Football and Sports News Blog from former Charlton Athletic, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion Professional Footballer Andy Hunt, including Current Football News, blog feeds from Football Fans, Football Videos and Articles
Showing posts with label newcastle united. Show all posts
Showing posts with label newcastle united. Show all posts
Football stardom is increasingly more difficult to reach so you have to applaud any creative way to get noticed and then recruited by the Professional Scouts and Football Clubs. I became a Professional Footballer at the ripe old age of 20, eking out my path through the amateur Football Leagues.
Rhain Davis from, Brisbane, Australia has been spotted after his family put this video on You tube. He was spotted by Manchester United and is now under their guidance.
What a great player. Very gifted and looks so comfortable with the Football at his feet. Good Luck to the boy and congratulations to his family for their creative use of modern technology to further their boys chances of being a Professional Footballer.
I have been rescuing all my old football videos from my 10 year professional football career. In all I totalled 135 goals in 361 appearances in the Championship and the premier league and I thought it was time to make an attempt to digitize these old VHS tapes.
At the end of every season I would buy the club video that highlights the season and shows all the goals. I have West Bromwich Albions seasons from 1992/1993 up to 1997/1998, the year I transferred to Charlton Athletic.
I also have the Charlton promotion and championship season in 1999/2000. I have transferred all of these old videos on to DVDs and then to my computer, backing them up on an external hard drive. Now all I have to do is upload them to youtube and my football career is preserved forever.
Unfortunately my videos from Newcastle United in 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 have been destroyed by 6 years of mould and fungus from living in the tropics. I also neglected to purchase highlights of Charlton Athletics first season in the Premiership in 1998/1999 (I guess I was disappointed with the year and didn't want to be reminded of how crap that season was) and also forgot to buy the Premiership season highlights from 2000/2001.
Well life passes by and I am now keen to get this stuff down on a hard drive. Scoring goals at Highbury, White Hart Lane and other famous stadiums are parts of my Professional Football career that my children will love to see when they get older and something I should be proud of.
If any kind Charlton or Newcastle fans have copies of these missing seasons I would love to get them. Of course I will pay for the post and videos, so please email me at andy@greendragonbelize.com if you can help.
So again here are the videos I am looking for :
Newcastle United Football Club Season - 1990/1991 Newcastle United Football Club Season - 1991/1992 Charlton Athletic Football Club Season - 1998/1999 Charlton Athletic Football Club Season - 2000/2001
I am on holiday in England and Holland and enjoying watching the start of the 2007/2008 Football season. I even got the chance to chat to BBC Radio 4 about my career and change of life after Football on Saturday Live with Hardeep Singh Kohli. Hardeep suggested several times about how I must be envious or jealous of players and the lifestyle they lead, citing David Beckham and Thierry Henry as examples. Although my career was cut short at the Premier League level and the heady heights of £15,000/week contracts I never feel envy, regret or jealousy about what could have been. It's a shame the interview was cut because we had a good discussion. The interview is on BBCs website : http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/saturdaylive/saturdaylive_20070811.shtml
Charlton have definitely suffered early season nerves after their first 2 games. My article about the media and fans expectations at Charlton Football Club highlighted the difficulties they may face this season and how I as a Football player experienced it last time Charlton had to climb back out of the Championship.
Charlton will definitely need to show the mental strength required of all pretenders to the throne after this early blip, although their plight is nothing compared to the expectations at White Hart Lane. Tottenhams failure to secure a win after their first 2 games has seen Martin Jol come under increasing scrutiny already. Even arch rival Arsene Wenger provided comfort to Jol after the pack of sportswriters closed in on Tottenhams early frailties.
If anything has been seen from the Premiership seasons first few games it is that 2 games means very little, the big clubs may be slightly mis-firing at the moment but their high calibre squads will push the quality sides up the table and I still stand by my Top 7 Premier League Predictions.
As things stand in the Football transfer market and with just a few days to go to the start of the Premiership season this is where I see the Football title heading next year in 2007/2008.
