Author: neil

John Hartson broke up my Spanish detention with a brilliant remotely-recorded Big Interview.

Big Bad John was the kind of centre-forward who defenders hated marking. If they were smaller than him, he would just knock ’em over, then pick ’em back up. So John was shocked when Valencia’s Roberto ‘The Mouse’ Ayala gave him his hardest shift in a Celtic jersey.

There’s great stuff here about John’s time as an old-school apprentice at Luton, when he looked after his hero Mick Harford’s boots, and there’s chat about losing a European final with Arsenal in agonising circumstances. But he never blamed David Seaman for his horrible mistake.

Thanks, big man.

Graham

Jimmy Bullard’s on-field and latterly on-screen personality is that of an easy-going joker, but that is only a conscious extension of his true self. He is also a brilliant soccer analyst, and as a talented midfielder he was frustrated by English football’s failure to adopt the Continental passing game. Roy Hodgson was the only manager who understood him. He’s glad to see things changing, thanks mainly to the influence of Pep.

When he joined West Ham the club was full of crazy personalities, not least Paulo Di Canio and John Moncur. Paulo had such charisma that he changed the culture of the entire club.

Oh – and there’s brilliant stuff about Soccer AM, and Jimmy gives us an incredible behind-the-scenes insight into creating magical television.

Enjoy

Graham.

Thanks to the wonders of modern telecommunications, I caught up with Jimmy Bullard and found a man who had been well prepared for lockdown. Jimmy needs meditative pursuits – fishing, golf and landscape gardening, and his sense of detail was also applied to his fledgling footballing career to pave the way for successful spells with, notably, Wigan, Fulham and Hull.

Jimmy used to peel potatoes and paint ceilings for a living. When he was signed from Gravesend & Northfleet by his boyhood heroes West Ham United, it was real Roy of the Rovers stuff.

Jimmy adored Zizou, and loved the arthouse movie Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, but when he watched the featured game, Real Madrid versus Villarreal, he was keen-eyed enough to recognise the another genius on the pitch that day, Juan Román Riquelme. He became his hero.

Dear friends, I hope that this superb Big Interview helps relieve your isolation.

Enjoy.

Graham.

In part two, Tony Currie talks more about his lengthy love affair with Sheffield United. But he would sign for their Yorkshire rivals Leeds when most of the talent assembled by Don Revie was still at Elland Road. There was no love lost between Tony and Revie – as England boss the renowned manager didn’t take to him.

Tony also shares his thoughts on the current heady days for Chris Wilder’s side. And there’s brilliant chat about his best goal – for Leeds at Arsenal, how he knocked back Manchester United to stay at Bramall Lane, and how he risked life and limb on legendary BBC programme Superstars – they sure don’t make ’em like that anymore!

Thanks, Tony.

Graham.

Tony Currie was one of the ‘Entertainers’ of the 1970s and early 1980s, the ball players of British football who graced an era when men were men and tackles were X-rated.

I caught up with Tony, a London boy adopted and beloved by Yorkshire, at his spiritual home of Bramall Lane. Most of his life has been connected to Sheffield United; in addition to eight years as a player, he has been Football in the Community Co-ordinator for more than three decades. A skilful attacking midfielder, he was named the Blades’ Greatest Ever Player.

This is a brilliant Big Interview, strewn with legendary names from a glorious time: Ball, Harvey, Greaves, Storey, Giles, Harris, Lorimer… and, of course, Aberdeen great Arthur ‘Bumper’ Graham. Ah, the good old days!

Enjoy.

Graham.