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Wayne Harrison was once considered to be the next big thing in England but was unable to fulfil his potential at Liverpool.

Pages 10-11

Jack Sealy discusses his rise from non-league to the Chinese Super League as he mixes with some of the world’s best players.

Pages 20-21

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‘Rooney’s still the man for England’ EXCLUSIVE

Dele Alli enhances his reputation with a brilliant performance at Goodison Park

Dele Alli enhances his reputation with a EX-ENGLAND BOSS brilliant performance at Goodison Park Dele Alli enhances his reputation with a TALKS ABOUT ROONEY brilliant performance at Goodison Park

PAGES 18-19

Anthony Crolla bids to cement his legacy in career-defining fight against threeweight world champion Jorge Linares.

Pages 24-25

Having been panned by supporters for West Ham’s switch to the London Stadium Karren Brady hits back at critics.

Pages 28-29

October issue 2016

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Garry Monk is ready for the pressure cooker at Leeds United Monk aims to return Leeds back to the top The Leeds United job has somewhat become a poisoned chalice under Massimo Cellino but Garry Monk refutes any concerns of working under the controversial owner as he has his sights set on masterminding a season of success at Elland Road.

Having spent six months out of work following his sacking at Swansea City, Garry Monk is the latest manager to take his seat on the managerial merry-go-round at Elland Road.

Whether he lasts long at the helm remains to be seen but, with three young kids, Monk has no intention of being a peripatetic manager in the lower leagues. He has confidence in his ability that he can awake the sleeping giant that has become Leeds United.

Pertinently, out of the six managers who have been sacked under Massimo Cellino’s vexatious ownership (Brian McDermott, Dave Hockaday, Neil Redfearn, Darko Milanic, Uwe Rosler and Steve Evans) only two are currently in employment.

To a degree the Leeds United job nukes your career, but Monk, aged 37, is unperturbed by Cellino’s reputation for sacking managers and remains confident they can form a successful working relationship.

“I’m not concerned about taking a job in the Championship,” he says. “This is probably my toughest test to date, but I believe in myself and I know what I can achieve here.

“It’s a huge challenge. This club has a lot of potential and it’s one of the biggest clubs in the country. My dad’s generation, who grew up in the seventies, all supported Leeds.

“I’ve heard all sorts of stories about the owner but when I met him, I was impressed with his plans for this club. He’s a very passionate man, maybe that can be perceived in the wrong way sometimes. But he definitely cares about this club. He’s been a chairman for a number of years so he knows his football.

“He’s been very supportive so far and lets me get on with my job and obviously those communication lines are very important. I never focus on the things in the past. I just do my job here and hopefully we can get the right results.”

Cellino’s support in the transfer market has aided United’s chances of returning to the promised land. The arrivals of Robert Green, Kemar Roofe, Kyle Bartley, Matt Grimes and Pablo Hernandez has seen in excess of five players augment the first-team at Elland Road.

Out of all of Monk’s signings, Green arrives with vast experience but his talents have started to wane for a number of years now having been deemed surplus to requirements at QPR as far back as January.

Aiming to dislodge Green is former Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull but Monk has opted to give the former England No.1 another shot at redemption.

“I just felt that the group, with it being young, just needed that extra bit of experience in and around them,” he explains. “Green has played at a high level and now he can impart that experience on the younger players. We’re still looking to strengthen because you’re always

looking to do that. But we’ve made some good signings and we have a really young squad here who have a lot of talent and a lot of potential. It’s like a blank canvas for me to be honest and that’s what’s been great about it.”

Losing highly-rated midfielder Lewis Cook to suitors in the Premier League was inevitable once Bournemouth came calling. But first choice full-back Charlie Taylor has canvassed that his future lies away from Leeds having handed in a transfer request.

“Charlie is a great professional and the danger for when you’re outside of the Premier League for any club is that the lure of the top-flight and talk behind the scenes and transfer rumours will always make it difficult for clubs to keep their players,” says Monk. “But Charlie is an important player for us. He’s the type of player we need to build the team around.”

With Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Norwich City all dropping into the second tier, the task of masterminding a return to the top-flight remains arduous for Monk. The parachute payments those clubs receive means their chances of promotion are far greater – and having penned a one-year rolling contract time is against the ex-Swansea City manager.

Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton & Hove Albion all finished strong last term and will be in a better position to challenge once more this campaign.

Monk believes as many as fourteen teams will be in contention to challenge for promotion, but having spent 12 years in the doldrums perhaps this could be the season Leeds finally get it right.

“Every team will be looking to have a good start and we’re no different,” Monk says. “We feel as if we’re very capable of challenging this season. I remember when we [Swansea] got promoted and we played Reading in the play-off final, they were near the bottom of the table then they put together a good run and finished in the play-offs then got to the final.

“So you never know with this league and that’s the amazing thing about it. There’s a number of teams, perhaps 13 or 14, who will think they have a realistic chance of challenging for promotion.

“There’s so many big clubs in the Championship and Leeds is for sure one of them. If you can get a team like Leeds United back to the Premier League then you have your hands on something massive. It’s an absolute big club but probably in the next three or four years is when it will be tougher [to get promoted].

“The teams coming down will have a huge spending power and they’ll be spending in excess of £100m on players and that’s when it will be even harder for the other clubs to seal promotion. But we’re not focusing on that just now, we’re looking to have a really good season and see where it takes us.”

OBSERVER PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVID SILLITOE

The Test

Pre-season

Others have tried and failed under the contentious ownership of Massimo Cellino, but Garry Monk remains confident he can make up for lost time.

Garry Monk speaks to Kalvin Phillips during a pre-season friendly match between Shelbourne and Leeds United in Dublin.

First Game Garry Monk looks on during his first game in charge as Leeds United’s manager.

Game Face

Training

The Leeds United manager watches on as his side suffers a narrow 2-1 defeat against Peterborough United.

Garry Monk watches his team train ahead of their pre-season fixture against Peterborough United.

Relaxed Garry Monk looks fairly relaxed ahead of his team’s pre-season outing in Dublin in preparation for their league campaign in the Championship.

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‘Brendan Rodgers thought he was big time at Reading’ Having made a name for himself at Reading, James Harper tells Roshane Thomas what it was like playing under Brendan Rodgers and what led to his acrimonious departure from the club. me and there’s no room for the both of us. So you have to go because I’m not going to play you’. And that was it, I shouldn’t have gone his is not quiet going to plan. James Harper to Sheffield United but I wanted to play. As a should be on the coach with his team-mates coach his training sessions were unbelievable,” making their way to Barnsley, as he prepares Harper continues, “You wouldn’t believe how to make his 317th appearance for Reading. But good they were. Everyone’s playing level went instead he is on his way to Bramall Lane having up by like 80% it was so enjoyable, but he was been sold to Sheffield United, as his focus swiftly an absolute dick. He was just a knob, so big turns to facing Derby County. time and so arrogant.”

“I didn’t want to leave at all,” he says rather deDue to the way Harper was jettisoned from jectedly. “The season we got relegated I had Bolton Reading, he could be forgiven for wallowing and Middlesborough come in for me to go back in self-pity. Having played for the Royals for into the Premier League. But I actually thought nine years you would thought they would have we were going to do it [get promoted] and then granted him a testimonial for his loyalty to when we didn’t make it, I got injured, we lost in the the club. But due to the antagonism between play-offs to Burnley, [Steve] Coppell went and then Rodgers and the midfielder such privileges bloody Brendan Rodgers came in. They all went on failed to materialise. Harper could have easily the coach and gone up to Barnsley and then on the been schadenfreude when he saw Rodgers’s Monday I was up in Sheffield and that was it.” struggles from afar during his beleaguered As we talk on the phone, Harper is midway reign at Reading. But to compound matters through helping his friend decorate his new house, for the midfielder, having put everything but once we discuss life under his former manager behind him, whenever he sent his ex-manager in more depth he takes a few seconds, sinks into a heartfelt text messages, to his dismay, he only chair and lets out a long sigh of frustration as his received a half-hearted response. scathing attack on the man who sold him shortly “The worst thing is Reading were doing horfollows. rific and I was still texting him,” he says.” I put “So during that summer Wolverhampton came all that stuff behind us and I was wishing him in for me but I got injured again, so they didn’t good luck and every time they lost I’d wish sign me in the end. So I was still at Reading and we him good luck again, but he just didn’t reply were in the bottom three but Rodgers wouldn’t play to me. They had QPR away and everyone was me. He was playing youth team players, who were saying he was going to get sacked and I wrote shit. Like two of them don’t even play any more. him a real long text and it was proper nice and People like Scott Davies were playing and he wasn’t he just put back ‘thanks’. even good. So I was on the bench and he wouldn’t “He got sacked went to Swansea and then even play me and if he did, which was hardly, I was rang me trying to be my best mate asking me coming on for like ten minutes on the left wing and about players. I thought to myself, ‘Hold on, shit. He kept saying to me, ‘You’re going to get your why are you trying to be my mate?’ He went, chance’”.

‘Oh, that’s gone now, that was a different time’.

Withering about the worst manager he played I think when he left Reading he changed. under Harper, refreshingly candour, is extremely When he went to Swansea he got all the expedamning of Rodgers. The midfielder was informed rienced players on his side and played them by the former Liverpool manager he was no longer all. He also did it at Liverpool with [Steven] part of his plans in a cursory conversation and the Gerrard and [Jamie] Carragher so I think he interminable absence from the first-team was too did learn to be fair. But he was just so big time. much to bar for Harper as the gathering froideur of “The worst thing is when I left Reading, I their relationship took a turn for the worse. went to Sheffield United and it was shit and “We played Newcastle and got beat 3-0,” he says, then I went to Hull City and that was rubbish “we were playing teams and kept getting beat, we as well. After I left Reading things just went were in the bottom three and he just wouldn’t play downhill. I should never have left.” me. In the end he signed Brain Howard and my In a haphazard fashion, Harper would later agent said, ‘Listen he signed Brain Howard but he experience spells at Wycombe Wanderers [on can’t play until you go’. That was the first I knew of loan], Doncaster Rovers and Barnet before it. becoming a forlorn figure during his two “We had a game against Barnsley on the Sathiatus from football due to being unable to urday and deadline day was the Monday and he find a club. called me into his office and said, ‘You have to go, “It’s was real tough to be far,” he recalls, “I Sheffield United want you’. And I just ended up couldn’t really get anywhere. I was at Hull having a massive row with him, I said, ‘I know City and I didn’t play for a season there. The Brain Howard is waiting at the gates for me to go, manager didn’t really like me then I went to but I ain’t going nowhere. I don’t know what you’re Doncaster and we were top of the league and game is, we’re in the bottom three and I don’t know I played 30 games, but then a new manager why you’re not playing me because you’re playing came in and didn’t like me so I didn’t play. terrible players’. And then he went, ‘If it doesn’t “Then in the summer another new managwork out for me here I’ll go to Inter Milan with er came in and didn’t like me so I didn’t play Mourinho. This is not my level, I’m a Champions again. So I had like maybe two years of not League manager’. And all that shit. playing, so I was struggling to get a club and “Then I said, ‘You have people here relying on I couldn’t get nowhere. My agent was ringing you for jobs Brendan’. Then he said, ‘I’m only here around but kept getting told ‘No’ and I rang up for me. I should’ve been here ages ago, I was better a couple of managers myself and I was getting than all the other managers’. He was giving it all texts back saying, ‘No, thanks’. this shit then he also said, ‘You’ve been here too “And I was surprised because the players long now, everyone follows you, they don’t follow that the managers had playing for them I had INTERVIEW BY ROSHANE THOMAS

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never heard of and I was even ringing Conference teams but kept getting the same response.

Martin Allen wanted me back at Barnet but I didn’t really like it there. I was seeing some of the players playing and I thought, ‘No, this is ridiculous!’ Then Nuneaton came in for and they were in the Conference but then the gaffer never rang me back.”

At the height of his career, there was a time when Harper, now currently playing for nonleague side Hayes & Yeading United, was attracting the attention of Ratomir Dujković, the then manager of Ghana. He qualified to play for them through his mother, and in a jocular mood Harper shares the moment Dujković gave him a call to tempt him to represent them during the 2006 World Cup. “My mum is from Ghana and the geezer rang me and said, ‘There’s a friendly game, would you like to play and then go to the World Cup?’ But the thing is I’ve never been to Ghana,” he deadpans. “I don’t know the flag, I don’t know the colours. There’s like loads of languages and I don’t know them, so I told him, ‘I’m not one of those players that plays for a country just because your nan or whatever is from there. My mum is from there fair enough but I consider myself to be English’.

“And then he rang me again and his kid was being sick and all I could hear was puke down the phone and I thought to myself, ‘Is this really the manager?’ I thought it was a joke and then I can’t name names but some of the players in the squad who went to play at the World Cup were not international players. But they actually really did well at the World Cup and I like, ‘Oh my gosh, I should have gone’. To be fair I was watching the World Cup and I thought they were really good. But I don’t regret it though.

“I know it was the World Cup and everyone was telling me to go and play but it wouldn’t have felt right. I said to the manager, ‘If you drew England in the group stage, I wouldn’t play because I would be like a traitor here. I would be scoring own goals’. But in the end he understood the situation.”

Harper was on the books at Arsenal at the same time as the likes of Ashley Cole and Paolo Vernazza, who was considered to be the best player in the youth team at the time.

“I was at Arsenal from the age of ten until twenty and it’s my old club,” he says, “so every time we [Reading] played them I always tried too hard and just ended up never playing well.

I played against them like five times and always had a nightmare and I always got battered as well. We lost 4-0 twice, in the Carling Cup we got beat 3-0 and I played alright in that game but the rest of them I was just too hyped.

“In our youth team Paolo Vernazza was the best player and everyone used to look up to him. He was eighteen and playing in the Champions League against Panathinaikos and got man of the match. He was great but he loved the nightlife of partying and going out and then he started to play for teams in the lower divisions.

But he’s an agent now.”

Harper considers Dennis Bergkamp as being the best player he has ever played with: “Football was too easy for him,” he says. “Bergkamp always had space, always had time and he always knew where everyone was. We had a practice game against Peterborough and he

James Harper failed to make the grade at Arsenal during his youth days there but he spent the best part of nine years at Reading.

EMPICS Sports Photo Agency

lobbed the goalkeeper from the halfway line and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is unreal’. And the most outrageous thing is he did it twice. I used to just study him all the time. At the training sessions at Arsenal when we’d take free-kicks he used to hit them at either the bar or the goal. When you play in the lower leagues people are hitting it everywhere. Bergkamp was just ridiculous.

“When Thierry Henry scored that goal against Manchester United when he flicked it up and scored into the top corner; minutes before that Bergkamp took a corner and it was headed out to the halfway line and Lee Dixon controlled it and passed it back to Bergkamp, who was on the wing and he’s like taken a touch and the ball just popped up his waist and he hit a side volley and it just nearly arrowed past the keeper. I was just in awe. We used to sit behind the dugout and Ferguson just got up and started clapping, but Bergkamp was just so casual about it.”

When Reading faced Chelsea during their spell in the Premier League, Harper remembers what it was like coming up against an in form and indefatigable Frank Lampard. “I played against Lampard as well and he was a just joke,” he says.

“He didn’t stop moving the whole game. He’d move like an extra two or three yards and you just couldn’t get near him. He used to always focus on making runs and trying to find a pass for his team-mates. For 90 minutes he didn’t stop.

I got his shirt straight after the game and it got to a point in the second-half it might have been around the 80th minute and I said to him, ‘You’re an absolute joke. We need five minutes after the game to have a chat.’

“Then he told me, ‘Don’t let anything get in your way. My game is passing it, looking around, getting forward and scoring goals. Nothing else gets in my way’. They get paid the big ducks and it’s until you play against them that you realise they deserve it because before I was like, ‘How on earth is he getting that?’ But when you play against them you’re like, ‘He should be on more’.

When Harper was rejoicing his youth career he had a brief flashback of playing against two ex-England internationals.

“I remember playing against Scott Parker and he was a real skilful player,” he recalls. “He nutmegged me like four times in one game and changed his style at Charlton and now he’s had

the career he’s had. Joe Cole was a disgrace.

In the youth teams the crowd used to love his tricks. He was doing the whole lot, he could do everything. Then he went to Chelsea and [Jose] Mourinho stopped all of that stuff and turned him into some robot and killed it. He was never the same player after that. Mourinho took all the flair out of him.”

It gets to that point during the interview where Harper reminisces on his playing career.

Despite what happened to his time at Reading, post-Rodgers, he is inordinately proud of his time at the club.

“I had real good times there,” he admits.

“When we got relegated and we were in second or third literally everyone had left and I was the last one to still be there. Steve Sidwell, [Nicky] Shorey, [Dave] Kitson, [Kevin Doyle] Doyley, [Ibrahima] Sonko, [Marcus] Hahnemann had all gone and I was the last one.

“This is going to sound crazy but the best moment for me is when we beat Preston because they used to always batter us. The season of joining like 2001 I played every game that season and it was always horrible because they kept

beating us. But the season we went up I think the 05/06 season we played them at the start of the campaign and beat them 3-0 and we absolutely ripped them apart and that’s what I would consider to be my happiest moment in a Reading shirt. We all thought that we were going to get nothing in that game and after that game I thought to myself, ‘That’s the best win ever’. It was better than any win before and any win after. I didn’t even play that great but it was definitely an enjoyable moment.

“Playing against the best players in the world is something which I really enjoyed as well. In our first season when we finished seventh we did really well. We went into games and teams just thought, ‘These lot are shit’. And we ended up beating them, but come the second season teams tried so much harder against us because they knew we were half decent so it became harder. When I was a kid all I wanted to be was be a footballer.

Maybe not at world-class level but at least at my level and I got to achieve that and no one can take that away from me.”

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The tragic tale of Manchester United’s lost genius ‘He was the best player to come out of Northern Ireland since George Best’

MANCHESTER UNITED VIA GETTY IMAGES

Adrian Doherty was not your typical footballer. He enjoyed writing poems, he wore second-hand clothes and busked in the streets of Manchester. His story remained untold for years, but not any more.

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he north coast area of Northern Ireland is normally a serene sort of place. It is solidly middle class and annually hosts the SuperCupNI, previously known as the Milk Cup, where promising youngsters from around the world showcase their precocious talents.

But unusually in one particular summer in the mid-Eighties, the customary tranquillity in the area was continuously disturbed when the performance of a young Adrian Doherty set the tone of things to come.

