Craig Burley’s tale from Tallinn
After representing Scotland at Euro 96, the feisty midfielder infamously headed to Tallinn
What was it like as a youngster at Chelsea in the late-80s and early-90s?
Behind the goal where the Matthew Harding Stand is now, there was a 25ft pole with a sign on it saying ‘Save the Bridge’. The whole place was crumbling, and there wasn’t much money floating about. There was Vinnie Jones, Andy Townsend, Peter Nicholas – they were rough old days. Jonesy would never back down from anything. He’s a real hard guy, Vinnie, and he doesn’t just play the hard guy. He really is the hard guy. But I’ll tell you what, he was helpful to me. He’d look after the young kids. All right, he wasn’t a dazzling twinkle-toes, but he was important to the club at the time.
How did all the apprentices fuel themselves back in those days?
It was a £2 daily allowance at the hamburger and kebab shop by Fulham Broadway station. I remember going in and the guy would bang his fist on the table shouting, “Not paying, not paying.” It turned out Chelsea were so hard up back then, they couldn’t even afford to pay the burger and kebab guy!
Was it intimidating for a lad from Scotland moving down to London?
I stayed in digs in north London. The landlord I lived with, Ken Patterson, passed away a few years ago, but I’m still in touch with the family. They’re a really down to earth, humble family. I was there for five years from 16 until I turned 21. Even as a professional I lived there, as the money wasn’t enough to buy your own house. If you’re 18 years old and playing for Chelsea these days, you can buy a big house, a car and hire a chauffeur, too.
How did you stay in touch with your family? The only means of communication back then was landline telephones. I used to phone my girlfriend a lot, and I’d be stood in a red phone box, putting money in to call Scotland. I’d be smashing whatever change I had left into this phone, then turning around and seeing eight people queuing up behind me!
What was it like playing under Glenn Hoddle when he arrived in 1993?
I’d always liked Glenn as a player when I was growing up. I fell out with him a few times but I end up falling out with everyone. It’s just the way I am. They called me ‘Mr Angry’ at Chelsea for no reason, and it was a running joke when he was manager that if he wasn’t playing, he would always come on for me. That happened a lot. I told him once, “Is that the only f**king number you’ve got on that board?” He didn’t take it too well, though.
You joined Celtic when they were desperate to stop Rangers winning 10 successive titles. How did you find that experience?
Let’s be honest, if you need to know anything about a player in Scottish football now, you’d have to go on Wikipedia. When I went to Celtic, I can’t tell you how good the quality was. Paul Gascoigne wasn’t getting regular game time for Rangers. You had Sergio Porrini going there from Juventus. When I turned up, people were saying, ‘What the bloody hell have we signed him for?’ But no one could really understand the pressure we were under. The fans wanted to kill us if we lost a game. They were besotted with stopping Rangers, and would remind us this was the most important f**king season in the history of the club. If you couldn’t handle pressure, then it wasn’t a place for you. Luckily, we had players who thrived on it.
You were involved in all three of Scotland’s games at Euro 96. What are your memories of that tournament?
It was a great time. We started off with a 0-0 draw against the Dutch, then Gary Mcallister missed a penalty against England at Wembley. He was inconsolable for 24 hours. You couldn’t grab him off the floor. After the 2-0 defeat, we went back to our hotel in Staffordshire and had a couple of beers. Gary had a couple too, then went back up to his room. He felt like he’d let everyone down, which he hadn’t. He’d simply missed a penalty. David Seaman saved it with his elbow – on another day it goes in. But that’s the pressure you’re under at a big tournament. Maybe some players in the modern game go home and don’t give a flying f**k, but for most guys it really hurts when you make a mistake. Do you still curse Patrick Kluivert’s late goal against England which sent the Scots home? The game against Switzerland at Villa Park was hilarious. It was so surreal. I started the game at right wing-back and Ally Mccoist does what Ally Mccoist does – he misses four open goals, then scores a 25-yarder. Ally couldn’t kick his own arse at one point, then he hits a screamer straight in the top corner. So we’re 1-0 up and start hearing what’s going on at Wembley. At one point, Craig Brown is shouting to me, “Get up, get up, we need a goal.” Then two minutes later he’s screaming, “Go back, go back.” Then five minutes later it’s, “Get up, get up.” I didn’t know what the f**k was going on. Then Kluivert nutmegs Seaman and we’re going out on the goals scored rule.
Months after that, you were involved in the ‘One Team In Tallinn’ World Cup qualifier. Browny had complained about the lights at the stadium being far too low. They were portable floodlights, so Browny reported that they were a problem and that we wanted to play during daylight hours. The Estonians complained, but the time was still changed. Then the Estonians said they weren’t going to come, but Browny was adamant the Estonian bus would turn up five minutes before the start, and that they’d pile out of the bus in their kit and play. He was walking around the dressing room saying, “We need to take this seriously and you’re all taking the piss. The Estonians are going to turn up for this and we’ve got to be ready.” Tosh Mckinlay threw his arms up in the air to celebrate when we kicked off. John Collins did it too!
You’re still the last man to score for Scotland at a major tournament (above)...
Yeah. I went to the 1998 World Cup in the best shape I’d ever been in. I was flying, but Browny played me out of position at wing-back. I was the in-form goalscoring midfielder in Scottish football and doing the graveyard shift. It was only when he put me in midfield that I scored against Norway – I ran in behind Henning Berg and lobbed Frode Grodas. Frode’s a good pal of mine from Chelsea, and he came up to me at the end of the game to shake my hand. His first words were, “You bastard.” I said, “Listen, you should know me well enough by now – if I’m through on goal, don’t come off your line!” How did it feel to score at a World Cup?
I sat for hours as a kid watching a VHS tape of the 1982 World Cup – I must have watched it over a hundred times. To score at a World Cup was unbelievable. I got back to the hotel and thought, ‘All the s**t years, getting £30 a week and being homesick in London – all of that was worthwhile to be where I am now’. People ask, ‘Would you rather play at the World Cup or in the Champions League?’ For me, it’s the World Cup. Pure and simple. You know you won’t win it and you know you’re not the best player, but you’re on that platform and to experience it is incredible. That’s why I feel sorry for all those Scottish players who haven’t been there since.
“ALLY MCCOIST COULDN’T KICK HIS OWN ARSE AT ONE POINT, THEN HE HITS A 25-YARD SCREAMER”