Andy Cole He Gets The Ball Scores A Goal...
Every now and again in my job I am fortunate enough to meet people who I once admired and respected from afar and Andy Cole falls firmly into that category.
I also get to meet people who, had they chosen to enter the kitsch, tacky world of Saturday evening light entertainment, might be considered to possess the X-Factor. It is a perk of the job but it doesn’t always make doing the job properly easy at times.
I have a childhood confession to make. When I was growing up there were three players who, if I did not quite worship, their posters did used to cover my walls.
The first and by far the most important given my age was Gary Lineker. I saw him make his England debut against Scotland and that was it, I was Lineker crazy from that day on. I followed Leicester City (team of my parents), Everton when he played for them, Barcelona when he played for them, then Tottenham (I know it makes me feel dirty as well) and even Grampus Eight!
When Lineker scored I went mental, when he missed a goal or played badly I sulked. I even cried in the 1990 World Cup when he scored against Cameroon because I was so relieved he hadn’t missed the vital penalty kick. I was 11 at the time and really shouldn’t have been crying at such things, but there you go.
In fact, as sad as it is, I even have a signed picture with the message “To Luke, Best Wishes, Gary Lineker,� somewhere in the spare room gathering dust next to the head of my favourite cuddly toy Green Bunny, some old comics, my first top-shelf magazine and the hymn sheet from my Gran’s funeral.
Unfortunately, to this day, even though I have been at several England games, I’ve never met Lineker or even interviewed him on the phone. If one day our paths do cross, I’d like to think I wouldn’t be star-struck, but I fear I would be. I’d certainly ask for another autograph because the one on the Shoot! poster from 1987 has faded a little through the years!
There have been other players, the former Nottingham Forest defender Des Walker and, perhaps strangely, Andy Cole, whose ability I’ve defended in countless arguments through the years, particularly when the media made him a joke figure when he first went to Manchester United from Newcastle almost 12 years ago. For the record, he didn’t need five chances to score, absolute rubbish.....
When I first sat in a Press conference at Newcastle United I couldn’t believe I was sitting in the same room as and listening to Sir Bobby Robson. It took me several weeks to pluck up the courage to ask a question and even longer to feel totally comfortable in his presence. Bobby was a legend to me so to work closely with him took some getting used to.
I’ve even told him this when I was drunk at a Durham County Cricket Club awards dinner a few years ago, he just smiled, poured me another glass of wine and said “didn’t stop you slagging me off when we lost though did it lad!� I’m afraid not Bobby!
There have been others. I met Pele when he came to Newcastle to promote some rubbish Fifa were doing about the world’s best players. The legendary Brazilian wears a protective cast on his hand whenever he attends events like this, not because he has an injury, but so he has an excuse not to sign thousands of autographs everyday. Clever, but rather selfish!
He will, however, pose for photographs. Sadly, I rather ruined the moment by looking like a vagrant with wild windswept hair (yes I did used to have some) a scruffy coat and a supermarket carrier bag!
Then there was Roy Keane who, having always played down his importance as a player, instantly changed my mind the first time he breezed into his first Sunderland Press conference with an aura and a presence I’d never seen before.
Someone who has a similar impact on people is Alan Shearer and he did just that at his book signing at Waterstones yesterday, although I have to be honest, having dealt with him so regularly as a player, you become immune to his star quality after a while.
But still it happens and when Cole agreed to an interview at the Stadium of Light this week I suddenly found myself face-to-face with a man who had got me thrown out of the Three Bulls pub in Newcastle for jumping on the furniture when he scored his first and only goal for England against Moldova!
Ten years ago, I would have simply thrust a pen under his nose and mumbled something about autographs! This time I had to actually ask some pertinent questions about Sunderland, goalscoring targets and helping Michael Chopra.
Throughout the interview I had to fight the temptation to say something like, “Andy I used to think you were really great, fantastic to meet you, can I have my picture taken and can you just sign this, yes to Luke please, he’s my friend’s son....� Not very professional and my peers would have sneered at my behaviour!
