LYONS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH
MICK LYONS, a great Everton captain, has been diagnosed with dementia. His combative style and fearsome aerial ability may well be to blame but Mick says he doesn’t regret a moment of his professional career. I can believe that. I got to know Mick when he was manager of Grimsby more than 30 years ago, and there was no quarter given then, either. In the 1985-86 season, Grimsby drew Arsenal at home in the FA Cup. Speaking with Mick after a match on the Wednesday before — a 3-1 win over Shrewsbury — he exuded an air of great relish. Football Focus had asked to interview him, Saturday lunchtime, before the tie. ‘I’ll be taking them up there,’ he said, gesturing towards the ferociously exposed roof of the stand, that was home to the commentary positions. ‘Blows a gale,’ he added. ‘Straight off the North Sea. And they’ll all be in the hotel, watching.’ He was right. That was the ritual back then. Football Focus, pre-match meal in the hotel, then off in the bus to the game. And that Saturday, the Arsenal players will have turned on their televisions to see Grimsby’s manager giving an interview that might as well have been conducted on a trawler in the face of a force 10. Grimsby still lost but by the odd goal in seven. It was quite the game.
Go well, Mick. Go well.