This is Staffordshire --HE is a Stoke City legend and one of the greatest heroes of English football.
But fans now fear a £85,000 statue of goal-keeping great Gordon Banks could be on its way out of the Potteries.
The life-size sculpture of the 1966 World Cup-winning goalie has become the subject of a 'tug of love' between Stoke-on-Trent and Leicester – both of which have claims on Mr Banks's legacy.
The bronze statue is currently residing in the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, after it was moved away from its original home at the Britannia Stadium in 2009.
The statue is owned by the Gordon Banks Monument Committee, which was started and funded by Irish author and Gordon Banks fan Don Mullan.
Mr Mullan, who led a fund-raising campaign for the statue, claims Stoke City were unwilling to pay for a plinth outside the ground on which it would rest, prompting its removal. Stoke City declined to comment on the claims.
He now wants the statue to be relocated to Leicester City's King Power Stadium, and says it is 'ludicrous' a sculpture of a football legend is not standing outside a football ground.
Banks played for Leicester City in the 1960s before being sold to Stoke in 1967.
The Sentinel's sister paper The Leicester Mercury wants the statue to be installed outside the King Power Stadium and is being backed by former Leicester players.
Now The Sentinel has launched its own campaign, urging readers to get behind plans to keep the statue in the Potteries.
The move comes as Stoke City, former players, fans and even Gordon Banks himself stated their belief that the statue should remain in the city where it was made, a place that the retired sportsman still calls home.
Mr Banks said: "When the statue was being made I was told by the guy who was paying for it and people at Stoke City that it would be placed outside the ground. I don't really know what's happened since then. That is where I'd like it to be, as this is where I'm living.
"But if they are talking about moving it to Leicester, I'd rather it at a football ground, rather than in a school or a museum."
Former Potters left-back Mike Pejic, who played alongside Banks in the late 60s and early 70s, said: "Leicester City sold him so I don't see why the statue should go back there. The statue should definitely stay in Stoke-on-Trent, and I believe it should be outside the Britannia, where 28,000 football fans would be able to see it every time Stoke play. That's more people than would see it at the museum."
The 6ft statue, sculpted by Potteries artist Andy Edwards, depicts Banks holding aloft the Jules Rimet Trophy following England's World Cup win in 1966.
It was unveiled at the Britannia in 2008 during a ceremony attended by Pele and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
But in December 2009, following the row between Stoke City and Mr Mullan, it was moved to Madeley High School, close to where Mr Banks lives.
And then in March last year the statue was loaned to the Potteries Museum to be part of a 'football trail' exhibition.
A spokesman for Stoke City said: "The statue has spent time on display in reception at the Britannia Stadium and also at Madeley High School and last year, as part of our 150th anniversary, it was agreed that it should go on public display in the Potteries Museum.
"The sculptor Andrew Edwards has made it clear that he wants it to stay in the city and so do we."
However, it is unclear whether the club would be prepared to pay for the statue to be brought back to the Britannia. Club chairman Peter Coates was not available for comment.
Sculptor Mr Edwards, who is also responsible for the Sir Stanley Matthews statue outside the Britannia, said: "I would be delighted to see both cities take pride and ownership of the Banks legacy. I would love to see a second cast of the statue in Leicester.
"However, it wouldn't be right in my view to remove a statue which the people of the Potteries are very fond of and which they helped to create.
"Gordon is very much an adopted Stokie who has lived here for many years and is cherished by Stoke City fans." Over in Leicester, author Mr Mullan asked the local newspaper to approach Leicester City to see if the club was interested in taking the statue on loan, free of charge, for six months, with a view to a permanent sale at a later date.
The club reacted positively and it is understood the issue is being discussed.
Mr Mullan told the Mercury: "This statue currently resides at a school. It deserves a wider audience.
"I hope, later this year, I'll come to see Leicester in the Premier League and pay my respects to the Gordon Banks statue outside the King Power Stadium."
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