I’m the pride of England ...fuelled by drugs & booze
FINAL DAY OF THE BRILLIANT BOOK EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
MY ENGLAND debut came just as I turned to booze and drugs to block out the past.
At Spurs, I wasn’t hooked on coke straight away. But it soon became a big part of a night out, often in combination with ecstasy.
Even when I met up with England for my debut, I had been out drinking all day.
I got to Bisham Abbey to meet the full squad for the first time – and went straight to the hotel bar.
We were not training. But I thought nothing of going down for a drink with a few of the other lads.
I was not alone by any means, yet I look back now and think, ‘Was that right? What was I on?’
I had three games to prove myself. Graham Taylor was a fair boss – for all the stick he got later on – and gave me my first full England cap.
It was a boyhood dream – I felt I had made it, running out against West Germany at the old Wembley on September 11, 1991.
A few days earlier, the back pages had reported my new contract with Spurs. It allowed me to spend more time at home and to commute to training during the week. The new deal put an end to a potential bigmoney move back to Manchester City.
I was very proud to win that first England cap – I later played in Russia and Poland. The debut just felt special as my family watched from the stands.
It was over in a flash, the 66th minute came and my number went up on the board along with Paul Merson, the Arsenal midfielder also making his debut – and battling demons of his own, as it turned out.
Germany were such a good side. It was hard to get anywhere near the ball. I got booked after elbowing their captain Lothar Matthaus, a debut claim to fame. They won 1-0.
My dad Bert, uncle Brian and brother Anthony were in the crowd, bursting with pride. I had gained England honours at every senior level.
Yet playing for England had its downsides. You were told when to sleep, eat and turn up for dinner – it was all so regimented and I am sure some players thought, “Here we go again”. Former Southampton boss Lawrie McMenemy was appointed Taylor’s assistant manager (above) in July 1990, after Bobby Robson’s tenure as boss ended.
All he seemed to bother about was whether your room was tidy. I felt we were being treated like schoolboys. As that ‘England’ season progressed, the drink and drugs started to play more of a role in my life.
I never seemed to consider how things looked. By that time, I was drinking heavily between games.
I had also started to take drugs and was making excuses about not going home to Blackpool as I battled the demons – the memories of childhood abuse.
Many a weekend in London turned into a lost weekend. Once the match was out of the way, free time followed a pattern. If we were away, there would be the full a la carte service on Spurs’ ‘five-star’ team bus.
We had a selection of wines with the meal, then the Holsten Pils came out. No wonder Spurs were called ‘champagne Charlies’ and ‘southern softies’ when they went north.
There was often a few beers in and around Hampstead, as many of the lads – including my big mate Steve Sedgley – liked the bars around there. Then we’d head into London, the bright lights, and a club, maybe a rave. We would be making plans to go on the lash even as we hit the motorway, on the way back from away matches.
Paul Walsh knew people all over the capital and was often ready for a big night before we got off the bus.
I was never far behind. We would go to Browns, an exclusive club. We got in because we were footballers. There would be faces you recognised from TV, film, music and sport.
One night we chatted to Elton John, George Michael, singers Pepsi and Shirlie and a woman I did not recognise who turned out to be Petula Clark. It was quite a night standing next to George and asking him about his latest album with Elton in Browns bar.
I wish I could remember what we said. Rod Stewart and his then wife Rachel Hunter were also in there once. When I was at Manchester City, you were more likely to bump into Little and Large.