HEAR THOSE LIONS ROAR
PAUL FAIRCLOUGH will never forget picking his first England squad back in early 2003.
With the Conference boycotting the game over an insurance issue, Fairclough and the late, respected, FA administrator Mike Appleby trawled the sixth tier divisions for a group to take on Belgium.
“I remember being in the offices at Lancaster Gate, late at night,” Fairclough says. “We hadn’t got a team, because of what had happened, so we cobbled one together. We had someone sent off from memory and got beat 3-1, which wasn’t bad in the circumstances.”
That was the start of an epic journey Fairclough could hardly have imagined would take him and his staff – including the equally long serving Mick Payne and Jim Conway – across Europe and even as far as America, the Caribbean, Jordan and Russia.
On Tuesday night, the 74-year-old will deliver his 74th team talk as the boss of NonLeague’s Three Lions – known as the National Game XI in his early days before being renamed England C in 2007 – when they take on Cymru C at Llanelli Town.
Fairclough, having had a hip operation, was out of management when he saw the unpaid role advertised.
A career that started with Hertford Town had seen huge success at Stevenage Borough where he won four titles, including the Conference National only to be denied promotion to the Football League on ground issues.
Famously, his
Boro took mighty Newcastle
United to an FA Cup third round replay.
From there the offers rolled in. Fairclough scouted the Champions League for Arsenal and, off the back of his suggestion, became the first Premier League club to focus on Africa for young talent.
He did some work for Channel 4 and the ECB assessing schools and clubs’ suitability for funding, having also been around the world for Nike.
“It was all off the back of Newcastle,” Fairclough says. “Nike selected me to be someone who went out to all the clubs they sponsored around the world. I would talk to all the coaches from U5s right through to the first team managers.
Platforms
“We went travelling for a whole year – even to Brazil. I spent two weeks with the national team. I had my photograph taken with Ronaldo. Four weeks later I saw him in Milan because he was at Inter. He recognised me straightaway! My mate…,” he adds with a, self-deprecating, smile.
When Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthous called in 2004, it was on the condition he continued as England boss.
“The England C team, because I’ve been doing it so long, has a huge emotional attachment,” he says. “It’s got a Svengali hold on me. There’s no question about it.
“I’ve stayed involved because I love it. I always try to keep right on board with all the modern stuff – all the various platforms available for coaching, demonstrations, and surrounding myself with young, aspiring coaches as well. Just to make sure there’s a fresh environment for the players.”
There have been, and continue to be, more challenges. England C have felt the financial squeeze on more than one occasion. The popular International Challenge Trophy has been shelved, meaning fewer games each season with the annual Wales clash the only games since Covid – although there was a boost this week with a second fixture this season announced for May when they take on Nepal.
Tuesday’s game comes at a crucial part of the domestic run-in so politics of the modern day National League means Fairclough has taken to picking a squad for these annual Wales games on a one player per club principle.
Thankfully Fairclough believes he has the best netowrk of dedicated scounts he’s ever had so when there’s been a squad shuffle this week, they’re armed with all the info.
Altrincham’s Jake Cooper replace club-mate Isaac Marriott, who picked up an injury against Woking, has been called up while the door has opened for Dagenham keeper Elliot Justham, with Oldham midfielder Tom Conlon also in.
But their record on all fronts is incredible and also shows the vital role they play in football’s eco system. In total, 307 players capped in Fairclough’s era have then gone onto play in the Premier League, EFL or Scottish Premier League either through transfer or promotion.
“Do you remember DJ Campbell?” Fairclough asks.
“He’s an agent now. He phoned me up the other week – which he does before every game – and he goes on about one of his players he wants me to select for England. He sent me all the details. We considered him but he didn’t quite make it. I sent him a message and said, ‘DJ, you know I love you to bits’. Because I did a lot of work with him. I had him at Stevenage and I took him to Leicester to see a sprint specialist. So I said, ‘DJ, you know I love you to bits but please don’t come back with one of your notorious rants’. He sent me a lovely message back with a heart saying, ‘Paul, I love you. I will never forget what you did for my career’. It just shows.
Impact
“I know for a fact there will be lots of players that feel, not me, but England C was a huge impact on their lives.”
That almost certainly comes from the work off the pitch. With a short turnaround from meet-up to kick-off, bonding the group is key. Fairclough has always been ahead of the game on that front, leaning on trusted methods. On day one, players will stand up and talk about themselves.
The second day sees the squad split into pairs where they interview each other on five questions and then tell the
group what they’ve found out about their partner.
“I learnt that from the FA Cup run we had against Newcastle United,” Fairclough says. “I got inundated by people who wanted to help. And when I say inundated, I mean sacks full of letters.
“This one, ordinary, letter jumped out at me. He didn’t have a clue about football. Dave Elliott. He said, ‘I can help you win this game’.
“He took me from believing I was going to be the most humiliated man in football to believing I might win the FA Cup.
“I thought we’d get beaten 11 or 12-0, such was the chasm at that time. That was a big thing for me because I wanted the team to do well. This guy gave me all kinds of strategies I’ve gone on to use.
“Such was my belief in this man, I recommended him to Arsene Wenger. I know it was against the wishes of certain staff but he went into Arsenal and did a similar thing.
“Wenger believed his team could go the whole season without losing. My friend say, ‘Have you told anyone that?’ He said, ‘No. I’d be laughed at’.
Experiences
“But he took Wenger to a place of believing and then the players to that same place.”
Spend time inside the England
C camp and it’s quickly clear to see the pride representing their country gives not only Fairclough and his staff, but the players too.
Whether it’s home or abroad, the experiences have been great and varied. From famous ICT victories, beating a Belgian side with Thibaut Courtois in goal, to vital ambassadorial work.
A team including future Premier League attackers Andre Gray and Luke Berry once spent a powerful afternoon playing football with Syrian refugees in Jordan.
“I’ve always said, the managers and the coaches, the experiences they have at their clubs are the most important thing for the players’ development,” Fairclough says.
“We’re only with them for one or two games. But, I’d like to think we add another string to their bow. I really believe we do. If I didn’t believe we do, I wouldn’t do it anymore. We do it because we love it.”