Anyone else out there read tjis book? I had a clearout recently but I chose to rescue this from the trip to Oxfam (unlike John gregory's "The Boss", which is now gathering dust in a Northamptonshire charity bookshop) and I reread it this week, ten years later. I think it's a very interesting insight into the mind of a respected professional battling with the pressures of recovery from his gambling and alcohol addiction, and as I had a half-season ticket that year, it brought back memories for me personally, albeit mainly bad ones- a 4-1 drubbing at home to Coventry, anyone? Still, this paragraph towards the end about two of our rising stars at the time struck a chord, especially with the benefit of hindsight:
"He (Gareth Barry, who would have been eighteen at the time) is a nice lad, the best footballing centre half I think I have ever seen, but still needs to work on his defending. I hope I can get across to him that he has the chance to be one of the dominant players of his era, which is all any player can ever do. He's got to look after himself, though, and avoid the pitfalls. Same as Lee Hendrie."
Wise words there indeed- especially as the fortunes of the two young player named there went in two different directions. I was as annoyed as anyone when Barry went to Manchester City, but it shows that Merson's judgement was spot on- and Hendrie is an example of what happens when a player's potential is wasted.
He makes some very positive comments about a certain K. Macdonald as well...
Well worth revisiting a decade on if you've got a copy lying around.
