Scott ‘Polo’ Minto
ASK A SILLY QUESTION
This is Question Time, with... “I don’t want to get political, but Abu Hamza isn’t my cup of tea.”
Hi Scott. You used to present Revista de la Liga on Sky from what looked like some kind of tapas bar in Valencia. What did it look like from behind the camera? I get asked this a lot, and the answer is it’s in a studio in Isleworth, west London. I worked on Revista for four years and during that whole time I only went to Spain once. The set is a convincing illusion, although occasionally a Spanish guest will tell us we need updated pictures. Did anyone ever drink from the carafe of wine on the table, or was it just Ribena? For or a couple of months, it was real wine and we drank it. I’m not going to name names, but one or two glugged the lot in the first half of matches. We weren’t allowed more than one bottle. It might have improved the show if we were! How good would you be at playing football after three carafes of Rioja? Some people may say I always looked like I’d had a few jugs of Sangria, but I’ve only played once while plastered. It was on a trip with Chelsea. We went to the Canaries – eat and drink as much as you like, with the only condition being that you had to play against a team of waiters. We were all quite drunk, and went 1-0 down. After that, competitiveness kicked in and overrode the booze. We did OK. If every footballer had to drink nine pints ts pre-match, who would win the Ballon lon d’or? Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would have no chance, would they? They’d be on the floor. Exactly. You’d end up with someone like Alan Hutton as European Footballer of the Year. I tell you who’d be great after nine pints: Frank Sinclair. He wouldn’t change. I don’t want to question his professionalism but… actually, yeah, I’ll question his professionalism. He could have a fair few drinks the night before a game and then put in a wonderful performance, marking international players out of the game. I’ll probably get an abusive text from him now. Talking of texts, what are the top three emojis? I like the little frog’s face; I use that
to signify someone being a muppet.
The big thumb is good. And the slapping palm. I use that a lot to my dad and brother, to show that either they or someone else needs a slap. Good choices. Now, where does
the Minto surname come from? It sounds vaguely European, doesn’t
it? With a Colombian wife and speaking Spanish myself-myself, myself, I’d quite like that.
But it’s actually Scottish. There’s a Minto clan. Someone sent me a letter about it when I was at Charlton. What’s the worst mint-related jibe you’ve received from a player or journalist? When I scored early in my career, some headline writer came up with ‘The Polo Kid Kid’. That doesn’t even make any sense. No, it’s rubbish. Luckily for the headline writers, I hardly ever scored again. Are you even a fan of the Extra Strong or Fisherman’s Friend? I don’t mind a mint. I’ll usually go for spearmint chewing gum, but I’m not really bothered. Aren’t you slightly offended that Mentos have never tried to engineer an advertising partnership? Yeah, why didn’t that ever happen? If you can sort it out for me, I’ll give you 10 per cent. Minto’s Mentos – we’re on the case. Scott, have you ever spent an afternoon on Youtube watching monkeys ride motorbikes? I wish! I’ve got three kids, so the only thing I get to watch is football, for work, and Peppa Pig or Dora the Explorer. The days of watching every ball of a Test match are over. Gah. Finally, which famous ex-resident of Belmarsh prison would you have least liked to share a cell with: Abu Hamza, Jeffrey Archer or Charles Bronson, Britain’s most dangerous prisoner? Hmm. I don’t want to get political, but Abu Hamza isn’t massively my cup of tea. A few weeks in a cell with Jeffrey Archer may have you praying for Hamza, mind. But you’d have to say Bronson would be the worst choice, simply from a personal survival point of view. I’d like to stay alive. That’s some sensible thinking, Scott. Thanks for chatting! A pleasure!
Minto is an ambassador for Mcdonald’s accredited club kit scheme. Go to mcdonalds.co.uk/kitscheme for info