Wise words from author’s mum: ‘Football jobs are no good, lad...’

GRAHAM took what he had initially intended to be a four-year career break from his job as a detective to join the FA.

His lifelong love of football had previously led to him getting involved with the Football Supporters’ Association an organisation pushing for better rights for fans so he had an understanding of the politics behind the beautiful game.

This knowledge and his reputation as a hardnosed detective meant when the head of compliance job came up, he was in the right place at exactly the right time.

But now, after a few years out of the game, he says if he had his time again, he would never have left his job as a detective.

“Football gave me some fantastic opportunities and I was able to travel the world and see things behind the scenes that most people never get the chance to see.

“But my mum always said ‘football jobs are no good, lad’. And I think she was right...

“I loved being a detective and I had a knack for solving crimes and catching criminals,” he says.

While his days of fighting crime on the streets and corruption in the game are now behind him, Graham may be set for yet another change in career direction he is mulling over writing another book, this time based on his days as a policeman at the time of the miners’ strike.

“It wouldn’t be a divisive book,” he says. “In fact it could actually have the potential to be quite humorous showing how families and the wider community coped with life during what were very difficult times.”

Bean There, Done That is available in book shops now. It was co-written with former Barnsley Chronicle journalist Jeremy Cross who is now the Daily Star’s chief sports writer.