Leroy Rosenior - Its Only Banter: The Autobiography of Leroy Rosenior

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2017

Pitch Publishing

A2 Yeoman Gate

Yeoman Way

Durrington

BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Leroy Rosenior with Leo Moynihan, 2017

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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library

Print ISBN 978-1-78531-208-3
eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-308-0

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Dedication

For my late father, Willie Rosenior.

I hope I make you proud.

E VER since I can remember, my life has revolved around family so Id like to start by thanking all of my sisters, Lauren, Lynda, Lorna, and Lena, and my wonderful mum Gladys, for all their love and support, and also my brothers-in-law, H, Jimmy and Sam. At home, thank you to my beautiful partner Luci and our gorgeous kids, Millie, Ethan, and Max. Thank you to my first wife, Karen and our two grown up boys, Liam and Daron, my daughter-in-law Erika and my grandkids, Leia, Issa, Ava and Nadia; you all make me the man I amwhich I hope is a good thing!

At Pitch Publishing a big thank you to Paul and Jane for their support, Dean Rockett, Graham Hales, Margaret Murray, Duncan Olner, Derek Hammond and to Gareth Davis for his editing skills. Also a big thank you to Darren Lewis and Justyn Barnes for their valuable work at the beginning of this process.

Many people have lent their voices to this book and Id like to thank each and every one of them for their time and memories.

And not forgetting Andrew Cole for his generous foreword. Last but not least, thank you Leo Moynihan. Leo was introduced to me at a time when I had given up all hope of getting this book written. I really wanted somebody to get this story over sympathetically and without bitterness and for me, that is what Leo has done and Ill never be able to thank him enough.

Leroy Rosenior, December 2016

I HAD a very West Indian upbringing and was always taught to respect my elders. Little surprise then that when we both arrived in Bristol, I was immediately courteous to Leroy Rosenior!

I left London a very determined young man, eager to prove myself in the game and desperate to prove the people who had decided I wasnt good enough to break into Arsenals first team, very wrong.

Even then I knew I could play top-flight football so when the opportunity came for me to go to Bristol City I didnt hesitate, even if it meant dropping a division. Youngsters today might sulk, or stay put, satisfied with the big money they might have got at an early age, but I was so determined and as it turned out, it was the perfect place for me to go. I had other offers that nearly came off when I was on loan at City, but when the club offered to make my move permanent, I didnt flinch. Come on, I said to myself. Lets crack on.

Leroys presence proved a big factor in how much I enjoyed my time and prospered at Bristol City. The two of us shared a hotel which made my move easier because I did miss the life I had built in London and my girlfriend down there. I was still a teenager, so those things can affect you, but with Leroy a senior pro, and more importantly a very friendly guy around to help me, I hit the ground running on the pitch and got on with kick-starting my career.

I knew of Leroy from his days at West Ham. He had done well there and what I recall was having an idea of just how good in the air he was. This though was before the days of mass football coverage so Id be lying if I said I knew a lot about his game, and how he liked to play. He didnt stop telling me about his bad knee though, so I knew that might hinder him a bit but soon, as we began to train together and play, I could see this was a guy who could help me score some goals.

When I was young, I loved listening to senior pros. I had joined Arsenal because the likes of Tony Adams, Michael Thomas and David Rocastle had sat me down and talked to me about the game and the club. So, when it didnt work out there, I went to Bristol and thats what I did again. I listened.

There were some great senior pros at Ashton Gate and I learnt from each and every one of them: Wayne Allison, Dariusz Dziekanowski, Terry Connor and of course, Leroy. Not many young strikers are fortunate enough to have that amount of experience and attacking talent to tap into and I made sure I listened and took things from them all.

Leroy was especially forthcoming with advice. With his career coming to an end you could tell the idea of coaching excited him and he was brilliant at communicating with players. He had my respect immediately (not only because of his age!) and I knew the advice he was giving me was going to prove valuable.

It worked well for me. City spent a lot of money after Id scored goals on loan with them, and while some senior pros there might have raised an eyebrow at the club spending their entire budget (500,000 on a 21-year-old was a lot for a club like City back then) on one young striker, I always had the support of Leroy and his continued assistance made my life and my football that much easier.

I never felt under pressure, it was like being in the youth team at Arsenal. Im not saying the quality wasnt good, it was and it was tough, but I just went out and played. With those goals catching the eye, Kevin Keegan came looking at me, and a big-money move to an up-and-coming Newcastle United was on the table.

I actually went to Leroy, asking if he knew any agents. He put me on to one and without naming any names, Leroys help cost me about 30,000! I hope this book sells well, Leroy, because I might be asking for some of that back!

My connection with the Roseniors continued in the latter part of my career when, at Fulham, I played with Leroys son Liam. Liam was a great player and a chip off the old block in terms of his enthusiasm, work ethic, talent and like me with his old man, he was keen to learn. Like his dad, he also always had an opinion and I can see him going far into management if thats the path he chooses. I hope he does.

The game needs more black coaches and managers. I speak to lots of young black footballers who blatantly rule out the idea of coaching because they dont see it as a viable option. Hopefully the likes of Liam can prove them wrong.

I was a young, football-mad kid in the 1980s and watching football, Cyrille Regis was my hero. Like so many guys of my generation, I owe a debt of gratitude to guys like him and Leroy who put up with so much abuse both on and off the pitch, making it easier for my generation to follow our dreams.

Dont get me wrong, I would never have let some racist bigot hinder the ambitions I had, but books like Leroys are so important in highlighting what players went through and pointing out that while racism as it was in his day has been fought against and largely eradicated, the fight continues.