Читать книгу Hammered - I Played Football for West Ham, Man City and Everton… Then the Police Came Calling and My Life Fell Apart - Mark Ward - Страница 6

By Howard Kendall

BY pure coincidence, I had just finished watching an episode of the TV police series The Bill when Mark’s publisher phoned me at home and asked if I would contribute this foreword. How timely!

I was obviously shocked when I heard that Mark had been arrested and then subsequently sentenced. I don’t want to go into what he was guilty of and why he ended up in prison for the past four years but when it happens to someone you know well and have become close to over the years, it’s obviously very disappointing.

But once I knew how long he would have to spend inside, I had no doubts whatsoever that Mark would be able to handle it. His outstanding qualities of resilience and determination that characterised his performances for me, firstly at Manchester City and then Everton, have again stood him in good stead.

Mark first came to my attention some eight years or so before I actually signed him. He was playing for Everton in a testimonial at Halifax one night in May 1981, just after he had been given a free transfer by manager Gordon Lee, who was in fact sacked later that day. I’d just been appointed as Lee’s successor when I was sat next to my assistant, Colin Harvey, at the game.

Despite being shown the door by the club he’d supported as a kid, Mark gave a typically honest performance that caught my eye at The Shay that night. I asked Colin if he thought the club was doing the right thing by letting ‘Wardy’ go and he mentioned that Lee had based his decision on Mark’s size and stature and doubted whether he had the strength to fully make the grade.

Although I accepted Lee’s verdict at the time and didn’t intervene, I made a mental note of Mark’s ability and the decision to let him go ultimately proved an expensive one for the club – I brought him back to Everton 10 years later at a cost of £1million.

After being released by Everton in the early 80s, Mark went on to show what he was all about. Instead of feeling sorry for himself and giving up on his dream, he worked hard to improve his game, kept plugging away and got his reward via a non-league spell with Northwich Victoria that took him back into pro football at Oldham Athletic and then West Ham United. For this achievement I always use him as the perfect example of a youngster who showed the hunger and determination required to bounce back from a big setback early on in his career.

For me, Mark’s best qualities were his consistency and the 100 per cent commitment he guaranteed with every game he played. Some players don’t attain that level of consistency but he always did. Add that attitude to the lad’s other abilities – his strength and willingness to get up and down the wing and a good crosser of the ball – and here was a player you wanted on your team-sheet every week.

It was those fighting qualities that made me sign him when I returned to England after managing Athletic Bilbao to take over at Man City towards the end of 1989. The team was struggling in a relegation battle and not only did I need to bring in players of quality, but ones who would fight to dig us out of that hole to ensure survival in the top flight.

One of the first games I saw on my return from Spain was Blackburn Rovers against West Ham – and I knew then that Wardy was ideally suited to help us get out of the situation we were in. I swapped him for two players, Ian Bishop and Trevor Morley – plus money – to form a central midfield partnership alongside another reliable Scouser called Peter Reid, and City eventually pulled clear of trouble.

I found myself in a similar predicament when I went back to Everton to manage there for the second time, in the summer of 1991 – and I again turned to Mark because I knew he would do the job we needed from him. This time, he was asked to play on the left of midfield, but it didn’t matter where I put him in midfield because I knew I’d always get the same consistent level of performance and wholehearted endeavour.

I never really liked to play with out-and-out wingers anyway. I preferred wide players who would attack and then also get back to defend when needed – and Wardy could perform both roles very well.

After he had recovered from a badly broken leg during my second spell as Everton manager, I didn’t hesitate to put him straight back in the side as soon as he was fit enough to play again. He had a winning mentality, on and off the field.

I saw more evidence of this soon after he’d joined City, when I took the lads on a mid-season break to Tenerife. I challenged Wardy to a game of tennis after we’d all spent the previous night enjoying drinks in the hotel bar. There was a £100 side-stake on the match and I managed to beat him two sets to one.

He could never stand to be beaten, though, so he insisted on a double-or-quits re-match the next day. This time he got his revenge – he must have caught me at a weak moment!

I got him back a few years later, though, on Everton’s summer trip to Mauritius. Wardy had got up to something – I can’t remember what – so I punished him by making him stand up on stage at our hotel and sing Summertime to the whole squad. It probably proved to be more a punishment for the other lads who had to listen to him perform!

These bonding tours did much to boost morale among the players. There were no cliques and they always had a positive effect. We’d invariably win our next game after a mini-break, although the players had to pay for their own fun. If any of them stepped out of line during the season I’d fine them for it and put the money into a kitty that went towards our next trip.

I’d keep a log of all the miscreants and what they had paid into the fund. Before going away I’d read out the list of contributors and the sums they had raised. The lads would all clap and cheer as I went down the list but, inevitably, Wardy’s name would be at or somewhere near the top and I’d be informing him that it was his turn to get the champagne in again!

Not that he has had any champagne to enjoy in the past four years. I visited Mark in prison, along with Duncan Ferguson and my pal Tommy Griffiths, and I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived there. But I was very pleased to see that he looked well and as fit as he did during his playing career.

It wasn’t for me to probe him about what had happened or ask how or why he got himself into such a mess. The main thing is that he has paid the price for his mistakes and done his time like a man.

I understand that Mark would now like to rebuild his life and career by getting back into football in a coaching or management capacity. My advice to him would be to apply himself fully and gain the necessary coaching qualifications, so that any prospective chairman can see that he means business and has a clear intent to progress in coaching and management. If he can show desire and commitment, the same qualities that made him an integral part of my teams at both Manchester City and Everton, then people will sit up and take notice of him.

I wish Mark good luck in the future and look forward to seeing him back at Goodison Park again soon, where he will always be made welcome by me.

Howard Kendall

Formby, Merseyside

November 2010