Colm Cassidy was Doherty’s team-mate during their time together at Moorfield Boys’ Club based in Derry, which was run by Matt Bradley, Noel Kivlehan and Steven Nash, and he was unable to fathom how the young man from Strabane had produced such jaw-dropping performances at his callow age during the tournament.

“He was thirteen and I was about twelve when we played at Moorfield and he played for us for a few years” Cassidy tells me. “At that point we played in the Milk Cup which is the same tournament the likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs played in. And again Adrian was just the best player during the tournament.

“What they did at the end of each tournament was pick an Northern Ireland select to play against the rest of the world and Adrian was selected and a guy called Kevin Doherty. And Adrian was just amazing. I played against Ryan Giggs when I was fifteen for Northern Ireland school boys against England school boys and they beat us 5-0. But Adrian caught my attention more than Giggs.

“But my earliest memory of Adrian is when he was eleven, which is going back thirty-years ago. I actually played against him when he was playing for a team from Strabane. He was playing on the right hand side as a winger and I was a left-back – and what a talent. His pace and natural ability was just unreal. He could have been a 100m sprinter. He was head and shoulders above the rest of us.”

Doherty was different to the archetypal of modern day footballers from as far back as fourteen, if memory serves Cassidy well. He recalls a story of a group bonding session during the tournament when the players went to a restaurant and unsurprisingly the teenage talent stood out from the crowd.

“When we went to the Milk Cup we’d bond as a group and go to the restaurant and eat chips, fish, burgers that sort of stuff and Adrian was completely different to us,” Cassidy says. “We would be having Coke or Diet Coke and Adrian would be drinking milk.”

Matt Bradley, currently a scout for Celtic and responsible for discovering talent in Ireland, has fond memories of seeing Doherty play for the first time for Moorfield’s U14 team. “Adrian came

to play with us when he was thirteen,” he says, “and he was just a lot better than everybody else. His control and his finish meant he stood out straightaway. When I first saw him play I was just blown away. He just won matches on his own and the school team that I ran at the time everybody pretty much gave the ball to Adrian and he just won us games.

“But Adrian was really shy as well. You see the team that he played in with us, they were all from thirteen to fifteen and would have all just been normal lads. And Adrian was just such a shy lad. But the thing with him is he did his talking on the pitch. He played in the Northern Ireland tournament and it’s a big tournament over here. We played him in it and we were actually beaten in the semi-final by Crewe Alexandra, and they were a really good team at the time. And although we were beaten Adrian just tore them apart.”

It was not long until Doherty’s performance started to attract suitors from England. Arsenal and Nottingham Forest made concerted efforts to sign the winger. John Dilion, Arsenal’s Northern Ireland scout, had travelled to Mallusk to watch Doherty play in a youth tournament for Moorfield. Initially he went to monitor the progress of Jonny Mclvor, who was also attracting interest following a string of promising performances for Moorfield. But it was Doherty who invariably caught the eye.

In the Easter holidays of 1987 he went for a trial at Arsenal and played in three junior-team games. Such was their determination to secure his signature, Doherty attended two first-team matches at Highbury, against Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United, and mixed with the senior team having ate in their company.

For a team synonymous with giving Irish talent a chance in Terry Neill, Pat Jennings, Sammy Nelson, plus many others north of the boarder, it seemed written in the stars for Doherty to follow suit. But at the back of Matt Bradley’s mind it was another team in red which proved even more tempting.

“At that particular time the scouts never really covered where Adrian was from in Northern Ireland, but then all of a sudden a number of teams were in for him,” Bradley recalls. “So when I recommended him to a Manchester United scout he said, ‘Oh alright, I will come and watch him’. He probably thought he wouldn’t be good, but the night he came and watched him Adrian was playing for the Northern Ireland school’s district team. And after about five minutes of watching him play he said, ‘We need to get this kid over’”.

The United scout in question was the newly-appointed Eddie Coulter, who had replaced Bob Bishop credited for discovering George

Best and Norman Whiteside. “I would have like to have think Adrian would have been great at Arsenal, because he was such an exciting talent,” Bradley continues. “He was absolutely flying at the time but due to me being a Manchester United fan I would have been even prouder to see him in a United shirt. He was probably the best player to come out of Northern Ireland since George Best, so he had to sign for them!”

Within days news spread as rapid as Doherty’s pace that he was on the verge of achieving something special. ‘Adrian is set for stardom’ read the headline from the Strabane Chronicle in the summer of 1987.

But Doherty’s parents, Jimmy and Geraldine, were initially humdrum over his proposed trial at Manchester United. The first concern was that he would be away from home having barely ventured beyond their local area. But they were reassured once they had learned he would be accompanied by Michael Nash, who was also on the books at Moorfield and had impressed Coulter, as well as a curly haired Brendan Rodgers.

Having impressed Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Kidd it would be feasible to predict that both their eyes sparkled with delight as they discussed Doherty as being the vanguard of United’s youth team.

It was disappointment in the end for Nash and Rodgers who failed to supplant the thoughts of the other academy prospects from Ferguson’s mind. And that was not the only disappointment being felt. 163 miles away in London, Pat Rice was informed that their efforts were in vein so to did Nottingham Forest, further afield.

With two of his friends unable to follow in a similar path at United, Doherty’s parents were once more cautious of his move to the club. But having been reassured once more of any potential problems and perpetually reminded that he was in safe hands, the teenage sensation was on his way.

“It was when he was in the apprentice group in the year below me that I started playing with United around fourteen/fifteen, which were my earliest memories of Adrian,” says Alan Tonge an ex-team-mate of Doherty during their time at United.

“Adrian was a very quiet lad who didn’t really say much. He kept himself to himself. He was a reserved lad who didn’t say much at all.

“You could see Giggs was a top player and I was about fifteen at the time when Eric Harrison said, ‘This lad is going to be some player’. We used to train with the school of excellence back then and Ryan was a bit younger than I was. He would be training

from five until six and my age group would be training from six until seven on the astroturf at the cliff. And we were waiting to come on one day and that’s when Eric said those comments about Ryan Giggs. And it didn’t mean much at the time because I was young, but looking back now he was right.

“But Adrian was amazing as well. Ryan would be on the left side and Adrian would be on the right side. Two very pacey wingers and Adrian was very skilful as well. A comparison going back many years would be someone like Stanley Matthews. Adrian used to run towards the full-back and then he used to flick it with the outside of his right foot to beat them. That was a nice trick he had.”

Word had got round at Doherty would go to busk on the streets of Manchester when the other apprentices watched the first-team play at Old Trafford. But, unbeknown to him, one of Doherty’s team-mates shared a similar taste in music as their friendship grew a close bond due to his likeable personality.

“He was nice lad, really unassuming, and quite intelligent as well,” Darren Ferguson says, the son of Manchester United’s most fabled manager. “He loved his music and Bob Dylan especially. We were into similar things, but as a player he was just fantastic and we all knew he was a special talent.

“I think me and him went to a concert together. We shared a similar taste in music and he was always writing poetry and things like that. He was different to what you would call your normal footballer. He was a really lovely lad, who wasn’t interested in cars, haircuts, or how he looked. It didn’t bother him at all.

“There were rumours at the time going around that he would go busking in Manchester whenever the rest of the lads would go to watch the first-team at Old Trafford. I remember on one occasion when he turned up to the first-team he had his blazer and his trousers on and he wore trainers to go with it. That was just Adrian, he wasn’t bothered in how he looked. And because he was like that he was very likeable as well. He was just a unique character and I got on really well with him.”

Alan Tonge shares a story of Doherty’s initiation which went down well with his team-mates. It was a bedding in process for the apprentices and around Christmas they would have to perform in front of the staff and first-team, all of which was fairly nerve-racking.

“Adrian loved Bob Dylan and I think he was a big influence on his life, because he had

a little guitar and he used to play his songs,” he recalls. “Back then, especially around, Christmas we had to do things in front of the first-team and management which was quite daunting to be honest. It was just part of the initiation ceremony and stuff like that. And Adrian had brought his guitar and sang a Bob Dylan song ‘The Times They Are Changin’ And it was very good performance to be fair.

“I was a local kid, so when training had finished I used to go straight home because I only lived in Bolton. But Adrian coming over from Northern Ireland stayed in digs [an accommodation for the apprentices].

There was a few of them in a house just near the cliff. But it was clear that football and his music was a big influence on him.

I think coming from Northern Ireland he probably had a bit of like a George Best influence on him as well, with the skills that he had.”

There were plenty of comparisons being made between Giggs, known as Ryan Wilson at the time, and Doherty. Despite their

contrasting personalities they clicked on the pitch and with the Welshman on one flank and Northern Irish man on the other, their futures looked bright. “They both had a lot of similarities in terms of their pace,” Darren Ferguson continues. “Adrian was lightening quick and due to his pace people were saying he’s Northern Ireland’s new George Best. He had that amazing talent to just take people apart within seconds. He was a really special boy. I just remember him playing and training and he was also a brave lad too. He used to get kicked from pillar to post and he would still come back for more.

There was one game where he kept taking people on and he just continuously getting

booted, but he just kept getting back up laughing at people. He took it and gave it back, he never shied away from it. And as a winger you need to have that bravery about you. I played in midfield beside him and he would keep the ball for like five minutes.”

Colm Cassidy also recalls Doherty’s bravery during their youth days at Moorfield: “He was such a lovely guy and the thing that stands out a lot to me is that he was so quick which meant he got kicked a lot. And not once did he get up to retaliate or even moan at the referees. He got up with a smirk on his face and got on with it.

That tells you about the character of him and his personality.”

But Doherty’s parents’ concerns that he would be unable to settle occurred when their son became homesick. He was no longer enjoying life at United. The quiet life in Strabane was a far cry from living in the digs with his teammates. In his autobiography, My Idea of Fun, Lee Sharpe recounts a game they used to play when they would play a porno film and a few of the apprentices would have to watch it and if one of them got a hard-on, he would get a dig off all the lads. It seems like the independent life was not so thrilling after all.

Colm Cassidy remembers Doherty having persistent back problems during their time together at Moorfield, which resurfaced once more at Manchester United.

“They were putting Adrian in the same bracket as Lee Sharpe at the time and Sir Alex Ferguson thought that Adrian was way ahead of him regarding his ability. But he had problems with his back from an early age and his hamstring too, so he was injured quite a bit.”

Doherty was given an extended break to spend time with his family in Strabane. Upon his return he played a key role in United’s B team’s 3-0 win over Liverpool and subsequently earned a call-up for their ten-day expedition for the Grossi Morera tournament in Italy.

Alan Tonge shares another story when Doherty’s dress sense made him the bearer of jokes: “We went to a youth tournament in Italy and I think the year was 1991. We all had come down to get something to eat and most of the lads had on tracksuits or had smart casual wear on. But Adrian just came down in a white vest with trousers and just sat at a table. And I can remember bread crumbs being on his vest and thinking, ‘You scruffy bugger!’ But he was just a character really, he wasn’t bothered at all. But I reckon Eric might have had a work and said, ‘You can’t come down here dressed like that you need to smarten up a bit’”.

When Doherty joined United in 1989 it had been twenty-five years since their milestone of winning the FA Youth Cup. George Best played a pivotal role in their quest for silverware and a quarter of a century later there was great optimism that a ‘New Best’ in Doherty would lead them to glory once more. Despite being unable to win the trophy, with the Class of 92 contemporary of Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville winning it, Doherty got his hands on a Lancashire League first-division winner’s medal for his part in the A team’s title success.

Having made a number of promising performances for the youth team, Doherty was called up to the first-team squad for the second time for a match against Queens Park Rangers. Although he did not feature in the game, despite a plethora of injury problems for Ferguson, the winger was on the brink of making a breakthrough into the first-team.

“He was better than Ryan Giggs because he was faster. His pace was unbelievable. He was the same type of player like Giggs, but he was more of a goalscorer.” Matt Bradley says.

With Doherty tipped for stardom his world came crashing down when he sustained a devastating knee injury against Carlisle United on February 23 1991. It was initially considered not to be a serious injury but with hindsight this proved to be be the first phase in Doherty’s long road back from recovery.

“He took his knee injury badly to be fair,” says Darren Ferguson. “I think his whole family took it badly as well because at the time it was quite a pivotal moment in his career. It was an injury where no matter how good the rehab is or how good the physios are you know it’s going to be a

good nine months before you return to action.

And there’s still a bit after that, so it was a really bad injury for Adrian. He got injured not long after he got back from his knee injury. And the thing is because he was really quick he lost that yard of pace, which you need as a winger. And I think with that injury he lost a bit of an edge too.

It was a real shame.

“I just think that he found it hard to cope with going through rehab. Now we’re far more advanced in dealing with injuries but at first it was the one which everyone feared.”

Alan Tonge is also inclined to agree: “Sir Alex Ferguson would always come and watch the lads train and play and straightaway you would notice his presence,” he says. “Even as a new manager he was very interested in the youth straightaway. But back in those days to get a [knee] injury of that magnitude was quite serve, because we weren’t as advanced with the whole medical aspect in those days.

“If anyone had got a cruciate knee ligament injury it was perceived to be a career-threatener.

But in these days because we have moved on a lot people are getting sent to America for rehab and stuff like that. But like I said, if you did get that injury back then it was like chances are you will have a very difficult opportunity to come back and play again. Adrian was unfortunately one of the victims of that.”

Colm Cassidy believes Doherty’s injury not only had an impact on him but also his family as well. He reckons had he suffered that fatal injury now then life would have been different for the winger. “It seems like it was a devastating moment for him and his loved ones,” he says. “Back then the training facilities were completely different to what we have now. I retired due to injuries and some of my friends did as well. If Adrian had suffered the same injury now I’m confident he would have recovered from it.

“A modern day player like Raheem Sterling would be a good comparison for Adrian. But if you’re looking for the whole package in terms of pace and skills then I’d say Arjen Robben in his prime. He would just terrorise defenders. There was a lot of talent in the team he and Adrian played in but he was just the best. But it’s so sad what happened to him because he was such an amazing talent.”

Matt Bradley, the man who discovered him, also details how he felt once news travelled about Doherty’s injury. “At that time he was absolutely flying and he set to play in the first-team for Manchester United on the Saturday, but he got the injury on a Wednesday and he never came back from it,” he says. “It was strange at the time because United had sent him back to Belfast to get the operation when normally it wouldn’t necessarily be via that procedure. He came back to Belfast and had the operation and he never really recovered from it.

“He suffered the injury in a training game and the goalkeeper came out on him or something along those lines. If that didn’t happen he would’ve made his debut, no doubt about it.

But due to Adrian’s injury Ryan Giggs got the opportunity, so it ended up being that Giggs took his place. Adrian was ahead of him, but that’s just how football goes. The two of them played in the youth team. Ryan played on the left wing and Adrian played on the right wing. Adrian was two-footed and he could play on either flank.”

Adrian Doherty (left) and Liam Coyle (right) pictured together in the above photo during their time at Derry City in the early 90s.

MARK BOSNICH

PAUL SIXSMITH

RYAN GIGGS

JASON LYDIATE

DARREN FERGUSON

MARK GORDON

CRAIG LAWTON

He was smiling on the treatment table in a crowded dressing and having a joke with the physio. ‘Here I am, messaging the superstar’s calf, if that’s what you’d call it,’ the physio Jim McGregor said. But the superstar in question was not Adrian Doherty, it was Ryan Giggs.

This mawkish sentiment appears five minutes into Captain’s Log, Steve Bruce’s video diary in the weeks prior to United becoming the newly-crowned champions of England. Had it not been for a serious knee injury, Doherty would have featured for United during their trophy-amassing era. It is even harder to digest that Doherty appears crestfallen in the video clip; and having once been a star in the making a sense of what if starts to come to mind.

He was unable to recover from his injury having spent an inordinate amount of time on the sidelines. He did have comeback games but it was evident he was not the same player.

“You see besides George Best, he was he best

LEE COSTA

young player that I had seen from Northern Ireland,” says Bradley. “I know I keep mentioning it but he was that good. He had so much stuff going for him. He was brave too, because he was never scared of a tackle coming in. He had everything. But outside of football Adrian was a very intelligent lad. He was into his music and his poetry. I think it might have been Robbie Savage who said when he shared a room with him it was like living with Bob Dylan, because he was always playing the guitar, writing songs and that sort of stuff. He wasn’t your sort of normal stereotype footballer.”

Ferguson, perhaps Doherty closest friend during his time at United, expresses a sense of sorrow at not being able to see Adrian fulfil his potential. “It was a close knit group; Craig Lawton, Lee Costa, Alan Tonge were good mates of Adrian too. We had a good team, but Adrian was a real star. He was the best player on the team. He was the one everyone looked

ALAN TONGE

at and thought, ‘He’s definitely going to make it’.

He was just one of the those guys who was just unfortunate to have such a bad injury. He’s an unfortunate example of what could have been.

He could have been anything as a player. He was that good.”

When Alan Tonge left United to join Exeter City he had lost contact with Doherty: “One of the saddest things about football is that once you leave the game or a club most of the players don’t really stay in touch with one another. It’s really weird and unfortunately I had lost contact with Adrian.

“There were always fears that he wouldn’t be the same player because when you have dynamism and trickery about you, a serve injury like that puts a bit doubt in your mind. I don’t think any footballer, who suffers that injury, can proclaim that they are the same again. So I’m sure there would have been doubts in his mind when he got that injury that he was never going

SEAN MCAULEY

ADRIAN DOHERTY

to return back to full fitness.” With United opting not to renew his contract, Doherty’s career at the club was over. Football had turned its back on him and having been released in 1993 the then nineteen-year-old had to quickly turn his attention to a new life after football. He did briefly play for Derry City, a team his father Jimmy also played for, the months after his release but he decided to quit having come to the conclusion once and for all that his life as a footballer was over.

Doherty would go onto to work for Grosvenor Services in Galway, Moldall Ltd in Strabane, Galway Plating, Joan O’Dea’s home bakery before making the buccaneering decision to move to Holland to seek a new challenge in Europe. Not quiet the same feeling as playing on the pristine field at Old Trafford, but Doherty was at his happiest after his playing career.

At his aforementioned jobs, he rarely

discussed his previous life as a promising footballer and only brought it on the odd occasion someone would quiz on what he did prior to arriving at his new job, just out of interest.

It was the year 2000 and as United trumpeted their sixth Premier League title, it was also the same year in which their lost genius had passed away. Within a week of arriving in Holland, Doherty had slipped in a canal on his way to catch a morning train to work. He was in a coma for a month but was unable to pull through having passed away on 9 June, a day before his twenty-seventh birthday.

A smattering of newspapers paid obeisance to Adrian Doherty and Alan Tonge recalls how he felt when he received the heart-wrenching news.

