I got to know NHS when I was hit by car at 5
GIDEON BROOKS talks to the former defender about his love for our health service and his favourite football moments ahead of eSport charity final
Q HOW ARE YOU FEELING AHEAD OF THE FINAL TOMORROW?
A Slightly nervous. I’d never owned a PlayStation before this, having always been an Xbox man. So I was a bit nervous about how I was going to do, having talked myself up!
Q HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTO GAMING?
A The Xbox came out the first year I was at Everton. I was moving away from my mates in Birmingham for the first time. I was always decent but I did put in the hours! If anyone had known the amount of time I played they’d have been, ‘What is he doing?’ When we had kids I limited it to the odd 10 minutes.
Q WERE YOU LIKE DAVID JAMES, WHO BLAMED BLUNDERS IN GOAL IN 1997 ON BEING UP ALL NIGHT WITH LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER?
A There were a few stories like that but all I will say is I was putting in the kind of hours that professionals put in.
Q THIS CUP IS IN AID OF A DIFFERENT KIND OF PROFESSIONAL, THOUGH?
A Absolutely. The NHS has always been a cause that is close to my heart after needing them when I was a child.
Q YOU WERE INVOLVED IN A BAD ACCIDENT WHEN YOU WERE FIVE…
A I don’t like to revisit it – not for me but for my parents’ sake. But I was coming out of primary school and got run over by a car that jumped a pedestrian crossing. It was touch and go and I was in hospital for four months. To get hit by a car back then, those cars were all metal, the bumper as well, so it had an impact. Four months meant I got really close to the people who were caring for me. I still remember Dr Gower, who performed all my surgeries at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Q COMPARED TO THAT, HOW IMPORTANT IS FOOTBALL RIGHT NOW?
A There are bigger issues, but it is still important. With regard to finishing the season, I don’t think you can come to any conclusion that is fair on the people who are close to success. And then I don’t think you can say, ‘as it stands’, when we know in our leagues that it goes down to the wire. To say that people get relegated and it’s just unfortunate… there will be players in the Championship on the verge of promotion who may never get that opportunity again.
Q HAVE YOU EXPERIENCE OF THINGS GOING TO THE WIRE?
A Just a bit. In 2012 Manchester City won the title with the last kick.
Q WAS THAT THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER?
A It was a roller coaster and for me it was a constant battle to prove myself under Roberto Mancini, who I felt never gave me a fair crack of the whip.
Q HE WAS NOT YOUR FAVOURITE MANAGER THEN?
A I think the footage of the last game of that season against QPR summed it up. You could see what he was saying to the lads – hammering them. I had a lot of time for David Moyes. Glenn Hoddle [at England] was my favourite. He explained the game in a way no one had or has done since – kept it simple.
Q SO WHAT DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD DO WITH THE SEASON NOW?
A Finish it when it is safe to do so. At the start of lockdown nobody would have said, ‘Let’s play behind closed doors’. But if that’s the scenario now, do it. There would be a bit of swearing and I don’t know what they’d do with that. There would be no hiding place, for sure.