Sports Books Blog

The death of Andy Norman on Monday stirred up emotions that I assumed where never likely to surface again. As well as the scandal of Sunday Times journalist Cliff Temple’s suicide I was once more amazed by how people can react to such a tragedy.
At the time, 14 years ago, some newspapers, probably more concerned with future access and stories, tried to defend Norman. Now, on the internet we have one reader of the website Letsrun saying “Sorry, Cliff Temple is responsible for his own demise. He had improper relations with a married woman, and when Norman exposed the affair, Temple, like all cowards do, killed himself.”
It was written by someone who was brave enough to call himself “Hingham” which is the way of the internet. Cliff, of course, can’t sue him for libel so it is up to other people to put the record straight.
Cliff was under strain because his wife had left him and Norman compounded the stress by ringing him and threatening to tell people he had been having an affair with one of the athletes Cliff coached. It was not true as the athlete made quite clear. But Cliff, in a fragile state because of the collapse of his marriage, couldn’t take it and walked in front of a train.
The coroner’s jury decided on the evidence of a transcript of the tape – they were not allowed to listen to it – that Norman’s phone call had “pushed him over the edge.”
There was a tribunal and Norman was sacked from his job as Promotions Officer for the British Athletic Federation. But immediately the Federation allowed him to become an agent for British athletes and in some cases forced young athletes to join his stable. One 1500 metres runner turned up in Slovakia expecting 1500 dollars for running only to be given 1000 dollars by Norman and told the rest was an agent’s fee. The athlete and his coach were too frightened of Norman’s power to go public.
He also continued to act as agent for high profile athletes such as Jonathan Edwards. Asked about the connection, Edwards did not fall back on the old cliché that all sinners deserve a second chance. He just said Norman made him a lot of money.
He pulled many other strokes as well and I write that as someone who once regarded him and his first wife as friends, or as near friends as you can get with journalist and contact.
It all started to go bad before the Cliff Temple episode stopped me talking to him again, apart from at the BAF tribunal when I was called to give evidence. As editor of the magazine Athletics Today I had taken two phone calls from him about colleagues of mine, one who also wrote about swimming was, Norman alleged, interfering with under-age girl swimmers. The other was a former teacher and was supposed to have left the profession because of his liking for young boys. The allegations were baseless, the journalists had just written something that Norman did not like.
I stopped taking his phone calls after that.
It also shocked me to find out when I read the obituaries that Norman worked for the IAAF, the world governing body of the sport. There are some things that should never be forgiven.

It’s always gratifying when a newspaper devotes a lot of space to one of your books, which is why the Sunday Express and the Liverpool Post are our favourite newspapers at SportsBooks – for the moment at least.
Aintree’s Queen Bee which was published last week got a whole page in the Sunday Express which as I used to work for it is only fair. The Liverpool Post devoted more than two pages (after all Mirabel Topham who ran the Grand National for 40 years was a Merseyside legend) and as they once turned me down for a job it shows they have got good taste at last.
The Times aren’t up there with these two at the moment. Alan Lee (who lives in Cheltenham, our home town) mentioned there was a biography of Mirabel on the market but failed to give the name of the book or of the publishers. Never mind, readers of The Times are intelligent people. They’ll work it out.
We are keeping out fingers crossed for lots of media coverage for three football books we have in the pipeline. From Sheffield with Love is the story of the world’s first football club, the still-going-strong Sheffield FC, known as The Club, in much the same manner as the English governing body for football is known as the FA or the governing body for athletics is known as the Amateur Athletic Association. It makes my blood itch when I see people who should know better refer to it as the English Amateur Athletic Association. The rest of the world may be better at sport than us these days but at least we can cling onto the fact that we were the first. We didn’t know until we read the manuscript that Sheffield is the crucible of organised football. It all started in south Yorkshire. Shame on us, we should have known that.
Then there is Ultimate Goals! our first venture into fiction. It’s written by Martin Dobson the former Everton and Burnley and England midfielder which is unusual in itself. We reckon no other ex-England players have written novels. Terry Venables has a writer’s credit as has Steve Bruce. But Venables wrote his with Gordon Williams and Bruce never played for England (although it’s a mystery why not). We were asked to look at the book by another of our authors, Dave Thomas (he wrote Willie Irvine and Harry Potts and has a shrine to Burnley FC in his back bedroom, which is unusual for a 61 year-old). We liked it so much we decided that we’d dip a toe in the big ocean of fiction.
Third is Memories of George Best which is exactly what it says on the tin. Authors Christopher Hilton and Ian Coe, both ex-Daily Express men, have spoken to people who played with and against the Manchester United legend when he was at the top, sliding down the pole and at the bottom. They have talked to lovers, friends, enemies, journalists and the result is a rounded portrait of a flawed genius. For those unfortunate people who never saw him play just think of Ronaldo’s speed and tricks allied with Rooney’s strength and skill and then factor in Ryan Giggs. Yes he was that good.

I never thought I would ever see two successive performances from the England football team like the 3-0 victories over Israel and Russia. The first was damned by faint praise – only Israel, wait until Russia. But Russia were brushed aside as well. They offered more than Israel but if Ferdinand and Ashley Cole had decided to play like proper defenders a lot of the Russian threat would have been nullified.
The main reason for the performances was the balance in midfield between Barry and Gerrard. England have been crying out for years for a balanced midfield but Eriksson and then McLaren persisted with Gerrard and Lampard when it was obvious that they did not gell well together. Maybe it was ego – “I CAN make it work” or maybe it was because Lampard plays for a London club and the managers did not wish to upset the London media but for years England have stumbled.
McLaren’s hand was forced to pick in one way in that Lampard and Hargreaves were injured. But even Hargreaves does not fit in properly. The Manchester United man’s boundless energy is not matched by a good enough touch or pass. McLaren could have picked Carrick but after his display against Germany I’m not surprised he was left out. I still blanch when I remember one ten yard pass that ended two yards to the wrong side of Bekham.
Barry, in contrast, was economic in his movement and his passing. He defended when necessary and most of all he passed the ball forward – Hargreaves take note.
So will McLaren stick with Barry? True Barry is one paced but some us remember Willem van Hanegem. He couldn’t sprint that fast, but he could play. And so can Barry. Who was it that was level with Shaun Wright Philliups when he scored against Israel just in case there was a rebound. That’s right – Barry.
While on the subject of England midfield players, we have one as an author. We reckon it’s a first. We know Terry Venables is an author, but he co-wrote his books – one of them was “They used to play on Grass” with Gordon Williams. And Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce wrote three thrillers, but the former Manchester United centre half never played for England.
Martin, 600 games in a 20 year career mostly with Burnley and Everton, has written “Ultimate Goals” which we publish next month. It’s a story of two teenagers who join different clubs. And Martin should know what goes on at that level. As well as once being a teenage footballer he was Director of Bolton Wanderers Academy.