“I saw it in a newspaper and was obviously shocked,” he says dejectedly. “It was tragic

news at the time. It’s the sadness of life also when you go back to the Busby Babes with the players who sadly died in Munich. Adrian was a massive talent whose potential was never fulfilled. He was a guy who wouldn’t cause anybody any problems. He wouldn’t say boo to a goose and it’s unfortunate how things ended up for Adrian. Life can be cruel at times.”

Colm Cassidy remembers where he was on that very day: “I was actually heading down to the local shop and someone rang me to inform me that Adrian had passed away and I was just devastated,” he says.

“A lot of questions were going through my head. I never actually found out the answer to the questions I’ve had because of the lack of contact I had with his father. But like I said, I was devastated. When I heard Adrian was in a band and signing songs I was shocked because that wasn’t his personality. I thought, ‘This isn’t the same Adrian I knew’. He was a massive Bob Dylan fan and I was even shocked when I heard that too.

“I actually didn’t believe it when I first heard it... I couldn’t believe it. Then after a few seconds when it sank in it was just so hard to take. Adrian was destined to have a great career. His father was a great footballer too. He was one of the most likeable characters. If you were to speak to a hundred people and one person said he was a bad person I’d call that person a liar. Adrian was going to be the next George Best and it’s a shame his career was cut short.

“If you had to draw a picture of Adrian you’d see a halo above his head, he was such an angel. If you wanted your child to grow up to be like someone, it’d be Adrian. He was a great role model for the other kids.

Nothing ever bothered him. Probably one of the regrets is that I didn’t get to go to his funeral, but I’m not a fan of those, I like to remember the person during good times.”

Ferguson remembers being in shock when he was informed of Doherty’s passing: “I got a phone call and someone told me that he passed away,” he says. “I was in shock. He was only twenty-six and it was just terrible news for his family. He had his whole life in front of him, because he had just moved to Amsterdam. So it was devastating really. He was a really deep boy and a deep thinker. You could see him going on to do things like poetry and stuff like that. He also had a good sense of humour too. He passed away so young. When I first heard the news I just thought to myself, ‘What a player he was and what a player he could have been’”.

And to the person who discovered him: “I was really, really sad when he passed away,” Bradley adds. “Adrian was a talent and it just never got fulfilled. If Adrian had made his debut for Manchester United, he definitely would have been the best since Best.

No doubt about it. Put it like this, I have had a few players who have gone on to have good careers. But Adrian was way above any of them by for some distance.

“I would like Adrian to be remembered as just a really good footballer. He gave a lot of time to charity and stuff like that as well. He was just a really, really nice lad. I work for Celtic now and I wish could find another Adrian.”

One of Adrian’s favourite Bob Dylan songs was ‘Forever Young’ and it’s only fitting to end this tribute piece with the lyrics to the opening paragraph of that track. In the words of Oliver Kay, Adrian, we never met, but I like to think we would have got on.

May God bless and keep you always May your wishes all come true May you always do for others And let others do for you May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung May you stay forever young Forever young, forever young May you stay forever young

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11

The heart-rendering tale of Liverpool’s lost prodigy ‘Wayne would have been a top player had it not been for injuries. He was a special kid’

IMAGE VIA BOB THOMAS SPORTS PHOTOGHRAPHY

Wayne Harrison was once the boy wonder who became the world’s most expensive teenager in 1985 when he joined Liverpool for £250,000 from Oldham Athletic. But life at Anfield was not what it turned out to be as a series of unfortunate events precluded the boyhood Liverpool fan from fulfilling his potential, writes Roshane Thomas.

D

ecember 1984. Christmas was fast approaching and Santa Claus was coming to town for the most wonderful time of the year on Merseyside. But when Liverpool’s youth team hosted Oldham Athletic under the floodlights at Anfield, days prior, youth development officer Tom Saunders’ eyes sparkled with delight when an early Christmas present arrived in the form of Wayne Harrison.

“When Wayne got noticed by Liverpool we played them in a FA Youth Cup game at Anfield and he was just amazing in that game,” Oldham’s former youth team coach Billy Urmson, who spent twenty-seven years at the club, tells me.

“We had quite a few good kids in that team with the likes of Mike Milligan and Andy Gorton but Wayne was outstanding that night. We beat Liverpool 4-3 and he murdered them. They had a well known youth scout called Tom Saunders and when we came off the pitch we went into the boot room and Tom said, ‘Where’s this lad from?’ And from then on when we had games at Oldham he would come down to watch him.”

In the weeks leading up to Harrison’s captivating performance against Liverpool, he had already made his first-team debut for Oldham against Notts County on October 27 1984 – becoming their youngest ever player as a result at the tender age of 16. Micky Quinn, who scored in that very game and now works as a presenter at UK radio station talkSPORT, having played for the likes of Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Coventry City, recalls Harrison being dubbed a ‘wonder kid’.

“When you get a kid at a football club like Oldham being talked about in such high regard, it just shows how good of a player he was,” Quinny says, his preferred nickname having worked with him during my time at talkSPORT. “They were talking about Wayne as being a wonder kid and the thing is Rosh [my nickname] he had great pace and he could score goals.

“Then all of a sudden teams were sniffing after him but he hadn’t even been in the first-team for that long. He did well on his debut [against Notts County] and looked sharp. I remember him being very slim with blonde hair. He looked like a gust of wind could knock him over but to be fair he was sharp as a razor. It all happened so quickly with him getting into the first-team and then getting his move to Liverpool.”

Harrison’s ascent to becoming the world’s most expensive teenager started in Stockport when he played for their development team before being picked up by Oldham and honed under the guidance of Urmson.

“Wayne came as a young lad aged fifteen and Ron Millward brought him to the club who was our scout at the time,” Urmson says. “He came in and had natural ability. He was two footed, could

score goals and had great vision. He was a nice lad with a great sense of humour who was very bubbly.”

His manager at time was Joe Royle, an FA winner with Everton in 1995, and despite fielding the teenage prodigy in games against Notts County, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United he is unable to recall Harrison’s three other league outings, or even his his first professional goal. But a tone in his voice changes, almost as if to say I could see him smiling through the phone, as he indulged on memorable recollections of seeing Harrison play for the first time.

“I remember him as being a young kid with a lovely smile who was always willing to learn,” he says. “Wayne had a lot of natural movement, he was keen and he was a very clinical finisher once he got clear. He spent a lot of time with Billy Urmson the youth team coach at the time at Oldham, and he just wanted to be a better player.

“He was lightning. He was very similar to Michael Owen. He always wanted to run in behind the defence and his finishing was exceptionally good. In my eyes anyway, I thought he had a great chance of reaching the very top.

I remain confident Wayne would have been a top player had it not been for injuries. He was a special kid. He had successful couple of seasons in Liverpool’s reserve side and I know there was lot of rumours about a sting going on at the time between them and Manchester United.

“But the truth is Liverpool and Manchester United both wanted him. Big Ron [Ron Atkinson] was keen to sign him to say the least.

But it was always money with Oldham because we needed to survive and Liverpool’s offer of a straight case deal rather than Ron’s offer of a player plus cash was a winner.”

Atkinson, the former Manchester United manager, socialised regularly with Royle and would often go down to Boundary Park to watch Oldham play – such was the short distance between both clubs. Urmson shares a story where on one occasion Atkinson and Tom Saunders attended a match together but, unbeknown to Liverpool’s development officer, he thought the incumbent manager was casting his eyes over a certain teenage prodigy.

“We had little boxes where people could watch the matches,” says Urmson, “and on this particular night Wayne was playing for the first team and Ron Atkinson was sitting in one box and Tom Saunders was sitting in the other box.

But what happened was Tom thought Ron was watching Wayne play, but he hadn’t because he had come to see Joe Royle due to the fact they were very good mates.

“So Saunders acted quick to sign him and Wayne didn’t want to leave Oldham at the time

but it was a great springboard for Joe Royle because Joe got £250,000 for him and then he had the chance to bring some players in with the money. But when Wayne went to Liverpool he didn’t want to leave at the time.”

Royle admits he was frustrated when a dinner with Atkinson led to reports of a potential move to United for Harrison.

“To be honest the actual fee in the end was discussed between our chairman Ian Stott and Liverpool’s chairman at the time,” he says. “I was actually having a meal with Ron Atkinson when the deal was done. People put two and two and thought that Ron and I were discussing the deal. Ron and I are great mates and at the time we were having a meal with our wives. So it was perceived as this thing that I was out with Ron and we were going to send him to United. But it wasn’t to do with that, believe me.”

The financial disparity of life as a manager in the lower echelons of English football can prove troublesome for many and for Royle failure to sell key players would have seen Oldham struggle to stay afloat.

“I was very realistic at the time that Oldham really needed the money,” he admits.

“Our gates never sustained us even when we got promoted to the Premier League.

Although our gates improved dramatically they weren’t able to sustain us without selling key players every year. Wayne for a quarter of a million, which was quite a shock in the football world at the time, was a very good deal for us but that’s what it had to be. The money we got for him probably kept us going for another year.

“The turning point for him was when they [Liverpool] saw him matched against their youth side and ran them ragged. So they were keen from then onwards when we were chatting to them in the boot room afterwards. It’s always good when you can compare them to your own, but they saw that night that he was head and shoulders above any of their players.”

January 1985. Band Aid were top of the UK charts with their hit song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ It was the number song in the country for five consecutive weeks (December 9 1984 – January 12 1985) as a smattering of jingle bells made its way into the new year. But for Royle it was the alarm bells which proved more deafening when Harrison returned to the club on loan from Liverpool.

“We sold him to Liverpool and he joined them in January and returned to us immediately on loan,” he continues. “But it wasn’t working and the kids head naturally was

moved. He wanted to be at Liverpool and he wanted to get on with his career there. We didn’t play him again because he wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it.”

As a result of Harrison’s additional remuneration he arrived to training in a brand new car accentuating the difference between life as a player at Oldham and Liverpool. It was inevitable for a player of Harrison’s age to make pardonable mistakes, which by in large still exists today. But surprisingly it led to the young striker developing a galvanic personality.

“I remember when he came back he thought he was big time so I knocked him down a peg or two,” Quinny explains. “He became big headed which was a surprise because he was a lovely quite kid when he left and then it was almost as if he knew it all when he came back on loan. I remember telling him he still has a lot to learn and it’s up to him whether he wants to continue to improve or fall flat on his face.

“I just think the move to Liverpool went to his head a little bit. He did settle down for a bit but it’s easy for a young football to do these type of things. All of a sudden he’s on a good wage, he got a good signing on fee and he’s still only young. He’s come to Oldham where the club haven’t got a pot to piss in with a lot of players on working wages and he was giving it the big one. There was myself Mark Ward and David McDonald and we were all at the same age on the same wage on £250 a week. But the one good thing about Joe Royle is his man-management was second to none. It was a tight dressing and in the end we sorted it out.”

With the burden of arriving at Anfield as the world’s most expensive teenager, Royle believes Harrison initially found it difficult to adjust to life on Merseyside.

“We kept in touch occasionally but he was more in touch with Billy Urmson. He was like a father figure to him really. But I know Wayne found it hard when he first went to Liverpool. He made the classic mistakes young players make like turning up in a new car and all that. So he was thrown in with other Scousers and found it very hard to settle in at first.”

Harrison had to wait six months following the completion of his switch to Liverpool before he could play in a first-team game under the then manager Kenny Dalglish, who had succeeded the late Joe Fagan who announced his retirement after the Heysel Stadium disaster. Harrison’s opportunity came in a

pre-season outing against Crewe Alexandra on July 30 1985. The Stockport-born started the match which finished 2-2 with Anfield great Ian Rush and Steve Nicol getting on the scoresheet.

But that proved to be his solitary appearance for the Liverpool first-team following a series of unfortunate events which stymied his development. The first injury Harrison sustained was a a pelvic problem which came in his second season at Anfield, culminating in a double hernia operation. A dislocated shoulder, groin and knee injuries shortly followed which restricted the striker to just sixteen appearances between 1985 and 1987.

“He possibly could have benefited from staying at Oldham a bit longer,” Royle admits. “Had he stayed with us under the umbrella of a smaller club and possibly getting the odd first-team game with us, then who knows?

“But honestly Wayne was the real thing, he really was. He was very, very quick and very football savvy. He had great football intelligence and the figures are there to back it. It wasn’t going to be easy to get into the Liverpool side, even though he had the potential to, until injuries took over and a number of unfortunate accidents. Speaking with Liverpool after he got injured they were very disappointed too because they thought he was going to be top draw.”

During Liverpool reserves’ pre-season trip to Devon, Harrison suffered a life-changing incident when he crashed through a greenhouse which could have proved fatal having severed an artery in his arm, such was the scale of blood he was losing. To compound matters for the youngster, the local ambulance service were on strike over a row over pay which meant the local replacement Army medics had to rush him to hospital for the procedure of an emergency blood transfusion in order to save his life.

In the years after that bizarre incident, many have always believed that Harrison fell through the greenhouse. He has even been on record to say he did indeed fall through it, but Urmson offers a different account of that story.

“My relationship with Wayne was always strong,” he says. “I remember once he had a presentation in Manchester and he wanted someone to go along with him, so I went with him. He was just such a super lad.

Me and Wayne were always talking and

he always had different stories to tell. But what happened with the greenhouse incident is that a certain player and Wayne had a bust-up and the player had pushed him through the greenhouse.

And at the time the ambulance crew were on strike and Wayne nearly died.”

To highlight the severity of Billy’s claim he was surprised when I mentioned the greenhouse incident, almost as if to suggest it had remained an untold secret. Billy says mentioning the player’s name who had pushed Harrison ‘would be a naughty thing to do’ and swiftly wanted to reflect on the more happier times.

“He was similar to Michael Owen, he was a such a natural goalscorer,” he continues. “I think one of the injuries he suffered had something to do with his knee and I heard they had left the needle in it. He was just so unlucky with injuries.

He was that good he could have gone on to play for England. Wayne was just different class.”

Having made a painstaking full recovery from his injuries, the Stockport-born was loaned to Crewe Alexandra in 1988 but his former team-mate Dean Greygoose, a former assistant manager and goalkeeping coach at Histon, recalls Harrison being unable to set the place alight.

“He was tipped a superstar in the making,” he says, “and when he arrived at Crewe I was quite surprised how small he was. He wasn’t physically imposing and without being too harsh he wasn’t better than what we had at the time. I think he came back from a bad injury and didn’t really play much. He showed glimpses in training and games but I’m not even sure he lasted 90 minutes in a match to be honest. You could see he had talent but he never really showed it if I’m being honest.

“Not even sure if he started any of the three games. He didn’t have a lasting impression, put it that way. When you come across a footballer who played at a high level they always have that aura about them. I played against Kevin Keegan and he’s only about five foot eight or something and he looked about ten feet tall on the pitch because he had something about him. Wayne didn’t have that unfortunately. He didn’t have a good body language with a good aura about him. It’s such a shame.”

Paul Fishenden, who also played for Crewe during the late-Eighties, vividly remembers Harrison’s brief stint at the club. “I remember playing with Wayne [when he was at the club],” he says.

“He came on loan for a month, maybe more. He was a small, skilful front player.”

Aaron Callaghan, a former defender for Crewe between 1988-1992 and currently coaching in Dublin and seeking opportunities to return to management in the UK, remembers the pleasantries the two used to exchange.

“I remember Wayne well when he was at Crewe,” he says. “He was worth a few bob back then and was a good player. Me and him used to have lot of banter but he obviously didn’t have my looks!”

But it was Greygoose who offered a more detailed assessment of Harrison’s time at Gresty Road. “He came in with a reputation and had a bad injury so I’m not sure if he was mentally right,” he explains. “It was tough for him; coming from Liverpool to Crewe is a huge drop especially when he wasn’t one of our better players. We had some cracking youngsters and I don’t even think he was better than them. I remember being slightly disappointed in him not being able to set the place on fire and not really being dynamic enough. He didn’t really get on the ball and make things happen enough.

“He probably wasn’t in the right place mentally due to his [greenhouse] incident. People don’t understand how it can be for a young player with all those expectations. People expect players just to perform regardless of what happens in their personal life and it’s not like that. Something like what Wayne suffered can be life-changing and it can affect your mindset. He probably wasn’t still mentally and physically right at the time.

“Someone like Aaron Callaghan is who he got on well with at the time. But Wayne didn’t look in the right place and the fact he only played three games perhaps showed he wasn’t right.

The manager at the time was giving a lot of kids a chance and Dario Gradi is one to be fair who would play sixteen-year-olds into the first team, so he knew what he was doing. I think Steve

Walters played for us when he was still at school.

So it would have been double difficult for Wayne because Dario would have looked at the players we had and thought, ‘Well hold on, the players we have are better than him’”.

Having had modest success at his sojourn at Crewe, Harrison arrived back at Anfield aged twenty-one intent on fulfilling his potential. It was in his fifth season [1989-90] where he was at a critical juncture in his fledgling career. His ascent to his rich vein of youth for the Liverpool reserves started in October 05 1989 against Aston Villa when he scored their only goal following their 3-1 defeat. Despite the loss, it was Harrison’s first step to belatedly put things right.

In their next fixture against Leicester City he scored the winning goal in their 2-1 win in front of over 1,000 people. His third goal in as many games came in Liverpool’s home game at Anfield against Sheffield United’s reserves and unsurprisingly it was Harrison who netted the winning goal. That season he formed a lethal partnership with Mike Marsh, the former assistant manager at Liverpool, culminating in the duo scoring thirty goals between them.

But it was Harrison who invariably drew the plaudits due to his imperious goalscoring form.

But as he was closing in on a first-team appearance disaster struck once more. It was May 03 1989 and in the final moments of a Central League title-deciding game for Liverpool against Bradford City, Harrison suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury following a high tackle by the Bradford goalkeeper and by this point there was no way back for the boyhood Liverpool fan.

“It’s very hard to judge [whether he would have been a top player] because I thought he had all of the elements when he broke into that team at Oldham,” says Quinny. “And then when he went to Liverpool it just didn’t work out for him. It’s a shame that the injuries took its toll on him and it’s horrible because you just don’t know what he could have achieved.

“He had a natural ability. Some footballers have to work really hard to get to a certain level in football and he had a natural ability. So he could have been anything and that would have been down to him with his attitude. But at the same time f****** hell when you get an injury like that it can finish your career, which is what happened to Wayne unfortunately.”