Manchester United
Liverpool Football Club
Chelsea Football Club
Tottenham Hotspur
Newcastle United Football Club (If they keep Owen Fit)
Tevez signing for United gives them an undoubted attacking edge over all the other teams in an already formidable United line up and I see them going from strength to strength over this coming season. (Manchester United thrash Home Team Football Club 14-0). It will be very close but I think that even with my predicted sensational transfer of the season by Chelsea to lure Beckham back from the MLS (Beckhams Major League Football mistake), the title will be red this year.
Will Signing Carlos Tevez make Manchester United untouchable
When I played professionally I used to have a little wager at the start of the Football season on who would win the various leagues. I would place a £100-£200 yankee bet at the local bookmakers which if it came in would bring a big return. Looking back now I believe that this was probably illegal and against the FA rules, but with all the corruption and scandal that is hitting the Leagues at the moment I doubt they would even bat an eyelid.
If I did win the 4 bet Yankee I would send a "friend" to pick up the winnings in case I was spotted by an observant fan. I have just returned to the UK for a months break so I might re-ignite my pre-season ritual and make it to the bookmakers one last time.
What is going on in the Premier League? Just as the Roman Empire spread itself too thin on the ground and collapsed amid much corruption and double crossing it seems that the English Premier League is awash with dirty deeds and mis-appropriated funds.
After Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have been snapped up, Arsenal are sure to follow. After that though reports of other teams being bought are appearing all over the news.
With all due respect to all these teams, there can only be one Premiership winner and only a few clubs who will make it into Europe where they can boost their Broadcasting Revenues. Manchester City, Blackburn and Birmingham City are not going to leapfrog Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal in the near future unless the worlds 5th richest man does decide to duke out, head to head with Abramovich. That would be a battle worth watching. Maybe Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft could join the battle also after his reported interest in buying Southampton. He is Americas 5th richest man and between them these 3 could fight a great Premiership Cash match, pushing the salaries of the premier league football gladiators closer to the £200,000/week mark.
A book about the Leeds United fall from grace should be posted to all prospective Football Club purchasers, with West Ham and Newcastle United surely the most vulnerable.
Newcastle United Football Club in constant crisis and flux is destined for a choppy future, with millions wasted on players, and manager after manager coming through the door. Jean Alain Boumsong, signed from Rangers for an incredible fee of £8 Million seems to sum up the ludicrous amounts of money flowing through and out of the game into the pockets of the Premiership Emperors. Quite incredibly this £8 Million player was signed by Rangers for NOTHING and sold to Newcastle for a handsome profit.
United, a club that attracts a massive fan base is caught up to its neck in the corruption scandal, with one of its former managers (Graeme Souness) and its current manager (Sam Allardyce) both implicated deeply in the corruption and the club itself guilty of inconsistencies in its evidence to the report. Mike Ashleys continued purchasing of Newcastles shares must be seen as very risky.
And the agents who have played a pivotal role in this upward spiral of benevolent behaviour are now being pulled up by the independent report from Lord Stevens, targeting numerous mis-handling of transfer by Football Clubs, Managers and Agents alike.
It seems that the foundations for the fall of the Premier League Empire, although not imminent yet are being laid and the "House of Premiership" is on shaky grounds.
When the dust settles on this latest round of inflated cash incentives for the clubs, we will see a lot of losers and I fear business as usual for Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Many successful businessman will be licking their wounds over bad Premier League investments ruing the day they joined the 2006/2007/2008 Premiership Boom.
Thierry Henry is being linked to AC Milan, which would be a massive blow to Arsenal if they let him go. How do you replace a proven goalscorer like him? I felt they made a big mistake in letting Patrick Vierra leave a few years ago and Henry departing would be another big loss.
Thierry Henrys Football Skills
"So the only thing I can tell you is right now I am an Arsenal player but I cannot deny it's nice to hear about Milan." said Henry, leaving the door slightly open. I hope he stays at Arsenal as Wenger has been slowly rebuilding his squad and a fully fit Henry could spearhead a great season for the gunners.
Thierry Henry Talking about being a Professional Footballer
Xabi Alonso has signed a long term contract at Liverpool joining Gerrard, Carragher and Reina. Liverpool seem to have been a bit slower at making new summer signings but keeping their current players is equally important
Chelsea have not done much in the Transfer market yet and even look close to losing Arjen Robben to Real Madrid. I always thought Robben provided great variety to Chelseas game and I hope he stays.
