the ball a mile. I made my debut under Terry Dolan when Michael came off with a mysterious injury and, while I could never say he did it on purpose, you never forget things like that.”

Stockdale is also tipping former Leicester City team-mate Ashley Chambers to shine on his return to the Football League with the Minstermen.

The pair worked together when Stockdale ended the 2008/09 season on loan with the Foxes and the Leeds-born ’keeper recognised Chambers’ teenage talent then.

Stockdale was also on the books at Bootham Crescent during current City ’keeper Michael Ingham’s first spell with the Minstermen on loan from Sunderland nine years ago.

He made his professional debut at the age of 17 as a half-time substitute for Ingham during the final game of the 2002/03 campaign and Stockdale has now hinted his first big chance came not as a result of injury, as widely reported at the time, but because of a gesture from the Northern Irishman, who he is delighted will be a League player again next term.

“Michael Ingham definitely deserves to be in the Football League,” Stockdale said. “He works hard and is a good goalkeeper.

“He’s had to go down the divisions to get back up and anybody who does that deserves credit. He’s been capped by Northern Ireland in the past and, you never know, if he does well in the League, he can get back into their international set-up.

“He’s such a nice guy and I can remember him being able to kick the ball a mile.

“I made my debut under Terry Dolan when Michael came off with a mysterious injury and, while I could never say he did it on purpose, you never forget things like that.”

Stockdale is also tipping former Leicester City team-mate Ashley Chambers to shine on his return to the Football League with the Minstermen.

The pair worked together when Stockdale ended the 2008/09 season on loan with the Foxes and the Leeds-born net-minder recognised Chambers’ teenage talent back then, saying: “He’s a great player and a great lad.

“He’s fast with great feet and, if he does well in League Two, no offence to York City, there might be bigger clubs coming in for him.

“Hopefully, though, he can help York get some more success first.”

Stockdale, who always felt he never had the opportunity to say a real farewell to City supporters after being released by then boss Billy McEwan in 2006, has not given hope on playing for one last time at Bootham Crescent before the club plans to relocate to Monks Cross in two years’ time.

On that possibility, he added: “I would love to go back to Bootham Crescent and play there against York.

“I was never able to say a proper goodbye to the fans so something like a friendly or a League Cup draw would be perfect.”

• Make sure to get Friday’s edition of The Press when both David Stockdale and Dean Kiely give their lowdown on England under the stewardship of Roy Hodgson