In the summer of 1991, Jason Donovan was top of the UK charts with his hit song ‘Any Dream Will Do’ But for Harrison his dream move to Liverpool was over when he was informed by Graeme Souness, who had just replaced Kenny Dalglish as manager, that he would have to retire on medial advice, aged 22.

Harrison had endured 20 football-related operations during his career and due to the severity of the inordinate number of injuries he suffered he was not fit enough to make a cameo appearance when a testimonial game was arranged between Oldham and Liverpool at Boundary Park on April 29 1992. Ray Houghton, who made over 150 league appearances for Liverpool, played in the aforementioned game.

“He was a young lad at Liverpool when I was there,” he tells me. “I didn’t really see much of him but he got on really well with John Durnin and Mike Marsh.”

Although he was unable to replicate his promising displays in an Oldham shirt, Harrison made a comeback to the game during the mid-Nineties when he played for Offerton Green in the Stockport Sunday League, while also working as a delivery driver for the Robinson’s Brewery in his hometown.

Mark Brockbank recalls playing against Harrison and despite being blighted by injuries he still had fleeting moments of brilliance.

“I played against him in the nineties and he had his injuries by then,” he says, “and it was a great experience. I was lining up for a weaker team in and around that area playing in a Stockport cup match and to learn that you’re playing against a guy who played under ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish. There was an article written back in the eighties about the ones to watch and Wayne Harrison is mentioned there as the one who will go far in his career, but unfortunately he picked up a few injuries and he suffered a few in semipro too.

“I was in my mid-Twenties so Wayne was a bit

OLDHAM’S STAR older because he had got his big move to Liverpool in 1985 and even after what he had been through he was still a top player. I spoke to him during the match and he wasn’t bitter about his time at the club, he just got on with it. But I think secretly he did have a few demons possibly just reading into it.

“I can’t remember whether he scored but I remember my team losing. I was playing for a team called Highline which is just off the road from Offerton. The guys who played with him knew his past and I remember telling my team-mates that this guy was meant to be the next big thing. He was the most expensive teenager and I think probably, bearing in mind that this is Sunday league in Stockport, I think he probably got a few rough treatment due to that. But as I say from what I know he was still one of the lads.”

James Blair worked with Harrison when he was a delivery driver at Adidas: “He was a typical lad,” he says. “He worked with me, my dad and my brother in law but they perhaps knew him better than me.

YOUTH TEAM He would have been in his late twenties/early thirties at the time. It may have been the year 2000 because it’s been 16 years since I left there.”

It was difficult trying to piece together Harrison’s life after his brief stint at Offerton Green and it seemed like his quality of life had degenerated due to his health problems. Towards the latter stages of his life, Harrison was virtually penniless and was surviving on incapacity benefits. Having rose to stardom at a callow age, he was now the forgotten man whose occasional outings in the streets of Stockport rarely led to him being recognised.

Christmas day, 2013. The kids rushed downstairs in anticipation of what awaited them under their Christmas trees, while most people’s prayers of Liverpool topping the league on Christmas day had been answered by the powers that be. But as the seasonal music made its return, in the Harrison household there was no time to rejoice on ‘The Most Wonderful Of

BILLY URMSON Time Of The Year’. Having developed pancreatic problems, Harrison passed away on Christmas day in his hometown at Stepping Hill hospital. It was a sad ending to what had been a promising start to his life as a professional football.

“I heard from a third party on Twitter and I was a little bit shocked that he died so young,” says Quinny. “Footballers especially ones that have their careers cut short with all that potential, it could have possibly played on Wayne’s mind a bit: Where he could have been at? Which clubs he could have been at? How much money he could have made? So that can get into a footballers head.

“Also not having the camaraderie in the dressing room any more that’s a huge miss. And some ex-footballers can’t cope with being in the real world. You almost think of football as being a fairytale really. You live in his bubble at a football club where you think you can go on to play for years and years on great money and living a

JOE ROYLE lifestyle. Obviously that was back in the day because now you can be Peter Pan with all the money they earn these days. It can be a shock when it hits you when you don’t play any more and the prime example of that would be Gazza [Paul Gascoigne].

“He’s missed that discipline of getting up in the morning and going into training and having a laugh with the days and enjoying himself. So life after football can get to a few players. It’s like being in the army and trying to come out and having issues dealing with normal life and not picking that bump of wage every month.”

Urmson admits he was unable to fathom Harrison’s passing at the time: “Someone gave me a call and told me Wayne Harrison had died,” he says, “and I was in shock at the time.

It might have been Joe Royle who told me, it was an awful feeling. It was a shame the way things ended up for him. He was absolutely

JOE FAGAN different class the kid. I couldn’t believe it that when he finished football he became a delivery driver for a beer firm.”

Brockbank was also surprised when he was informed Harrison had passed away: “He was fairly shy and fairly quiet,” he says. “If you hadn’t have known who he was you wouldn’t have thought this guy was once a big thing in football. You’re talking the equivalent of someone like a Marcus Rashford. When Wayne joined Liverpool it was like a similar status to a degree.

“So it was quite a shock when he passed away. I heard about his passing through word of mouth because it was Christmas time and I just saw a few messages from my friends saying, ‘RIP Wayne Harrison’ and I thought, ‘Surely not?’ And thinking purely from a Liverpool perspective at that point and then mates who I had become very good friends with since those days had actually known

him personally. So they stood alongside Kenny Dalglish and Phil Thompson at his funeral.”

Similar to Quinny, Greygoose heard about Harrison’s passing via social media: “I heard about his passing on Twitter and it was a terrible feeling,” he adds. “It sort of brings it home a little bit that we’re all getting older and especially as a footballer you always think you’re a twenty-yearsold. You always think you’re indestructible and tough like that just brings it all home and there are more things important than football. Wayne was a quietly spoken lad, he never caused any problems.

“It’s so sad and I don’t think people understand how the mental aspect of the game can be tough for young footballers. I remember when I broke my leg and it was tough because I was out for seven months.

But I never got back into professional football, I dropped into non-league. I work at the academy at Norwich and you fear for a young player when you release them. We’re telling ten/eleven-year-olds that they’re not good enough. But if you can handle the life of a footballer then it is a great life but if you struggle to cope or if your dreams are shattered then it can be terrible because it can be hard to fill that void.

“For someone like Wayne to be labelled as the next superstar and for it to end up the way it did is heartbreaking. I’ve had dark moments but I stayed in football and was still involved in some sort of capacity whether it’s coaching or managing at non-league level. I think the ones that drift away from it miss the buzz of playing. It’s an unbelievable buzz and nothing replaces that feeling of going out to play on a Saturday afternoon in front of how many thousand.

The adrenaline, the pressure on you, the nerves nothing can replace it.

“When you think about how players can go from good money to nothing it can be tough, it can be difficult to deal with mentally for them,” he continues. “Especially those who don’t make it like young apprentices. Many of them actually give up. From a young age their family are often dependent on them and it can be a total shock when they don’t make it. In my day alcohol was a big part of the game and obviously times has changed now, but some players became depended on it. There’s a lot of current and former players suffering from depression. It might seem all glamorous being a footballer but when it goes wrong it can have a devastating consequence on that person’s life.”

Royle was also devastated when he learned about Harrison passing away and throughout the entirety of the interview was adamant he would have gone onto achieve great things.

“Wayne always had a shy smile about him, but equally he very confident in his own ability,” he says. “Make no doubt about that. He was single minded. He knew what was good for Wayne. He had great pace off the mark. Pace and an eye for a goal was his biggest trait. I know I mentioned it already but if you were looking for a comparison at the same age it would definitely be Michael Owen. Obviously Michael went onto the highest level, but Wayne had that potential as well. We viewed him as gold at Oldham because we were getting lads that had been released via the bigger clubs, then all of a sudden we had a lad all the bigger clubs wanted.”

In January 2014, Liverpool hosted Oldham Athletic in a third round FA Cup tie.

Stephen Hughes attended the game and was happy with the ovation Harrison received.

“It was a nice touch to have the minutes applause for Wayne Harrison before kickoff,” he tells me. “I never had the chance to see him play at Liverpool because I was too young to make those games.”

The Anfield faithful chorused ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ prior their minutes applause for Harrison. It might not be a happy ending for the boy wonder but he fulfilled his dream of playing for his boyhood club.

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John Bostock over the years Crystal Palace 2007-2008

Tottenham Hotspur 2008-2013

Brentford 2009-2010

Hull City 2010-2011

Swindon Town 2012-2013

Royal Antwerp 2013-2014

OH Leuven 2014-2016

John Bostock made his league debut for Palace in October 2007 at 15. He also became their youngest player to start a competitive game shortly after.

Experienced a difficult five-year spell at Spurs.

Was unable to push on at he club and was farmed out on loan at numerous points during his spell.

One of his many loan spells which produced modest success. He spent one month on loan at Brentford and scored twice on his debut against Millwall.

Perhaps his most successful loan spell to date having scored a spectacular goal, but he was recalled early from his parent club midway through loan.

Another unsuccessful loan spell for Bostock saw him earmarked as a flop and a failure due to failing to live up to his potential at yet another club.

Decided to move to Belgium to resurrect his career. Instantly became a fan favourite due to a number of promising displays for the club.

Arguably his most promising spell to date.

Slowly started to live up to the teenage hype and rediscovered his love for football once again.

‘I’m a Christian first, a husband second and a footballer third’ Bostock played with the likes of Nathaniel Clyne, Sean Scannell and Victor Moses, all of whom are currently playing for Liverpool, Chelsea and Huddersfield Town respectively.

John Bostock discusses making his Bostock’s time at Palace ended in bitter debut for Crystal Palace, being a mutual recrimination following his move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. At the time his Christian and playing in Europe. family felt it was a good career move for the teenage prodigy, while ex-Eagles chairman here have been times when John Bostock’s Simon Jordan felt embittered by the £700,000 faith in God has been tested. Having turned they received from a tribunal for his to Christianity during his time at Crystal departure.

Palace, he endured mental battles at a callow age.

For whatever reason, things failed to fall into He questioned his relationship with God, his place for Bostock at White Hart Lane. Some confidence was at an all time low and light at the would argue a series of managers precluded end of the tunnel was out of sight. The nadir of him from fulfilling his potential, while many Bostock’s career is not the fact he was unable to believe his loan spells at the likes of Sheffield make the breakthrough at either Palace or Wednesday and Toronto FC were all disastrous Tottenham Hotspur, it was when he questioned his sojourns, which had a bearing on his lack of ability as a footballer. chances at Spurs.

“Some people think that if you believe in God But Bostock spoke without rancour over his then your life will be very easy and that it will go time at Tottenham. For him, it was an smooth,” he says. “But a comfortable life is invaluable experience. The good and the bad. something you’re not promised. I became a Forgiveness is at the very heart of the Christian when I was at Crystal Palace. So just Christian faith and for John the way in which before the big football challenge came I started to his career has panned out is the one which take my faith with God seriously. But as a Christian God has desired for him to have. you go through really tough times and that’s when “It’s hard to look back now because it your faith is tested. happened such a long time ago,” he says. “I “At first I went through some real tough times. left Spurs about four years now and I tried to I went through some battles and you do question stay as positive as possible. You always think yourself as an athlete – and when you do that you if you get your chance you’re going to take it. I question your ability and your confidence. tried to go out on loan to prove myself. I don’t “Now I’ve learnt that my confidence hasn’t come believe that anything is wasted. from me doing well on the pitch, my confidence “Every club that I went to was an experience comes through who I am as a Christian. It was a and a challenge that I tried to overcome, so I tough period for myself, but I managed to don’t see any club I’ve been at as a failure or a overcome it in the end.” waste of my time. It was an opportunity for me Bostock is perpetually asked about his time at to learn about the game, about different Palace. He made his league debut for the first-team managers and different philosophy’s. I learnt against Watford in October of 2007 aged 15 years a lot about myself as a person as well. I would and 287 days. The number one track in the UK at have loved to played loads of games at Spurs. It the time was The Sugababes’ hit song ‘About you didn’t work out but I’m happy with how my now’ and all the attention at the time surrounded career is going now and the progress I’ve the young boy from Camberwell. made.”

Everyone wanted a piece of the midfielder. The Bostock’s confidence is back. He is no longer morning after becoming the youngest player to the young man who once showed ambivalence play for the Eagles, a baby-faced Bostock was back over his long-term future as a professional at school, having attended London Nautical in football. Since leaving England, Bostock’s Blackfriars, but his life had already changed. buccaneering decision to further his “I look back with fond memories during my time development abroad has enabled him to at Crystal Palace and my time at Spurs too,” rediscover his love for football.

Bostock says. “To know I hold the record for being Having initially canvassed the decision with the youngest player for both clubs is a fantastic his family, he has not looked back since. The feeling. It’s not something I want to live off but it’s attention on Bostock’s career in Europe is less a nice thing to remember that I played at such a intrusive compared with in England. He has young age. It’s not about where you were it’s about experienced success in Belgium, firstly with where you are now. Now it’s about appreciating Royal Antwerp under the tutelage of Jimmy doing what I love to do every single day.”

Floyd-Hasselbaink, and then at OH Leven, Bostock kept his shirt from his Palace debut and having played a pivotal role in their promotion there are pictorial reminders of his achievement via to the Jupiler Pro. social media. Prior to making the step up at Palace, For Bostock his next challenge lies at RC

INTERVIEW BY ROSHANE THOMAS

T

Lens in Ligue 2. He had interest from a number of clubs across Europe but it was the French side who ardently showed more eagerness to acquire his talents.

“I’ve been playing out in Europe for the past three years now and the past two seasons have gone well for me,” Bostock reflects, “so it’s been a progressive move to Lens. My team [OH Leven] got relegated last year and I wanted to try and play at a high level again. I had a few offers from clubs in England, Italy, Holland, Belgium and also France.

“But when I heard the interest from Lens and went to see the facilities and the project here, it felt like the right fit. They really wanted me as well and hopefully I can help return to the club back to where they belong.

“Any young player will tell you that when a

manager or even a club means you feel wanted then it makes things a whole lot easier. I always had confidence in my ability, but it was just a case of being given a chance.

“Confidence is a key word and I believe in my ability and what I can bring to this team.

They’ve signed me for a reason and that’s for me to do my job and to play my football. I’m confident but I know in life it’s all about hard work.”

When questioned how his attempts at learning French is going, Bostock jokingly replies, ‘Je m’appelle’ French for my name is.

But the midfielder’s name has been synonymous with failure in England. He has read the headlines branding him a flop, the post-mortems questioning ‘Where did it all go wrong?’ Such matters made it tough for

Bostock to delay his return to England to prove a battalion of doubters wrong. He has unfinished business in this country and returning to be near his family was something he also considered. But he has found contentment in Europe and is in no rush to leave.

“There was always the temptation of wanting to come back to England because there’s no place like home,” he admits. “Especially now with being a father and I’m a husband as well, so getting the family back around would have been a massive help. But I wanted to continue this journey and development in Europe.

“I’m still young and still learning the game, so the most important thing for me wasn’t necessarily being close to family; it was trying to choose the best club which would help me to progress further.”

It is a rarity nowadays to find a footballer in his

mid-Twenties settled down with a young family, but Bostock is an exception. He is married to childhood sweetheart Sia and their son Joah has just turned nine months. Similar to Bostock, Sia is also a devoted Christian and has openly shared on her blog the difficulties she has encountered with her faith.

“Being a father is incredible but it comes with its challenges,” Bostock admits. “Not having grandparents around for my son can be tough at times to help babysit and look after him. But with most parents they will say it’s very rewarding and amazing in the end.

“It’s a phase of being away from family in a new culture, meeting new people and it can only benefit a young man especially now that I’m husband as well.

Now it’s not just myself I have to think about, I have to bring my wife and my son now wherever I go. That’s a big responsibility I have but my wife is fully behind me, she’s my best friend and she want’s the best for my

career – so she fully backs my decision to continue my career in Europe.”

Due to having training on a Sunday at his new club, Bostock is yet to find a local church. But he has formed a group chat on Whatsapp called ‘BallersInGod.’ A social media account on Twitter has also been formed with the same name and has so far amassed over 350 followers.

“We’ve all been given gifts and talents and we have to remember whose given them to us,” Bostock explains. “As a Christian it hasn’t just helped me as a footballer but it is who I am has a person as well. I’m a Christian first, husband second and probably a footballer third really because I’m a father now.

“My career as a footballer is great because I love it and I’m passionate about it but it doesn’t define me as a person. If I have a bad game it doesn’t mean I’m a bad person.

In the past I felt like if I had a bad game it meant that I’m a failure. You’re not going to play well every week so you can’t let your performances define you. My faith in God never changes. My faith is in him and he gives me the strength to see the bigger picture and to be able to enjoy my career without pressures.

“As it stands now, we have training on Sunday’s so I haven’t found a local church yet in France. But I started a movement called ‘BallersInGod’ and I’ve connected a lot of Christian footballers around Europe.

We have a Whatsapp group chat and we also have a Skype chat where we come together, pray with each other and encourage one

another. That’s been a big help. Church isn’t always just a building, it’s a body of people together. Every minute spent with God is never a minute wasted.”

During this interview, Bostock is getting ready to play his first competitive game for RC Lens. He has high hopes that this term he will be able to reprise the promising performances from last season, which enabled him to earn his move to the French side.

His form and confidence has grown exponentially in Europe. The trepidation over what people think of him is now a thing of the past. For Bostock he is just getting started and most importantly has his smile back.

“Statistically last season or the season before with Leven was probably the most enjoyable time in my career thus far,” he says.

“Improving my goalscoring ratio is something I really wanted to improve on and to get 20 goals in two years from midfield has been a massive bonus for me, so hopefully I can repeat something similar. I’ve learnt a lot about myself as a player to continue to improve and grow. I’m still learning the game and I’m still young.

“Being a footballer is an honour and I know a lot of people would love to be professional footballers. This season my goal is to continue to improve and adapt well to French football. I just want to do really well for the team. Scoring goals and contributing with assists is something I hope I will be able to bring to the team. If I’m able to do that then I’ve done my job, so hopefully we can get the team back to Ligue 1.”

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‘Hopefully we can win something with our current generation’

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The Beginning June 3

Preparation June 9

Simon Mignolet smiles as he signs autographs during a visit to a primary school in Hechtel-Eksel, a few days before the start of the Euros in France.

Mignolet takes part in a training session in Le Haillan, southwestern France, ahead of Belgium’s opener against Italy.

INTERVIEW BY ROSHANE THOMAS It was Euro 2000 and Belgium and the Netherlands were the co-hosts of the tournament. Two years on from the ignominy of their exit at the 1998 World Cup, there was great optimism that Belgium would be able to exorcise those memories. But their quest for redemption on home soil came to a shuddering halt when they were knocked out of the group stage and back to the drawing board.

