Unfortunately Tommy all good things come to an end and you ended up moving up to Birmingham among rumours Everton also came in for you. What made you decide to move on?

GT had made it clear in the February of that year that he would be leaving and that there was going to be a lot of changes at the club. I am not talking out of turn, he never told me about Vialli or anything like that but I knew he was going. I also knew that on transfer deadline day Birmingham had offered £500,000 for me, as did Nottingham Forest. My last season for Watford was probably my best season. GT turned those bids down as we still had a chance of promotion ourselves. It was an outside chance granted, but we were not out of it completely and I was the only one scoring goals at the time so he wasn't going to let me go. It was a big move by the club because they were turning those bids down when they could end up losing me for nothing three months down the line at the end of the season. I had said I was happy to stay, but also that was my chance to go on and secure my future and my family's future financially. I am not trying to keep any secrets from anybody so I am happy to share that, I am quite open about it.

I went to speak to Forest and Birmingham, and when I was on my way home from Birmingham I got a call from Walter Smith who was the current Everton manager. I went to meet him at Manchester Airport but turned him down ultimately. I have gone over it in my head and asked myself why quite a few times since. I was not and am not a Premier League player. I was one of those players where the Championship was easy for me, but the Premier League was too much for me. I was one of those players that was caught in the middle. The difference is I am honest about it. There are several players even now that will cruise the Championship but find the top level too much. I knew that if I went to Everton the chances are I would have got swallowed up and ended up moving on again not long afterwards.

Because of the ages of my children I needed to settle. They were 3 and 4 at the time and were about to start school so they needed to be settled and have some stability. If I moved to Merseyside and then six months later went to Birmingham it wouldn't have given them that. So I decided to go to Birmingham because I knew I could have another decent season in the Championship and I wanted another promotion. I also knew I would get to play more at Birmingham than Everton, and if the truth be told Birmingham's contract was better than the one Everton offered me. It just seemed right for me to go there.

And as it happened with Watford anyway, when Vialli came in he was asked if he wanted to speak to me about trying to get me to stay and he said no and turned it down flat, he wasn't interested in speaking to me. So in the end, staying at Watford wasn't an option anyway.

How did you enjoy your time at Birmingham?

It was difficult at first because I signed for Trevor Francis and things went pear shaped for him. I had an ankle injury that I had to have an operation on and missed two and a half months of the season. Whilst I was out injured Trevor got the sack because they were not doing well despite spending a lot of money on players. Then Brucey came in and we went from twelfth to sixth in the last 12 games and got promoted at Cardiff. It was very similar to the way we got promoted at Watford against Bolton. If you win 12 out of your last 13 games you know you are going to get promoted. There is no doubt in your mind you will do it when you are on a run like that. It was a fantastic time.

Then when Birmingham got to the Premier League they signed Christophe Dugarry. This is a man who has won World Cups and European Championships, who am I to turn round and say that I should be playing instead?! It just wont happen, football doesn't work like that. I then went out on loan to Stoke, Derby and Sheffield United.

There were rumours locally at about that time that Luton Town tried signing you, was there any truth in that?

No. I think a lot of the Luton rumours were at the end of that season when I eventually signed for Swindon. I actually got some pretty nasty letters from Watford fans on the back of rumours in the press about me going to Luton. There is no way, not a cat in hells chance of me going there. If I was down to my last 50 pence in my back pocket I still wouldn't go and sign for Luton. Its just not the done thing. When you have been loyal to a club for eight years you don't go and then sign for their local rivals. I never spoke to them, and they never even approached me in fairness so it was just people trying to cause trouble in the written media.

Do you have any idea where it started out from?

I have no idea to be honest, it was in the national press when I first saw it. Just some bored journalist that wanted to cause some trouble in Hertfordshire.

Did those letters you received maybe slightly taint your relationship with the Watford supporters?

Oh no not at all, I could understand what they were saying from what they had seen in the media. It was just so far from the truth. Like I said, I never spoke to them and they never approached me.

Neither party made contact with the other one. I think they would probably know that I would never, ever sign for them.

What’s it been like when you have been back to Luton with other teams? Do you get much stick from them?

Yeah I get a bit of stick but I have got a good record there now. Ever since the 4-0 game I don’t think I have ever lost there. They tend to give me a bit of stick on the warm up but once the game starts and you go 1-0 up they go very, very quiet as they often do at Luton. Its not been a problem for me. The clubs I have been back there with, Wycombe, Oxford, Swindon and Walsall are all relatively low profile clubs so there is not big crowds for them games anyway. I chose to go to those clubs because I was working three days a week and I could keep my family home in the Midlands and just drive to training on them three days.

For the last couple of years my career has been very relaxed. Now, I have rented out the family home in the midlands and am now living in Spain and playing for Marbella.

And moving on to now, we understand it is an English owned club and they got in touch with you as you were living out there?

I have had the holiday home here for four or five years now, and the house is only ten minutes from the training ground. Some English people have come in and taken over a high percentage of the club, but not completely. The club is still ultimately owned by Spanish people.

These new investors wanted to bring in some English players though and I am the first one they signed. Hopefully we can raise the profile of the club. At the moment we only get a few thousand Spanish supporters when there is 30 or 40 thousand English ex-pats living here so we would like to get a few English people in and get them enjoying the Spanish way of football.

Its very family orientated here. Kids under 16 are allowed in for free and you can come and watch a game of football and still be only 200 yards from the beach, and behind the other goal there is a mountain! It’s a little bit different to most grounds around England, and even in December it is still 75 degrees!