You tube continues to be sued by everyman and his dog. The English Premier League have now been joined by Cherry Lane Music Publishing (owners of Elvis Presley copyrights), French Football and the Tennis Federations. Viacom, owners of MTV started the legal free for all and the German football Bundesliga seem set to follow also. Google, owners of You tube don't seem to be too bothered with CEO Eric Schmidt claiming these are just Business Negotiations. Google will probably cut deals with all these associations to share advertising revenues from all of the unlicensed sports videos now showing up on You Tube.
Scott Parker joined West Ham and I am very surprised that Sam Allardyce let him go. Curbishley must be delighted to get Parker for £7 million, good value in the current market and with Dean Ashton returning to fitness I doubt West Ham will be Premier League struggles this season.
David Beckham must be regretting his move to LA Galaxy (Of course he is earning a fortune but then he is already a multi-millionaire), even though Alexi Lalas said they will drive him to the airport for his International flights back to the UK. After returning to the England team in fine form a career in the MLS is hardly great preparation for top class football. It wouldn't surprise me if he returns to the Premier League next year.
The top clubs and managers must have looked at Beckhams performances and wonder if he could be lured back to the Premier League. Chelsea would suit him as his superstar appeal would do wonders for Chelsea Football Clubs Global branding. And if anyone can afford him it's Abramovich. I wonder what the get out clause is on Beckhams LA Galaxy contract?
Free Ticket to Home Games and go where you like in the stadium
Entrance to away team Boardrooms
Get to meet the players
Get to buy the players
Bragging Rights
Sit in on Premier League meetings with the high flying big wigs of football
Great Pre-season Holidays with the team
If you have any suggestions leave them in the comments below...
and the Top 7 reasons not to buy the club?
As for the Champions League final. Liverpool got hit with the classic sucker punch. After playing the better football and wasting numerous great attacking positions (how they missed someone like Robbie Fowler), Pippo Inzaghi popped up to show them how to do it with 2 predatory goals, although the first does nothing to prove his goalscoring skills other than his willingness to follow up the free kick and get into dangerous goalscoring areas. Something Liverpool obviously missed.
I rate Dirk Kuyt but so much of his work is done in front of the opposition back 4, contributing much to the teams build up, whereas Inzaghi is constantly looking to get in behind defences, contributing less to the team over 90 minutes, but how much value do you place on 2 Champions League final goals?
Newcastle United Football Club have taken a brave step in hiring another manager to lift the so called sleeping giants out of hibernation. It must be such an old cliche for the fans of the club to hear, but with a massive fan base and a huge stadium they are a Football Club that could achieve so much more than their history suggests.
In Sam Allardyce they have what seems to be a traditional English manager who builds Football teams that are very hard to beat, yet in the not so traditional sense, Allardyce employs extremely modern techniques at his clubs. With a team of experts around him Allardyce ensures that he has the expertise in areas of a football club that he himself does not have time to run.
I played for many clubs who hired Nutritionists, Specialist Coaches (When I played for Newcastle in the early 90s they had a sprinting coach even way back then), motivational experts, Physiotherapists and other such gurus to enhance the performance of the team.
At Charlton Athletic we had a fitness coach called Joe Dunbar (who also worked with World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Lennox Lewis) who was responsible for the fitness routines, pre match warm ups, post match warm downs and any other Cross Training required at the Club to enhance the players physical attributes. Including a revolutionary exercise program called Plyometrics, which I personally found to be very useful adding enormous amounts of strength and power to my legs.
When I was at West Bromwich Albion, Alan Buckley hired a motivational expert to try and help the players out of the worse slump in the clubs history, 13 straight defeats. In the early 90s this kind of specialism was just beginning although it really failed to have much of an impact on the players or the club at that particular time.
English Football has come a long way since, and Allardyce confirmed that he will be implementing at Newcastle what he did at Bolton, although of course that took 8 years to do. Whether Newcastle United and their impatient fans will give him this amount of time, especially as he has only signed a 3 year contract remains to be seen.
Allardyce has an impressive record at Bolton, finishing 16th, 17th, 8th, 6th, 8th and 7th in the last 6 years. He also points to his ability to inspire older players, star names with so called egos, and also to Boltons exceptional injury record losing just 72 player days to injury this season, compared to Newcastles extraordinary 340 player days.