At least it’s out of the way now and from now on I’ll treat him with the same cruel objectivity as everyone else...honest!
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Luke Edwards - is Chief Sports Writer of The Journal and uses his blog to give a unique and entertaining insight into events at Newcastle United and Sunderland.
I agree with your thoughts on nice people but with this mornings news fresh I would like to say I feel exactly the opposite regarding Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon.
Abramovich , who was heavily involved in the stripping of the USSR state assets and Kenyon, the Chelsea CEO who was a co-conspirator in the tapping up scandal involving Ashley Cole (and got away scot free) among other things.
Peter Kenyon said in 2007 Chelsea would be the world's biggest club by 2014.Kenyon did not realise that a club is not judged "big" solely with relation to the wealth of the current owner. Chelsea will never be a big club.Where are the fans and I am not just referring to the 25,000 for a Champions League game.I wish true Chelsea fans every success but for me their current success is tainted by the dubious manner in which Abramovich acquired his assets.Finally good luck to Jose Mourinho-a gentleman among scoundrels.
Note From Luke
I make no secret of the fact that I dislike Chelsea more than any other London club, jumped up West London fancy dans who had horrible fans back in the day and now just have part-time ones now the thugs have been priced out. As for Jose Mourinho, it's been coming for a while, but I doubt he'll be out of work long.
Not being a Journo boffin myself, I can’t say I’d ever be star-struck in the presence of such players Luke.
I haven’t your back catalogue of such meetings, but I’ve met the aforementioned Alan Shearer at Chester-le-Street, Riverside when Newcastle used to train there and acquired his autograph, (Took the afternoon off from school if I remember) and did the same again when Bobby Robson took part in his first training session as manager there.
A lot of players have an ego and sometimes they have to, otherwise they would be a lesser player for it, but sometimes they get to the point where they expect to be fawned over in press conferences and meetings with fans (To his credit Shearer himself had to field a couple of curve ball questions about Gullit in an interview currently on the BBC website)
Then there are the stars who I simply would hate to meet, for fear of wanting to slap the proverbial out of them (Beckham, Ronaldo etc) any players that fall into that category for you Luke?
By the way, you kept the head of poor old Green Bunny? Why just the head? Where you into torturing teddies or did you get annoyed just that little too often?
Paul.
Note From Luke
I'd hate to meet Robbie Savage as I'd have to kick him, the same is probably true of Ruud van Nistelooy, Frank Lampard (although I was in an England press conference once I wasn't close enough) and Paul Scholes.
As for the green bunny, I most certainly did not rip its head off. A girl who I was babysitting for did. She is now 18 and I never tire of reminding her about what she did to my favourite cuddly toy. Anyway, back to sport....
The souls of the dead and mysterious creature of the night, witches' familiar.... Bats have been looked upon by man as dangerous and supernaturally portent harbingers of doom and the pathological stamp of many an uninformed chiroptophobe!
So Indulgent in my hobby of Bat watching, that is tracking bats with a home made audio receptor, a flask of hot tea and a hand knitted multicoloured hat, I happened upon the Elephant on the Tyne Restaurant, and who should be there, non other than Russ Abbot and Joe Pasqualle.
Well to cut a rather boring and tediously overblown story I managed to pick out Joe’s high pitched squeaks through the dexterous manipulation of the dial on the detector, noises emanated which sounded like ‘do you want my autograph’ to which I replied ‘sorry Joe I cant stand you’ I have never really been one for hero worship…or hats, flasks, or bats come to that!
So the next time you suffer feelings of being out of your depth amid the glitterati, just stay cool and envisage the interviewee as Orville the duck trying to avoid the burning question ‘did you eat all of the cookies Orville’? You may be surprised!
Note From Luke
Superb once more, although I do sometimes wonder if you are on drugs. My Andy Cole interview actually went quite well without picturing him as Orville the duck but thanks for the tip.
