LIKE most youngsters at school I had a nickname that superseded my given name and it has stuck with me.

From my first days at secondary school I was ‘Pyeman’ – though, admittedly, I lacked a simple Simon to pal around with.

Even now mates in the pub still know me by my playground nickname – only my mum gives me my Sunday name of David these days.

Football clubs, however, have seen their nicknames evolve over the years – much like their club crests.

How many people do you hear refer to Manchester City as the Citizens these days, if they ever did? Do any younger Newcastle fans appreciate their official nickname is the Magpies, not ‘Toon Army’?

Even in The Bolton News, we never refer to Wanderers as the Trotters these days – the Whites is more readily used in back-page headlines.

It’s funny because other clubs will still refer to Phil Parkinson’s men as the Trotters, as will Sky Sports and the BBC, but the 150-year-old local paper doesn’t.

I even wonder how many fans still use the term. You rarely hear a chant of ‘Come on you Trotters’.

It seems some nicknames stick and survive, others are fazed out.

In conversation with Daisy Hill FC’s long-serving secretary Bob Naylor last week, he queried where we got the nickname ‘the Cutters’ from for our weekly reports of the New Sirs outfit.

Despite it being mentioned in the player profiles section of the club’s own website, Bob said he had rarely heard the team called that in his 56 years of service.

I suppose Daisy – let’s call them that to be on the safe side – are not alone.

As one colleague in our office pointed out, who knows Reading are not just the Royals but sometimes locally known as the Biscuitmen, due to the town’s history of biscuit-making.

What about Charlton – the Robins or the Addicks?

The list goes on but quite simply colours seem to be the way forward on the terraces, or stands as is the case nowadays.

Come on you Whites/Reds/Blues/Yellows (delete as appropriate) is the norm and those are the allegiances nailed to each mast.

No Mancunian will ever be asked are you Citizen or Red Devil? It’s red or blue.

Like traditional crests, traditions and songs, nicknames are far from sacred.

I suppose in another generation’s time it may all have changed again and in Bolton the only trotters youngsters are aware of are the pig’s ones available at the butcher’s on the market.

Let’s hope not.