It doesn't take a Brain Surgeon or indeed a Football expert to analyze these figures and realize that the more time your players are available and the less injuries they are carrying, the greater chance the team has of winning games. With Newcastle Uniteds financial clout and impressive squad, a fully fit team will instantly perform better than most other sides (excluding the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea) and if you average out these performances over a season Newcastle should see steady progress under Allardyce.
Needless to say a lot will depend on Allardyce tinkering to find the right squad plus his ability to build his team of experts and motivate the motivators.
Newcastle Uniteds Chairman Freddie Shepherd was caught on a mobile video phone by an enterprising bunch of Liverpool fans, with a less than complimentary comment about Michael Owen. This video is now doing the rounds on Youtube (140,000 views in 3 days) and is a Classic F**k up which will hardly endear him to Owen.
Just got back from a relaxing Sunday league game of Football In Belize. Still able to play 90 minutes, although in 85F heat it's a bit of a stroll for me these days. I know we all complain about referees and linesman, but today I was strangled around the neck (no penalty - in fact the foul was given against me), had a header cleared off the line with a hand (no penalty - and it wasn't the goalkeepers hand) and was given offside almost every time the ball was cleared up-field to me.
I really enjoyed the game though and don't get too stressed about these issues anymore..I even had a laugh and a joke with the Referee about the awful decisions, although for some reason he told me he is a coffin maker (during the half time break), which kind of threw me a bit. Not sure if he was suggesting I shut up and leave him alone.
Best to leave the stresses and pressures to the Premier league managers and players. Fox Sports TV our American Channel that shows the Premier League has just had the EPL premier league review, which I tuned into at the Belize Jungle Dome.
Thierry Henrys 1st goal today against Reading looked so simple but I just want to comment on the quality of Henry. His composure was so perfect before he slotted the ball home, it bordered on arrogance. Many players would have snatched at the shot and pulled it wide of the goal or more commonly lashed it high over the bar. Not Henry. He just calmly placed it first time into the bottom corner and the Reading Goalkeeper did not even move. Sheer Class.
After a shaky start it looks like Arsenal are firing on all cylinders now. With their game in hand over Manchester United and Chelsea and 5 straight wins, I think this year is going to be a cracking Premier League Football season. Hopefully right to the wire.
As for my old Football Clubs, Charlton and Newcastle United do not seem to be in for a good season. Charlton especially must be getting a bit nervous now, after missing out on 3 points against Watford. Amazing to think that with such a poor start to the season, Darren Bent is the joint second top scorer in the Premier League. He is undoubtedly a great talent and it won't be long before Charlton start fending off phone calls enquiring about him. If they can't start picking some wins up then keeping Bent could be tricky, especially now he has England credentials.
The Geordies will also be getting nervous and extremely disappointed as another year of failure looms. With the size of their stadium and transfer budget, anything less than top 6 is unacceptable.
Congratulations to West Bromwich Albion Football Club, who won the Black Country Derby. I played in many of these games and know that tomorrow morning the Baggies faithful will be happy to tease their Wolverhampton counterparts at work. Looks like the Baggies are marching back to the Premier League.
