I can’t bear to delete Eric from my mobile
THE POWER STILL CAN’T GET OVER THE DEVASTATING LOSS OF HIS MENTOR BRISTOW
PHIL TAYLOR misses his old mentor Eric Bristow so much he cannot bring himself to delete the Crafty Cockney’s number from his mobile phone directory.
The Power returns tonight to the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, scene of his 16 World Matchplay titles, as a Sky Sports pundit with the BetVictor tournament’s Phil Taylor Trophy named in his honour.
But Taylor, who was set on the road to his recordbreaking, history-making 16 world championship crowns by a £10,000 bursary from Bristow, is still struggling to believe he will never hear King Eric’s abrupt encouragement from the wings again.
He said: “I do miss Eric, all the time – I still have his number stored on my phone. Sometimes I think of calling it to see if he answers, it’s awful.
“There’s a little barrier in my head, thinking he’s not gone. He was such a big character, like my mum and dad, that they will ever die in my eyes. Their influence will always be there, they will always be in your heart. But there will never be another Eric.
“Bobby George made me laugh – he rang me up and said he had done an interview on talkSPORT. They asked him how long he had known Eric, and he replied: ‘I knew him for 45 years, but I only liked him for three!’ That’s Eric for you.”
Taylor’s retirement in January, and Bristow’s sudden death at 60 three months later, robbed darts of its two biggest characters – the greatest achiever of alltime and its original superstar.
The Power, 58 next month, has no fears about standards slipping on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit, but he is concerned the playing field is not laced with enough rivalries or genuine charisma.
He admitted: “I won’t lie to you, I’m not a big darts watcher now. I’m not a big fan of some of the characters in the game.
“I’m a channel-hopper. I sit at home with the TV remote, put on the Premier League to check the scores, and if certain players are on I’ll watch their games.
“But certain players will do something and off it goes – I’ll turn over to Coronation Street or Top Gear.”
At this point in the conversation, Taylor beats his chest – one of current world No.1 Michael van Gerwen’s idiosyncrasies on stage.
He added: “Darts is the same as boxing: It needs big games, big rivalries, like Eric and Jocky Wilson all those years ago.
“It needs its own version of Benn v Eubank, or Joshua v Fury now, because needle matches put bums on seats and make great TV.
“That’s why, in the last few years of my career, I wasn’t afraid to have a go at some players. But I was becoming hit and miss on stage – one week I could walk the tournament and win it, the next I would go out in the first or second round.
“The energy levels weren’t there, you’re getting older, your eyesight’s going and it was killing me. It was breaking my heart.
“But it will feel strange to walk into the Winter Gardens, where I had more success than any other venue, and not be playing. The last time I played there, I left the stage in tears... but only because I won!
“I was very flattered, and genuinely shocked, when the PDC announced they were naming the World Matchplay trophy after me. It never entered my head something like that would ever happen to me.” *Phil Taylor was speaking in association with SAP recruitment, hiring the best sales and product developers to make the world run better
He was such a big character. There will never be another Eric, he’ll never die in my eyes