Having been ranked twenty-eighth in the FIFA world rankings, Belgium had to conjure up a new plan in order to revolutionise the future of the national team. With pencil in hand Michel Sablon, who was appointed as the federation’s new technical director, helped play a pivotal role in the resurgence of the national team’s rise from the doldrums – as sixteen years down the line they arrived at this summer’s European Championships as one of the early favourites.

“Everybody was excited and looking forward to the tournament because it’s something we had always dreamt of participating in,” says Simon Mignolet. “When we left Belgium to travel to France the atmosphere was fantastic. As a young kid growing up you watch the World Cups and the European Championships, which bring back fond memories for myself.

“It had been a long time since we qualified for the European Championships ourselves. I know everybody saw us as favourites heading into the Euros because we were ranked second in the FIFA rankings. But we as players were fairly relaxed because we just wanted to focus on qualifying out of the group stage. We had quite a tough group with Italy, Sweden and [the Republic of] Ireland, so were just focused on trying to get to the next stage.”

Pertinently, this has been earmarked as a golden generation for the Belgian national team.

Former manager Marc Wilmots tried to choreograph their way to the finish line in France but failed in the quarter-finals when the Dragons prevailed against the Devils. When fire took on fire, Wales’ attack proved no match for Belgium.

From afar it is difficult to fathom how a team which has the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, all of whom form the arrowhead for Belgium’s attack, continuously struggle to reprise their club form on the international stage.

If team-sheets are anything to go by, feasibly it could have been Belgium sitting at the epicentre of the sporting universe, not Portugal. For a team who get on so well off the field they look like strangers on it, but Mignolet patently disagrees with that suggestion.

“Being part of this squad is a fantastic feeling and something that I am proud of,” he says.

“The players we have play for big clubs and it is exciting to be part of that with the national team.

Most of us played together through the youth teams growing up in Belgium, so we have that connection between us. We get on really well on the pitch as well as off it, so things can only get better for us. Football is decided by very small details, so it’s very difficult to predict where

Legends: Euro 1980 stars

Ghy Thys

Jan Ceulemans

Julien Cools

Eric Gerets

René Vandereycken

Michel Renquin

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Liverpool ace backs club to push for title INTERVIEW BY ROSHANE THOMAS

Belgium failed to fulfil their potential at this summer’s Euros but Simon Mignolet remains sanguine about the future. you’re going to end up. All the players know how to cope with the pressure of playing for the national team, which is very important. But as a team we’re very confident.

“It was the second tournament for us [in as many years] that we managed to get to the quarter-finals, but got knocked out by a very good Wales side. You can always learn from other teams but in the end it will come down to us to play the best game we can. So the fact that we’ve experienced that is good preparation for us. The experience of the European Championships can help us now by getting further in the World Cup.” Mignolet is yet to feature at a major tournament for Belgium. With Thibaut Courtois the No.1 goalkeeper for the national team, permitting injuries, it can be arduous for anyone to dislodge a keeper of such distinction.

“In any sport you need competition for places and that’s what we have in the Belgium team,” Mignolet continues. “Everybody is working hard battling for a starting position. If there’s an injury or a suspension then there’s always somebody else who can come in and do a good job for the team.

“You always want to play and that’s one of the reasons why you become a professional football player. I remember one of my first memories about football was the World Cup and the European Championships. We played Italy and I remember when I was younger looking up to Gigi Buffon. He has a huge presence about him, he has a big personality and he’s still proving to be a brilliant goalkeeper for club and country. At these sort of tournaments, if you have someone like him in your side then that’s an advantage.

The leadership he can bring to his team from the back is something very important too.”

The last time Belgium fulfilled their potential at a major tournament took place at the Euros in 1980 when they finished as runners-up to West Germany. Under the tutelage of Guy Thys, Belgium achieved their best ever finish on the international stage and with Roberto Martinez now at the helm there is renewed optimism once more that they can go one step further.

“I was born in 1988 so I don’t remember when the team finished as runners-up during the 1980 tournament. But those players are big hero’s over here in Belgium. Back then the players in the national team were very good, so hopefully we can bring something back to the country with our current generation of players at some point in the future.”

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Nathaniel Clyne believes if Liverpool can replicate their pulsating performance against Barcelona on a weekly basis in the Premier League, then that should put them in good stead to challenge for the title.

It is not since 1990 when the Reds were last crowned champions of England, prior to the Premier League era, and failed title challenges in recent years has further deepened the mood in Merseyside.

But following their emphatic 4-0 win over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup, Clyne is very much optimistic heading into the new season.

“We’re in good confidence, we have a good team and a good squad of players,” he said. “Against Barcelona we showed we can score goals and we managed to keep them quiet. We went out there and did what we had to do, and we showed that we can beat one of the best teams in the world 4-0, so it’s good.

“Pushing for a top four spot is the aim for the season and hopefully we can do that. But if we put in performances like

Focused June 15 The goalkeeper talks to the press at a press conference ahead of their group stage encounter against the Republic of Ireland.

Nathaniel Clyne hopeful of winning silverware

[the one against Barcelona] this season then we can do really well – and push for a Premier League title.”

Clyne was also impressed with Sadio Mane’s performance at a reasonably sun-backed Wembley Stadium. The Liverpool faithful had left the national stadium dejected back in February following their League Cup final defeat against Manchester City, but the assumption would be that they left Wembley this time round in awe of what they had seen on the field.

“Mane has been good for us so far, he’s been a spark to the team and he’s very direct and has loads of pace on the wing,” said the right-back. “He will be a real threat for us up front this season.”

Clyne also has his own personal targets this term, he added: “I’m going to try and play all the games, stay fit and score some goals and get some assists as well.”

History: Liverpool’s 1990 title-winning team

Confidence June 23

Heading Home July 1

Mignolet and his team-mates take a group photo during their open training session ahead of their round of 16 tie with Hungary.

Belgium suffer a defeat in the quarter-finals against Wales as they fail to fulfil their potential at yet another tournament.

Kenny Dalglish Position: Manager

Bruce Grobbelaar Position: Goalkeeper

Gary Ablett Position: Defender

Steve Staunton Position: Defender

Barry Venison Position: Defender

Alan Hansen Position: Defender

Glenn Hysen Position: Defender

Steve McMahon Position: Midfielder

Ray Houghton Position: Midfielder

John Barnes Position: Winger

Peter Beardsley Position: Striker

Ian Rush Position: Striker

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Sven-Goran Eriksson backs Wayne Rooney to shine for England ‘Rooney still has plenty to offer for England’ Wayne Rooney has retained his captaincy for the national team and former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson backs him to be a key part of the manager’s plans, writes Roshane Thomas There is only one moment when Sven-Goran Eriksson takes a few extra seconds to think about what to say and that is when the question is put to him of how different life would have been had England won the European Championships in 2004.

“It’s something I’ve thought about quite a few times,” he says. “We were fantastic during that tournament and played some great football. We came so close and it’s a great shame we weren’t able to win it.”

At the time, there was great optimism that England were on the verge of something special when an emerging talent in Wayne Rooney, then aged 18, was set to be unleashed on the international stage.

During the tournament, Rooney’s performances evoked memories of when a young Paul Gascoigne almost inexorably drove England to the finish line during Italia 90. With the striker’s burgeoning reputation starting to gather pace in a similar fashion, a devastating injury he sustained in the quarter-finals against Portugal had sabotaged England’s hopes and dreams.

“In the 2004 Euros Rooney was absolutely fantastic for us and who knows what we would have achieved if he didn’t get injured,” Eriksson says. “During my time as England manager, I never experienced any problem with him. He was a great player to work with, he was a great professional and he was always working hard.

He was a joy to manage.

“He was young and playing some of his best football for England. He was scoring goals for fun and we missed him a lot when he got injured.”

Rooney is no longer the cantankerous baby-faced teen, who almost single-handedly transcended the future of the national team. He has mellowed over the years, especially since being appointed captain of the national team. But following the nadir of England’s defeat against Iceland at this summer’s European Champions, Rooney’s involvement in the England fold remains a matter of conjecture.

Having been deployed as a holding midfielder by former England manager Roy Hodgson during the tournament he was unable to inspire the team. Seven decelerating tournaments later from rising to prominence at the 2004 Euros, he is now deemed a thing of the past due to his on field sinecures, but Eriksson disagrees with the anti-Rooney diatribe.

“I don’t think Rooney is at the end of his [international] career, it’s not like he’s an old man,” Eriksson continues. “He will be around for many years because he’s just a great player, with great experience and you can use him more or less everywhere.

“He is a top player who will hopefully still be important for the team. Any country in the world would love to have him in their team or even squad. It’s good for the young players to

learn from Rooney, especially someone like [Marcus] Rashford. I’m not a specialist on English football any more because when they play it’s in the middle of the night here in China. But from what I’ve seen of Rashford, it is clear that he is a great talent.

“So I think Rooney should still be involved in the England squad because the team right now has a good mix between old and young players.

When you’re in these situations [as a manager] you sometimes have to look at what the alternatives are. But I’m sure the manager will pick the best squad available, so good luck to him and to the players.”

England experienced a promising period under the Swede who led the three Lions to three consecutive tournament quarter-finals between 2002 and 2006, a feat which has not been replicated in the post-Eriksson era.

The national team’s plight in recent years has been difficult to fathom considering the emergence of a number of promising talent.

Daniel Sturridge is yet to reach the heights in an England shirt, Jack Wilshere’s potential has been blighted by injury problems and the likes of Dele Alli and Harry Kane were unable to showcase their talent on the international stage this summer. Often after an unsuccessful tournament it enables reflection, but the general consensus is that optimism for the national team is at an all time low.

“Considering that they did a very good job in the qualifications having won all of them, I believed England had a good chance heading into the tournament.” Eriksson says.

“On paper, the match against Russia was a winnable game for England. If you look at the group it probably shouldn’t have been difficult for them. It’s always important to start off with a win at a major tournament when you’re the England manager, because if you’re unable to do so then you’re under pressure.

“So winning the first game and starting off well is pretty much gold because you don’t experience that sort of pressure during the qualifications.”

The scrutiny of being England manager comes with the job. Some relish it, while others crumble. Pressure is something the Shanghai SIPG manager was accustomed to during his time at the helm for England, but he envisions a promising future for the national team.

“There’s always a lot of pressure on England heading into tournaments, whether it’s the players, managers or the coaches,” Eriksson explains. “But that’s what they have to live with because there will always be a huge amount of interest when it comes to England.

“It would be a dream of every England fan for the country to win a big tournament. But saying that, it’s not that easy because there are many good countries around in the Euros and in the World Cup. But I honestly think England can do very well in the future.”

GETTY IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHER ADRIAN DENNIS

The End 2006 World Cup

The Beginning 2001 Appointment

Wayne Rooney poses alongside Sven-Goran Eriksson ahead of the 2006 World Cup.

Sven-Goran Eriksson is confirmed as England’s new manager despite controversy amongst the public about not hiring an English for the position.

First Test 2002 World Cup Sven-Goran Eriksson talks to Steve McClaren after England’s goalless draw against Nigeria in the World Cup group stage.

Teamwork 2005 Training

Heartbreak 2004 Euros

Wayne Rooney jokes with Jamie Carragher during a training session ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier against Poland.

Sven Goran-Eriksson looks dejected following England’s exit at the quarter-finals of the European Championships against Portugal.

Star Is Born 2003 Debut As the England team wait in the tunnel ahead of their game against Turkey, Wayne Rooney looks anxious ahead of his first start for the national team.

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‘I once got £20 in non-league, now I can get £20,000 in China’ Meet the former non-league player who has played against the likes of Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria as he tells Roshane Thomas how his remarkable journey resulted in him playing in China.

W

hen Jack Sealy looked across the tunnel he saw the names of Edin Dzeko, James Milner and Yaya Toure emblazoned on the back of their Manchester City shirts. But as the torrential rain cascaded down at the Hong Kong Stadium, with spectators shielding from the weather with their umbrellas, there was no hiding place for the defender as the local TV stations failed to forecast the difficult afternoon he was about to endure.

Sealy was assigned to subduing the threat of Milner during City’s encounter against South China in the Barclays Asia Trophy in 2013. But due to the indefatigable nature of the City alumnus’ performance, Sealy considers Milner to be one his most difficult opponent to date.

“Every two years in Asia they have the Barclays Asia Trophy and three teams in the Premier League go around and play,” he explains. “And in one year they held it in Hong Kong and my team had won the league and we got asked to play in it. So we played Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

James Milner was at City at the time and he did not stop running. He was an absolute beast, honestly so strong, so it was tough marking him. He’s definitely one of the best I’ve come up against.”

Sealy’s peripatetic journey to facing such prodigious talents in Milner, Dzeko and Toure is remarkable. He was born in Southampton in 1987 but due to the itinerant nature of of his father’s playing career, Tony Sealy who was previously a professional footballer and played for the likes of QPR and Leicester City in the Eighties, he was just five when his father moved the family to Hong Kong in hope of a fresh start at his new club Sun Hei. Originally it was intended to be a brief stint but with the family adapting seamlessly to life in their new country, Sealy looks back at his upbringing with fondness having been educated in Hong Kong.

“I’m not one to reminisce too much,” he admits, “but it’s unbelievable when you think about it. I could never have written it or expected this to happen. If I’d stayed in the UK I probably would have been a builder. I was born in the UK and then my dad moved to Hong Kong to join his new team. It was originally supposed to be a six-month contract and then twenty-four years later we’re still in Hong Kong. So I think it was a mixture of my parents wanting to get out of the UK and Hong Kong being an ideal place to live.

“I don’t think my dad or my mum could have expected this to happen as well. Obviously both of them have good jobs now, and then I’m playing too.

Living in Hong Kong is all I know now. It was a fun [upbringing] and I wouldn’t know how to compare it to the UK, but everything seemed easier and safe.

I went to school out here and I grew up in a great environment, so it was a bit of a life of leisure really.

We had swimming pools and football pitches.”

It would take thirteen years for Sealy to return back to England for educational purposes. It was during his time back home that he pursued his lifelong ambition to follow in his father’s footsteps to forge his own career as a professional footballer.

“When I finished school at 18 I left Hong Kong and went back to the UK to go to university in Bristol,” the affable 29-year-old says. “When I first went I started a course in Consortium and Property Management and it was terrible to say the least. There was modules about law and physics and all this shit I’d never done before and I was like, ‘Right this hard, this isn’t for me, I haven’t come here to work, I’ve come for a jolly up.’

“So I did one year of that and then changed course to do Tourism Management instead and that was

Jack Sealy pictured with his father, far right, who played for the likes of Crystal Palace. a bit more low key. But I also started playing with my uni team and when I was out in Hong Kong I always thought that when I come to the UK I’d try and pursue my dream to make it in football and try and get a big team, which didn’t happen but there was always a outside chance of it happening. I was always eager to play for a team in and around Bristol and just started taking it from there. I think I played for about 10 or 15 non-league sides during the five years I was in the UK because I didn’t enjoy most of them.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you the name of the clubs I played for because for most of them I was only there for a week due to how bad it was. It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be, so I’d end it going somewhere else and varying from different leagues as well. Looking back you obviously have to commit yourself to it. In the end I didn’t play that much as they weren’t really bothered about me because they were like, ‘Who the hell is this guy from Hong Kong coming in thinking he’s going to play?’”

The teams which Sealy played for during the drudgery five years he spent in non-league includes Shortwood Town and Pucklechurch Sports. Despite most his spells being disastrous sojourns, he recalls Bristol Manor Farm being a team he took an interest in due to the proximity of its location to his accommodation at university. The financial disparity between the top division and the lower pyramids of English football has always been cavernous and as Sealy reflects on his ascent to playing in China he jokingly reveals the most he ever received from playing in non-league.

“Bristol Manor Farm was decent because it was close to where I was living at the time,” he continues. “But again I didn’t stay there for that long, I was there for about six months. I didn’t drive at the time either so I always had to rely on someone to give me a lift. It was completely out of my comfort zone because at Hong Kong the furthest away game is probably within 45 minutes. It was still a decent experience and something of an eye opener but I never really stuck with it to be honest.

“But we’re talking about real non-league:

BEST PAID PLAYERS IN CHINA 1. Hulk (Shanghai SIPG) £17m per year 2. Ezequiel Lavezzi (Hebi China Fortune) £16.8m per year 3. Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng) £13.6m per year 4. Ramires (Jiangsu Suning FC) £14.5m per year 5. Jackson Martinez (Guangzhou Evergrande) £14m per year 6. Alex Teixeria (Jiangsu Suning FC) £11.5m per year crap pitches, awful facilities, you name it. The most I ever got was £20 which was under a table at a bar after a game. The person who gave it to me paid it out of his whole pocket I reckon, so it was never anything major at non-league.”

After completing his degree at university, Sealy returned to Hong Kong and emulated his father by joining Sun Hei. There was no sense of regret or bitterness from the 29-year-old having failed to make the grade in England. Joining Sun Hei enabled him to channel all his efforts in making amends in his pursuit of becoming a pro.

“There was always a bit in my mind that I would always love to be a professional footballer, but obviously as I got older and playing here in Hong Kong I thought it wasn’t going to happen,” Sealy says. “When I was 16 I was playing for the Hong Kong U16 team because there’s such a small little selection pool it’s easier to get to the top kind of thing because it’s such a small city. So being able to follow in my father’s footsteps is a great feeling. He was always very encouraging and was just happy for me to play football and do what I want really.

“I’ve only been playing professionally for about five years now. When I first started play-

ing with Sun Hei I was coaching kids between the age of three to twelve in the morning and then in the afternoon I would go to training because the contract was rubbish. I was on about £800 a month.”

After impressing at Sun Hei, South China’s patent need to draft in defence reinforcements saw Sealy drafted in by the club. He was joined by a fellow Englishman in Sean Tse, whose talents was honed as a youngster at Manchester City’s academy.

“Sean joined during the same time as me,” he recalls. “South China are one of the teams with the biggest history in China, they’re like a powerhouse. So to go there was like a no brainer really. It was a lot more professional and the whole set up was a lot better. It was nice another Englishman was there in Sean, so it was a good experience.”

But 2013 proved to be the turning point in Sealy’s career. He was able to obtain a Hong Kong passport and represent the national team due to residing in the country for a number of years.