Watching several of my team-mates chat up Transvestites in a Night Club in Florence, Italy after we had played against Fiorentina in the Anglo Italian Cup. They didn't know until we pointed out the bulges in their dresses. Cue scene from "Crying Game"
Arriving on the team bus we were given the “v” sign and wa**er sign by a dad and his 2 sons (probably 6 & 8 years old) on arrival at Oxford United. Makes you wonder what the Dad is telling his kids at home
Guerilla warfare at a Sunderland vs Newcastle United game. In a pub at 7am on derby day between Sunderland and Newcastle United. A fleet of cars full of well oiled fans, me, Steve Watson, Robbie Elliott and Alan Thompson (none of us in the team and none of us drinking I hasten to add) departs Newcastle for the derby day game against Sunderland. After parking the cars, a barrage of stones, bricks and any other debris come flying over walls as Sunderland fans locate us. Rapid organisation by our crew keeps us out of trouble and we negotiate our way to the stadium to watch the match. Very scary and not something I would like to repeat
As a kid, being stuck behind a fence with my brother Ian and my Dad, exiting the Norwich City stadium after playing Stoke. Bricks, insults and anything else being hurled at each other. Being stuck in the middle of a North East fans battle was scary but this was worse
Repetitive Mobile phone abuse by a Wolves fan, who somehow found out my Telephone number when I was a West Bromwich Albion player. Had to change my number
Being spotted for the first time abroad on holiday in Ibiza, and signing an autograph for a West Bromwich Albion Fan. Good for the ego
Another Ego boost, seeing my name on teletext for the first time
Meeting a drunk Jim Davidson with my Dad (Jim is his hero) in the Charlton players lounge. Having to ask for Jims autograph for my Dad because he was too shy
Standing in the tunnel at Charlton Athletic Football Club with my Grandad as Alan Shearer, Bobby Robson and the rest of the team came trotting out. Have you ever seen an 80 year old man become a little boy again. My Grandad was in awe. I wasn’t playing as I retired the previous year but it made me realize what a great job I used to have
It's been a long time since I was up in the North East. I was signed to Newcastle United for 2 1/2 seasons, although my contribution to the first team squad was limited to the first 18 months (Moving to Newcastle United Football Club and Life with Kevin Keegan). When I was resident in Newcastle the stadium held 28,000 ish and although it had 2 impressive stands, the Gallowgate and Leazes ends of the stadium were in a state of disrepair. I had the great pleasure of returning to the Geordie stronghold for Charlton Athletic in the 2000/2001 season. What an experience that was. The stadium had been completely redesigned with the wrap around of the 2 stands behind the goals completed. It was an amazing experience with over 50,000 spectators seated in luxury.
The main entrance of the Milburn stand was still the same, as was the changing rooms and the players lounge area. The only difference was entering the away Dressing Rooms, which in my 2 1/2 years at NUFC, I don't think I had ever seen. Walking out onto the pitch though, felt a bit like being at Wembley, Beranbeu or the Nou Camp. Peering around the stadium and looking up and up and up at the gigantic new stands brought goosebumps to my skin. I have been to the Nou Camp and visited the Museum, and then walked out into the stands. NUFC felt a bit like this.
We beat the geordies that day, so I am sure the atmosphere was a bit subdued. I can only imagine that once the Geordie faithful have something to be proud of that this will be a very intimidating atmosphere for away teams and many special nights will be held here.
Intimidation
The old stadiums with the spectator standing areas close to the pitch used to create a hostile atmosphere for away teams and their players. I remember playing at the Old Den (Millwall) many years ago, and warming up, literally within touching distance of the hostile fans. I was playing for Newcastle United and received some charming comments as I jogged up and down the side of the pitch. F**k Off, you Geordie Wan**r was one of the verbal blasts from the stands as tat toed, crop haired mean looking diehards, worked their menacing intimidation tactics on our substitutes. Funny thing I thought to myself is that I was born only 20 miles away from Millwalls stadium. I got the call to play from the manager and took my waterproof coat off to find a stream of spit oozing down the back of the jacket!! I am not picking on Millwall because this used to happen at many of the old style stadiums where the fans were right on top of the players. Although Millwall Fans did produce a higher than average volume of spit.
The new stadiums, with the All seater arrangement tend to be further back from the playing area, creating less intimidation for the players. I believe that Newcastles stadium, although a grand structure in every way, has certainly lost some of the fear factor for opposition players. I didn't feel at all intimidated when I played at St James Park in 2000 and in fact revelled in the opulent surroundings.
I'm sure old time football players and fans will look back with fond memories of these pre-taylor report stadiums, but I certainly feel the game has improved with the new mega stadiums. Many of the modern games young premier league players will rarely be exposed to this kind of intimidation, only when they play in FA Cup matches against lower league opposition and pre-season friendlies. I for one am glad I never have to be spat at again.
Charlton Life without Alan Curbishley – Is Relegation that Bad?
3 months into the 2006/2007 season and life without Alan Curbishley is proving to be a bit tricky for Charlton Athletic. I recently did an interview with www.addickted.net and they asked me about my thoughts for Charlton’s prospects this year.
