Paddy Crerand: Never Turn the Other Cheek
Описание книги
Paddy Crerand's eagerly-awaited autobiography recounts the previously untold story of one of post-war football's fieriest characters. As a defensive midfielder, famed for his tough tackling, for Scotland, Celtic and Manchester United from 1957 to 1972, he was the Roy Keane of his day and this book holds nothing back on or off the field.As a Catholic born in the then infamous Gorbals area of Glasgow, Crerand was determined to escape from an extraordinarily tough background of family tragedy, religious bigotry and working in the Clyde shipyard, to become a professional footballer.As a Celtic player in the early years of Jock Stein's management, Paddy Crerand was forced to play in the shadow of the then dominant Rangers team. At Manchester United, however, he enjoyed great success in Sir Matt Busby's post-Munich Air Disaster team, winning two league titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup, and playing alongside the likes of George Best, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Nobby Stiles.In his own distinctively punchy style, Crerand reveals the full truth about his controversial friendship with the hard-drinking Protestant Rangers star 'Slim' Jim Baxter and the legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly; what it was like to be George Best's minder and Matt Busby's confidant; and his passionate involvement in Irish nationalist politics.Crerand’s life story is a genuine triumph over adversity told by someone whose informed opinion on Manchester United and football in general is as respected today as it was forty years ago.
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Dedication
For my mother, Sarah,who made me the person that I am
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Until I was too old, or too heavy, I had many a lift, and one of my earliest football memories is of getting into Hampden Park at the age of ten and seeing a fabulous Great Britain team with a forward line of Stanley Matthews, Wilf Mannion, Tommy Lawton, and Billy Liddell beat the Rest of Europe 6–1. I can also remember seeing Tom Finney play for the first time in 1952 when England beat Scotland 2–1. Even though he was wearing the white of England, I knew I’d seen a great winger. The Scots didn’t know what to do with him because, being so two-footed, he could beat them any way he wanted. Later I saw Finney play in quite a few internationals. I saw Stanley Matthews, too, but Finney was clearly the better of the two. The one thing I liked about Finney is that he bowed out at the top. Most good footballers refuse to admit when their best playing days are over, and they go on and play for as long as they can for the sake a few more pounds when they have already made a lot of money in their career. I think this spoils them in the eyes of the public because they are remembered as failures with an expanding waistline instead of the brilliant performers they were before. It says much that Finney was prepared to step out of the limelight when he had the slim build and was still in his prime.
I went to Parkhead for most of the home games. It was so huge that despite the big crowds it was rarely full to its 80,000 capacity. I don’t think I ever had a penny in my pocket but I always got into the ground and stood on one of the vast sweeping terraces that made up three-quarters of the stadium.
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