John McGovern - John McGovern: From Boness to the Bernabeu

CONTENTS

To my mum, who has always shown me how to survive, and to Ann and Alek, who always remind me that Im not the only person on the planet.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements are as follows for help in completing this book:

Kevin Brennan for being patient with a novice writer me. Steve Nicholson and the Derby Evening Telegraph. Paul Taylor and the Nottingham Evening Post. Gerry Somerton of the Rotherham Advertiser. John Lawson and Fraser Nicholson at Nottingham Forest FC. Neil Hallam, my friend and honest freelance journalist. Gordon Sharrocks from the Bolton Evening News.

To Jim, Toby, Alex and Henry from Vision Sports Publishing for all their enthusiasm and professionalism.

Special thanks to my good friend John Bilverstone for getting me and the rest of the super team on Jimll Fix It, despite him being an Arsenal fan. And for being the only other person who, with myself, created the orange dance.

To Fred Hunt and Dave Fox with their wives Marilyn and Esmie for superb nights in Belper, We wont get fooled again.

To Burt Haimes in New York for our combined love of music, including The Radiators.

To Graeme and Eileen for being Graeme and Eileen.

To Dickie (big Forest fan) and Caro for their hospitality during our visits to the Cotswolds.

To my mates Chris Odell and Peter Day who could forget the AC/DC concert at De Montfort Hall, Leicester?

Les Shaw for the best fish in the north in the country.

A special thanks to Kevin Keegan for taking the time to write the foreword.

To my family: Mum, for being superwoman at 89; brother Bert, for the competition when we were kids; sister June, her husband Bill and their lovely girls Robin and Becky who roll out the red carpet when we visit San Francisco. Love you guys.

Kindest regards to my cousins Pat, Yvonne and Robert from Montrose, Tony and Leslie in Hartlepool and Eddie in Boness. As a recently appointed ambassador for Mencap, a special thanks to Roger Grange from Nottingham for keeping his room tidy as promised.

To my stepsister Judy and stepbrother Roger for accepting me as family when my mum married their dad, Stan Wilkinson, while we were in Derby.

To my son Alek I hope he manages to fulfil his dream as a musician as sometimes I find myself jealous of him for his ability to play the guitar. Anyone who is as creative and talented as he is at writing lyrics and composing songs shouldnt be allowed to fail. Are you listening Zane Lowe? Scrimtheband.com

And finally to Ann, who has put up with me for over 40 years. We have never married and, although she will hate me saying this, the sex is better when you arent married.

We are opposites in many ways but united in many more. I told my son Alek he would never meet anyone in his life more honest than his mum. She will never lie to you, son. When he asked me the same question about me I couldnt say yes, only if I lied to him it was for his benefit and nothing else.

As always Ann, all my love for your honesty and for being one of the most genuine people on the planet.

FOREWORD

By Kevin Keegan

I have known John for many years and, both as a person and as a player, I have always had the utmost respect for him.

As a player he had a wonderful career, winning European Cups and league titles, as well as a host of other trophies, and was one of the lynchpins of two great sides which Brian Clough moulded, first at Derby County and then even more successfully with Nottingham Forest.

The first thing that struck me about John when I played against him was the fact that he simply didnt have the physique you would normally associate with a footballer, but when you saw him play all of that was pushed to one side. John could run forever and his ability to pass a ball and keep his team ticking was clearly something Brian Clough recognised in him at an early stage. It is no coincidence that Cloughie made John such an important part of his teams and also saw him as the ideal captain for Nottingham Forest during the most successful period in the clubs history.

Its interesting that Brian saw something in John that made him want to sign him on three separate occasions. Believe me, when a manager takes over at a new club and then goes back to sign someone he has worked with before, it is a sure sign that the player is someone who will bring something to the team and who can be relied on. That was certainly the case with John, and their partnership as manager and player should not be underestimated.

John would leave nothing on the pitch, and when he played the game he gave 100 per cent. I think that, like me, he tried to maximise his game as a player, supplementing the ability he had with sheer hard work and the sort of honest approach which earned respect not only from his own team-mates, but also from those of us who played against him.

The biggest game the two of us played in against each other was the European Cup Final of 1980 at the Bernabeu in Madrid, when Forest retained the trophy by beating my Hamburg side 1-0. It was a great achievement for Forest and they showed exactly what they were about that night. As usual John was at the heart of their play, keeping things ticking over and making sure that the simple things were done well, enabling his team to put in a thoroughly professional display to win the cup.

We played against each other on several occasions over the years and as an opponent I always knew that he would be there from the first whistle until the last. There was nothing of him, but as well as being able to pass the ball he was bone-hard and could certainly look after himself on the field.

Top players today have a wonderful time and of course earn huge amounts of money. Im not saying it was better or worse in our day, but it was certainly different. Its not just the money that has changed, but the pitches, grounds and all-round technology that now surrounds the modern game. When we both started out long coach journeys were part and parcel of a footballers life, and there werent too many motorways around! I can remember eating packed sandwiches on a torturous journey to Exeter and back when I was playing for Scunthorpe, but it was all part of playing in that era.

We enjoyed and loved the game, and both John and I were fortunate enough to experience some huge highs during the course of our playing careers. What you always got from John was what it said on the tin. He never let anyone down. He was a reliable and solid professional, someone you could hang your hat on as a player and as a man, knowing exactly what he was about.

It was a pleasure to play against him during his distinguished career, and it has been a pleasure to remain a friend of his to this day.

PROLOGUE

I t was the sort of moment I had come to savour during my footballing career. I had just played 90 minutes of hectic football and, although a communal bath in the dressing room at Preston North Ends Deepdale stadium may not be the most luxurious of places, I wouldnt have swapped it for the world at that particular moment, because once again I was able to reflect on that wonderful experience for any footballer victory in a cup final.

Its the most fantastic feeling and one I never tired of. The rest of the team were enjoying their moment of triumph just as much as me. We had won 1-0. And we were now the Dairy Crest Floodlit League Cup winners. Although I had won league titles and European Cups as a professional, I thought no less of the fact that I had just played in a match for Northern Premier League side Horwich RMI which had absolutely no financial reward for me. Football is football, and the feelings you get from being involved in a game are just the same. Winning a match is always wonderful and losing is always desperate. Just at that moment one of the other players jokingly shouted to me: Hey John, this is much better than those European Cups you won!