Are you thinking of doing just a couple of years out there or living there permanently?

This is probably me now, certainly long term. The children are enrolled in a Spanish school and they are having Spanish lessons at the moment, and also our season is now underway.

In the build up to the season were you looking forward to it in the same way you did when playing in the English leagues?

I was a little apprehensive to be honest. It is a very different style of play here. The number 9 role I had at Watford is not the same as the number 9 role that I have here. I play up front alone here. It's a very slow build up, a very slow pace. Its similar to basketball in a way because when you get in the final third it becomes very quick. The ball doesn't come in the box as often as I would like but hopefully we can change that around and make it a bit more entertaining.

What English division would you compare the league you play in now to?

I would say League 1, but the players are technically better and play a slower game. Its difficult to compare because of the differences in the style of play. You would probably say League 1, but the players are perhaps technically as good as Championship players.

It's much easier to play here because of the slower pace. The defenders are very comfortable on the ball here but then they are not being hurried and harassed by strikers like you would be in England.

Was playing in Spain always your plan once you stopped in England?

Not necessarily to play as that came out of the blue. But to live for a couple of years was always the plan to give the children the experience of a different culture and learn a different language and that will hopefully stand them in good stead for there adult years.

So the move here has probably come a little sooner than planned because of the opportunity to come and work here. Its good to get with the club at the beginning of this new era though, and play for one or two years and then who knows after that?

Where would you like to see yourself in five years time if by that point you have hung your boots up?

If you had asked me that a year ago I would have said a manager in the English league. Now, I am not so sure. The quicker I learn Spanish the easier it will be for me to coach here and then perhaps the experiences I pick up here may stand me in good stead if I was offered a job back in England or wherever else.

To learn from the experience as much as get a sun tan is the basics of it. I have not just come here for an easy life though, I would still quite like another medal in the Spanish league. When I go to work that's the aim, but when I am not at  work the aim is to relax and wind down the career a bit.

Before you went out to Spain there was an article in the Watford Observer about how the club came in to try and re-sign you, but you were not informed of it. Was there anything in that story?

Yeah I wasn't made aware of it. It was when I was at Wycombe and we got to the semi-final’s of the cup against Chelsea. I am told they made an approach and that they wanted to swap one of their players on loan until the end of the season. I don't think Aidy had a great amount of money in his budget and it was just a little gamble that never came off.

I was disappointed because I had a good relationship with the Chief Executive and the manager at Wycombe and neither one of them told me about it at the time.

My first reaction is I would have gone back there immediately but sometimes with hindsight you look at it differently. The Watford fans seem to hold me in very high regard, and if I went back there now I am not the same player that I used to be. As much as mentally I have all the same attributes and mindset, physically the years are catching up with me and I wouldn’t want to disappoint any Watford fans that remember the Tommy Mooney of several years ago. So that would have been at the back of my mind. But the option and the decision wasn’t down to me. It was just something that could have happened but didn't.

What do you think of the current Watford side when you see them?

I think it's a very, very difficult time. They seem to be paying now for mistakes of several years ago, despite having had a season in the Premier League that brings in a lot of money. Selling arguably the best players is the proof of that. I still have a lot of friends at the club both on and off the pitch.

I will always wish the club well as you would expect me to, but it's very difficult for them to compete in a division now that is almost like the Premier League where there is leagues within leagues.

Some of the clubs in the Championship are on a financial par with the Premiership clubs because of the parachute payments or receiving big transfer fees. that makes it a very tough time for Watford. Another season in the Premier League anytime in the next five years would be a big bonus.

Do you still keep an eye out for what the club is doing?

Yeah I still speak to a lot of people within the club, and I have friends who are die hard Watford fans so I also get to hear a rumour or two despite me being in a different country! You don't spend eight years at a club and have such a great time and just forget about them. Its always the first result I look for, Watford then Birmingham as those are the 2 clubs where I made the most friends.

Your last appearance in a Watford shirt came at Wembley in the Masters, how did you find that?

It was my debut in the Masters and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some of the people you have spoken to I hadn't seen for ages. I hadn't seen Rammer since he left the club I don't think. I have spoken to him on the phone several times since he left but never seen him. You lose touch with people where phone numbers change or people move away. It had probably been seven or eight years since I saw Rammer.

And then all the others. Hessy, Gibbo, Kevin Miller. It was just great to see old friends but once that dressing room door is shut we are all professionals and we got to the final because we were a bit pig headed on the night and decided to kick a few people rather than have people pass round us.

You all seemed to be taking it seriously?

It goes back to that team spirit thing with us. With every game there is a winner and a loser and nobody wanted to be the loser at the Masters. I was in a dressing room with 10 people there who all had the same mindset and hate losing.

As much as we ruffled a few feathers on the night sometimes that is what you have to do. It is a competitive competition, you are not just going there for a beer and a giggle. You are going there to represent your club and give your best.  

But I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great to see all the boys, the banter was flowing and the couple of hours we spent together was great fun with a few good games of football in between. I am hopeful we will be back down there for it next year.

I hope so, it was good fun to watch. It took me back a few years!

We never had any of the best players in any of the divisions we played in, but we had players who knew what they were good at and stuck to it. In a team sport that often works.

Well thanks for the interview Tommy, we can you leave you be now to go and enjoy the weather! You will be pleased to know it has been belting it down with rain here and freezing cold!