EVEN in his later years, Johnny Brooks was keen to see the beautiful game played the right way.

As proud as he was of grandson Callum Brooks taking his first steps in management at New Milton three years ago, the Spurs great and former England international could not resist telling him how it should be done.

Mr Brooks, the father of Cherries favourite Shaun Brooks, died, aged 84, at a care home in Bournemouth on Tuesday having suffered with dementia.

But when it came to football, his passion remained undiminished.

“When I first went to New Milton, he was still well enough to see some of the games and came along,” said Callum.

“He gave me a lot of criticism for the ball being in the air too much. He said the style of football hurt his neck!

“I tried to explain that was what I had asked them to do, they couldn’t play one-twos around the pitch.

"Had he been well enough, he would have been watching training or even showing the lads how it should have been done.”

Having started out at Reading, Mr Brooks shot to prominence with 51 goals in 179 appearances at White Hart Lane and gained three caps for England, scoring twice while playing alongside some true greats of the beautiful game.

He opened the scoring in front of a crowd of more than 93,000 in a 3-1 win over Wales in the British Championships at Wembley in a side that featured Tom Finney, Johnny Haynes and Stanley Matthews in November 1956.

Mr Brooks also netted in a 3-0 friendly win over Yugoslavia two weeks later and made what was his final England appearance in the 5-2 World Cup preliminary win over Denmark at Molineux, Wolverhampton.

He moved on to Chelsea and enjoyed a fruitful spell with Brentford before finishing his professional career with Crystal Palace, a time he recalled with fondness in spite of his illness.

“One of the things that kept him going and that he always remembered was his time at Spurs,” added Callum.

“He would be able to pick out the likes of Tommy Harmer, Maurice Norman and Ted Ditchburn from 50 or more years ago.

"He lived for it. His whole life was about sport, he would watch tennis, golf, darts, football, anything.

“I remember watching England with him. When he saw players talk about what it was like to pull on the shirt, he would always say what a massive privilege it was.

“He loved Spurs and they loved him. They have been different class. My nan received flowers within two hours of me notifying them and they are going to send some things to dress the coffin.”

Callum was quick to announce Johnny’s passing as his granddad “would have loved the publicity” and revealed the outpouring of messages of condolence on social media had been a “real comfort”.

“It has been overwhelming and I have had that chat with my nan,” he said.

“He had been ill for some time but the messages and recognition of his achievements gave the family such a lift.

“It is just really nice to see he has been recognised in the way he has. It has been a real comfort to all of us.

“When you see young people dying, that is unbearable so while we are devastated, there is some satisfaction in knowing he lived how he wanted to live and achieved so much. We are all so incredibly proud of him.”

Mr Brooks moved to the area in the late 1990s to see more of his family and went on to frequent the local football scene at all levels. 

He became honorary vice-president of Bournemouth Poppies when Shaun was in charge at Victoria Park. 

“I played every Saturday morning at my school and he would never miss a game home or away,” said Callum.

“From there, he would take me to a cafe or back to my nan’s for breakfast. We would pick out who was playing and go to Luton, Watford, Spurs, anywhere.

“We would get back home for Match of the Day and then on a Sunday, we would go for nine holes of golf. It was paradise for me, the things he gave me were priceless.

“My nan deserves a mention as well. They were perfect for each other, he was brilliant with sport but he needed my nan.”

Johnny leaves behind wife Maureen and as well as son Shaun, has two daughters Kim and Michelle.

His funeral will take place at Bournemouth Crematorium at noon on Wednesday, June 22. All are welcome but there has been a request for family flowers only.

As an alternative, donations to dementia.org would be welcomed.