In this interview I said that I would not be surprised to see the settled South London club get relegated this year. Of course I hope that they do not get relegated but I am writing this article without any bias and based on my many years of playing as a professional footballer. The one thing that disturbs a club the most is instability and change. I experienced this on a yearly frequency at West Bromwich Albion, where the club hired and fired new managers with random glee, which creates confusion and lack of loyalty within the club. Existing players have to adapt to every managers new philosophy on Football, new tactics, new systems, 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 5-3-2 etc. New players have to integrate into the club and so it goes on.
I do not know why Charlton and “Curbs” (as he liked to be called) parted company but I suspect that the 2 had reached a point where they both needed change and felt they could no longer progress. I think that Curbs has been a revelation for Charlton Athletic and should be given the freedom of South East London for what he and his staff achieved. To bring the club from the brink of bankruptcy to a constant fixture in the premier league was a monumental achievement. This rise was steady and constant, taking many years to build up the momentum to finally being able to proudly boast of being an accomplished premier league side. They have proved to be a fine example of how to rise through the ranks of football. Whether they can be the club that breaks through the invisible barrier of the top 6 and maybe even break the stronghold of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United is another chapter in this clubs history.
But Curbs just seemed unable to push the club into the higher levels of the premier league. It must be the ambition of every team to want more, otherwise what is the point of competing. Charlton had reached a plateau under Curbs reign and were/are seeking to move onwards and upwards. This is no easy achievement in the world of Premier league football. To sustain yourself as a top 6 club with your peers such as Newcastle United struggling to do this will take a shift in thinking, such as bringing in a new manager.
It may take several years for this to happen, as new managers historically take time to “bed” into their new clubs, with many not surviving their first year. I hope this doesn’t happen to Iain Dowie as he has proved himself to be an intelligent, dedicated manager. However, getting back to my original point, it may not be a bad thing for Charlton to be relegated this year. If they did, they would be able to re-group in the Championship, with a very strong squad and have a season to re-establish themselves back in footballs elite by gaining promotion.
If this happened Dowie and his staff would have the full support of the fans, who would be excited to have another Championship season of success, winning games, scoring lots of goals and renewing the excitement of strolling up to the Valley. The players would be playing with a renewed confidence and I am sure would revel at another bite of premier league action. With this momentum behind him, Dowie may just be able to take the Club on to its next level of achievement by pushing themselves into the top 6 of the premier league. Maybe relegation doesn’t come and Charlton and Dowie can continue this success story from within the Premier League, which would be much less scary for the fans and the board.
After all, if you do get relegated, and can’t climb back into the premier league (see Ipswich, Leeds, Sunderland etc) life can get fiendishly difficult.
I was off to Wembley just a few months after my loan move from Newcastle United to West Bromwich Albion. These were the heady Days of life at WBA as we surged to the promotion play off finals against Port Vale. For me it was a roller coaster ride of thrill after thrill, and I couldn’t have written a better story after my arrival from Newcastle United.
Kevin Keegan had left me in the reserves at Newcastle United, giving me no opportunities to play in his team that was marching towards promotion in Division 1. So when the chance to join my old boss Ossie Ardiles at West Bromwich Albion came along I snapped it up. I could not have imagined the start of my career (see my previous post) going so well.
I scored 9 goals in 11 games as myself and Bob Taylor blasted in goal after goal to lead our march to the play off finals. We brushed Swansea aside in an epic 2 game semi final. The second game at home was a classic match with rain pouring down and 2 sides totally committed to victory and the chance to run out at Wembley in the final. I remember sliding in to score a goal in one of the most competitive matches I have ever played in. Tackles were flying in, players getting sent off but in the end we won the game and the semi-final. The crowd at the Hawthorns stormed the pitch after the final whistle and I made it back to the dressing room with just my boots and underwear on. Some lucky fan got a pair of stinky socks for their troubles!!
Life was very good during this period. My fitness levels had improved significantly since my arrival in the midlands and I was now playing to my potential, in a team that was creating numerous chances for the strikers. We had ridiculous goal scoring celebrations, parties to celebrate each victory, relaxed training sessions every day, reflecting Ossie Ardiles’ easy going nature.
