2005 (07) Motorcycles - Henry Pugh (Total Network Solutions) Official (SEE NOTES)

This one is a bit special....... When the 2005/2006 football season finally ended, the newly crowned Champions League winners Liverpool were initially denied a place in the next season's competition because they hadn’t automatically qualified by finishing with a top four league position. TNS (Total Network Solutions) generously offered to play a one-legged tie against Liverpool F.C. for TNS's place in the first qualifying round.

UEFA however, reached a compromise by which Liverpool were placed in the first qualifying round of the competition, and TNS and Liverpool ended up being drawn against one another anyway.

The first leg was at Anfield, when Liverpool won 3–0 by a Steven Gerrard hat-trick, while in the second leg played at Wrexham, Gerrard scored two more after coming on as a substitute, to add to one by Djibril Cissé for another 3–0 TNS defeat.

In early 2006 the club's sponsor, TNS, was taken over by British Telecom, as a result of which the sponsorship arrangement lapsed at the end of the 2005/06 season.

Now obviously anyone who supported this “local” TNS team was ecstatic to be playing Liverpool FC (twice), and this was Henry’s local team, and Henry was a supporter, so he did what any good FDC person would do – sorted out a cover for the home (2nd leg) game!

This cover version (with the Football Heroes stamps applied) was only ever sold to the team supporters and a few FDC collectors – He did a total of 51 TNS covers – Apart from Henry’s “personal” FDC friends, and a small number of FDC collectors since then, this version (with the Football Heroes stamps) has never been sold..... until now......

Football Heroes stamps applied may vary as there were 5 different stamps)...

Code: 54312