Since his debut against Myanmar he has amassed 14 caps and has noticeably played against Argentina which featured the likes of Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria. “I’d grown up in Hong Kong

for seven years it meant that I’d qualified for a Hong Kong I.D card which means that you’re a permanent resident,” says Sealy. “So to play in the league I was considered as a local player and that was a bonus for them. In China every year there’s a tournament and they normally pick the local players, so for me I got picked to play for the Hong Kong team.

“And because it wasn’t an official FIFA game I could play without a passport and then after they asked me to change my passport over so that I could play in the proper games. It was a bit of a no brainer again to change it over, but the process took about thirteen months to get it all done which was a bit of a nightmare at the time.

But playing international games has taken it to the next level.

“I haven’t asked for any players’ shirts here in China but when I played for the national team against Argentina I got Erik Lamela’s shirt.

Coming up against Messi, Di Maria and [Gonzalo] Higuain was a fantastic moment. Messi was amazing, you just couldn’t stop him.

“Now my dad says to me, ‘Well at least you can say you played international games because I can’t’. But he’s proud of what I’ve achieved and he always reminds me how far I’ve come.” Change

in the rules in the Chinese Super League enabled Sealy to test his abilities against some of the best players in the world. Prior to the rule change, Hong Kong internationals counted as foreign players, with each club limited to five overseas players, one of which must be Asian.

Such an opportunity with additional remuneration proved a no brainer for Sealy who joined Changchun Yatai on a five-year deal “I’d been thinking about it for a good year or so because I was getting bored of playing in Hong Kong due to the league being small,” he adds.

“There’s only so far you can go in Hong Kong and I felt as if I needed to move and China was the best option because I’d be a local player. If I was to be a foreign player somewhere else it wouldn’t have worked.

“I’m realistic about my age, my position and my ability. When countries sign foreign players, they’re usually the best in the team. So for me China was a great opportunity and with them changing the rule I had to act fast. And five days before the deadline I managed to get it done in the end.

“From Hong Kong to China, I’ve pretty much doubled what I was earning. Then you have the bonuses on top of it. Now we can earn as

much as £20,000 in bonus for a win, with the smallest amount possible being £10,000. It will depend on the game and who we’re playing.

If we’re playing against a big team they will double the bonus, or if we’re playing against a similar team it will be the normal wage. It’s nice when you win games and get to pocket a bit of extra cash.”

Amid all the spending power by Chinese clubs following the exorbitant acquisitions of Hulk (£46.1 million to Shanghai SIPG), Alex Teixeira (£42.5 million to Jiangsu Suning) and Jackson Martinez (£35.7 million to Guangzhou Evergrande) – the popularity of the league is at an all time. The fact they are able to tempt players away from European football highlights the advantages of their new-found riches.

In doing so, it has benefited the likes of Sealy to play against top oppositions as he rubs shoulders with some of the world’s most recognised players on a weekly basis.

“Alex Teixeira is definitely the toughest opponent I’ve faced this season, bloody hell that was tough. He was playing left wing and he’s good with both foot and you just didn’t know what he’s going to do with the ball. He’s

very quick too. Ezequiel Lavezzi was difficult to mark as well and Ramies was a bit of boss too. Demba Ba was pretty decent and Obafemi Martins is so rapid it’s a joke.

“I played against Tim Cahill and his team was the first game we played against. He kept coming over to my side because he knew he could always beat me in the air, there was literally no contest. You do get bad days but so many people would rather be in a similar position so you can’t take it for granted.

“For me it’s a massive step up from where I was playing a few months ago. In Hong Kong the biggest crowd you will get is about 10,000, but in China we get about 40,000 people in packed stadiums with people singing and chanting. The atmosphere is different and everything makes it more enjoyable to play. It also makes you want to up your game.

So would Sealy compare his meteoric rise to Jamie Vardy? “There’s similarities different myself and Vardy with the whole non-league thing,” he says, “but he’s just on a much greater scale and a lot more high profile. Playing non-league and then coming to play football in China is great. But the English league is still number one.”

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‘I’ve come back from the dead, now I’m going to shock the world’ Few back him to do it and most people find it difficult to fathom why he would take on such an audacious challenge against the world’s most feared boxer. But Gennady Golovkin will be coming up against a man who once cheated death as Kell Brook tells Roshane Thomas how he is going to the shock the world.

INTERVIEW BY ROSHANE THOMAS

T

here has been two moments when Kell Brook’s parents have cried regarding his boxing career. The first being when he was crowned the IBF Welterweight champion, and the second being when they gathered around his hospital bed praying to the heavens that he would live to see another day.

“At the end of the day, I was looking at death in the eyes,” Brook recalls. “I’ve been close to death, been stabbed, I’ve come back from the dead. This is all meant to be, it’s meant for a reason. I’m onto a new chapter in my career, I’ve defended my welterweight title a few times and I was ready for the big fights at welterweight, but we couldn’t make them.

“Now we have the biggest fight in world boxing; Triple G v Brook. It’s written in the stars and now I believe it’s my time to shake the world up – and you’re going to see a newly-crowned middleweight champion.”

Brook, born in Sheffield, was stabbed while on holiday with his girlfriend Lindsey in Tenerife in September of 2014. Two weeks prior he had won his welterweight belt, but his world came crashing down when his career as a boxer was put on hold.

“I thought I was going to die because there was so much blood coming from my leg,” he recalls. “I had no way of knowing if I was going to be able to walk again. No one could speak English and I just wanted to know how bad it was. It was a nightmare.”

Brook will be hoping the third time his parents are reduced to tears it will be tears of joy streaming down their faces when he shocks the world to beat Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin. It is a tough task for any welterweight to move up two weight divisions to face a middleweight, not least the most feared middleweight in the world.

Golovkin’s admirable record sees him currently unbeaten in 35 bouts and due to the level of destruction he poses many avoid facing him. He had 350 fights as an amateur, only losing five. He currently holds the WBC, WBA and IBF versions of the middleweight world title and has never been knocked down. But Brook has strong aspirations to dethrone the man from Kazakhstan.

“Beating Golovkin is definitely possible,” he say with confidence. “It’s boxing at the end of the day and people are forgetting how big I am. I’ve not fought at middleweight but whenever I’ve sparred at the weight still coming down in weight in preparation for my other fights, I’m a monster when I’m walking around at 160.

“It’s not about there being nothing to lose. I’m a winner and I have the mentality of a champion and that will give me that extra push when I head into the ring. I refuse to lose, so that will be my mindset heading into this fight. I think it’s a world champion mentality, He has never fought anyone with a style like me in his professional career. I think that I’ve been doing things, which he hasn’t seen before. I’m going to head into the ring with a game plan and stick to it. When I get in there, he will feel my power and know that he is in the ring with a supreme champion.”

Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard came out of retirement in 1987 and captivated the world when he beat the formidable Marvin Hagler culminating in him being crowned the new middleweight champion. To this day it remains one of boxing’s most hotly contested decisions, but for Brook it, bearing the controversy, it would be an honour to

follow in the footsteps of Leonard who became the tenth man to win world titles at three different weights.

“I’ve always said boxing is the type of sport you can love and hate due to all the politics involved,” he continues. “But this is going to be where I absolutely love boxing when I shock the world and become the best pound-for-

‘It shows what balls I have to get in the ring with Golovkin’ pound fighter all of the weights. I know I’m the man and now it’s time for me to prove it.

“Fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard, Peter Trinidad, who have moved up in weight and won, I will be taking positives from that heading into the fight because I know I can do it too.

Brook has endured his fair share of disappointment. For a boxer of such pedigree the opponents in which he has faced has undermined his potential in his respected weight division.

His most recent bouts against Frankie Gavin and Kevin Bizier polarised opinion and he was subsequently panned via social media.

His fight against Golovkin, which was proposed once Chris Eubank Jr avoided facing him, has been a long time coming, so much so that when his promoter Eddie Hearn pitched the fight to him he had to double check whether he had sent it to the right person.

“As soon as Eddie put this fight to me, I instantly agreed to it,” he says. “I’m jumping up two weights to fight the man of the moment. It shows what balls I have to get in the ring and fight the most feared man in boxing. When I first saw the message about the fight from Eddie, I had to double check that he had sent it to the right person. But then after I thought this what the greats would have done. The greats in recent history in boxing were fearless and I would like to think I’m the same.

“I think that a lot of the fans on social media have criticised my opponents in the past. But I only fight who they put in front of me such as mandatory’s, which get in the way of big fights happening. The opportunity has come my way and everything is meant for a reason. The fight with me and [Jessie] Vargas went quiet, Chris Eubank [Jr] not putting pen to fight, it was right for me to slip in and because I’m a world champion I deserve these fights.”

Brook’s rival Amir Khan went up two weights to face one of the hottest commodities in boxing in Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and lost by a devastating knockout. A possible bout between the two Brits has been on the cards for quite some time and the IBF Welterweight champion is of the opinion Khan has been trying to avoid facing him.

“Amir Khan is no big deal to me,” he adds, “I’m not concerned about his support because he didn’t mean it. In his tweet he said, ‘I hope I doesn’t pull out’ so he was also trying to have a dig. I don’t have time for the kid. I’m not going to lose like him at this weight, I’m ready to shock the world.

“Khan is worse than those Kardashian sisters.

Gennady Golovkin, pictured above, is the most feared middleweight boxer in the world and Kell Brook, the welterweight, faces a mammoth task to dethrone him as champion.

‘Going to give it my all in this fight and I’m going to win’ I’m not sure what’s going on with him. He says one thing then changes his mind. I want to make the fight for the fans but it’s him who’s not making it happen.”

With risk brings reward. It will be the first time that Golovkin has fought in England but considering his record it will be hard to sense any degree of trepidation from the world renowned boxer. Brook’s declaration that he will shock the world also represents a minority. The majority of the boxing audience patently believe he will find it difficult coping with the sheer ferocity of Golovkin’s power.

But Brook has his own advantages: He is currently unbeaten, he has previously pulled off upsets, he has exceptional skill and will have home support heading into the fight.

“It’s a high risk fight for me and big money comes with these kind of fights,” he says.

“It doesn’t get any bigger than this fight. A welterweight jumping up to fight one of the best in the world. I don’t think me having the home support will intimidate Golovkin. He

has boxed all over the world and with two world champions in the ring it won’t matter.

When I went out to America [to beat Shawn Porter] I felt like it’s just a ring at the end of the day, so it won’t boil down to something like that.

“Obviously it’s a big risk and for my family and they’re probably thinking, ‘Oh, he’s jumping up two weights’. But they don’t see me in depth training with my team. I know I’ll be in with the most feared man in boxing, so they’re concerned for me because that’s my family.

“But I tell them not to worry because Golovkin will be in the ring with a champion who is also a killer. So I’m heading into that with the best training possible and doing everything I can. Going to give it my all in this fight and I’m going to win.”

Head-to-head Kell Brook

Gennady Golovkin

30

Age

34

36

Fights

35

36

Won

35

0

Lost

0

5ft 9in

Height

5ft 10in

184

Rounds

160

Fury wants domestic showdown with AJ Fury v Klitschko Part 2 will take place soon

By Roshane Thomas Tyson Fury wants to secure a domestic showdown with world heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua, according to his trainer and uncle Peter Fury. place than what it used to be. For me to have the Due to the animosity career I’ve had and to see it become professional in between the two Brits, Fury this country is fantastic. believes his nephew would “I had to leave this country to go and play in Amerirelish a grudge match with ca because the league was so bad over here,” Scott says.

Joshua, he said: “Tyson has “So to come back with our league being one of the best proven he is the main man leagues in the world is great. And I know that when I right man. Who have the

others beat in comparison to what Tyson has beat?

“Wladimir Klitschko had been undefeated for 11 years and he was the unified heavyweight champion of the world. A lot of boxers tried to beat Klitschko and they all failed but Tyson didn’t, so I think that speaks for itself.

“When Tyson’s beat Vladimir Klitschko, and trust me he will, Tyson will be ready straight after.

We’re going to offer Joshua the fight straight after the Tyson Fury poses ahead of rematch Klitschko rematch.”

Photograph: Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images

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Anthony Crolla bids to cement his legacy in career-defining fight

Crolla backs Manchester United for title triumph following new additions

After overcoming his dark days, Anthony Crolla tells Roshane Thomas how he rose from the doldrums to become world champ.

Anthony Crolla, a Manchester United fan, backs the club to win the Premier League title this term having been impressed by their summer signings.

With Jose Mourinho now at the helm, a feel good factor has made its return to Old Trafford. Under the faltering reign of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, both of whom won the Community Shield and the FA Cup respectively, failure to qualify for the Champions League was the underlying reason behind both managers being jettisoned.

But with the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic drafted into the club this season, Crolla has been impressed with Mourinho stamping his own imprimatur on the side.

“It’s exciting times to be a Manchester United fan,” he said. “There’s just a whole new vibe at the club now. I went to the Southampton game and walking down Matt Busby way there was a just

I

t is springtime in the UK and as the thermometer begins to rise at a passion-soaked Manchester Arena, the thermometer reaches unprecedented levels when Anthony Crolla stops the initially perceived indestructible Ismael Barroso to retain his WBA lightweight belt.

“I felt fantastic for that fight,” Crolla says. “I trained vey hard and it was a long camp because I’d been in the gym since new year. I felt like I was in the best shape of my career and I enjoyed the camp. I did a lot of sparring in preparation for the Barroso fight to try and simulate him, and thankfully I won.

“I was up against one of the most feared light weights in the world and when you’re world champion you look to take on the best challenges.

I could’ve took easier fights, or I could’ve given up my title to cash in on a bigger purse, but that’s not right. If you work so hard for a title and so long to then give it up to avoid a tough mandatory challenge, I’d be a bit of a fraud so I’d never do that.”

Crolla fulfilled his childhood dream to become world champion and having successfully defended his title against Barroso, another opponent waits in the wings to try and dethrone the Mancunian.

Jorge Linares, a three-weight world champion at featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight, is best known to British fans for stopping Kevin Mitchell in their 10-round grudge match for the WBC title in May, Linares brings it own challenges for Crolla but ring rust may prove to be a factor for the Venezuelan having only fought once since his victory over Mitchell, which was a comfortable knockout win over Ivan Cano last October.

“I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me in training with a smile on my face,” says Crolla.

“Three weeks ahead of the fight and I couldn’t be happier with how training has gone. I know what’s at stake here and I know when I get into that ring I will be in the best shape of my life, there’s no doubt about that. Linares looked good in the fight after beating Mitchell but I believe the momentum is with me certainly.

“I’d say this is a career-defining fight for me, it will be something I’d be remembered for. Especially with what’s at stake and beating him. You could argue that Linares is going to be in the Hall of Fame one day having been a three-weight world champion. There’s also been talk about it being a legacy fight and to beat Linares would certainly go a long way.

“We have to raise our game and go to that next level because Jorges Linares is the best opponent that we’ve ever fought. I achieved the dream of being world champion and to fight for these belts

Anthony Crolla, above, trains ahead of his next fight

By Roshane Thomas

Head-to-head Anthony Crolla

Jorges Linares

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Age

31

38

Fights

43

31

Won

40

4

Lost

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5ft 8in

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5ft 8in

227

Rounds

244

120,000

Twitter followers

24,600

that I’m fighting for and more importantly to be recognised, as the No.1 lightweight in the world would be an absolute honour. I’ve worked hard to be here and it’s something I’d be very proud of.”

The prestigious Ring Magazine lightweight belt will also be on the line as well as Crolla and Linares’ titles, which gives another indication that the victor will be the undisputed best lightweight in the world. Only four other boxers are acknowledged by the aforementioned magazine as lineal champions – Tyson Fury, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Terrance Crawford, who vacated the belt, and Roman Gonzalez.

Unifying the division will enable Crolla to reach new heights. But there was a time when he struggled to fulfil his potential and looked out of his depth when his career petered out due to a series of setbacks In 2012 he failed to triumph in the Prizefighter series and lost his British title to Derry Mathews. It looked as if Crolla would be unable to progress past domestic level. His chances of etching his name among the elite boxers seemed fanciful, so when did it all change?

“It’s fantastic I’m in a really good place now,” Crolla continues. “Boxing is a funny old game.

Now I have that self belief, training harder and listening to my body more and just being a bit smarter. I was working hard back then but I wasn’t being as smart as I could have been.

“Joe [Gallagher, his trainer] has been great influence on me. He’s turned it around for me. I went to him on the back of a few loses because a lot of people didn’t think I was going anywhere in the sport. I will always be indebted to him for the way he has brought me back.

“It’s a privilege to be able to fight for these belts. I’ve said it a few times I’m fighting a great fighter for one of the greatest prizes in the sport. I’d be joining a very elite list, so that’s something to remember as well. I’m a boxing fan as well so to be alongside those names would be a massive honour.”

In the aftermath of his near death experience in 2014, having suffered a broken ankle and a fractured skull when he confronted burglars who intruded his neighbour’s house in Chadderton, Oldham, the thought of life without boxing made Crolla have sleepless nights.

“Since that happened I appreciate the good things in life a whole lot more,” he admits. “I

excitement in the air for the first time in a long while. I was at the Hull game as well and I probably shouldn’t have done to be it honest because it’s a bit closer to the fight, but it was a good win in the end for us.

“Signing the likes of Pogba and Ibrahimovic will make us a threat this season and I back us to win the league, so hopefully we can do it.”

Crolla will also hope to make the Manchester Arena a fortress when he takes on Jorges Linares for the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine Lightweight crown.

“I’ve never lost there and the fans have played a big part there in the way they get behind me,” he added. “It’s become a fortress for me there too and there’s very few places in boxing that can create an atmosphere like they do.

Training camp has really well now it’s time for me to get the job done.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic poses after signing for Manchester United at their training complex.

Will he deliver in the Prem?

Golovkin v Brook will be one of the biggest fights in Britain, says Crolla see. You only have to look at all the world champions we’ve got and I feel blessed to be part of that.”

Anthony Crolla is backing Kell Brook to shock Sandwiched between Brook and Crolla’s the world by beating Gennady Golovkin in fight is gym-mate Liam Smith who will take what will be the toughest bout of his career. on Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in another British Brook, also known as the Special One, will blockbuster. Two of the other Smith brothers need to produce a sensational performance have been confirmed for the Golovkin-Brook come September 10 if he is to have any chance undercard, with Callum Smith set to take on of stopping the most feared and avoided boxer Norbert Nemesapati and older brother Paul in the middleweight division. also set for action.

“It’s a huge fight and one of the bigLiam applauds Brook for being cougest in Britain for years,” he said. “To rageous enough to undertake the mamhave a pound-for-pound star like moth task of trying to beat Golovkin.