I made some great friends during this time including Daryl Burgess, Darren Bradley, Mickey Mellon and Kwame Ampadu. 4 players who were also having a great time in a rejuvenated Albion side.
Training sessions during the last few weeks of the season had become a lot of fun, especially for the attacking players in Ossies team. Ossie loved to play little keep ball “circles” and Keith Burkinshaw often had to stop Ossies games so we could start the proper training session. They made a good partnership with Keith’s stern, serious outlook on the game, making sure the team was organized and prepared as opposed to Ossies more carefree attitude. Naturally I enjoyed working with Ossies more relaxed approach.
Preparations were underway for our Wembley Final against Port Vale. This was serious stuff. The winners would be promoted into Division 1; the losers would get to keep their memories of a day out at Wembley, the nations stadium.
I had been to Wembley before as a spectator but arriving at the stadium in the coach as one of the players was, well, surreal. Souvenir stalls, fans everywhere, hotdog stalls, the vibrant colours of the team flags all around us was just breathtaking. Our fans dominated the stadium and its surroundings. Some estimates suggested that we had 40,000 of the 55,000 fans in the stadium. (Thanks to the WBA Fans Forum for spotting my error). As you can imagine this gave us a real boost.
Driving into the stadium was also a very unusual experience. The big gate swung open and then the clamour and chaos of the Wembley walkways was behind us, as suddenly we were inside the tunnel, now surrounded by reporters who were all trying to get a sound bite for their papers. I didn’t really know what to expect, once inside. Gold paths, ivory bath taps, opulence everywhere!! Sounds stupid but you just don’t know what to expect when you enter the stadium. Actually the changing rooms and surrounding area were spacious but not very much different to other stadiums I had played at. Of course it was only when you entered the pitch that the heart started to jump a beat.
Wembley looks huge from the inside, We walked the field in our terrible Wembley suits, many of the players had got their trousers mixed up, so the trousers were an inch too long or and inch too short.
We soaked up the atmosphere. I even found my brother, Ian and friends, who although they were not Albion fans, had painted their faces with the Albion colours. They came down to the front of the stands and I chatted with them for a long while. I think they were having a great day too.
For me the game was the culmination of a tremendous period at West Brom. The field was immaculate, I felt very strong and we played some good football against a dogged Port Vale side. It took us a long time to break them down and the turning point was Port Vales main defender being sent off for a foul on my strike partner.
We scored not long after this and it was yours truly who opened the account for West Brom. Twisting like an eel, I directed a soft header into the corner of the net. WOW. Scoring at Wembley. Off I ran to the corner flag to dance my little jig, and celebrate like crazy with the team. My god. You have never had Adrenaline pumping like this unless you’ve hit a home run or sky dived from an aeroplane. The hard part was “coming down” again to cool my head and carry on the game. I did cool down as did the team and we went on to score another 2 goals and coast to victory.
The rest of the day was all a bit blurry after this. We celebrated, we talked to reporters in the tunnel, we did laps of honour, we celebrated some more, we got changed eventually, we watched the stadium empty out, we celebrated a bit more and eventually I got to see my friends and family outside the stadium. Champagne was aboard the bus and I headed back to the midlands to complete the season in style with a night out to celebrate a bit more.
One more thing was left to do and that was our open top bus ride around Smethwick and a final celebration at the Civic Centre. I sang and danced on the balcony and enjoyed myself as much that day as I did at Wembley. The season was over and we were now looking forward to the summer break and a shot at Division 1 next year. Of course Ossie Ardiles took the steam out of the end of season celebrations by leaving the club to take over at his beloved Tottenham. But who cared. We were still loving every minute of our promotion success and even the loss of our manager was something we could surely deal with.
Even if it meant joining the West Bromwich Albion Manager lottery. Over the next 5 years we slowly lost all the momentum of this glorious season, changing managers every year, sometimes more often. This was my biggest disappointment of my time at West Brom, in that we were never capable of building on the smallest scraps of success. But that’s another story…….
Read the rest of my story on "How To Become a Professional Footballer"
I am going to take a small break from World Cup 2006 to continue my series “From Ashill to Arsenal”. My last article was about Life with Keving Keegan and Newcastle United FC in the early 90s. My professional career started there and lasted for 2 ½ years before being sold to West Bromwich Albion (WBA). Keegan had asked me to his office to inform me that WBA had made a bid of £100,000 for me, but due to the fact that the club had no money they were going to take me on loan until the end of the season.