Hello Luke, I intended to voice my concerns after the Derby match, however, when I scrolled down, I found that it was understandably oversubscribed, much venom and bile, so I visited this topic and discovered myself in an altogether less heated environment populated by one or two in-patients similar to myself.Like Commulus, I too have been present in a restaurant at the same time as Russ Abbott. However, it was his dining companion who stole the scene. He must have been famished because witnessing him eat was like watching a busy concrete mixer. That said, I would now like to raise the issue of Shola Ameobi. Doubtless you will remember we once bought a French striker named Guivarche. He had just enjoyed probably his best season and had been selected to play in France's World Cup team. I watched him on TV and, during the opening minutes, he was presented with an almost open goal. It was all too much for him, however, and he choked. He was utterly lacking in the confidence that good strikers are imbued with and just didn't know what to do to apply the coup de grace. You could see that he wanted above all else to have someone to whom he could pass. He failed miserably to bring the ball under control and the moment was lost. He was withdrawn later and I don't think he ever played again for France. In that moment my heart sank. My hopes for the coming season dwindled to the dullest depression knowing that we had just enthusiastically welcomed him on board. The point of all this is that Shola Ameobi demonstrates that same lack of confidence in his ability to finish things off. He gave us a glimpse of this against Wigan and will doubtless do so again. Silk purses and sows ears come to mind. I may be judging him harshly, but I don't think so. "Lethal striker" will never be used to describe Shola. By the way, I almost forgot Andy Cole. An outstandingly lethal striker for us and deserving of much respect as well as gratitude for his prolific goalscoring in a Newcastle shirt.(Unlike Alexandre Guivarche.)
Note From Luke
Is it true, however, that lots of Newcastle fans hate Andy Cole now because he played for Man Utd?
At my age "heros" Ive met pre date yours by some way, to be completely boring, I used to report on matches for Metro Radio, for the record, I commentated on the 1st away game Metro ever covered v QPR in the league cup, Stan "the bookie" Bowles et al. I had to sell the required advertising revenue, to cover the trip. My undoubted hero Jackie Milburn, I spent many an hour in the press box in the company of Jackie, Albert Stubbins, Len Shackelton, Dave Hilley, Ivor Broadis etc, all lovely people except Shack, never liked him, aloof, egotistical and he hated NUFC with a passion, but Jackie was head and shoulders over any of them. Making tea for the St James' office staff on a daily basis kept him in close contact with the club he loved above all others.
Note From Luke
My hat off to you snapper. I once met Frank Worthington in a coffee shop in Brighton. My mum thoroughly embarrassed the rest of the family by flirting with him as she asked for his autograph!
Just another little anecdote, I was in a restuarant a few years ago, when a little girl asked Roger Thames for his autograph, he signed with a smile and a flourish, which quickley disappeared when the little girl said "do you have nookie bear with you".
Note From Luke
That's very funny. I'll mention that to Roger when I see him!
Hello Luke,
What an interesting page this is.Yes it's more than likely that there are those who dislike Andy Cole for his Man Utd days. They forget he didn't ask for a transfer. They also overlook just how valuable was his contribution to our best patch for years. All the same, I don't judge them too harshly. I live in Southsea where Portsmouth is the local team. Jackets for goalposts spring to mind. Here, the antipathy towards Southampton has a nasty quality of banal humorless ignorance to it that makes our rivalry with Sunderland look like a well-balanced and informed debate, which it is. Here, there are some who cannot forgive Harry Redknapp for his spell at Southampton, no matter how often he saves their club from oblivion. Portsmouth is located on an island and it's all too obvious. They regard Pompey as a sleeping giant. A hibernating hedgehog is more accurate. Every so often it can be found in the road, reduced to two of its original three dimensions, having been run over by Arsenal. For a time, Harry Redknapp seemed interested in signing Titus Bramble and the local press depicted a defender of the stature of Bobby Moore. It's that sort of place; refreshingly inward looking.