Golovkin coming over here shows “You have got to take you hat off the strength of British boxing to him,” he said. “It is a big jump and and not just the boxing, but the one that he did not have to do. It is fans. The atmosphere they create not as if he was stuck for options. He is like no other. is a world champion. He could have “If Kell win he will probably stayed and defended his title or he be a frontrunner for fighter could have jumped up one weight which of the year. But he is the I feel he’d probably be more suited to. He underdog and it is a is facing one of the most feared really big ask but fighters in the world so credit anyone who knows to him and good luck to him Kell, or has trained on the night.” alongside Kell, will know how talented Doubters: Few people he is. back Kell Brook to “He is going to pull off an upset need more than that against Gennady next Saturday but it’s Golovkin. a fight I can’t wait to

By Roshane Thomas Vincent Janssen is Tottenham’s new £18.5m signing after he joined the club from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

take nothing for granted now and it’s stood me well in the long run. It makes me realise everyone is lucky enough to get that second chance and that’s what I got, and I plan on taking full advantage of it which is what I have done so far.

“When I was worried I wouldn’t be able to box again there were many nights I stayed up wondering what I was going to do with my life.

When I got the clearance to box again it made me so thankful because the time I spent away from the ring was the longest I’d been away from boxing.”

Crolla has been mentioned as a strong candidate to win the fighter of the year award. But

with Kell Brook set to take on the audacious task of trying to dethrone Gennady Golovkin, the world’s most feared boxer, victory would certainly cement his legacy in the sport.

Fellow Brit Carl Frampton raised the bar earlier this year when he produced a brilliant performance to inflict Leo Santa Cruz’s first defeat to become the new WBA featherweight champion and also a two-weight world champion.

“We’re going through an amazing time in British boxing and to even be considered to be one of the fighters of the year is very special,” Crolla says. “There’s been some great victories

by British fighters this year. I haven’t given it much thought yet but to be mentioned alongside them I feel very honoured.

“Kell Brook is fighting soon like myself and he looks in great shape. I haven’t really seen him as much but I might bump into him before his fight.

I would’ve liked to have gone down to support him on the night but I think it will be a bit close to my fight. Having to get down to London when I’d have training the next morning wouldn’t work out. It’s been mentioned me being for fighter of the year but if Kell Brook wins that then he’d be a frontrunner.”

After his successful title defence against Bar-

roso, Crolla went on a family holiday with his wife Fran and their three-year old son Jesse.

“I went over to Cyprus with the family so it was nice to get away, chill out, switch off and eat some food,” he says. “It was a really good holiday and my little boy is full of energy so it was a great trip for him as well – and you know it’s always nice to get away.”

Crolla’s rise to the top is testament to his perseverance and willingness to become a better fighter.

He was given the epithet ‘Million Dollar’ from the film Million Dollar Baby and you get the feeling there will be tears of joy when he hits the boxing jackpot against Linares.

26 10

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THE NEWGEN PAPER

Paul Pogba: The inside story in how he aimed to prove doubters wrong

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FA Youth Cup 2011

FA Youth Cup Final 2011

Paul Pogba battles to win the ball against Rohan Ince of Chelsea during the FA Youth Cup SemiFinal first leg match at Stamford Bridge.

Paul Pogba of Manchester United’s U18 celebrates winning the FA Youth Cup following United’s win against Sheffield United’s U18s.

A background into how the Frenchman bounced back from rejection to become the world’s most expensive footballer. into the player we all thought he could be. At the time he had the potential to become a firstteam player and we all tried to persuade him not It was December 2011 and Manchester United to leave the club. We all felt deep down that he were hosting their last Premier League game didn’t want to go. of the year against Blackburn Rovers. With the “Right from the top from David Gill to Sir transfer window hours away and Sir Alex Alex [Ferguson], everybody was very Ferguson’s midfield threadbare due to Paul disappointed [when he left] because he had just Scholes’ initial retirement and a legion of injured won the FA Youth Cup and he was one of the players, Paul Pogba was hoping to seize a rare home grown players having been at the club for opportunity. three or four years.

Having experienced a good week of training in “Everybody says, ‘What a mistake United the build up to the game, Pogba’s eyes sparkled made’. But in the end nowadays the player has with anticipation when the teamsheet was read the choice.” out: David De Gea in goal, Antonio Valencia at Pogba used rejection to his advance by right-back, Phil Jones and Michael Carrick in becoming one of the most coveted midfielders central defence, Patrice Evra at left-back, Nani on in the world. United trumpeted his signing on the right wing, Rafael da Silva in midfield... wait social media and for Pogba to prove someone is that correct? A right-back starting in midfield? like Ferguson wrong, who is arguably the most This list is far from exhaustive and for Pogba that decorated manager in the history of football, proved to be the last straw. means you must have something about you.

The nadir of not being picked made him feel He has reaped the rewards of knuckling down unwanted, and to compound matters for the and letting his football do the talking. Pogba’s Frenchman his talents were not permitted having upbringing has stood him well into adult life. failed to come off the bench against Blackburn.

We have become accustomed to a culture where “It was a very, very difficult moment for me young players become rich before their time, but because I was in love with Manchester and I was money is just an added bonus for the 23-yeara Mancunian,” he said. “It was the match against old. His hunger to succeed has never wavered.

Blackburn in 2011 at Old Trafford. Paul Scholes During his three-year hiatus from United, had retired, Darren Fletcher was injured.

Pogba has almost reinvented himself with his “There was no one left to play in midfield. And range of fancy hairstyles and popular ‘Dab’ goal I was training and I was beginning to get better celebration. He has returned a better bit by bit and the coach never stopped telling me, footballer with maniacal confidence. Justifying ‘You’re this far’. his exorbitant price tag will be the next target “And I didn’t understand, ‘this far from what? uppermost on his mind.

Playing? From getting on the field?’ There was “I think Pogba will be able to handle the Rafael in midfield and I was disgusted. I was transfer fee because he has a really nice disgusted that I didn’t get on either. personality and he will be really liked within the “I’d lost that thing, that relation that I had with group,” McGuinness said. “He already knows the the coach. I was really disappointed. My eyes players and staff at the club so that will help. If were opened and I made the decision to sign the team are going well then I’m sure Pogba will with Juventus. There was nothing to regret.” be playing well too.”

If other young footballers were posed with There has already been talk about the the same scenario as Pogba, many would have midfielder potentially becoming a future United perhaps stayed at a team like United due the captain. He captained Le Havre’s U16 in the mollycoddle nature of its set-up.

Championnat National des 16 ans, narrowly Having grew up in the eastern sprawl of Paris finishing second. He helped play a pivotal role in a 16-storey tower block estate in Renardire, in United’s academy wining the FA Youth Cup Pogba has come from a humbling background. and has now become a mainstay of the French He is the youngest of two brothers, both of national team. whom are twins, named Mathias and Florentin.

“I think he could be a big player for Both are currently playing in the Scottish and Manchester United,” said Bryan Robson, “the France league respectively but have been unable ability is there and the temperament is definitely to replicate the heights of their younger brother. there. If he learns from the senior pros around From a young age it was evident that him from the likes of [Wayne] Rooney and Pogba was exceptionally talented. Having [Michael] Carrick then perhaps he could be a excelled at Le Havre, a famed academy which future Manchester United captain. has honed the skills of Lassana Diarra, Steve “A lot of people talk about the money and say Mandanda, Riyad Mahrez and Dimitri Payet, we let him go for a free and now we’re buying Manchester United eventually came calling. him back for a lot of money. But for me, Pogba arrived at Manchester in 2009 as a shy Manchester United need to be the best in the 16-year-old. At the time, Ravel Morrison, Jesse league again.

Lingard, Adnan Januzaj, Ryan Tunnicliffe and “So if you have to pay the fees to bring the Larnell Cole were all were making their strides in best players here then it has to be done. We need United’s academy, but it was the Frenchman who to compete with our rivals again and win the invariably caught the eye. league. The player who I think Pogba is really “He was on the trajectory and looked a similar to at this point in time is Yaya Toure. I certainty to be a top class player,” said ex-United think he’s one of those who’s very good going youth team coach Paul McGuinness, “and that forward and I’m sure he will be a great signing has proved to be the case because he has turned for United.”

THE NEWGEN PAPER

How Mino Raiola got his revenge with Paul Pogba deal Raiola becomes one of the most powerful agents in the world

ROSHANE THOMAS

By Roshane Thomas

The Return 2016

B Munich 2009-11 A string of poor Sacked

Paul Pogba returns to Manchester United following a world record transfer.

results and Van Gaal’s reluctancy to discard his philosophy were cited as reasons for his sacking by the German giants. Less than a year after he won the double the Dutchman was shown the door.

Top-flight debut 2012

Manchester derby 2012

Paul Pogba makes his Premier League debut for Manchester United coming on as a substitute for Paul Scholes at Old Trafford.

Paul Pogba celebrates with his team-mates during the Manchester Senior Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United reserves.

27 11

Standing up to Sir Alex Ferguson during his illustrious reign as Manchester United’s manager would have been inconceivable for many.

If you were courageous enough to do so, you would have either been sold, prominent on his list of enemies, or required medial attention for having a boot thrown at your face. Just ask David Beckham. But does the same apply if you are a notorious football agent?

“There are one or two football agents I simply do not like and Mino Raiola is one of them,” Ferguson explains in his autobiography, Leading. “I distrusted him from the moment I met him.”

Paul Pogba, who is represented by Raiola, was a reserve-team player at United and was earmarked as the next big thing to come out of Old Trafford.

But on the back of winning the FA Youth Cup in 2011, Pogba’s agent felt his clients progress had regressed at United due to a lack of first-team opportunities.

Pogba eventually left the club in 2012, aged 19, to join Juventus on a free transfer, with United only receiving a paltry sum of £800,000 in compensation for his exit.

Ferguson remains adamant his prized asset would have committed his future to the club, had it not been for Raiola coaxing Pogba his future lied elsewhere.

“He [Raiola] became Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent while he was playing at Ajax, and eventually he would end up representing Pogba, who was only 18-year-old at the time,” Ferguson continued. “We had Paul under a three-

year contract, and it had a one-year renewal option which we were eager to sign. But Raiola suddenly appeared on the scene and our first meeting was a fiasco.

“He and I were like oil and water.

From then on, our goose was cooked because Raiola had been able to ingratiate himself with Paul and his family and the player signed with Juventus.”

Fast forward to 2016, and there is a new project underway at United and with Jose Mourinho at the helm aiming to return them back to the epicentre of the sporting universe; dealing business with an old nemesis was required.

A summer splurge in the transfer market has seen Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is also a client of Raiola, arrive at Old Trafford to aid their title chances.

But United’s gargantuan acquisition of Pogba in a world record £93.2m deal from Juventus means Raiola has enjoyed a ludicrously bountiful summer.

The 48-year-old has pocketed around £20m from the deal, having inserted a clause into Pogba’s contract at Juventus which entitled him to a 20% cut for a future sale, and in a extraordinary subplot to an exorbitant transfer, Raiola has managed to have the last laugh.

For United, and even Ferguson, humble pie has well and truly been served. Pogba returning to Manchester from Turin as a marquee signing will enable Raiola to feel vindicated that he was right all along to go against Ferguson’s belief that the Frenchman would have been better suited staying at the club.

And having used Raiola for most of their signings this summer, it seems like United and the Italian’s tempestuous relationship has finally been resolved.

Agent Power: Mino Raiola’s cilents Romelu Lukaku Club: Everton

Blaise Matuidi Club: Paris St Germain

Maxwell Club: Paris St Germain

Widely speculated that the Everton striker will depart the club soon.

Impressed for France at the Euros and may be set for a move.

One of Mino Raiola’s loyal clients who is now at the twilight of his career.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Club: Manchester Utd

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Club: Manchester Utd

Mario Balotelli Club: Liverpool

The appeal of working under Jose Mourinho proved too hard to resist.

The striker sealed a switch to Manchester United in the summer.

The maverick striker is deemed surplus to requirements at Liverpool.

28 10

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THE NEWGEN PAPER

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THE NEWGEN PAPER

29 11

‘Most people who criticise the stadium haven’t even been’ Karren Brady takes a trip down memory lane as she discusses her upbringing, what it was like attending an boys boarding school, life at Birmingham City and how she vows to silence the critics.

INTERVIEW BY ROSHANE THOMAS

S

pring 1993. Karren Brady ostentatiously arrives at Birmingham City as their newly-appointed Managing Director in a silver Porsche 964 Carrera RS, dressed in a denim black jacket emblazoned with gold stitching. While the TV cameras record her arrival for posterity, a swarm of photographers eagerly snap away the first woman to hold such a prestigious role in English football.

But when Brady, aged 23, held her first press conference it dawned on her the magnitude of the job she now faced. During her press conference she outlined how she intended to take the club to new heights and once she finished her presentation questions from those in attendance shortly followed.

“Sunday People,” says a journalist, “What are your vital statistics?” Due to Brady being a young woman and her lack of experience, opinions were polarised over whether she had what it took to transform the club.

When she reiterated her plans and targets for the next ten years to the journalist in question, Brady details in her interview on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories that she subsequently flicked her hair and when she walked off stage past the journalist, his reply was: “Well you ain’t got a dick, but you have got great big balls!” Nothing was going to stop Brady from succeeding.

“I think when you’re young you really don’t care, it’s only when you get older you get a really bit more sensitive,” she says. “But I was 23-years-old and I was very focused on what I wanted to do. I was very proud and pleased to be given this opportunity and nothing and no one was going to get in my way. They could have written what they liked I just generally never let it bother me.

“I think making Birmingham financially successful and floating it on the stock exchange, building a new stadium was all part and parcel of a very important 16 years of my life. But I think my proudest moment is delivering the stadium for West Ham but that doesn’t undermine the things that I achieved at Birmingham.”

Brady’s ascent to becoming one of the most successful business woman in the past twenty-five years started in Edmonton where she was raised by her Irish father Terry, who made his fortune in printing and property, and her Italian mother Rita, who was a stay-at-home wife. Brady’s first name is often spelt with one r but her father insisted on spelling it with two to keep up with the family tradition of her older brother Darren having two r’s as well as himself.

“I was born in Edmonton in north London near the Spurs ground,” Brady says. “I went to a local state school and was quite entrepreneurial from a young age. I always wanted to do something and make something of my life. At the time I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do but looking back I did have a good upbringing.

“I think my business sense stemmed from the fact that I wanted independence. I wanted to really make my own decisions for myself and I understood in order to do that you needed money – and I didn’t have any money at the time. So I knew I had to work to make money and that was my driving force when I was younger; the fact that I wanted to say what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it and how I wanted to do it. That’s what

drove me then and still drives me now.”

Brady remains staunchly close to her group of friends from boarding school. She attended Poles Convent in Hertfordshire before attending the acclaimed Aldenham School in Elstree.

While most people decided that university would be their next route, Brady felt working for ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi at the age of 18 was the more suited option.

“From 16 to 18 I went to an all boys boarding school,” she says, “and it was good because it certainly taught me how to hold my own.

My four friends from boarding school that I used to hang around with are still my close friends today. It was a really good experience and I look back at that school and see that as part of where my life really began when I started to get really independent. I started to understand what I wanted to do with my life. I started to understand the type of person that I wanted to be.

“I’m still happy with the choice that I made [in not going to university] because it turned out not to have prevented me from doing anything. I went out into the work place at 18 and from that age I’ve always been in full-time work. I remember my first job at Saatchi being a fantastic place to work. I mean it really was vibrant, buzzy and people talked to you like an adult. I couldn’t believe why people moaned about going to work and I was sort of expecting the worse but it was absolutely brilliant.”

It was during Brady’s time at LBC, where we worked as an advertising account executive, that she first came into contact with David Sullivan, who had made his name through selling pornographic pictures, photos and magazines.

“When I was at LBC I was given 4am to 5am time slots to sell radio advertising in. And they gave me a whole list of people who had never advertised on radio and that was David and his products. So I bullied a meeting to go and see him and sat around for a few hours before I saw him – and I made him an offer of advertising and told him, ‘If it doesn’t work then you don’t have to pay for it.’ And he was happy with that and about five months later he was the largest spender on commercial radio in the country, so it was a good meeting.”

To put it into context, Sullivan had spent £2 million on advertising within six months which was a case in point of Brady’s precocious business accruement. As a result, their working relationship grew stronger when she joined Sullivan’s Sport Newspapers, which owned soft-porn magazines and The Daily Sport tabloid, in the late-Eighties.

During her time as a director at the organisation, she spotted an advert for the sale of cash-strapped Birmingham City, who had just been relegated to the second division, and managed to convince Sullivan to purchase the club. Due to the perception of females working in football at the time, Sullivan told people that Brady was 25 to help alleviate the intense scrutiny surrounding her role at the time.

“It was the only time for a woman’s wish to be older,” she laughs. “I’ve been very lucky that I’ve been working for David Sullivan and David Gold for a long time. We went out the other night to celebrate David Gold’s birthday, and having known them for 25 years there’s a real loyalty, friendship and bond that’s been

WEST HAM’S SUMMER SIGNINGS

1. Andre Ayew (From Swansea City) £20 million 2. Manuel Lanzini (From Al-Zaira) £10 million 3. Arthur Masuaku (From Olympiacos) £6 million 4. Edimilson Fernandes (From FC Sion) £5 million Others: Simone Zaza, Gokhan Tore, Ashley Fletcher, Jonathan Calleri, Havard Nordtveit, Sofiane Feghouli and Álvaro Arbeloa.

inbuilt in us. We’re firstly friends, we’re secondly colleagues and thirdly all our ambitions are equal.”

There was one particular game Brady attended with her nan, Nina, where the opposing fans in the visiting enclosure were hurling abuse as they chorused munitions chants.

“They were shouting, ‘Karen Brady’s a whore’ and my nan asked what were they saying and I told her, ‘They’re saying I’m 24, nan’.

“I mean growing up in a boy school probably helped me have broad shoulders. It’s part of and parcel of the game and I think that if you’re thin skinned or have a big ego but very weak minded a lot of this stuff can get to you. If you’re very confident in what you’re doing and how you’re doing it – and you believe in the decisions you make then it won’t bother you.

“There’s a lot of people that live their life reading Twitter and worry about the criticism of negative people saying negative things. So I think you have to find a balance with all these things in life and have to accept that there’s a rough and a smooth and being in football can sometimes be tough and it’s not for the weak really.”

There is not a day which goes by where Brady fails to scroll through her Twitter account without receiving abuse from a smattering of West Ham fans having oversaw the club leave their ancestral home for a move to the Olympic Stadium, now known as the London Stadium due to naming rights. While moving to their new home might be unpalatable for some, Brady speaks earnestly about wanting to take West Ham to the next level.

