Football has dominated Turner's life. Sunderland, Manchester United, Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday count as clubs as a player. While he also went into management, leading Sheffield Wednesday and Hartlepool, twice, among several teams.
589 appearances as a player. 469 as a manager. Turner was only too happy to look back on his career when speaking with Tribalfootball.com, as he reflected on life at United, how Ferguson built his dynasty and what led him into coaching and management.
Chris, you made the move to Manchester United from Sunderland - just how did that come about?
“The best period for me was at Sunderland because I established myself as the number one goalkeeper for four seasons. In the last two seasons there, I never missed a game due to injuries or suspensions.
"That time from 1979-1985 established me as one of the best keepers of the time. Then I moved to Manchester United, which was a different scenario because establishing yourself there is hard. But I enjoyed my time there because I met a lot of people and had the chance to train and play alongside some of the best players of the time.
"The problem was that the team hadn’t won the league for 18 years back then, and every season, during periods of bad results, a great amount of criticism started against the team and the club, and we were under scrutiny all the time. And of course, I played for Ron Atkinson and Sir Alex Ferguson, who were trying every season to win the league. This shows how hard it was at Manchester United to be a regular player.”
Was the reputation of United and the pressure to succeed similar back then compared to today?
“It was a great experience for me. Everywhere we played, there were big crowds and big expectations, and of course, there were times when you felt under pressure, but it was a top club. I had the honour to play for two great managers like Atkinson and Sir Alex, from whom I learned a lot every day.
"Regarding the players, what can I say about them? Great players. Bryan Robson was an inspirational player, talents like Gordon Strachan, Steve Bruce — one of the best centre halves — Paul McGrath, at that time the best centre half. I can continue to mention a lot of other players, and every one of them was a great teammate and a great player to be associated with.
"For me, it was a magnificent club, and I was honoured to be part of it.”
What was the early impact of Ferguson like?
“First of all, I want to say that at that time, Sir Alex had one of the best coaches, Archie Knox, around him. He was one of the best coaches I have ever worked with, well-organized and knowledgeable about the game.
"Sir Alex took more of a back seat and managed players; he was a manager of players, not a coach, and he built his teams."
You were right at the beginning of the Ferguson era. Could you, as a player, recognise the foundations he was laying?
"Sir Alex took a great interest in the youth system at United, which made him follow the structure and the players of U12 and U14, which not many managers before him had done. While Ferguson was trying to build the team in those four years, these boys were coming through the youth teams, and eventually, in his fifth season, they came into the first team.
"Sir Alex was building the team to challenge Liverpool, which at that time was the strongest team.”
What about today? How do you rate the current United No1, Andre Onana?
"Yes, it is always difficult when you come to a new league and play for a team like United, where the pressure is very high. We should not forget that, for example, (David) De Gea had the same problems in his first months at Manchester United, and after, we all know what career he made. I think Onana had a difficult start to the season, but he came back stronger and made great performances.
"I do think he will establish himself as the number one keeper at United for many years.”
And what about the manager? What have you made of Erik ten Hag's two seasons?
“You know, we were talking about Sir Alex and the fact that he needed a couple of years to achieve the results he got. All managers that have come since Ferguson left have had difficult times at the club. Other great managers like Mourinho and Van Gaal have had problems at the club. As I said before, all managers go through tough periods, but if you get through these tough periods and get the right recruits into the team, then you can be very successful."
Speaking of management, it was your time with Wolves and Leicester which led you to the dugout, correct?
“I really enjoyed my time as a youth coach at Leicester and Wolves. I never wanted to be a goalkeeping coach because for 20 years I got up every morning and went to training and did the session. I had a great desire to be a coach and train all the players.
"During my time as a youth coach, I had the chance to work with great players like Emile Heskey, Joleon Lescott and Robbie Keane. I had great satisfaction in playing a minor part in their journey and helping them achieve great results.
"Then I moved to first-team management, which was always my goal, and started at Hartlepool. I knew if I didn’t have success there, my managerial career would finish quickly. I had four seasons there, and we enjoyed great success during that period."
You then had your chance with Sheffield Wednesday...
"Yes, then Sheffield Wednesday came calling. They were bottom of the Championship, it was a very difficult job, and I was disappointed when I lost my job there because out of the 18 months, in 14 of them I was working with players that other managers had brought in. I wanted to start building the team, and I didn’t have the necessary time to do it.
"After nine games into the new season, I was fired, and the new manager that came in won the play-offs with the players I brought to the club. Sometimes I sit down and think that if I had that season with my players, where would my career have gone? Sheffield was one of the most difficult experiences for me.”
What about last season, Chris? How did you see the title race?
“The Premier League is the Premier League, and City was the best and most consistent team this season. It was an emotional season that was in discussion until the last second. Great to see Aston Villa achieving these kinds of results and performing so well, huge credit to (Unai) Emery. I think this season VAR has caused a lot of problems and has not been utilised as it should be. I believe that it’s not VAR that’s the problem but the people using it who are not doing it properly, and that has created a lot of confusion for the players, staff, and fans."
And before we go, how do you rate today's Premier League goalkeepers?
"Ederson has been stable as always and produced great performances, Alisson of Liverpool the same, and I have always liked David Raya of Arsenal. I would like more British goalkeepers to be in the Premier League, I must admit, and the style of goalkeeping has changed a lot since my time.
"By the way, I think that I would have fit nicely in the way goalkeepers are playing now because I love to play outfield...!”