Knockout king who spent five years in jail
BOrehAM WOOD goalscorer Adrian Clifton believes football saved him after going badly off the rails after his release by Arsenal as a teenager. Forward Clifton, 33, came off the bench to seal a historic win for National League Boreham Wood against AFC Wimbledon of League One. Tyrone Marsh crashed a spectacular opener after 10 minutes before Clifton skilfully guided in a late second as Luke Garrard’s reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time. Clifton, who served a total of five years in prison in three spells, was emotional after the final whistle. The striker featured in boyhood hero Ian Wright’s TV show Football Behind Bars 12 years ago as the Gunners legend looked to use an academy initiative to help serious young offenders. Monserrat international Clifton said: ‘It has been a tough journey. I am really pleased to still be playing at 33 with odds stacked against me after leaving Arsenal and then going to prison for five years. ‘I have been through a lot, so days like this are huge. I did some naughty stuff back then... let’s just leave it at that. And I went there to prison — and learned lessons there I still use today. ‘If you watch me play I am quite aggressive and like to put it about a bit. That comes from the hunger and from where I come from. ‘If you use that and turn it into being a professional it is very hard for others to live with. A focused man that has had a tough time has a purpose. ‘I have a purpose, and I am asking the boys all the time, “What is your purpose... what are you here for?” If it’s just for fun, that is not football. ‘Sometimes the gaffer gets me to talk to the boys to get them going, and it is raw emotion. ‘I did play football in prison, and in my last year in there I took part in a TV programme called Football Behind Bars with Ian Wright. he set me back on my journey. ‘Meeting someone like Ian Wright and him taking an interest, believing in me and telling me I was good enough to play professionally was huge. ‘he was a hero of mine growing up as an Arsenal fan, I even borrowed my uncle’s razor to shave my head like him. But him coming to the prison made me realise who I really was. ‘So I made the decision at 21 that I was going to stop that life. I am still in touch with him, and I appreciate everything he did for me. ‘Football has saved me, I did go off the rails but I have managed to turn it around and come out the other side.’