“I think the transition from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium has been the most successful migration of a new stadium in the modern history in football,” she says. “We’ve gone from 25,000 season tickets to over 50,000 which is the highest in London and second to Manchester United. We have 50,000 people on a waiting list for season tickets and we’re looking to increase the stadium capacity to 66,000 within the next year. So I’m really, really happy with the way it’s gone and it feels like a hugely important move.

“Moving to the Olympic Stadium was pivotal for us in order to compete with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea. Having a bigger stadium allows you to grow your brand globally and there’s some fantastic stadiums in the country but there’s only one Olympic Stadium and I think that’s absolutely fantastic.

“It feels like a cup final every single week but I feel what was really important for us was that

West Ham United executive vice-chairman Karren Brady hits back at London Stadium critics vowing to prove them wrong.

PA: Press Association

we didn’t forgot our past and we have brought that with us in our future which is why we have a Bobby Moore stand, Sir Trevor Brooking Stand and we’ve identified all the iconic players who played for West Ham in the past and brought them to life in the concourses and lounges. We haven’t forgotten where we came from, and we’re looking up not down.

“We’re really proud of the new home and I’m thrilled that we’ve received such high volume of positive feedback, because everything has been improved in terms of the facilities: whether that’s the new shuttle bus service, the new addition support for fans with accessibility needs, the vast improved catering, the atmosphere, the club shop the ticketing all those thing of things.”

West Ham supporter’s emotions in recent weeks has oscillated between frustration and

hope. Stewarding and segregation issues has been the nadir of their move, as rising tensions resulted in violent scenes in their 4-2 defeat against Watford. Most of the ambivalence has stemmed from the fact fans had been used to standing at Upton Park only to be informed that is not permitted at the London Stadium. Although Brady does not demur with West Ham’s on-going problems, she is hopeful of improvement being made.

“A project of this size is never going to be without its teething problems,” she admits, “and we have set up a system where supporters can tell us what they feel we need to be addressing. So we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to rectify some of the issues which have been flagged up.

But the overall feedback is people love the stadium. What you will find is that most people who criticise the stadium haven’t even been. Some of the things they say are either not right or they don’t understand. But it is important to engage with people.

“Everybody has a stake in West Ham, we’re only here seeing in through for the next generation. So it’s really important to listen to that crit-

icism but also accept that people say some fantastic things and that’s equally important.”

The Hammers could be pulled into the relegation quicksands should they fail to end of their poor run of form. Their precarious league position has hardly given their fans anything to shout about. But keeping hold of talisman Dimitri Payet shows their annual fire sale of players is now a thing of the past, following the augment of a number of summer arrivals.

“We said we weren’t going to sell Dimitri Payet and we didn’t,” Brady says with conviction. “When we say things we mean them and I think the supporters are beginning to understand and realise that. They’re going to trust that what we say, we mean we do, and what we say we’re not going to do we don’t do. Preparing well and setting high targets is imperative every year. We delivered the stadium but it doesn’t end there and it doesn’t start there.

The supporters care a lot about the performances on the pitch as opposed to the quality of the toilets and I get that. So all our thoughts and ambitions are always about delivering it on the pitch.

“Signing a player is only the beginning of what happens. You hope that they stay fit, score goals,

play well, save goals you know whatever their position is. So there’s no guarantee that whenever you buy a player they’re going to set out and do what they intend to do, but that is the hope. I think that we have a great squad and it’s probably the strongest in the history of West Ham. We have a fantastic manager in Slaven Bilic and a great stadium, so everything is poised for us to move forward.”

The fact that Brady had the gumption to take the risk by taking West Ham to their pristine a new stadium deserves credit. She had to cajole David Gold that such a move would benefit the club in the long-term, having initially been hesitant over the idea. Some fans may feel like interlopers at the London Stadium in the immediate present, especially due to the nostalgia of the ‘irreplaceable’ Upton Park.

But in the forthcoming months, as the teething problems ebb and performances on the pitch improve, it will be a place to create new-found memories.

“I find the harder you work the luckier you get,” Brady says. “It’s all about focus and having short-term goals and long term strategies.

Leading a business is a difficult and demanding job and it’s one which you have to put everything into. Leadership should never be confused with management; management is about setting out goals and getting people to deliver them, leadership is about having a vision and very often it’s only a vision you can see.

“I saw Barry Fry recently when he went to a West Ham game and afterwards he walked out of the stadium and said, ‘I can’t believe anyone could do this. In fact no one could have achieved this other than you’. So I think he knows as well that to run a good business you have to be dedicated and when you see those skills in yourself you also recognise them in other people as well.

“When I decided I wanted to go for the Olympic Stadium, I had to convince David Gold because he wasn’t convinced at the time. And it’s very important that when you’re running a business that you do have a vision, that you then take responsibility for delivering. Hopefully now we can fulfil all the ambitions of the West Ham supporters.”

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‘England need desire and hunger and Michail Antonio can offer them that’ Michail Antonio was called up to the England squad for the first time in his career and despite not playing the winger has had a lasting impression on a number of people, not least those who knew him well at his old clubs Tooting & Mitcham and Nottingham Forest – as Roshane Thomas digs further into Antonio’s rise to the national team.

BY ROSHANE THOMAS

Former Nottingham Forest manager and Tooting & Mitcham’s chairman reflect on Michail Antonio’s rise to prominence.

T

here was a smile on everyone’s face. Tooting & Mitcham had ended their barren run and returned to winning ways when they beat Horsham in front of their best crowd of the season.

It was only a few days prior that another celebration took place when Michail Antonio, whose ascent to becoming a professional footballer started in similar surroundings, received his first call-up to the England squad culminating in his former club being the talk of the town.

But in truth there was a collective sense of pride for those associated with Tooting & Mitcham United.

Steve Adkins, the club’s chairman, has been taken aback by their new-found media interest and details how Antonio arrived on their books.

“I mean it’s been fantastic,” he says of the media frenzy. “We’ve just about had every media down at the club and it’s a funny thing really because although we’re a non-league club, we try to do things the right way so it’s been great publicity for us. We’re very proud at what Michail has achieved and it’s nice to know we played a small part of it.

“I remember him coming into the first-team as a teenager and he was very special – and I know the guys playing with him also said the same thing. I just remember a comment from one of the guys saying, ‘We wouldn’t want to be playing against him’. And when you get comments like that it shows you have a special talent on your hands.

“He has a large family and I think someone told me has 26 nieces and nephews. He’s local as well to the club. What people might not know is he comes back and trains between seasons. He arranges games at the club between his family and friends and also helps out with mentoring the kids. The club isn’t in the rich part of the borough but we have a lot of local kids and it just goes to say if you work hard, want it enough and have the talent then you can move forward.”

Dougie Freedman was working at Crystal Palace at the time when he became aware of Antonio’s precocious talent: “I was working for the reserves under Neil Warnock and we all knew of Michail in terms of his ability at Totting and Mitcham and a lot of people were scouting him,” he says. “A lot was said about him and that’s when I first started to see him. But credit to Nicky Hammond at Reading because they were the quickest movers at the time. We were all having a little look and at that particular time with Victor Moses just coming through the ranks into the first-team, him and Michail were very similar. So for Palace at the time it was a case of, ‘Oh, we’ll see how he gets on’.

“But then he went to Reading and this is the biggest thing because he went back on loan to Tooting and Mitcham and went and scored something like seven or eight goals in seven games and we thought, ‘Oh shit, we’ve missed one here’. Over years I’ve seen him play against me for Sheffield Wednesday against Bolton Wanderers. And obviously when I went to manage him at Nottingham Forest, so I’ve seen him for about six or seven years. We all knew about him.

I tried to get him on loan at Bolton but I think at that time he chose Sheffield Wednesday instead.

“There will be guys in the lower leagues and managers in the Championship like myself who will know Michail very well,” he continues. “People at the top might not have heard of him but the Championship and League One managers all knew of him.” It was

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TIMELINE OF MICHAIL ANTONIO’S CAREER

1. England [2016-Present] Apps: 0 Goals: 0 2. Tooting & Mitcham [2007-2008] Apps: 45 Goals: 33

Dougie Freedman managed Michail Antonio during his time in charge of Nottingham Forest NON-LEAGUE TO ENGLAND SENIOR TEAM

3. Reading [2008-2012] Apps: 28 Goals: 1

1. Stuart Pearce [1987-1999] Caps: 78 Goals: 5

4. Southampton [2009-2010 loan] Apps: 28 Goals: 3

2. Les Ferdinand [1993-1998] Caps: 17 Goals: 5

5. Sheffield Wednesday [2012-2014] Apps: 64 Goals: 12

3. Kevin Phillips [1999-2002] Caps: 8 Goals: 0

6. Nottingham Forest [2014-2015] Apps: 50 Goals: 16 7. West Ham United [2015-Present] Apps: 31 Goals: 13 under the guidance of Freedman where Antonio’s performances reached new heights. In the seasons prior, he was playing in the unglamorous lower-divisions which led to a number of loan sojourns with modest success. His potential had regressed and it seemed rather fanciful that Antonio would be able to join the gilded circle of players who had rose from the lower echelons of English football into the top-flight.

But it turned out that the winger’s loan spells at the likes of Cheltenham Town, Southampton and Colchester United proved to be the making of him as he joined Freedman’s Nottingham Forest intent on proving a battalion of doubters wrong.

“I have worked with a lot of non-league players,” he says, “and have experienced some sad stories of a few of those players. Kwesi Appiah was at non-league [prior to joining Crystal Palace] and it shows not everyone will be able to reach the very heights of Michail and [Jamie] Vardy. I was lucky enough to sign Yannick Bolasie from the lower leagues. I saw him at Barnet but signed him for Palace from Bristol City and he’s doing very well. Everyone has their own way of reaching to the very top. It shows the players who don’t start at the top that there is a pathway if you are prepared to work hard. The academy route is good because it does create some good players but there’s also good players in the lower leagues.

“But in the case of Michail you’re talking about a guy here who’s so well liked by his team-mates and such a down to earth guy. When I was manager of Nottingham Forest he was having a kid at the time and he didn’t mind talking about the baby and what it meant to him. He’s such a nice guy you just find yourself wanting to help him. That’s something that he kept with him from his non-league days. To sum him up; this is a guy coming from nothing from non-league, to League Two, League One, Championship, Premiership and now he’s in the national team. He has worked hard for this and should be an example of how can achieve your dreams.”

Despite the fact Antonio was an unused substitute in England’s narrow 1-0 over Slovakia, Adkins believes it is only a matter of time before he makes his debut. The Tooting & Mitcham chairman cites Antonio’s rise to national team being down to his never-say-die attitude.

“The thing with Michail is he never gives up,” says Adkins. “He had a similar work ethic with us here and everyone noticed it. You only have to look at the amount of important goals he scored for West Ham last season. You can see he’s still important even at the level. Michail’s story is such a good thing for football,

4. Chris Smalling [2011-Present] Caps: 29 Goals: 1

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5. Jamie Vardy [2015-Present] Caps: 11 Goals: 4

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and when you think about all the negative stuff nowadays with the money you have someone like Michail who’s a role model for kids. It’s like a fairytale for football in a way and shows just because you’re not picked up by an academy from a young age doesn’t mean you won’t be able to make you way through to the top.

“It will be great for everyone that’s connected with the club and for everyone from non-league when he plays for England. Michail’s call-up is one of the most exciting call-ups probably since Jamie Vardy got in the squad. Those two hopefully playing together for England would be fantastic in my opinion. Everyone likes to see a guy come up this way and let’s just hope he does the business when he gets the chance.”

Most people believe Antonio’s aerial prowess has been stemmed by his move to West Ham. But in actual fact scoring headed goals was a prominent feature during his spell at Forest. Such was Antonio’s importance to the team, Freedman was disconsolate when his prized asset was sold to the east London club in order to raise funds due Forest being under an embargo.

“Michail has always been decent in the air, so he’s not just all of a sudden in the last year started scoring headers,” says Freedman. “If you look at his record during his time at Nottingham Forest he scored a lot of headers at the back-post. But he’s a very hard worker in the gym so he was head and shoulders above anybody in terms of his leap.

That comes from hard work in the gym and he was an unbelievable trainer. If you see score at the back-post that’s not luck, he has improved his game immensely.

“I was just a bit gutted I had to sell him because Nottingham Forest were under an embargo – and we had to sell for the amount of money West Ham were offering at the time. They offered £6million rising to £7million pounds and we unfortunately had to lose the best player in the Championship.

If you watch Michail in the last ten or fifteen minutes he might look a little bit tired but he still has that desire which he showed against Bournemouth and Manchester City to get onto back-post or to take a man on. You can’t train that kind of stuff, that’s desire, that comes from within.”

With forthcoming friendlies against Malta and Slovenia fast approaching another call-up to the England squad, permitting any injuries, is feasible

for Antonio. He is not the first person to rise from the depths of English football culminating in an England call-up. The likes of Steve Pearce, Les Ferdinand, Kevin Phillips, Chris Smalling and Jamie Vardy, all of whom started their careers in non-league, have received caps for the national team – with the likes of Charlie Austin coming close in recent years.

“It’s not surprised me that Antonio was called up into the national team because I knew he could play at the top,” Freedman continues.

“When you work with somebody and see them train everyday, and of course on the Saturday’s he would be doing well and scoring goals against the Derby’s and the Middlesbrough’s, you just knew he would very well. Let me tell you now, Michail trained every single day he was never injured or arrived at training feeling tried or sluggish. He would work as hard as anybody, so when you see that from a coaches point of view you start to understand that this guy has a chance of playing at the very top.

“England need that hunger and desire and Michail Antonio can offer them that. He might not be a fancy name but he will deliver because he will give it 100% and I can see it. Another thing with Michail is that he’s flexible. His best position is a left winger cutting inside having a shot. But to have a man like that in any squad who can play full-back, on the wing and up front is brilliant. He’s a willing kind of player who will do that and I can see everything coming his way.”

Adkins believes Antonio’s story will inspire those with similar aspirations living in deprived areas of London. Having grew up in Earlsfield, Antonio encountered problems prevalent among most youngsters such was the temptation of joining a gang.

“We’ve got a lot of inner London kids. We have a school in Wandsworth called Ernest Bevin College and it’s a tough school. A lot of the kids come from Stockwell and Brixton all over and we have educational academies where we take the football and learning at school. I remember one of the chief executives from Surrey cricket club came to visit us once and he said, ‘If there’s a war you would want a state school kid, you want someone that’s going to dig in’. And it’s quite interesting with some of the kids.

“It’s changed a lot since the days of Michail and if we can provide the facilities and platform for the young players to do well and progress in their careers then that will be a great feeling for us.”

ENGLAND’S NEXT FOUR FRIENDLIES

1. England v Malta Date: Saturday 8 October 2. Slovenia v England Date: Tuesday 11 October 3. England v Scotland Date: Friday 11 November 4. England v Spain Date: Tuesday 15 November

‘I turned down two jobs in the summer’ The sacking, pressure and lack of down time has left Dougie Freedman exhausted

M

ost people would agree that thirteen is considered to be an unlucky number.

There are many explanations which could perhaps strengthen this analogy such as Apollo 13 being the first unsuccessful mission intended to land on the Moon. In Christianity during the Last Supper it is believed that Judas Iscariot - the person who betrayed Jesus, was the thirteenth man to take his place on the table.

The number, often synonymous with bad luck, has had its own sheer of troubles for Dougie Freedman. During his time in charge of Nottingham Forest, he masterminded a winning streak encompassing a 13-game unbeaten run from November to February. But following a string of poor results he was sacked on March 13 2016 having only lasted 13 months at the helm.

The tone in Freedman’s voice changes when I mention the numerical superstition: “Bloody hell, I never thought of it like that,” he says. “You’re the first person to mention that to me.”

But for Freedman a break away from management is what he needed. He wants to recharge his batteries, scouting for potential new signings, and reflect on ways to improve his craft.

“What’s happened is that I’ve come out of football at the age of 35 and went straight into management for six years and it was a tough experience,” he admits. “At Bolton I was having to strip the budget and at Forest we were under an embargo. So I’ve decided to take a bit of time out, be clutter and get a little bit of energy back. I did refuse two jobs in the summer because I didn’t think I was capable of giving them what they needed in terms of the hours and the commitment towards the job.

“So I’ve made a decision that I want to scout again, get freshened up and hopefully by the turn of the year get a job and get going again. Six

Charlie Chrowhurst/Getty Images

Focused: Dougie Freedman during his time in charge of Nottingham Forest consecutive years in management does catch up with you. Sometimes you just need to sit back and reflect.

I was having a couple of tough digs at Bolton and Forest, it didn’t quite do what it said on the tin. So I’ve decided to take a bit of time out, step back from it and I’ve been to a lot of games recently watched a lot of training sessions just scouting players.

That’s what I done before I got the Crystal Palace job, and then when I got the job I signed five or six players the likes of Glen Murray, Damien Delaney, players that I felt could contribute and that’s what I need to go and do again.”

In managerial terms, Freedman is very young and has plenty of years ahead of it. At the age of 42 he has

amassed over 250 games as a manager in the Championship, vital experience for anyone looking to guide a team to the promised land.

“The Championship is the ideal level for me to return back to,” he continues. “I want to get to a stage where I can manage in the Premier League. I feel very privileged, I’m 42 and racked up over 250 odd games as a manager in the Championship so I feel as if I have a lot of experience in that division.

That’s why I feel like when the right job comes along I will have the right developmental programme to do well. I just need to kind a network of players that I can help develop.”

In three months’ time there is a strong possibility Freedman may walk downstairs into his living room on Christmas day and find a card signed by Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish as a good gesture for earning the club in excess of £30m this summer.

Yannick Bolasie, sold to Everton for £28m, and Mile Jedinak, joining Aston Villa for a reputed sum of £4m, both signed for Palace for a combined fee of £536,000. The aforementioned duo were drafted in by Freedman and his knack for developing talent has been evident. Under his tutelage Oliver Burke’s performances meant suitors from the Premier League were casting their eyes over the young talent from the City Ground – before his switch to German side RB Leipzig.

“I’ve produced a lot of money for different clubs at Palace and Forest,” says Freedman. “So I feel as if I have a good amount of experience and being able to find good talent. I gave Oliver Burke his debut at Forest and now he has benefited as a result of that [by earning his move]. I’ve never been a Premier League manager to have £10m pounds to spend on players, so it will justify to me that I should keep on going to the games because there are player’s that can go to the top.”