Things were never dull at Valley Parade with Harry Lewis

“I honestly think they are people who are a little crazy,” said Italian great Gianluigi Buffon. “Our role is special, atypical, and we have a different make-up.”

Media interviews with Harry Lewis were certainly very different to that of a typical footballer.

These chats usually follow a similar format week in, week out regardless of the player in question. But not with Lewis.

There were few of the usual cliches and well-worn promises to “go again”; instead, he would happily extol the virtues of walking in the Pennines, his favourite author or brushing up on his Spanish lessons.

That character shone through with his interactions with fans, coining the infamous catchphrase, “up the XXXX chickens” which he’d willingly scream into the camera after a victory.

The shock was genuine when news of Carlisle’s interest suddenly became public knowledge.

Every player has a price, particularly at League Two level, but seeing the exit of one who had been on the pitch for every minute of every league game since he walked into the place was a gut-punch for many.

That’s the brutal nature of the transfer window – particularly the express check-out that is January.

Why Carlisle, some have argued?

The financial appeal for Lewis is obvious, with his new wages believed to be a considerable increase on what he was getting at Valley Parade. With a baby on the way in the next few months, you can’t knock that.

And it is another step back up the ladder for the former Southampton academy graduate.

Lewis saw his late grandad Ken Mulhearn work his way up the divisions to the heights of a title winner with Manchester City. He would love to go on and emulate at least a part of that.

“However good I am or will be one day, for me this is where my career starts,” he said of his chance at City.

Lewis was an unproven novice when he walked through the door.

With a smattering of appearances behind him, he was thrust into the spotlight as the number one.

He was rarely dazzled in a break-out first season in west Yorkshire which saw 19 clean sheets – the third best record in the division.

That inevitably brought outside attention with Barnsley making a very public move in the summer.

Harry Lewis was a very popular figure with the fans (Image: Tom Pearson)

Things came to a head while City were away in Spain as the Tykes made their move with two bids – only for City to reject both as not enough.

Lewis stayed but admitted his brain had been scrambled by the transfer speculation, which was something he had never experienced before.

“As a guy who sees himself as quite black or white, I’m either all in or all out, and I found it really tough to be in a bit of limbo.”

Season two, like that difficult second album for emerging pop stars, has been a challenge.

Whether or not that sense of “what might have been” over the Barnsley drama still lingered, Lewis has not been the same commanding presence as before.

While still generally solid, there have been a few more mistakes cropping up, a bit more uncertainty about his play.

His final act on the pitch was picking the ball out of the net after Crawley’s fourth goal during that 15 minutes of madness at Valley Parade last weekend.

Lewis did not feature at Derby, a warm-up jog along the touchline after Colin Doyle went down suffering a spasm in his leg being his closest involvement in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

Now his League One ambitions will be fulfilled – although Carlisle, who have been keen on him for some time, will have to buck up their ideas fast to ensure that stay in the third tier extends further than the end of April.

You cannot knock Lewis, 86 games with 28 clean sheets represents a decent CV for the club that have effectively made him.

Both sides have profited from his 18 months at City but now it is time to move on. Pre-match conversations, though, will never sound quite the same.

Adios amigo!