With only 11 games left of their season WBA were on the fringes of the play-offs in Division 2 of the English league and needed to put together a fantastic run in to make the play-offs. Keegan told me that Newcastle United had accepted the bid and that it was now up to me to decide what to do. I was languishing in the reserves at Newcastle and jumped at the chance to resurrect my career.
I hired an agent to represent me in my talks with Ossie Ardiles and WBA, as I felt I needed some assistance in my discussions with the new club. With Agent in tow, I met with Ossie in his office. Ossie asked the Agent to leave and told me that he would not be necessary as they would not be able to pay me much more than my previous club. Then asked what I wanted to do. I thought that was very fair of Ossie. I think he knew that I was going to be paying a cut of my salary to this guy for no reason. However I had made my mind up and the agent came back into the office to continue the discussions. Ossie was right. They were not going to pay me any more money, no matter how we tried to argue the case.
We agreed the 3 year contract and Ossie invited me to stay that evening in the Moat House hotel next to the Hawthorns, WBA compact stadium. WBA had a match that evening and so Ossie gave me a ticket to savour the atmosphere at the Hawthorns. I was very excited to be a part of a team again and quietly entered the stadium to join the throng of passionate Baggies fans. I was standing on the Terrace with the other fans, none of them knowing that I was their new Striker, anonymously watching my new team for the first time. I had butterflies in my stomach watching the game and couldn’t wait to get started.
I had let my fitness levels drop considerably in my time at Newcastle, due to a total lack of motivation and opportunity in Keegans new look squad (see my previous post). But that wasn’t going to dampen my spirit and I was so excited to be playing football again. My first game was away against Bradford. I was a substitute and made my debut late in the second half scoring with a soaring header in the final minutes of the match.
Now I was in with a chance for the next game at home and sure enough I was given the nod to start. I’m sure the fans were interested to see who the new center forward was. I made my debut with Bob Taylor as my strike partner, who I struck up a great partnership over the coming few seasons.
This game however was to prove how bad my fitness levels really were. We were losing the match by half time and I was treading water after only 30 minutes of the match. The pace was fast and furious and I was unaccustomed to this speed of play, having only seen the slow paced reserve team football for the last 2 years. I was very tired after the first half hour and I was off the pace of the game. The WBA fans soon let me know what they thought of me as I was getting booed by a large percentage of the 15,000 or so home fans.
Oh dear.
The team was losing and we could not really afford to lose any more games otherwise we would slip further behind in the race to the play-offs. Ossie Ardiles was under a lot of pressure from the fans to substitute me, and had a fans favourite sitting on the bench to replace me. If he had made that substitution I think my career at WBA would have been very different as the fans picture of me would have been very different to the one that did actually materialize later in the game and for the rest of the season.
About 70 minutes into the match I pounced on a half chance to score the equalizing goal. The crowd went crazy. We were back in the game and I had also taken some pressure of myself. Then I scored a second only minutes later. We were winning and suddenly I had gone from Villain to Hero in a matter of minutes. Then incredibly I scored a third goal. In just 7 minutes I had scored 3 goals, we had won the game and I had made my mark in Baggies history, and also gave myself a lifeline with my new club.
I remember reading the papers and the marks out of 10 the following week. I must have been the only player in history to get 4s and 5s out of ten and yet score the winning hat-rick. Yet it was fully deserved as my performance had been awful. The line between success and failure is so thin and this series of events just goes to prove it. Had I been substituted who knows what would have happened.
The remaining games of the season saw the team put together an incredible run and I was able to get my fitness back during the next few matches. I was fortunate to be playing in an attack minded team that created lots of chances, and scored 9 goals in the final 10 games as we made the Division 2 play-offs.
Next we had to endure the nerve wrecking final few games of the season to see if we could gain promotion. Including a home and away 2 leg semi final against Swansea, followed by what was the ultimate game of my career, the Play off Final at Wembley Stadium (the home of English Football), in front of 80,000 fans.
Coming soon – the 1992 play off matches and the 5 year WBA manager lottery.
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